S 1651 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

S. 1651CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for greater transparency and honesty in the Federal budget process.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

October 4, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. SESSIONS (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the BudgetCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for greater transparency and honesty in the Federal budget process.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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Honest Budget Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. No budget--no appropriations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. No phony emergency designations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Strengthen the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. No changes in mandatory programs in appropriation bills.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 6. Don’t count rescissions that don’t save money.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 7. Prohibition on step increases for Federal employee compensation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 8. Point of order against advance appropriations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 9. Prohibit timing shifts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 10. Budget scoring rule relating to transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund that increase public indebtedness.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. NO BUDGET--NO APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 note) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting after ‘Sections’ the following: ‘303(c),’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting after ‘sections’ the following: ‘303(c),’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. NO PHONY EMERGENCY DESIGNATIONS.

(a) Emergency Requirement in a Bill, Joint Resolution, or Conference Report-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- In the Senate, it shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, or conference report that designates as an emergency requirement, pursuant to section 403 of S. Con. Res. 13 (110th Congress, the FY 2010 Budget Resolution), section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, or section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 any provision that creates discretionary or direct spending or decreases revenues.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) WAIVER- An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order against such a measure raised under this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) EXCEPTION- For purposes of this subsection, a conference report may include an emergency designation only if it was also adopted in the Senate version of the measure subject to the conference report.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Emergency Requirement in an Amendment-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- In the Senate, it shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, or conference report that designates as an emergency requirement, pursuant to section 403 of S. Con. Res. 13 (110th Congress, the FY 2010 Budget Resolution), section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, or section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 any provision that creates discretionary or direct spending or decreases revenues.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) WAIVER AND APPEAL- A point of order against an amendment under this subsection may be waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order against such an amendment raised under this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Changes to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010- Section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) DESIGNATION IN THE SENATE- A provision or provisions designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to this section are subject to section 3 of the Honest Budget Act.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. STRENGTHEN THE FEDERAL CREDIT REFORM ACT OF 1990.

Title V of the Congressional Budget Act of 1990 is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘TITLE V--CREDIT REFORMCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 500. SHORT TITLE.

‘This title may be cited as the ‘Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 501. PURPOSES.

‘The purposes of this title are to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) measure more accurately the costs of Federal credit programs and financial investments by accounting for them on a fair value basis;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) place the cost of credit programs and financial investments on a budgetary basis equivalent to other Federal spending;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) encourage the delivery of benefits in the form most appropriate to the needs of beneficiaries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) improve the allocation of resources among Federal programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

‘For purposes of this title:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The term ‘direct loan’ means a disbursement of funds by the Government to a non-Federal borrower under a contract that requires the repayment of such funds with or without interest. The term includes the purchase of, or participation in, a loan made by another lender and financing arrangements that defer payment for more than 90 days, including the sale of a Government asset on credit terms. The term does not include the acquisition of a federally guaranteed loan in satisfaction of default claims or the price support loans of the Commodity Credit Corporation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) The term ‘direct loan obligation’ means a binding agreement by a Federal agency to make a direct loan when specified conditions are fulfilled by the borrower.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) The term ‘loan guarantee’ means any guarantee, insurance, or other pledge with respect to the payment of all or a part of the principal or interest on any debt obligation of a non-Federal borrower to a non-Federal lender, but does not include the insurance of deposits, shares, or other withdrawable accounts in financial institutions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) The term ‘loan guarantee commitment’ means a binding agreement by a Federal agency to make a loan guarantee when specified conditions are fulfilled by the borrower, the lender, or any other party to the guarantee agreement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5)(A) The term ‘financial investment’ means an investment by the Government in any securities (debt or equity), stocks, bonds, or futures, options, swaps, or other derivatives, issued by a non-Federal entity, including State, local tribal, and foreign governments, and private organizations, regardless of whether the issuances are federally guaranteed, or issued by a Federal entity if the issuance consists of marketable securities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) The term includes Government investments in money market and mutual funds, even if the money market or mutual fund’s assets consist entirely of Federal securities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) The term ‘financial investment commitment’ means a binding agreement by a Federal agency to acquire a financial investment when specified conditions are fulfilled by other party to the investment agreement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7)(A) The term ‘cost’ means the sum of the Treasury discounting component and the risk component of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment or a modification thereof.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) The Treasury discounting component shall be the estimated long-term cost to the Government of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment or modification thereof, calculated on a net present value basis, excluding administrative costs and any incidental effects on governmental receipts or outlays.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) The risk component shall be an amount equal to the difference between--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the estimated long-term cost to the Government of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment or modification thereof, estimated on a fair value basis, applying the guidelines set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in Financial Accounting Standards #157, or a successor thereto, excluding administrative costs and any incidental effects on governmental receipts or outlays; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the Treasury discounting component of such direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment or modification thereof.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) The Treasury discounting component of a direct loan shall be the net present value, at the time when the direct loan is disbursed, of the following estimated cash flows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) Loan disbursements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) Repayments of principal.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) Essential preservation expenses, payments of interest and other payments by or to the Government over the life of the loan after adjusting for estimated defaults, prepayments, fees, penalties, and other recoveries, including the effects of changes in loan terms resulting from the exercise by the borrower of an option included in the loan contract.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) The Treasury discounting component of a loan guarantee shall be the net present value, at the time when the direct loan is disbursed, of the following estimated cash flows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) Payments by the Government to cover defaults and delinquencies, interests subsidies, essential preservation expenses, or other payments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) Payments to the Government including origination and other fees, penalties, and recoveries, including the effects of changes in loan terms resulting from the exercise by the guaranteed lender of an option included in the loan guarantee contract, or by the borrower of an option included in the guaranteed loan contract.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) The Treasury discounting component of a financial investment shall be the net present value, at the time the financial investment is executed, of the following estimated cash flows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) Payments by the Government including essential preservation expenses.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) Payments to the Government including any dividends, periodic payments, fees, penalties, or recoveries;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Including the effects of changes in investment terms resulting from the exercise by the non-Federal entity of an option included in the investment contract.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(G) The cost of a modification is the sum of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the difference between the current estimate of the Treasury discounting component of the remaining cash flows under the terms of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment contract, and the current estimate of the Treasury discounting component of the remaining cash flows under the terms of the contract, as modified; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the difference between the current estimate of the risk component of the remaining cash flows under the terms of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment contract, and the current estimate of the risk component of the remaining cash flows under the terms of the contract as modified.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(H) In estimating Treasury discounting components, the discount rate shall be the average interest rate on marketable Treasury securities of similar duration to the cash flows of the direct loan or loan guarantee for which the estimate is being made.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) When funds are obligated for a direct loan or loan guarantee, the estimated cost shall be based on the current assumptions, adjusted to incorporate the terms of the loan contract, for the fiscal year in which the funds are obligated.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(8) The term ‘program account’ means the budget account into which an appropriation to cover the cost of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment program is made and from which such cost is disbursed to the financing account.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(9) The term ‘financing account’ means the nonbudget account or accounts associated with each program account which holds balances, receives the cost payment from the program account, and also includes all other cash flows to and from the Government resulting from direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made on or after October 1, 1991, or financial investment commitments made on or after October 1, 2014.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(10) The term ‘liquidating account’ means the budget account that includes all cash flows to and from the Government resulting from direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made prior to October 1, 1991. These accounts shall be shown in the budget on a cash basis.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(11) The term ‘modification’ means any Government action that alters the estimated cost of an outstanding direct loan (or direct loan obligation), an outstanding loan guarantee (or loan guarantee commitment), or outstanding financial investment (or financial investment commitment) from the current estimate of cash flows. This includes the sale of loan assets, with or without recourse, and the purchase of guaranteed loans (or direct loan obligations), loan guarantees (or loan guarantee commitments), financial investments (or financial investment commitments) such as a change in collection procedures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(12) The term ‘current’ has the same meaning as in section 250(c)(9) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(13) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(14) The term ‘administrative costs’ means costs related to program management activities, but does not include essential preservation expenses.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(15) The term ‘essential preservation expenses’ means servicing and other costs that are essential to preserve the value of loan assets or collateral.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 503. OMB AND CBO ANALYSIS, COORDINATION, AND REVIEW.

‘(a) In General- For the executive branch, the Director shall be responsible for coordinating the estimates required by this title. The Director shall consult with the agencies that administer direct loan or loan guarantee, or financial investment programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Delegation- The Director may delegate to agencies authority to make estimates of costs. The delegation of authority shall be based upon written guidelines, regulations, or criteria consistent with the definitions in this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Coordination With the Congressional Budget Office- In developing estimation guidelines, regulations, or criteria to be used by Federal agencies, the Director shall consult with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Improving Cost Estimates- The Director and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall coordinate the development of more accurate data on historical performance and prospective risk of direct loan, loan guarantee, and financial investment programs. They shall annually review the performance of outstanding direct loans, loan guarantees, and financial investment to improve estimates of costs. The Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office shall have access to all agency data that may facilitate the development and improvement of estimates of costs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Historical Credit Programs Costs- The Director shall review, to the extent possible, historical data and develop the best possible estimates of adjustments that would convert aggregate historical budget data to credit reform accounting.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 504. BUDGETARY TREATMENT.

‘(a) President’s Budget- Beginning with fiscal year 1992, the President’s budget shall reflect the Treasury discounting component of direct loan and loan guarantee programs. Beginning with fiscal year 2015, the President’s budget shall reflect the costs of direct loan, loan guarantee, and financial investment programs. The budget shall also include the planned level of new direct loan obligations, loan guarantee commitments, or financial investment commitments associated with each appropriations request.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Appropriations Required- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, new direct loan obligations may be incurred and new loan guarantee commitments may be made of fiscal year 1992 and thereafter and new financial investment commitments may be made for fiscal year 2015 and thereafter only to the extent that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) new budget authority to cover their costs is provided in advance in an appropriations Act;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) a limitation on the use of funds otherwise available for the cost of a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment program has been provided in advance in an appropriations Act; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) authority is otherwise provided in appropriation Acts.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Exemption for Mandatory Programs- Subsections (b) and (e) shall not apply to a direct loan or loan guarantee program that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) constitutes an entitlement (such as the guaranteed student loan program or the veteran’s home loan guaranty program); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) all existing credit programs of the Commodity Credit Corporation on the date of enactment of this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Budget Accounting-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The authority to incur new direct loan obligations, make new loan guarantee commitments, make new financial investment commitments, or modify outstanding direct loans (or direct loan obligations), loan guarantees (or loan guarantee commitments), financial investments (or financial investment commitments) shall constitute new budget authority in an amount equal to the cost of the direct loan or loan guarantee in the fiscal year in which definite authority becomes available or indefinite authority is used. Such budget authority shall constitute an obligation of the program account to pay to the financing account.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) The outlays resulting from new budget authority for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, or financial investment described in paragraph (1) shall be paid from the program account into the financing account and recorded in the fiscal year in which the direct loan, the guaranteed loan, or financial investment is disbursed or its costs altered.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) All collections and payments of the financing accounts shall be a means of financing.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Modifications- An outstanding direct loan (or direct loan obligation), loan guarantee (or loan guarantee commitment), or financial investment (or financial investment commitment) shall not be modified in a manner that increases its costs unless budget authority for the additional cost has been provided in advance in an appropriations Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Re-Estimates- When the estimated cost for a group of direct loans, loan guarantees, or financial investments for a given program made in a single fiscal year is re-estimated in a subsequent year, the difference between the re-estimated cost and the previous cost estimate shall be displayed as a distinct and separately identified subaccount in the program account as a change in program costs and a change in net interest. There is hereby provided permanent indefinite authority for these re-estimates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Administrative Expenses- All funding for an agency’s administrative costs associated with a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment program shall be displayed as distinct and separately identified subaccounts within the same budget account as the program’s cost.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 505. AUTHORIZATIONS.

‘(a) Authorization of Appropriations for Costs- There are authorized to be appropriated to each Federal agency authorized to make direct loan obligations, loan guarantee commitments, or financial investment commitments such sums as may be necessary to pay the cost associated with such direct loan obligations, loan guarantee commitments, or financial investment commitments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Authorization for Financing Accounts- In order to implement the accounting required by this title, the President is authorized to establish such non-budgetary accounts as may be appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Treasury Transactions With the Financing Accounts-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of the Treasury shall borrow from, receive from, lend to, or pay to the financing accounts such amounts as may be appropriate. The Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe forms and denominations, maturities, and terms and conditions for the transactions described in the preceding sentence, except that the rate of interest charged by the Secretary on lending to financing accounts (including amounts treated as lending to financing accounts by the Federal Financing Bank (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the ‘Bank’) pursuant to section 405(b)) and the rate of interest paid to financing accounts on uninvested balances in financing accounts shall be the same as the rate determined pursuant to section 502(7)(H).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) LOANS- For guaranteed loans financed by the Bank and treated as direct loans by a Federal agency pursuant to section 406(b)(1), any fee or interest surcharge (the amount by which the interest rate charged exceeds the rate determined pursuant to section 502(7)(H) that the Bank charges to a private borrower pursuant to section 6(c) of the Federal Financing Bank Act of 1973 shall be considered a cash flow to the Government for the purposes of determining the cost of the direct loan pursuant to section 502(7). All such amounts shall be credited to the appropriate financing account.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT- The Bank is authorized to require reimbursement from a Federal agency to cover the administrative expenses of the Bank that are attributable to the direct loans financed for that agency. All such payments by an agency shall be considered administrative expenses subject to section 504(g). This subsection shall apply to transactions related to direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made on or after October 1, 1991.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) AUTHORITY- The authorities provided in this subsection shall not be construed to supersede or override the authority of the head of a Federal agency to administer and operate a direct loan or loan guarantee program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) TITLE 31- All of the transactions provided in the subsection shall be subject to the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) TREATMENT OF CASH BALANCES- Cash balances of the financing accounts in excess of current requirements shall be maintained in a form of uninvested funds and the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay interest on these funds. The Secretary of the Treasury shall charge (or pay if the amount is negative) financing accounts an amount equal to the risk component for a direct loan, loan guarantee, or financial investment or modification thereof. Such amount received by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be a means of financing and shall not be considered a cash flow of the Government for the purposes of section 502(7).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Authorization for Liquidating Accounts- (1) Amounts in liquidating accounts shall be available only for payments resulting from direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made prior to October 1, 1991, for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) interest payments and principal repayments to the Treasury or the Federal Financing Bank for amounts borrowed;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) disbursements of loans;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) default and other guarantee claim payments;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) interest supplement payments;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) payments for the costs of foreclosing, managing, and selling collateral that are capitalized or routinely deducted from the proceeds of sales;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) payments to financing accounts when required for modifications;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(G) administrative costs and essential preservation expenses, if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) amounts credited to the liquidating account would have been available for Administrative costs and essential preservation expenses under a provision of law in effect prior to October 1, 1991; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) no direct loan obligation or loan guarantee commitment has been made, or any modification of a direct loan or loan guarantee has been made, since September 30, 1991; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(H) such other payments as are necessary for the liquidation of such direct loan obligations and loan guarantee commitments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) Amounts credited to liquidating accounts in any year shall be available only for payments required in that year. Any unobligated balances in liquidating accounts at the end of a fiscal year shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts as soon as practicable after the end of the fiscal year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) If funds in liquidating accounts are insufficient to satisfy obligations and commitments of such accounts, there is hereby provided permanent, indefinite authority to make any payments required to be made on such obligations and commitments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Authorization of Appropriations for Implementation Expenses- There are authorized to be appropriated to existing accounts such sums as may be necessary for salaries and expenses to carry out the responsibilities under this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Reinsurance- Nothing in this title shall be construed as authorizing or requiring the purchase of insurance or reinsurance on a direct loan or loan guarantee from private insurers. If any such reinsurance for a direct loan or loan guarantee is authorized, the cost of such insurance and any recoveries to the Government shall be included in the calculation of the cost.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Eligibility and Assistance- Nothing in this title shall be construed to change the authority or the responsibility of a Federal agency to determine the terms and conditions of eligibility for, or the amount of assistance provided by a direct loan or a loan guarantee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 506. TREATMENT OF DEPOSIT INSURANCE AND AGENCIES AND OTHER INSURANCE PROGRAMS.

‘This title shall not apply to the credit or insurance activities of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Resolution Trust Corporation, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, National Flood Insurance, National Insurance Development Fund, Crop Insurance, or Tennessee Valley Authority.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 507. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

‘(a) Effect on Other Laws- This title shall supersede, modify, or repeal any provision of law enacted prior to the date of enactment of this title to the extent such provision is inconsistent with this title. Nothing in this title shall be construed to establish a credit limitation on any Federal loan or loan guarantee program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Crediting of Collections- Collections resulting from direct loans obligated or loan guarantees committed prior to October 1, 1991, shall be credited to the liquidating accounts of Federal agencies. Amounts so credited shall be available, to the same extent that they were available prior to the date of enactment of this title, to liquidate obligations arising from such direct loans obligated or loan guarantees committed prior to October 1, 1991, including repayment of any obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury or the Federal Financing Bank. The unobligated balances of such accounts that are in excess of current needs shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury. Such transfers shall be made from time to time but, at least once each year.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. NO CHANGES IN MANDATORY PROGRAMS IN APPROPRIATION BILLS.

Section 302(f)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) IN THE SENATE- After a concurrent resolution on the budget is agreed to, it shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A)(i) in the case of any committee except the Committee on Appropriations, would cause the applicable allocation of new budget authority or outlays under subsection (a) for the first fiscal year or the total of fiscal years to be exceeded; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) in the case of the Committee on Appropriations would cause the applicable suballocation of new budget authority or outlays under subsection (b) to be exceeded; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) includes one or more provisions that would have been estimated as affecting direct spending or receipts under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 were they included in legislation other than appropriations legislation, if such provision does not result in net outlay savings over the total of the period of the current year, the budget year, and all fiscal years covered under the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. DON’T COUNT RESCISSIONS THAT DON’T SAVE MONEY.

Section 312(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 643(a)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘For purposes’ and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- For purposes;’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) EXCLUSION- In making determinations under paragraph (1), the committee shall not count rescissions of budget authority that do not result in outlay savings over the period of fiscal years covered by the concurrent resolution on the budget.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON STEP INCREASES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.

(a) Periodic Step Increases- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no periodic step increase under section 5335 of title 5, United States Code, which (but for this subsection) would otherwise take effect during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2012, shall be made.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Additional Step Increases- The head of an agency may not grant additional step increases under section 5336 of title 5, United States Code, during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2012.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) In General-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) POINT OF ORDER- Except as provided in subsection (b), it shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, or conference report that would provide an advance appropriation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) DEFINITION- In this section, the term ‘advance appropriation’ means any new budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for fiscal year 2012 that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2012, or any new budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making general appropriations or continuing appropriations for each of the budget years 2012 through 2022, that first becomes available for any fiscal year after the budget year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Exceptions- Advance appropriations may be provided as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) For fiscal years 2013 through 2022 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $28,852,000,000 in new budget authority in each year for the following programs, projects, activities, or accounts:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Employment and Training Administration.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Job Corps.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) Education for the Disadvantaged.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) School Improvement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) Children and Family Services (Head Start).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) Special Education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) Career, Technical, and Adult Education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(H) Financial Services and General Government: Payment to Postal Service.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(I) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development: Tenant-based Rental Assistance Project-based Rental Assistance.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) For the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) For the Department of Veterans Affairs for the Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, and Medical Facilities accounts of the Veterans Health Administration.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) WAIVER- In the Senate, subsection (a)(1) may be waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) APPEAL- An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under subsection (a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Form of Point of Order- A point of order under subsection (a) may be raised by a Senator as provided in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Conference Reports- When the Senate is considering a conference report on, or an amendment between the Houses in relation to, a bill, upon a point of order being made by any Senator pursuant to this section, and such point of order being sustained, such material contained in such conference report shall be deemed stricken, and the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate shall recede from its amendment and concur with a further amendment, or concur in the House amendment with a further amendment, as the case may be, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report or House amendment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such motion in the Senate shall be debatable. In any case in which such point of order is sustained against a conference report (or Senate amendment derived from such conference report by operation of this subsection), no further amendment shall be in order.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. PROHIBIT TIMING SHIFTS.

In the Senate, for purposes of enforcement of points of order established under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress; Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Resolution), S. Con. Res. 70 (110th Congress; Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution), S. Con. Res. (111th Congress; Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution), and subsequent concurrent resolutions on the budget, a provision in any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, amendment between houses, or conference report that shifts outlays or revenues from one year to another by a date change to act as an offset for other provisions that increase the deficit for a time period, shall not count.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 10. BUDGET SCORING RULE RELATING TO TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY TO THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND THAT INCREASE PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS.

In the Senate, for purposes of enforcement of points of order established under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress; Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Resolution), S. Con. Res. 70 (110th Congress; Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution), S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress; Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution), and subsequent concurrent resolutions on the budget, a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, amendment between houses, or conference report that transfers funds from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund and that increases the level of indebtedness that is subject to the current applicable statutory public debt limit shall be counted by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget as new budget authority and outlays equal to the amount of the transfer in the fiscal year the transfer occurs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink