S.Con.Res.95 - An original concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2005 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2006 through 2009.108th Congress (2003-2004)

Summary: S.Con.Res.95 — 108th Congress (2003-2004)All Information (Except Text)

Shown Here:
Passed House amended (03/29/2004)

Sets forth the congressional budget for the Government for FY 2005, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 2004 and for FY 2006 through 2009.

Title I: Recommended Levels and Amounts - (Sec. 101) Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY 2004 through 2009 with respect to: (1) Federal revenues; (2) new budget authority; (3) budget outlays; (4) deficits (on-budget); (5) debt subject to limit; and (6) debt held by the public.

(Sec. 102) Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY 2004 through 2009.

Title II: Reconciliation and Report Submission - (Sec. 201) Requires recommendations of changes in law within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce revenues and increase or reduce (as indicated) the total level of outlays by specified amounts to the House Committee on the Budget by the following Committees: (1) Agriculture; (2) Education and the Workforce; (3) Energy and Commerce; (4) Government Reform; and (5) Ways and Means.

Requires the House Committee on the Budget to report to the House a reconciliation bill carrying out all such recommendations without any substantive revision.

Requires the House Committee on Ways and Means to report a budget reconciliation bill that consists of changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce revenues by not more than $13.182 billion for FY 2005 and by not more than $137.580 billion for FY 2005 through 2009.

Provides that if such reconciliation bill does not increase the deficit for such fiscal years above the permitted levels, the chairman of the House Committee on the Budget (Chairman) may revise the reconciliation instructions to permit the Committee on Ways and Means to increase the level of direct spending outlays, make conforming adjustments to the revenue instruction to decrease the reduction in revenues, and make conforming changes in allocations to the Committee on Ways and Means and in budget aggregates.

(Sec. 202) Requires the House Committee on Armed Services to report to the House Budget Committee on its findings that identify $2 billion in savings from activities determined to be a low priority to the successful execution of current military operations, or to be wasteful or unnecessary to national defense.

Requires the identified funds to be reallocated to programs and activities that directly contribute to enhancing the combat capabilities of the U.S. military forces with an emphasis on force protection, munitions, and surveillance capabilities. Directs the Chairman to insert the report by the Committee on Armed Services in the Congressional Record by May 21, 2004.

Title III: Reserve Funds and Contingency Procedure - Subtitle A: Reserve Funds for Legislation Assumed in Budget Aggregates - (Sec. 301) Authorizes the Chairman, if the House reports legislation that provides health insurance for the uninsured, to make the appropriate adjustments in allocations and aggregates to the extent such measure is deficit neutral in FY 2005 and for FY 2005 through 2009.

(Sec. 302) Authorizes the Chairman, if the Committee on Energy and Commerce reports legislation that provides medicaid coverage for children with special needs (the Family Opportunity Act), to make the appropriate adjustments in allocations and aggregates to the extent such measure is deficit neutral in FY 2005 and for FY 2005 through 2009.

(Sec. 303) Authorizes the Chairman, if the Committee on Armed Services reports legislation that increases survivors' benefits under the Military Survivors' Benefit Plan, to make the appropriate adjustments in allocations and aggregates to the extent such measure is deficit neutral resulting from a change other than to discretionary appropriations in FY 2005 and for FY 2005 through 2009.

(Sec. 304) Authorizes the Chairman, for any bill, including a bill that provides for the safe importation of FDA-approved prescription drugs or places limits on medical malpractice litigation, that has passed the House in the first session of the 108th Congress and, after the adoption of this resolution, is acted on by the Senate, enacted by Congress, and presented to the President, to make the appropriate adjustments in the allocations and aggregates to reflect any resulting savings from any such measure.

Subtitle B: Contingency Procedure - (Sec. 311) Authorizes the Chairman, if the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure reports legislation that provides new budget authority for accounts in the highway transit categories in specified amounts and the amount of excess is offset by reductions in mandatory outlays from the Highway Trust Fund or an increase in receipts appropriated to such Fund, to revise committee allocations, aggregates, and allocations of budget authority and outlays in this resolution by the amount provided in such legislation.

Authorizes the Chairman to increase the allocation of outlays and appropriate aggregates for FY 2004 or 2005 for a House Committee by the amount of outlays corresponding to such obligation limitations if such committee reports legislation establishing obligation limitations in excess of $40.116 billion for FY 2004 or $41.204 billion for FY 2005 but an amount up to such limit was offset under this subtitle for programs, projects, and activities within the highway and transit categories, and if legislation has been enacted that satisfies specified conditions of this subtitle.

Title IV: Budget Enforcement - (Sec. 401) Sets forth prohibitions on advance appropriations in the House. Allows advance appropriations for FY 2006 or 2007 for specified accounts identified in the joint explanatory statement accompanying this resolution, but only in an aggregate of up to $23.568 billion in new budget authority.

(Sec. 402) States that if legislation is reported that makes supplemental appropriations for FY 2005 for contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism, or for any emergency requirements, then the resulting new budget authority, new entitlement authority, outlays, and receipts shall not count for certain purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the provisions of such measure that are designated as making appropriations for such contingency operations.

Requires the committee report and any accompanying managers' statement, if legislation is designated as an emergency requirement, to explain the manner in which it meets specified emergency criteria, including a threat to life, property, or the national security that is sudden, quick, unforeseen, unpredictable, and temporary in nature. Requires the committee to cause the explanation to be printed in the Congressional Record in advance of floor consideration if such legislation is to be considered by the House without being reported.

Deems an emergency that is part of an aggregate level of anticipated emergencies, particularly when normally estimated in advance, as not unforeseen.

(Sec. 403) Requires all House budgetary legislation, as well as the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on any concurrent resolution on the budget, to include in its estimated levels of new budget authority and total outlays, or allocations, any discretionary amounts provided for the Social Security Administration.

Title V: Sense of the House - (Sec. 501) Expresses the sense of the House that, in order to enact legislation to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure the efficient use of taxpayer dollars, authorizing committees should actively engage in oversight utilizing: (1) the plans and goals submitted by executive agencies pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993; and (2) the performance evaluations submitted by such agencies (that are based upon the Program Assessment Rating Tool which is designed to improve agency performance).

Expresses the sense of the House that: (1) all Federal programs should be periodically reauthorized and funding for unauthorized programs should be level-funded in FY 2005 unless there is a compelling justification; (2) committees should submit written justifications for earmarks and should consider not funding those most egregiously inconsistent with national policy; (3) the FY 2005 budget resolution should be vigorously enforced and legislation should be enacted establishing statutory limits on appropriations and a PAY-AS-YOU-GO rule for new and expanded entitlement programs; and (4) Congress should make every effort to offset nonwar-related supplemental appropriations.

(Sec. 502) Expresses the sense of the House that authorizing committees should: (1) systematically review all means-tested entitlement programs and track beneficiary participation across programs and time; (2) enact legislation to develop common eligibility requirements for such programs, accurately rename them, and coordinate program benefits in order to limit to a reasonable period of time the Government dependency of means-tested entitlement program participants; (3) evaluate the costs of, and justifications for, nonmeans-tested, nonretirement-related entitlement programs; and (4) identify and utilize resources that have conducted cost-benefit analyses of participants in multiple means- and nonmeans-tested entitlement programs to understand their cumulative costs and collective benefits.