Most commented sections:

• Paragraph 39 (1 comments)
• Paragraph 66 (1 comments)

S 162 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide greater accountability of taxpayers’ dollars by curtailing congressional earmarking, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

January 6, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. COBURN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and AdministrationCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide greater accountability of taxpayers’ dollars by curtailing congressional earmarking, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Fiscal Discipline, Earmark Reform, and Accountability Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. REFORM OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROPRIATIONS BILLS IN THE SENATE.

(a) In General- Rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘9.(a) On a point of order made by any Senator:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) No new or general legislation nor any unauthorized appropriation may be included in any general appropriation bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) No amendment may be received to any general appropriation bill the effect of which will be to add an unauthorized appropriation to the bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) No unauthorized appropriation may be included in any amendment between the Houses, or any amendment thereto, in relation to a general appropriation bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b)(1) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(1) against a Senate bill or amendment is sustained--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the new or general legislation or unauthorized appropriation shall be struck from the bill or amendment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) any modification of total amounts appropriated necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the bill or amendment shall be made.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(1) against an Act of the House of Representatives is sustained when the Senate is not considering an amendment in the nature of a substitute, an amendment to the House bill is deemed to have been adopted that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) strikes the new or general legislation or unauthorized appropriation from the bill; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) modifies, if necessary, the total amounts appropriated by the bill to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the bill;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) If the point of order against an amendment under subparagraph (a)(2) is sustained, the amendment shall be out of order and may not be considered.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d)(1) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(3) against a Senate amendment is sustained--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the unauthorized appropriation shall be struck from the amendment;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) any modification of total amounts appropriated necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the amendment shall be made; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) after all other points of order under this paragraph have been disposed of, the Senate shall proceed to consider the amendment as so modified.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(3) against a House of Representatives amendment is sustained--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) an amendment to the House amendment is deemed to have been adopted that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) strikes the new or general legislation or unauthorized appropriation from the House amendment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) modifies, if necessary, the total amounts appropriated by the bill to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the House amendment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) after all other points of order under this paragraph have been disposed of, the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether to concur with further amendment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) The disposition of a point of order made under any other paragraph of this rule, or under any other Standing Rule of the Senate, that is not sustained, or is waived, does not preclude, or affect, a point of order made under subparagraph (a) with respect to the same matter.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) A point of order under subparagraph (a) may be waived only by a motion agreed to by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn. If an appeal is taken from the ruling of the Presiding Officer with respect to such a point of order, the ruling of the Presiding Officer shall be sustained absent an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Senate, it shall be in order for a Senator to raise a single point of order that several provisions of a general appropriation bill or an amendment between the Houses on a general appropriation bill violate subparagraph (a). The Presiding Officer may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order. If the Presiding Officer so sustains the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order, then only those provisions against which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be deemed stricken pursuant to this paragraph. Before the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator may move to waive such a point of order, in accordance with subparagraph (f), as it applies to some or all of the provisions against which the point of order was raised. Such a motion to waive is amendable in accordance with the rules and precedents of the Senate. After the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator may appeal the ruling of the Presiding Officer on such a point of order as it applies to some or all of the provisions on which the Presiding Officer ruled.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(h) For purposes of this paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The term ‘new or general legislation’ has the meaning given that term when it is used in paragraph 2 of this rule.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) The term ‘new matter’ means matter not committed to conference by either House of Congress.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3)(A) The term ‘unauthorized appropriation’ means a ‘congressionally directed spending item’ as defined in rule XLIV--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) that is not specifically authorized by law or Treaty stipulation (unless the appropriation has been specifically authorized by an Act or resolution previously passed by the Senate during the same session or proposed in pursuance of an estimate submitted in accordance with law); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the amount of which exceeds the amount specifically authorized by law or Treaty stipulation (or specifically authorized by an Act or resolution previously passed by the Senate during the same session or proposed in pursuance of an estimate submitted in accordance with law) to be appropriated.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) An appropriation is not specifically authorized if it is restricted or directed to, or authorized to be obligated or expended for the benefit of, an identifiable person, program, project, entity, or jurisdiction by earmarking or other specification, whether by name or description, in a manner that is so restricted, directed, or authorized that it applies only to a single identifiable person, program, project, entity, or jurisdiction, unless the identifiable person, program, project, entity, or jurisdiction to which the restriction, direction, or authorization applies is described or otherwise clearly identified in a law or Treaty stipulation (or an Act or resolution previously passed by the Senate during the same session or in the estimate submitted in accordance with law) that specifically provides for the restriction, direction, or authorization of appropriation for such person, program, project, entity, or jurisdiction.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘10. (a) On a point of order made by any Senator, no new or general legislation, nor any unauthorized appropriation, new matter, or nongermane matter may be included in any conference report on a general appropriation bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) If the point of order against a conference report under subparagraph (a) is sustained--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) the new or general legislation, unauthorized appropriation, new matter, or nongermane matter in such conference report shall be deemed to have been struck;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) any modification of total amounts appropriated necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck shall be deemed to have been made;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) when all other points of order under this paragraph have been disposed of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate should recede from its amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement to the amendment of the House, and concur with a further amendment, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report not deemed to have been struck (together with any modification of total amounts appropriated);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the question shall be debatable; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) no further amendment shall be in order; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) if the Senate agrees to the amendment, then the bill and the Senate amendment thereto shall be returned to the House for its concurrence in the amendment of the Senate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) The disposition of a point of order made under any other paragraph of this rule, or under any other Standing Rule of the Senate, that is not sustained, or is waived, does not preclude, or affect, a point of order made under subparagraph (a) with respect to the same matter.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) A point of order under subparagraph (a) may be waived only by a motion agreed to by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn. If an appeal is taken from the ruling of the Presiding Officer with respect to such a point of order, the ruling of the Presiding Officer shall be sustained absent an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Senate, it shall be in order for a Senator to raise a single point of order that several provisions of a conference report on a general appropriation bill violate subparagraph (a). The Presiding Officer may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order. If the Presiding Officer so sustains the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order, then only those provisions against which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be deemed stricken pursuant to this paragraph. Before the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator may move to waive such a point of order, in accordance with subparagraph (d), as it applies to some or all of the provisions against which the point of order was raised. Such a motion to waive is amendable in accordance with the rules and precedents of the Senate. After the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator may appeal the ruling of the Presiding Officer on such a point of order as it applies to some or all of the provisions on which the Presiding Officer ruled.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) For purposes of this paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The terms ‘new or general legislation’, ‘new matter’, and ‘unauthorized appropriation’ have the same meaning as in paragraph 9.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) The term ‘nongermane matter’ has the same meaning as in rule XXII and under the precedents attendant thereto, as of the beginning of the 110th Congress.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Requiring Conference Reports To Be Searchable Online- Paragraph 3(a)(2) of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by inserting ‘in an searchable format’ after ‘available’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by adding after section 5 the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 5A. REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

‘(a) In General- A recipient of Federal funds shall file a report as required by section 5(a) containing--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) the name of any lobbyist registered under this Act to whom the recipient paid money to lobby on behalf of the Federal funding received by the recipient; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) the amount of money paid as described in paragraph (1).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Definition- In this section, the term ‘recipient of Federal funds’ means the recipient of Federal funds constituting an award, grant, or loan.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink