[DOCID: f:hr659.110]
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110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-659
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009
----------
CONFERENCE REPORT
to accompany
S. CON. RES. 70
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
May 20, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009
110th Congress
2d Session Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 110-659
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009
__________
CONFERENCE REPORT
to accompany
S. CON. RES. 70
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
May 20, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-659
======================================================================
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009
_______
May 20, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Spratt, from the committee of conference, submitted the following
CONFERENCE REPORT
[To accompany S. Con. Res. 70]
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of
the two Houses on the amendment of the House to the concurrent
resolution (S. Con. Res. 70), setting forth the congressional
budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2009
and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years
2008 and 2010 through 2013, having met, after full and free
conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their
respective Houses as follows:
That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the
amendment of the House and agree to the same with an amendment
as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the
House amendment, insert the following:
SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009.
(a) Declaration.--Congress declares that this resolution is
the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2009
and that this resolution sets forth the appropriate budgetary
levels for fiscal year 2008 and for fiscal years 2010 through
2013.
(b) Table of Contents.--
Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2009.
TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS
Sec. 101. Recommended levels and amounts.
Sec. 102. Social Security.
Sec. 103. Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses.
Sec. 104. Major functional categories.
TITLE II--RESERVE FUNDS
Subtitle A--House Reserve Funds
Sec. 201. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for SCHIP legislation.
Sec. 202. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for America's veterans and
servicemembers.
Sec. 203. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for education benefits for
servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
Sec. 204. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for infrastructure investment.
Sec. 205. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
Sec. 206. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for middle-income tax relief and
economic equity.
Sec. 207. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reform of the alternative
minimum tax.
Sec. 208. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for higher education.
Sec. 209. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for affordable housing.
Sec. 210. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicare improvements.
Sec. 211. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for health care quality,
effectiveness, and efficiency.
Sec. 212. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicaid and other programs.
Sec. 213. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for a 9/11 health program.
Sec. 214. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for trade adjustment assistance
and unemployment insurance modernization.
Sec. 215. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for county payments legislation.
Sec. 216. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for San Joaquin River restoration
and Navajo Nation water rights settlements.
Sec. 217. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the National Park Centennial
Fund.
Sec. 218. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for child support enforcement.
Sec. 219. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for children and families.
Sec. 220. Reserve fund adjustment for revenue measures in the House.
Subtitle B--Senate Reserve Funds
Sec. 221. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to strengthen and stimulate the
American economy and provide economic relief to American
families.
Sec. 222. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for improving education.
Sec. 223. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for investments in America's
infrastructure.
Sec. 224. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to invest in clean energy,
preserve the environment, and provide for certain settlements.
Sec. 225. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for America's veterans and
servicemembers.
Sec. 226. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for education benefits for
servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
Sec. 227. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve America's health.
Sec. 228. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reform of the alternative
minimum tax.
Sec. 229. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for judicial pay and judgeships.
Sec. 230. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for immigration enforcement and
reform.
Sec. 231. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for science parks.
Sec. 232. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to terminate deductions from
mineral revenue payments to States.
Sec. 233. Deficit-reduction reserve fund for increased use of recovery
audits.
Sec. 234. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for food safety.
Sec. 235. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for demonstration project
regarding Medicaid coverage of low-income HIV-infected
individuals.
Sec. 236. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reducing the income threshold
for the refundable child tax credit, and other selected tax
relief policies.
Sec. 237. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for a 9/11 health program.
TITLE III--BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
Subtitle A--House Enforcement Provisions
Sec. 301. Program integrity initiatives and other adjustments.
Sec. 302. Point of order against advance appropriations.
Subtitle B--Senate Enforcement Provisions
Sec. 311. Senate point of order against legislation increasing long-term
deficits.
Sec. 312. Discretionary spending limits, program integrity initiatives,
and other adjustments.
Sec. 313. Point of order against advance appropriations.
Sec. 314. Senate point of order against provisions of appropriations
legislation that constitute changes in mandatory programs with
net costs.
Sec. 315. Senate point of order against legislation increasing short-
term deficit.
Subtitle C--Other Provisions
Sec. 321. Oversight of government performance.
Sec. 322. Budgetary treatment of certain discretionary administrative
expenses.
Sec. 323. Application and effect of changes in allocations and
aggregates.
Sec. 324. Adjustments to reflect changes in concepts and definitions.
Sec. 325. Exercise of rulemaking powers.
TITLE IV--POLICY
Sec. 401. Policy of the House on middle-income tax relief.
Sec. 402. Policy on defense priorities.
TITLE V--SENSE OF THE SENATE AND CONGRESS
Subtitle A--Sense of the Senate
Sec. 501. Sense of the Senate regarding Medicaid administrative
regulations.
Subtitle B--Sense of the Congress
Sec. 511. Sense of the Congress on servicemembers' and veterans' health
care and other priorities.
Sec. 512. Sense of the Congress on homeland security.
Sec. 513. Sense of the Congress regarding long-term fiscal reform.
Sec. 514. Sense of the Congress regarding waste, fraud, and abuse.
Sec. 515. Sense of the Congress regarding extension of the statutory
pay-as-you-go rule.
Sec. 516. Sense of the Congress on long-term budgeting.
Sec. 517. Sense of the Congress regarding affordable health coverage.
Sec. 518. Sense of the Congress regarding pay parity.
Sec. 519. Sense of the Congress regarding subprime lending and
foreclosures.
Sec. 520. Sense of the Congress regarding the need to maintain and build
upon efforts to fight hunger.
Sec. 521. Sense of the Congress regarding the importance of child
support enforcement.
Sec. 522. Sense of the Congress on the Innovation Agenda and America
COMPETES Act.
TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS
SEC. 101. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS.
The following budgetary levels are appropriate for each of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013:
(1) Federal revenues.--For purposes of the
enforcement of this resolution:
(A) The recommended levels of Federal
revenues are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $1,875,392,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $2,029,612,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $2,204,652,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $2,413,249,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $2,506,049,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $2,626,582,000,000.
(B) The amounts by which the aggregate
levels of Federal revenues should be changed
are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: -$4,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: -$67,755,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $21,270,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: -$14,824,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: -$151,572,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: -$123,689,000,000.
(2) New budget authority.--For purposes of the
enforcement of this resolution, the appropriate levels
of total new budget authority are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $2,563,262,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $2,530,703,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $2,562,856,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $2,693,843,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $2,736,865,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $2,868,813,000,000.
(3) Budget outlays.--For purposes of the
enforcement of this resolution, the appropriate levels
of total budget outlays are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $2,465,711,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $2,565,903,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $2,621,939,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $2,712,795,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $2,722,056,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $2,860,225,000,000.
(4) Deficits (on-budget).--For purposes of the
enforcement of this resolution, the amounts of the
deficits (on-budget) are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $590,319,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $536,291,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $417,287,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $299,546,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $216,007,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $233,643,000,000.
(5) Debt subject to limit.--Pursuant to section
301(a)(5) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
appropriate levels of the public debt are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $9,575,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $10,207,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $10,732,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $11,137,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $11,484,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $11,832,000,000,000.
(6) Debt held by the public.--The appropriate
levels of debt held by the public are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $5,404,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $5,761,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $5,989,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $6,080,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $6,075,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $6,081,000,000,000.
SEC. 102. SOCIAL SECURITY.
(a) Social Security Revenues.--For purposes of Senate
enforcement under sections 302 and 311 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the amounts of revenues of the Federal Old-
Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $666,706,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $695,870,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $733,562,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $772,459,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $809,789,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $845,034,000,000.
(b) Social Security Outlays.--For purposes of Senate
enforcement under sections 302 and 311 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the amounts of outlays of the Federal Old-
Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008: $463,746,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009: $493,602,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010: $520,149,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011: $540,478,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012: $566,240,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013: $595,534,000,000.
(c) Social Security Administrative Expenses.--In the
Senate, the amounts of new budget authority and budget outlays
of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and
the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for administrative
expenses are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority, $5,010,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $4,944,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority, $5,233,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,160,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority, $5,359,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,332,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority, $5,500,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,475,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority, $5,653,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,626,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority, $5,817,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,789,000,000.
SEC. 103. POSTAL SERVICE DISCRETIONARY ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
In the Senate, the amounts of new budget authority and
budget outlays of the Postal Service for discretionary
administrative expenses are as follows:
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority, $250,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $237,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority, $258,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $258,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority, $267,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $267,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority, $275,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $275,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority, $284,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $284,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority, $293,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $293,000,000.
SEC. 104. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES.
The Congress determines and declares that the appropriate
levels of new budget authority and outlays for fiscal years
2008 through 2013 for each major functional category are:
(1) National Defense (050):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$590,686,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $576,173,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$542,497,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $573,362,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$550,414,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $560,726,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$557,026,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $560,099,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$565,800,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $556,699,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$576,233,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $568,829,000,000.
(2) International Affairs (150):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$32,648,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $32,843,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$37,158,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $35,749,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$37,901,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,591,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$38,221,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,864,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$38,491,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,824,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$38,451,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,537,000,000.
(3) General Science, Space, and Technology (250):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$27,407,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $26,456,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$30,639,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $29,072,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$31,701,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $31,192,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$32,863,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $32,642,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$34,115,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,891,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$35,450,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $34,694,000,000.
(4) Energy (270):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$3,550,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,681,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$6,514,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $2,795,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$6,615,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $4,092,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$6,450,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $4,969,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$6,550,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,417,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$6,474,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,659,000,000.
(5) Natural Resources and Environment (300):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$33,169,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $34,723,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$40,515,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,868,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$35,278,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,472,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$36,307,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,865,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$37,396,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,356,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$38,033,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,923,000,000.
(6) Agriculture (350):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$24,296,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $22,179,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$22,572,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $22,312,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$22,145,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,241,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$22,026,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,022,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$20,889,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $17,463,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$22,304,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,606,000,000.
(7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$11,216,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,381,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$9,560,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $3,722,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$13,887,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $5,835,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$8,998,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $2,193,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$9,246,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,735,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$9,642,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,648,000,000.
(8) Transportation (400):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$80,189,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $77,795,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$74,682,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $80,781,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$77,999,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $84,318,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$78,900,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $86,468,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$79,741,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $88,453,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$80,641,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,675,000,000.
(9) Community and Regional Development (450):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$20,149,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $27,820,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$15,220,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $24,401,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$15,376,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $22,109,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$15,603,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $18,330,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$15,840,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $16,301,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$16,007,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $15,986,000,000.
(10) Education, Training, Employment, and Social
Services (500):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$90,077,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,729,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$94,277,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,351,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$103,716,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $99,477,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$105,910,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $103,453,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$107,399,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $103,992,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$100,625,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $102,451,000,000.
(11) Health (550):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$285,601,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $287,188,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$310,260,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $307,474,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$325,344,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $325,681,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$345,817,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $345,055,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$368,395,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $367,257,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$393,337,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $391,872,000,000.
(12) Medicare (570):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$390,458,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $390,454,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$420,191,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $419,974,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$445,207,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $445,333,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$494,337,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $494,162,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$491,305,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $491,065,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$552,329,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $552,445,000,000.
(13) Income Security (600):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$389,926,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $394,161,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$415,547,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $416,039,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$420,430,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $420,710,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$429,946,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $429,463,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$416,447,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $416,044,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$432,148,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $431,699,000,000.
(14) Social Security (650):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$19,378,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,378,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$21,313,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,313,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$23,803,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,803,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$27,338,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $27,338,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$30,349,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $30,349,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$33,170,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,170,000,000.
(15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$86,365,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $83,551,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$93,320,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $92,486,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$96,233,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $95,912,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$102,038,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $101,706,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$99,359,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $98,511,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$105,344,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $104,513,000,000.
(16) Administration of Justice (750):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$46,237,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $44,282,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$48,303,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $48,097,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$48,673,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $49,291,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$49,348,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $49,763,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$50,139,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $50,172,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$51,051,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $50,767,000,000.
(17) General Government (800):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$56,407,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $56,920,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$23,987,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $24,411,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$19,929,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,974,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$20,470,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $20,369,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$21,004,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,026,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$21,463,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,251,000,000.
(18) Net Interest (900):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$349,351,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $349,351,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$334,409,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $334,409,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
$370,805,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $370,805,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
$407,916,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $407,916,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
$433,193,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $433,193,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
$448,812,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $448,812,000,000.
(19) Allowances (920):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$4,426,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $2,075,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
-$13,201,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$6,462,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
-$11,955,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$9,385,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
-$12,307,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$11,769,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
-$12,689,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$13,764,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
-$13,000,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$13,396,000,000.
(20) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
-$86,330,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$86,330,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
-$67,060,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$67,060,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority,
-$70,645,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$70,645,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority,
-$73,364,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$73,364,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority,
-$76,104,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$76,104,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority,
-$79,691,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$79,691,000,000.
(21) Overseas Deployments and Other Activities
(970):
Fiscal year 2008:
(A) New budget authority,
$108,056,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $28,901,000,000.
Fiscal year 2009:
(A) New budget authority,
$70,000,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $74,809,000,000.
Fiscal year 2010:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $47,407,000,000.
Fiscal year 2011:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $18,251,000,000.
Fiscal year 2012:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $5,176,000,000.
Fiscal year 2013:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $1,775,000,000.
TITLE II--RESERVE FUNDS
Subtitle A--House Reserve Funds
SEC. 201. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR SCHIP LEGISLATION.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report,
which contains matter within the jurisdiction of the Committee
on Energy and Commerce that expands coverage and improves
children's health through the State Children's Health Insurance
Program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act and
the program under title XIX of such Act (commonly known as
Medicaid) and that increases new budget authority that will
result in no more than $50,000,000,000 in outlays in fiscal
years 2008 through 2013, and others which contain offsets so
designated for the purpose of this section within the
jurisdiction of another committee or committees, if the
combined changes would not increase the deficit or decrease the
surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for
the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 202. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR AMERICA'S VETERANS AND
SERVICEMEMBERS.
The Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would--
(1) enhance medical care, disability evaluations,
or disability benefits for wounded or disabled military
personnel or veterans (including measures to expedite
the claims process);
(2) maintain affordable health care for military
retirees and veterans;
(3) expand the number of disabled military retirees
who receive both disability compensation and retired
pay, or would accelerate the date by which eligible
retirees under section 1414 of title 10, United States
Code, will fully receive both veterans' disability
compensation and retired pay;
(4) eliminate the offset between Survivor Benefit
Plan annuities and Veterans' Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation;
(5) provide for the continuing payment to members
of the Armed Forces who are retired or separated from
the Armed Forces due to a combat-related injury after
September 11, 2001, of bonuses that such members were
entitled to before the retirement or separation and
would continue to be entitled to if such members were
not retired or separated;
(6) enhance programs and activities to increase the
availability of health care and other veterans services
for veterans living in rural areas; or
(7) provide or increase benefits for Filipino
veterans of World War II or their survivors and
dependents
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
or decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 203. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR
SERVICEMEMBERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES.
The Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would--
(1) enhance educational benefits or assistance for
servicemembers and veterans with service on active duty
in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001;
(2) allow for the transfer of education benefits
from servicemembers to spouses, survivors, or
dependents; or
(3) otherwise enhance education benefits or
assistance for servicemembers (including Active Duty,
National Guard, and Reserve), veterans, or their
spouses, survivors, or dependents
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
or decrease the surplus over either the period of fiscal years
2008 through 2013 or the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 204. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for a robust
Federal investment in America's infrastructure, which may
include projects for transit, rail (including high-speed
passenger rail), airport, seaport, public housing, energy,
water, highway, bridge, or other infrastructure projects by the
amounts provided in such measure if such measure would not
increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 205. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY
EFFICIENCY.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides tax incentives
for or otherwise encourages the production of renewable energy
or increased energy efficiency; encourages investment in
emerging energy or vehicle technologies or carbon capture and
sequestration; provides for reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions; or facilitates the training of workers for these
industries (``green collar jobs'') by the amounts provided in
such measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 206. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR MIDDLE-INCOME TAX RELIEF AND
ECONOMIC EQUITY.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for tax relief
for middle-income families and taxpayers or enhanced economic
equity, such as extension of the child tax credit, extension of
marriage penalty relief, extension of the 10 percent individual
income tax bracket, elimination of estate taxes on all but a
minute fraction of estates by reforming and substantially
increasing the unified credit, extension of the research and
experimentation tax credit, extension of the deduction for
small business expensing, extension of the deduction for State
and local sales taxes, or a tax credit for school construction
bonds, by the amounts provided in such measure if such measure
would not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 207. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REFORM OF THE ALTERNATIVE
MINIMUM TAX.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for reform of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by reducing the tax burden of the
alternative minimum tax on middle-income families by the
amounts provided in such measure if such measure would not
increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 208. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that makes college more
affordable or accessible through reforms to the Higher
Education Act of 1965 or other legislation by the amounts
provided in such measure if such measure would not increase the
deficit or decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years
2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
SEC. 209. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for an affordable
housing fund, offset by reforming the regulation of certain
government-sponsored enterprises, by the amounts provided in
such measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 210. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR MEDICARE IMPROVEMENTS.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that improves the Medicare
program for beneficiaries and protects access to care, which
may include measures such as--
(1) increasing the reimbursement rate for
physicians while protecting beneficiaries from
associated premium increases;
(2) providing for--
(A) an increase in the asset allowance
under the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy
program so that individuals with very limited
incomes, but modest retirement savings, can
obtain the assistance that the Medicare
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and
Modernization Act of 2003 was intended to
deliver with respect to the payment of premiums
and cost-sharing under the Medicare Part D
prescription drug benefit;
(B) an update in the income and asset
allowances under the Medicare Savings Program
and an annual inflationary adjustment for those
allowances; or
(C) improved outreach and enrollment under
the Medicare Savings Program and the Medicare
Part D low-income subsidy program to ensure
that low-income senior citizens and other low-
income Medicare beneficiaries receive the low-
income assistance for which they are eligible
in accordance with the improvements provided
for in such legislation;
(3) reductions in beneficiary cost-sharing for
preventive benefits under Medicare Part B; or
(4) limiting inappropriate or abusive marketing
tactics by private insurers and their agents offering
Medicare Advantage or Medicare prescription drug plans
by the amounts provided in such measure if such measure would
not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the period
of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 211. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR HEALTH CARE QUALITY,
EFFECTIVENESS, AND EFFICIENCY.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that--
(1) provides incentives or other support for
adoption of modern information technology, including
electronic prescribing, to improve quality and protect
privacy in health care;
(2) establishes a new Federal or public-private
initiative for research on the comparative
effectiveness of different medical interventions;
(3) provides parity between health insurance
coverage of mental health benefits and benefits for
medical and surgical services, including parity in
public programs;
(4) improves health care, provides quality health
insurance for the uninsured and underinsured, and
protects individuals with current health coverage; or
(5) reauthorizes the special diabetes program for
Indians and the special diabetes programs for Type 1
diabetes
by the amounts provided in such measure if such measure would
not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the period
of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 212. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR MEDICAID AND OTHER PROGRAMS.
(a) Regulations and Administrative Actions.--In the House,
the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or
conference report that prevents or delays the implementation or
administration of regulations or other administrative actions
that would affect the Medicaid, SCHIP, or other programs by the
amounts provided in such measure if such measure would not
increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
(b) Transitional Medical Assistance and Qualifying
Individuals.--In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on
the Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other
appropriate levels in this resolution for any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report that extends the
transitional medical assistance program or the qualifying
individuals program, which are included in title XIX of the
Social Security Act, by the amounts provided in such measure if
such measure would not increase the deficit or decrease the
surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for
the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(c) Demonstration Project Regarding Medicaid Coverage of
Low-Income HIV-Infected Individuals.--In the House, the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or
conference report that provides for a demonstration project
under which a State may apply under section 1115 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) to provide medical assistance
under a State Medicaid program to HIV-infected individuals who
are not eligible for medical assistance under such program
under section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)) by the amounts provided in such
measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
(d) Pediatric Dental Care.--In the House, the Chairman of
the Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report
that would provide for improved access to pediatric dental care
for children from low-income families by the amounts provided
in such measure if such measure would not increase the deficit
or decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 213. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR A 9/11 HEALTH PROGRAM.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that would establish a program,
including medical monitoring and treatment, addressing the
adverse health impacts linked to the September 11, 2001,
attacks by the amounts provided in such measure if such measure
would not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 214. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE MODERNIZATION.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that reauthorizes the trade
adjustment assistance program to better meet the challenges of
globalization or modernizes the unemployment insurance system
to improve access to needed benefits by the amounts provided in
such measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 215. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR COUNTY PAYMENTS LEGISLATION.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for the
reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self
Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-393) or makes changes
to the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-
565) by the amounts provided in such measure if such measure
would not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus for the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the period of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 216. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR SAN JOAQUIN RIVER
RESTORATION AND NAVAJO NATION WATER RIGHTS
SETTLEMENTS.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that would fulfill the purposes
of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act or
implement a Navajo Nation water rights settlement and other
provisions authorized by the Northwestern New Mexico Rural
Water Projects Act by the amounts provided in such measure if
such measure would not increase the deficit or decrease the
surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for
the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 217. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR THE NATIONAL PARK CENTENNIAL
FUND.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that provides for the
establishment of the National Park Centennial Fund by the
amounts provided in such measure for that purpose if such
measure would not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus
for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or for the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 218. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that improves Federal child
support collection efforts or results in more collected child
support reaching families by the amounts provided in such
measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 219. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
In the House, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report that assists children and
families by improving child welfare programs, extending and
improving provisions in the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program, or providing up to $5,000,000,000 for the
child care entitlement to States by the amounts provided in
such measure if such measure would not increase the deficit or
decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 220. RESERVE FUND ADJUSTMENT FOR REVENUE MEASURES IN THE HOUSE.
(a) In the House, with respect to consideration of any
bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that
would have the net effect of increasing the deficit or reducing
the surplus for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or
the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018 and that would
decrease total revenues for the period of fiscal years 2009
through 2013 below the Congressional Budget Office baseline for
this concurrent resolution on the budget, the Chairman of the
Committee on the Budget shall increase the revenue aggregates
by $340,570,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through
2013 if the Chairman determines that such legislation does not
include language consistent with the applicable provision set
forth in the joint explanatory statement of managers
accompanying this concurrent resolution. The Chairman may
readjust such levels upon disposition of any measure under this
section.
(b) Section 321 of S. Con. Res. 21, the Concurrent
Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, shall no longer
apply.
Subtitle B--Senate Reserve Funds
SEC. 221. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO STRENGTHEN AND STIMULATE THE
AMERICAN ECONOMY AND PROVIDE ECONOMIC RELIEF TO
AMERICAN FAMILIES.
(a) Tax Relief.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Budget may revise the aggregates, allocations, and other
appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more bills,
joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports
that would provide tax relief, including extensions of expiring
and expired tax relief and refundable tax relief, by the
amounts provided in that legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(b) Manufacturing.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other
appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more bills,
joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports,
including tax legislation, that would revitalize the United
States domestic manufacturing sector by increasing Federal
research and development, by expanding the scope and
effectiveness of manufacturing programs across the Federal
government, by increasing efforts to train and retrain
manufacturing workers, by increasing support for development of
alternative fuels and leap-ahead automotive and energy
technologies, or by establishing tax incentives to encourage
the continued production in the United States of advanced
technologies and the infrastructure to support such
technologies, by the amounts provided in that legislation for
those purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(c) Housing.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Budget may revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels in this resolution for one or more
bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference
reports that would provide housing assistance, which may
include low income rental assistance, or establish an
affordable housing fund financed by the housing government
sponsored enterprises or other sources, by the amounts provided
in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(d) Flood Insurance Reform.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations of a
committee or committees, aggregates, and other levels in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports that would provide
for flood insurance reform and modernization, by the amounts
provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided that
such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(e) Trade.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels
in this resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports relating to trade,
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(f) Economic Relief for American Families.--The Chairman of
the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations
of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint
resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports which--
(1) reauthorizes the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families supplemental grants or makes improvements to
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program,
child welfare programs, or the child support
enforcement program;
(2) provides up to $5,000,000,000 for the child
care entitlement to States;
(3) provides up to $40,000,000 for the emergency
food assistance program established under the Emergency
Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.);
(4) improves the unemployment compensation program;
or
(5) reauthorizes trade adjustment assistance
programs
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(g) America's Farms and Economic Investment in Rural
America.--
(1) Farm bill.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports that provide
for the reauthorization of the programs of the Food
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 or prior
Acts, authorize similar or related programs, provide
for revenue changes, or any combination of the
preceding purposes, by the amounts provided in such
legislation for those purposes up to $15,000,000,000
over the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period
of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(2) County payments.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations of a
committee or committees, aggregates, and other
appropriate levels and limits in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments,
motions, or conference reports that provide for the
reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law
106-393), make changes to the Payments in Lieu of Taxes
Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-565), or both, by the
amounts provided by that legislation for those
purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period
of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 222. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels and limits in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would improve education, which may
include--
(1) making higher education more accessible or more
affordable, which may include increasing funding for
the Federal Pell Grant program or increasing Federal
student loan limits;
(2) facilitating modernization of school facilities
through renovation or construction bonds, reducing the
cost of teachers' out-of-pocket expenses for school
supplies, or providing tax incentives for highly-
qualified teachers to serve in high-needs schools;
(3) improving student achievement during secondary
education, including middle school completion,
increasing high school graduation, and preparing
students for higher education and the workforce; or
(4) promoting flexibility and accountability in
Federal education programs
by the amounts provided in such legislation for such purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
SEC. 223. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR INVESTMENTS IN AMERICA'S
INFRASTRUCTURE.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the aggregates, allocations, and other appropriate
levels and limits in this resolution for one or more bills,
joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports
that provide for a robust Federal investment in America's
infrastructure, which may include projects for transit, rail
(including high-speed passenger rail), airport, seaport, public
housing, energy, water, highway, bridge, or other
infrastructure projects, by the amounts provided in that
legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation
would not increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 224. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO INVEST IN CLEAN ENERGY,
PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT, AND PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN
SETTLEMENTS.
(a) Energy and the Environment.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations of a
committee or committees, aggregates, and other levels and
limits in this resolution for one or more bills, joint
resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports that
would decrease greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our Nation's
dependence on imported energy, produce green jobs, encourage
consumers to install smart electricity meters in homes and
businesses, encourage the capture and storage of carbon dioxide
emissions from coal projects, or preserve or protect national
parks, oceans, or coastal areas, by the amounts provided in
such legislation for those purposes, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018. The
legislation may include tax legislation such as a proposal to
extend for 5 years energy tax incentives like the production
tax credit for electricity produced from renewable resources,
the biodiesel production tax credit, or the Clean Renewable
Energy Bond program, to provide a tax credit for clean burning
wood stoves, a tax credit for production of cellulosic ethanol,
a tax credit for plug-in hybrid vehicles, or provisions to
encourage energy efficient buildings, products, and power
plants. Tax legislation under this section may be paid for by
adjustments to section 167(h)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 as it relates to integrated oil companies.
(b) Settlements.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Budget may revise the allocations of a committee or
committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports that would fulfill
the purposes of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement
Act or implement a Navajo Nation water rights settlement and
other provisions authorized by the Northwestern New Mexico
Rural Water Projects Act, by the amounts provided by that
legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation
would not increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 225. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR AMERICA'S VETERANS AND
SERVICEMEMBERS.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would--
(1) enhance medical care, disability evaluations,
or disability benefits for wounded or disabled military
personnel or veterans (including measures to expedite
the claims process);
(2) maintain affordable health care for military
retirees and veterans;
(3) expand the number of disabled military retirees
who receive both disability compensation and retired
pay, or would accelerate the date by which eligible
retirees under section 1414 of title 10, United States
Code, will fully receive both veterans' disability
compensation and retired pay;
(4) eliminate the offset between Survivor Benefit
Plan annuities and Veterans' Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation;
(5) provide for the continuing payment to members
of the Armed Forces who are retired or separated from
the Armed Forces due to a combat-related injury after
September 11, 2001, of bonuses that such members were
entitled to before the retirement or separation and
would continue to be entitled to if such members were
not retired or separated;
(6) enhance programs and activities to increase the
availability of health care and other veterans services
for veterans living in rural areas; or
(7) provide or increase benefits for Filipino
veterans of World War II or their survivors and
dependents
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation does not include increased fees
charged to veterans for pharmacy co-payments, annual
enrollment, or third-party insurance payment offsets, and
further provided that such legislation would not increase the
deficit or decrease the surplus for the period of fiscal years
2008 through 2013 or for the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
SEC. 226. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR
SERVICEMEMBERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would--
(1) enhance educational benefits or assistance for
servicemembers and veterans with service on active duty
in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001;
(2) allow for the transfer of education benefits
from servicemembers to spouses, survivors, or
dependents; or
(3) otherwise enhance education benefits or
assistance for servicemembers (including Active Duty,
National Guard, and Reserve), veterans, or their
spouses, survivors, or dependents
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
SEC. 227. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO IMPROVE AMERICA'S HEALTH.
(a) SCHIP.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other
appropriate levels in this resolution for a bill, joint
resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that
provides up to $50,000,000,000 in outlays over the period of
the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 for reauthorization
of SCHIP, if such legislation maintains coverage for those
currently enrolled in SCHIP, continues efforts to enroll
uninsured children who are already eligible for SCHIP or
Medicaid but are not enrolled, or supports States in their
efforts to move forward in covering more children, by the
amounts provided in that legislation for those purposes,
provided that the outlay adjustment shall not exceed
$50,000,000,000 in outlays over the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013, and provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(b) Medicare Improvements.--
(1) Physician payments.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the aggregates,
allocations, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for a bill, joint resolution, amendment,
motion, or conference report that increases the
reimbursement rate for physician services under section
1848(d) of the Social Security Act and that includes
financial incentives for physicians to improve the
quality and efficiency of items and services furnished
to Medicare beneficiaries through the use of consensus-
based quality measures, by the amounts provided in such
legislation for those purposes, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either
the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(2) Other improvements to medicare.--The Chairman
of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the
aggregates, allocations, and other appropriate levels
in this resolution for a bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that makes
improvements to the Medicare program, which may
include--
(A) reductions in beneficiary cost-sharing
for preventive benefits under Medicare Part B;
(B) the preservation or promotion of
payment provisions that support America's rural
health care delivery system;
(C) limits to inappropriate or abusive
marketing tactics by private insurers and their
agents offering Medicare Advantage or Medicare
prescription drug plans by enacting any or all
of the recommendations agreed to by leaders of
the health insurance industry on March 3, 2008,
including prohibitions on cold calling and
telephone solicitations for in-home sales
appointments with Medicare beneficiaries;
(D) a three-year extension of the pilot
program for national and State background
checks on direct patient access employees of
long-term care facilities or providers under
section 307 of the Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (42
U.S.C. 1395aa note) and removing the limit on
the number of participating States under such
pilot program; or
(E) measures to encourage physicians to
train in primary care residencies and attract
more physicians and other health care providers
to States that face a shortage of health care
providers
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those
purposes up to $10,000,000,000, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either
the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(3) Medicare low-income programs.--The Chairman of
the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the
aggregates, allocations, and other appropriate levels
in this resolution for a bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that makes
improvements to the Medicare Savings Program and the
Medicare Part D low-income subsidy program, which may
include the provisions that--
(A) provide for an increase in the asset
allowance under the Medicare Part D low-income
subsidy program so that individuals with very
limited incomes, but modest retirement savings,
can obtain the assistance that the Medicare
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and
Modernization Act of 2003 was intended to
deliver with respect to the payment of premiums
and cost-sharing under the Medicare Part D
prescription drug benefit;
(B) provide for an update in the income and
asset allowances under the Medicare Savings
Program and provide for an annual inflationary
adjustment for those allowances; and
(C) improve outreach and enrollment under
the Medicare Savings Program and the Medicare
Part D low-income subsidy program to ensure
that low-income senior citizens and other low-
income Medicare beneficiaries receive the low-
income assistance for which they are eligible
in accordance with the improvements provided
for in such legislation
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those
purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period
of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(c) Health Care Quality, Effectiveness, Efficiency, and
Transparency.--
(1) Comparative effectiveness research.--The
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports that
establish a new Federal or public-private initiative
for comparative effectiveness research, by the amounts
provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the
deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal
years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(2) Improving the health care system.--The Chairman
of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other levels in this
resolution for a bill, joint resolution, motion,
amendment, or conference report that--
(A) creates a framework and parameters for
the use of Medicare data for the purpose of
conducting research, public reporting, and
other activities to evaluate health care
safety, effectiveness, efficiency, quality, and
resource utilization in Federal programs and
the private health care system; and
(B) includes provisions to protect
beneficiary privacy and to prevent disclosure
of proprietary or trade secret information with
respect to the transfer and use of such data
by the amounts provided for those purposes, provided
that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years
2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal
years 2008 through 2018.
(3) Health information technology and adherence to
best practices.--
(A) Health information technology.--The
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget
may revise the allocations of a committee or
committees, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels and limits in this resolution for one or
more bills, joint resolutions, amendments,
motions, or conference reports that provide
incentives or other support for adoption of
modern information technology, including
incentives or other supports for the adoption
of electronic prescribing technology, to
improve quality and protect privacy in health
care, such as activities by the Department of
Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs
to integrate their electronic health record
data, by the amounts provided in such
legislation for that purpose, provided that
such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal
years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(B) Adherence to best practices.--The
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the
Senate may revise the allocations of a
committee or committees, aggregates, and other
appropriate levels and limits in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint
resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference
reports that provide incentives for Medicare
providers or suppliers to comply with, where
available and medically appropriate, clinical
protocols identified as best practices, by the
amounts provided in such legislation for that
purpose, provided that such legislation would
not increase the deficit over either the period
of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013
or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(d) Food and Drug Administration.--
(1) Regulation.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this
resolution for a bill, joint resolution, motion,
amendment, or conference report that authorizes the
Food and Drug Administration to regulate products and
assess user fees on manufacturers and importers of
those products to cover the cost of the Food and Drug
Administration's regulatory activities, by the amounts
provided in that legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the
deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal
years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(2) Drug importation.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the aggregates,
allocations, and other levels in this resolution for a
bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, or
conference report that permits the safe importation of
prescription drugs approved by the Food and Drug
Administration from a specified list of countries, by
the amounts provided in such legislation for those
purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period
of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(e) Medicaid.--
(1) Rules or administrative actions.--The Chairman
of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels
in this resolution for a bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that includes
provisions regarding the implementation or
administration of regulations or other administrative
actions pertaining to Medicaid or SCHIP or includes
provisions regarding administrative guidance issued in
August 2007 affecting SCHIP or any other administrative
action that would affect SCHIP in a similar manner by
the amounts provided in that legislation for those
purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the total of the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the total
of the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
(2) Transitional medical assistance.--The Chairman
of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates,
and other appropriate levels in this resolution for one
or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions
or conference reports that extend the Transitional
Medical Assistance program, included in title XIX of
the Social Security Act, by the amounts provided in
such legislation for those purposes, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either
the total of the period of fiscal years 2008 through
2013 or the total of the period of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(f) Other Improvements in Health.--The Chairman of the
Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations of a
committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate
levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint
resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports which--
(1) make health insurance coverage more affordable
or available to small businesses and their employees,
through pooling arrangements that provide appropriate
consumer protections, or through reducing barriers to
cafeteria plans;
(2) improve health care, provide quality health
insurance for the uninsured and underinsured, and
protect individuals with current health coverage;
(3) reauthorize the special diabetes program for
Indians and the special diabetes programs for Type 1
diabetes;
(4) improve long-term care, enhance the safety and
dignity of patients, encourage appropriate use of
institutional and community-based care, promote quality
care, or provide for the cost-effective use of public
resources; or
(5) provide parity between health insurance
coverage of mental health benefits and benefits for
medical and surgical services, including parity in
public programs
by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes,
provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008
through 2018.
(g) Pediatric Dental Care.--The Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Budget may revise the aggregates, allocations,
and other appropriate levels in this resolution for a bill,
joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that
would provide for improved access to pediatric dental care for
children from low-income families, by the amounts provided in
such legislation for such purpose, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 228. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REFORM OF THE ALTERNATIVE
MINIMUM TAX.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels in this
resolution for a bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or
conference report that provides for reform of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 by reducing the tax burden of the
alternative minimum tax on middle-income families, by the
amounts provided in such measure for that purpose, provided
that such legislation would not increase the deficit over
either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 229. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR JUDICIAL PAY AND JUDGESHIPS.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels in this resolution for one or more
bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference
reports that would authorize salary adjustments for justices
and judges of the United States or increase the number of
Federal judgeships, by the amounts provided in such legislation
for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over either the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of
fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 230. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND
REFORM.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels in this resolution for one or more
bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions or conference
reports that would provide for greater border security,
enforcement of immigration laws, backlog reduction and
improvement of immigration services, reimbursement to states
for the costs of incarcerating criminal aliens, or immigration
reform, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those
purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase the
deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years
2008 through 2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years
2008 through 2018.
SEC. 231. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR SCIENCE PARKS.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels and limits in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would provide grants and loan
guarantees for the development and construction of science
parks to promote the clustering of innovation through high
technology activities, by the amounts provided in such
legislation for such purpose, provided that such legislation
would not increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 232. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO TERMINATE DEDUCTIONS FROM
MINERAL REVENUE PAYMENTS TO STATES.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels and limits
in this resolution by the amounts provided for those purposes
for a bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
report that would terminate the authority to deduct certain
amounts from mineral revenues payable to States under the
second undesignated paragraph of the matter under the heading
``administrative provisions'' under the heading ``Minerals
Management Service'' of title I of the Department of the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
2008 (Public Law 110-161; 121 Stat. 2109), provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over the period of
the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of
the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 233. DEFICIT-REDUCTION RESERVE FUND FOR INCREASED USE OF RECOVERY
AUDITS.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels in this resolution for one or more
bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference
reports that achieves savings by requiring that agencies
increase their use of recovery audits authorized under
subchapter VI of chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code,
(commonly referred to as the Erroneous Payments Recovery Act of
2001) and uses such savings to reduce the deficit, by the
amounts provided in such legislation for such purpose, provided
that such legislation would not increase the deficit over
either the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2013 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through
2018.
SEC. 234. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR FOOD SAFETY.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other levels and limits in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or
conference reports that would expand the level of Food and Drug
Administration and Department of Agriculture food safety
inspection services, develop effective approaches to the
inspection of domestic and imported food products, provide for
infrastructure and information technology systems to enhance
the safety of the food supply, expand scientific capacity and
training programs, invest in improved surveillance and testing
technologies, provide for foodborne illness awareness and
education programs, or enhance the Food and Drug
Administration's recall authority, by the amounts provided in
such legislation for such purposes, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 235. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
REGARDING MEDICAID COVERAGE OF LOW-INCOME HIV-
INFECTED INDIVIDUALS.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for
one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions or
conference reports that provide for a demonstration project
under which a State may apply under section 1115 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) to provide medical assistance
under a State Medicaid program to HIV-infected individuals who
are not eligible for medical assistance under such program
under section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)), by the amounts provided in that
legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation
would not increase the deficit over either the total of the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the total of the
period of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 236. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REDUCING THE INCOME
THRESHOLD FOR THE REFUNDABLE CHILD TAX CREDIT, AND
OTHER SELECTED TAX RELIEF POLICIES.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels in this
resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions,
amendments, motions, or conference reports that would reduce
the income threshold for the refundable child tax credit under
section 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to $10,000 for
taxable years 2009 and 2010 with no inflation adjustment;
extend enhanced charitable giving from individual retirement
accounts, including life-income gifts; or incentivize
utilization of accumulated alternative minimum tax and research
and development credits, by the amounts provided in such
legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation
would not increase the deficit over either the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the period of the
total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
SEC. 237. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR A 9/11 HEALTH PROGRAM.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may
revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels and limits
in this resolution for a bill, joint resolution, motion,
amendment, or conference report that would establish a program,
including medical monitoring and treatment, addressing the
adverse health impacts linked to the September 11, 2001
attacks, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those
purposes, if such legislation would not increase the deficit
over either the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.
TITLE III--BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
Subtitle A--House Enforcement Provisions
SEC. 301. PROGRAM INTEGRITY INITIATIVES AND OTHER ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Adjustments to Discretionary Spending Limits.--
(1) Continuing disability reviews and supplemental
security income redeterminations.--In the House, prior
to consideration of any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report making appropriations
for fiscal year 2009 that appropriates $264,000,000 for
continuing disability reviews and Supplemental Security
Income redeterminations for the Social Security
Administration, and provides an additional
appropriation of up to $240,000,000, and the amount is
designated for continuing disability reviews and
Supplemental Security Income redeterminations for the
Social Security Administration, the allocation to the
Committee on Appropriations shall be increased by the
amount of the additional budget authority and outlays
resulting from that budget authority for fiscal year
2009.
(2) Internal revenue service tax compliance.--In
the House, prior to consideration of any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report making
appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that appropriates
$6,997,000,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and the
amount is designated to improve compliance with the
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and
provides an additional appropriation of up to
$490,000,000, and the amount is designated to improve
compliance with the provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, the allocation to the Committee on
Appropriations shall be increased by the amount of the
additional budget authority and outlays resulting from
that budget authority for fiscal year 2009.
(3) Health care fraud and abuse control program.--
In the House, prior to consideration of any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report making
appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that appropriates
up to $198,000,000 and the amount is designated to the
health care fraud and abuse control program at the
Department of Health and Human Services, the allocation
to the Committee on Appropriations shall be increased
by the amount of additional budget authority and
outlays resulting from that budget authority for fiscal
year 2009.
(4) Unemployment insurance program integrity
activities.--In the House, prior to consideration of
any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference
report making appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that
appropriates $10,000,000 for in-person reemployment and
eligibility assessments and unemployment insurance
improper payment reviews for the Department of Labor
and provides an additional appropriation of up to
$40,000,000, and the amount is designated for in-person
reemployment and eligibility assessments and
unemployment insurance improper payment reviews for the
Department of Labor, the allocation to the Committee on
Appropriations shall be increased by the amount of
additional budget authority and outlays resulting from
that budget authority for fiscal year 2009.
(b) Costs of Overseas Deployments and Emergency Needs.--
(1) Overseas deployments and related activities.--
(A) In the House, if any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report
makes appropriations for fiscal year 2008 or
fiscal year 2009 for overseas deployments and
related activities and such amounts are so
designated pursuant to this subparagraph, then
the allocation to the Committee on
Appropriations may be adjusted by the amounts
provided in such legislation for that purpose
up to the amounts of budget authority specified
in section 104(21) for fiscal year 2008 or
fiscal year 2009 and the new outlays resulting
therefrom.
(B) In the House, if any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report
makes appropriations for fiscal year 2008 or
fiscal year 2009 for overseas deployments and
related activities above the amounts of budget
authority and new outlays specified in
subparagraph (A) and such amounts are so
designated pursuant to this subparagraph, then
new budget authority, outlays, or receipts
resulting therefrom shall not count for the
purposes of titles III and IV of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(2) Emergency needs.-- In the House, if any bill,
joint resolution, amendment, or conference report makes
appropriations for discretionary amounts and such
amounts are designated as necessary to meet emergency
needs, then the new budget authority and outlays
resulting therefrom shall not count for the purposes of
titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
(c) Procedure for Adjustments.--
(1) In general.--In the House, prior to
consideration of any bill, joint resolution, amendment,
or conference report, the Chairman of the Committee on
the Budget shall make the adjustments set forth in
subsection (a) for the incremental new budget authority
in that measure and the outlays resulting from that
budget authority if that measure meets the requirements
set forth in subsection (a), except that no adjustment
shall be made for provisions exempted for the purposes
of titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 under subsection (b) of this section.
(2) Matters to be adjusted.--The adjustments
referred to in paragraph (1) are to be made to the
allocations made under this concurrent resolution on
the budget pursuant to section 302(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(d) Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2008.--In
the House, if any measure making supplemental appropriations
for fiscal year 2008 is enacted, the Chairman of the Committee
on the Budget shall make the appropriate adjustments in
allocations and aggregates to reflect the difference between
such measure and the corresponding levels assumed in this
resolution.
SEC. 302. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--In the House, except as provided in
subsection (b), any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or
conference report making a general appropriation or continuing
appropriation may not provide for advance appropriations.
(b) Exceptions.--In the House, an advance appropriation may
be provided for fiscal year 2010 for programs, projects,
activities, or accounts identified in the joint explanatory
statement of managers to accompany this resolution under the
heading ``Accounts Identified for Advance Appropriations'' in
an aggregate amount not to exceed $28,852,000,000 in new budget
authority, and for 2011, accounts separately identified under
the same heading.
(c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``advance
appropriation'' means any new discretionary budget authority
provided in a bill or joint resolution making general
appropriations or any new discretionary budget authority
provided in a bill or joint resolution continuing
appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that first becomes
available for any fiscal year after 2009.
Subtitle B--Senate Enforcement Provisions
SEC. 311. SENATE POINT OF ORDER AGAINST LEGISLATION INCREASING LONG-
TERM DEFICITS.
(a) Congressional Budget Office Analysis of Proposals.--The
Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall, to the
extent practicable, prepare for each bill and joint resolution
reported from committee (except measures within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations), and
amendments thereto and conference reports thereon, an estimate
of whether the measure would cause, relative to current law, a
net increase in deficits in excess of $5,000,000,000 in any of
the 4 consecutive 10-year periods beginning with the first
fiscal year that is 10 years after the budget year provided for
in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the
budget.
(b) Point of Order.--It shall not be in order in the Senate
to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or
conference report that would cause a net increase in deficits
in excess of $5,000,000,000 in any of the 4 consecutive 10-year
periods described in subsection (a).
(c) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal in the Senate.--
(1) Waiver.--This section may be waived or
suspended only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths
of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(2) Appeal.--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 raised under this section.
(d) Determinations of Budget Levels.--For purposes of this
section, the levels of net deficit increases shall be
determined on the basis of estimates provided by the Senate
Committee on the Budget.
(e) Sunset.--This section shall expire on September 30,
2017.
(f) Repeal.--In the Senate, subsections (a) through (d) and
subsection (f) of section 203 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th
Congress) shall no longer apply.
SEC. 312. DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS, PROGRAM INTEGRITY INITIATIVES,
AND OTHER ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Senate Point of Order.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in
this section, it shall not be in order in the Senate to
consider any bill or joint resolution (or amendment,
motion, or conference report on that bill or joint
resolution) that would cause the discretionary spending
limits in this section to be exceeded.
(2) Supermajority waiver and appeals.--
(A) Waiver.--This subsection may be waived
or suspended in the Senate only by the
affirmative vote of three-fifths of the
Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(B) Appeals.--Appeals in the Senate from
the decisions of the Chair relating to any
provision of this subsection shall be limited
to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and
controlled by, the appellant and the manager of
the bill or joint resolution. 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 this
subsection.
(b) Senate Discretionary Spending Limits.--In the Senate
and as used in this section, the term ``discretionary spending
limit'' means--
(1) for fiscal year 2008, $1,050,478,000,000 in new
budget authority and $1,094,944,000,000 in outlays; and
(2) for fiscal year 2009, $1,011,718,000,000 in new
budget authority and $1,106,112,000,000 in outlays;
as adjusted in conformance with the adjustment procedures in
subsection (c).
(c) Adjustments in the Senate.--
(1) In general.--After the reporting of a bill or
joint resolution relating to any matter described in
paragraph (2), or the offering of an amendment thereto
or the submission of a conference report thereon--
(A) the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Budget may adjust the discretionary
spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and
allocations pursuant to section 302(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, by the amount
of new budget authority in that measure for
that purpose and the outlays flowing therefrom;
and
(B) following any adjustment under
subparagraph (A), the Senate Committee on
Appropriations may report appropriately revised
suballocations pursuant to section 302(b) of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to carry
out this subsection.
(2) Matters described.--Matters referred to in
paragraph (1) are as follows:
(A) Continuing disability reviews and ssi
redeterminations.--If a bill or joint
resolution is reported making appropriations
for fiscal year 2009 that appropriates
$264,000,000 for continuing disability reviews
and Supplemental Security Income
redeterminations for the Social Security
Administration, and provides an additional
appropriation of up to $240,000,000 for
continuing disability reviews and Supplemental
Security Income redeterminations for the Social
Security Administration, then the discretionary
spending limits, allocation to the Senate
Committee on Appropriations, and aggregates may
be adjusted by the amounts provided in such
legislation for that purpose, but not to exceed
$240,000,000 in budget authority and outlays
flowing therefrom for fiscal year 2009.
(B) Internal revenue service tax
enforcement.--If a bill or joint resolution is
reported making appropriations for fiscal year
2009 that appropriates $6,997,000,000 for the
Internal Revenue Service for enhanced tax
enforcement to address the Federal tax gap
(taxes owed but not paid) and provides an
additional appropriation of up to $490,000,000
for the Internal Revenue Service for enhanced
tax enforcement to address the Federal tax gap,
then the discretionary spending limits,
allocation to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, and aggregates may be adjusted
by the amounts provided in such legislation for
that purpose, but not to exceed $490,000,000 in
budget authority and outlays flowing therefrom
for fiscal year 2009.
(C) Health care fraud and abuse control.--
If a bill or joint resolution is reported
making appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that
appropriates up to $198,000,000 to the Health
Care Fraud and Abuse Control program at the
Department of Health and Human Services, then
the discretionary spending limits, allocation
to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and
aggregates may be adjusted by the amounts
provided in such legislation for that purpose,
but not to exceed $198,000,000 in budget
authority and outlays flowing therefrom for
fiscal year 2009.
(D) Unemployment insurance improper payment
reviews.--If a bill or joint resolution is
reported making appropriations for fiscal year
2009 that appropriates $10,000,000 for in-
person reemployment and eligibility assessments
and unemployment insurance improper payment
reviews, and provides an additional
appropriation of up to $40,000,000 for in-
person reemployment and eligibility assessments
and unemployment insurance improper payment
reviews, then the discretionary spending
limits, allocation to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, and aggregates may be adjusted
by the amounts provided in such legislation for
that purpose, but not to exceed $40,000,000 in
budget authority and outlays flowing therefrom
for fiscal year 2009.
(3) Adjustments for overseas deployments and other
activities.--The Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Budget may adjust the discretionary spending
limits, allocations to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, and aggregates for one or more--
(A) bills reported by the Senate Committee
on Appropriations or passed by the House of
Representatives;
(B) joint resolutions or amendments
reported by the Senate Committee on
Appropriations;
(C) amendments between the Houses received
from the House of Representatives or Senate
amendments offered by the authority of the
Senate Committee on Appropriations; or
(D) conference reports;
making appropriations for fiscal year 2008 or 2009 for
overseas deployments and other activities, by the
amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes
(and so designated pursuant to this paragraph), up to
the amounts of budget authority specified in section
104(21) for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and the new
outlays flowing therefrom.
(d) Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2008.--If
legislation making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year
2008 is enacted, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Budget may make the appropriate adjustments in allocations,
aggregates, discretionary spending limits, and other levels of
new budget authority and outlays for 2008 and 2009 to reflect
the difference between such measure and the corresponding
levels assumed in this resolution.
(e) Inapplicability.--In the Senate, subsections (a), (b),
(c), (e), and (f) of section 207 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th
Congress) shall no longer apply.
SEC. 313. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--
(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.
(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 2009 that first becomes
available for any fiscal year after 2009, or any new
budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution
making general appropriations or continuing
appropriations for fiscal year 2010, that first becomes
available for any fiscal year after 2010.
(b) Exceptions.--Advance appropriations may be provided--
(1) for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 for programs,
projects, activities, or accounts identified in the
joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying
this resolution under the heading ``Accounts Identified
for Advance Appropriations'' in an aggregate amount not
to exceed $28,852,000,000 in new budget authority in
each year; and
(2) for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
(c) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal.--
(1) Waiver.--In the Senate, subsection (a) may be
waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(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).
(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.
(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.
(f) Inapplicability.--In the Senate, section 206(a) of S.
Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress) shall no longer apply.
SEC. 314. SENATE POINT OF ORDER AGAINST PROVISIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS
LEGISLATION THAT CONSTITUTE CHANGES IN MANDATORY
PROGRAMS WITH NET COSTS.
(a) In General.--In the Senate, it shall not be in order to
consider any appropriations legislation, including any
amendment thereto, motion in relation thereto, or conference
report thereon, that includes any provision which constitutes a
change in a mandatory program producing net costs, as defined
in subsection (b), 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 (as in effect
prior to September 30, 2002) were they included in legislation
other than appropriations legislation. A point of order
pursuant to this section shall be raised against such provision
or provisions as described in subsections (e) and (f).
(b) Changes in Mandatory Programs Producing Net Costs.--A
provision or provisions shall be subject to a point of order
pursuant to this section if--
(1) the provision would increase budget authority
in at least 1 of the 9 fiscal years that follow the
budget year and over the period of the total of the
budget year and the 9 fiscal years following the budget
year;
(2) the provision would increase net outlays over
the period of the total of the 9 fiscal years following
the budget year; and
(3) the sum total of all changes in mandatory
programs in the legislation would increase net outlays
as measured over the period of the total of the 9
fiscal years following the budget year.
(c) Determination.--The determination of whether a
provision is subject to a point of order pursuant to this
section shall be made by the Committee on the Budget of the
Senate.
(d) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal.--This section may be
waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote
of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. 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
this section.
(e) General Point of Order.--It shall be in order for a
Senator to raise a single point of order that several
provisions of a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or
conference report violate this section. 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 of the provisions (including provisions of an amendment,
motion, or conference report) against which the Senator raised
the point of order, then only those provisions (including
provision of an amendment, motion, or conference report)
against which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order
shall be deemed stricken pursuant to this section. Before the
Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator
may move to waive such a point of order 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
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.
(f) Form of the Point of Order.--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 or amendment 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 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.
(g) Effectiveness.--This section shall not apply to any
provision constituting a change in a mandatory program in
appropriations legislation if such provision has been enacted
in each of the 3 fiscal years prior to the budget year.
(h) Inapplicability.--In the Senate, section 209 of S. Con.
Res. 21 (110th Congress) shall no longer apply.
SEC. 315. SENATE POINT OF ORDER AGAINST LEGISLATION INCREASING SHORT-
TERM DEFICIT.
(a) Point of Order.--It shall not be in order in the Senate
to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or
conference report (except measures within the jurisdiction of
the Committee on Appropriations) that would cause a net
increase in the deficit in excess of $10,000,000,000 in any
fiscal year provided for in the most recently adopted
concurrent resolution on the budget unless it is fully offset
over the period of all fiscal years provided for in the most
recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget.
(b) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal in the Senate.--
(1) Waiver.--This section may be waived or
suspended only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths
of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(2) Appeal.--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 raised under this section.
(c) Determinations of Budget Levels.--For purposes of this
section, the levels shall be determined on the basis of
estimates provided by the Senate Committee on the Budget.
(d) Sunset.--This section shall expire on September 30,
2017.
Subtitle C--Other Provisions
SEC. 321. OVERSIGHT OF GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE.
All committees are directed to review programs within their
jurisdiction to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in program
spending, giving particular scrutiny to issues raised by
Government Accountability Office reports. Based on these
oversight efforts and committee performance reviews of programs
within their jurisdiction, committees are directed to include
recommendations for improved governmental performance in their
annual views and estimates reports required under section
301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to the
appropriate Committee on the Budget.
SEC. 322. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF CERTAIN DISCRETIONARY ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.
(a) In General.--In the House and Senate, notwithstanding
section 302(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974,
section 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and
section 2009a of title 39, United States Code, the joint
explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on any
concurrent resolution on the budget shall include in its
allocations under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 to the Committees on Appropriations amounts for the
discretionary administrative expenses of the Social Security
Administration and of the Postal Service.
(b) Special Rule.--In the House, for purposes of applying
section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974,
estimates of the level of total new budget authority and total
outlays provided by a measure shall include any off-budget
discretionary amounts.
SEC. 323. APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF CHANGES IN ALLOCATIONS AND
AGGREGATES.
(a) Application.--Any adjustments of allocations and
aggregates made pursuant to this resolution shall--
(1) apply while that measure is under
consideration;
(2) take effect upon the enactment of that measure;
and
(3) be published in the Congressional Record as
soon as practicable.
(b) Effect of Changed Allocations and Aggregates.--Revised
allocations and aggregates resulting from these adjustments
shall be considered for the purposes of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 as allocations and aggregates contained in
this resolution.
(c) Budget Committee Determinations.--For purposes of this
resolution, the levels of new budget authority, outlays, direct
spending, new entitlement authority, revenues, deficits, and
surpluses for a fiscal year or period of fiscal years shall be
determined on the basis of estimates made by the appropriate
Committee on the Budget.
(d) Adjustments.--The Chairmen of the Budget Committees in
the House and the Senate may adjust the aggregates,
allocations, and other levels in this resolution for
legislation which has received final Congressional approval in
the same form by the House of Representatives and the Senate,
and is either waiting to be presented to the President or
awaiting Presidential signature at the time of final
consideration of this resolution.
SEC. 324. ADJUSTMENTS TO REFLECT CHANGES IN CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS.
Upon the enactment of any bill or joint resolution
providing for a change in concepts or definitions, the Chairman
of the appropriate Committee on the Budget may make adjustments
to the levels and allocations in this resolution in accordance
with section 251(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (as in effect prior to September
30, 2002).
SEC. 325. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.
Congress adopts the provisions of this title--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the
House of Representatives and the Senate and as such
they shall be considered as part of the rules of each
House or of that House to which they specifically
apply, and these rules shall supersede other rules only
to the extent that they are inconsistent with other
such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional
right of either the House of Representatives or the
Senate to change those rules at any time, in the same
manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any
other rule of the House of Representatives or the
Senate.
TITLE IV--POLICY
SEC. 401. POLICY OF THE HOUSE ON MIDDLE-INCOME TAX RELIEF.
It is the policy of the House to--
(1) minimize fiscal burdens on middle-income
families and their children and grandchildren;
(2) provide immediate relief for the tens of
millions of middle-income households who would
otherwise be subject to the alternative minimum tax
(AMT) under current law, in the context of permanent,
revenue-neutral AMT reform; and
(3) support extension of middle-income tax relief
and enhanced economic equity through policies such as--
(A) extension of the child tax credit;
(B) extension of marriage penalty relief;
(C) extension of the 10 percent individual
income tax bracket;
(D) elimination of estate taxes on all but
a minute fraction of estates by reforming and
substantially increasing the unified tax
credit;
(E) extension of the research and
experimentation tax credit;
(F) extension of the deduction for State
and local sales taxes;
(G) extension of the deduction for small
business expensing; and
(H) enactment of a tax credit for school
construction bonds.
The House assumes that the cost of enacting such policies is
offset by reforms within the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that
promote a fairer distribution of taxes across families and
generations, economic efficiency, higher rates of tax
compliance to close the tax gap, and reduced taxpayer burdens
through tax simplification.
SEC. 402. POLICY ON DEFENSE PRIORITIES.
It is the policy of this resolution that--
(1) the Administration's budget requests should
comply with section 1008, Public Law 109-364, the John
Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2009, and the Administration should no longer
attempt to fund overseas military operations through
emergency supplemental appropriations requests;
(2) the Department of Defense should exclude nonwar
requirements from its funding requests for Iraq and
Afghanistan;
(3) implementing the recommendation of the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
(commonly referred to as the 9/11 Commission) to
adequately fund cooperative threat reduction and
nuclear nonproliferation programs (securing ``loose
nukes'') is a high priority and should receive far
greater emphasis than the President's budget provides;
(4) readiness of our troops, particularly the
National Guard and Reserve, is a high priority, and
that greater emphasis needs to be placed on mitigating
equipment and training shortfalls;
(5) TRICARE fees for military retirees under the
age of 65 should not be increased as the President's
budget proposes;
(6) military pay and benefits should be enhanced to
improve the quality of life of military personnel;
(7) improving military health care services
continues to be a high priority and adequate funding to
ensure quality health care for returning combat
veterans should be provided;
(8) sufficient funds should be provided to the
military services to expedite review of cases involving
servicemembers who could have been erroneously
discharged from service for a personality disorder,
which resulted in a loss of benefits or care, as a
result of a combat-related psychological injury (such
as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or a closed head
injury (such as Traumatic Brain Injury);
(9) higher priority defense needs could be
addressed by funding missile defense at an adequate but
lower level, not providing funding for development of
space-based missile defense interceptors, and by
restraining excessive cost and schedule growth in
defense research, development and procurement programs;
(10) the Department of Defense should reassess
current defense plans to ensure that weapons developed
to counter Cold War-era threats are not redundant and
are applicable to 21st century threats;
(11) sufficient resources should be provided for
the Department of Defense to do an aggressive job of
addressing as many as possible of the 1,260 pending
recommendations made by the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) over the last 7 years to improve practices
at the Department of Defense, including investigation
of the billions of dollars of obligations,
disbursements and overcharges for which the Department
of Defense cannot account;
(12) savings from the actions recommended in
paragraphs (9) and (11) of this section should be used
to fund the priorities identified in paragraphs (3)
through (8);
(13) the Department of Defense report to Congress
on its assessment of cold war weapons and progress on
implementing GAO recommendations as outlined in
paragraphs (10) and (11) by a time determined by the
appropriate authorizing committees; and
(14) the GAO report to the appropriate
congressional committees by the end of the 110th
Congress regarding the Department of Defense's progress
in implementing its audit recommendations.
TITLE V--SENSE OF THE SENATE AND CONGRESS
Subtitle A--Sense of the Senate
SEC. 501. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING MEDICAID ADMINISTRATIVE
REGULATIONS.
(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) The Medicaid program provides essential health
care and long-term care services to approximately
60,000,000 low-income children, pregnant women,
parents, individuals with disabilities, and senior
citizens. It is a Federal guarantee that ensures the
most vulnerable will have access to needed medical
services.
(2) Medicaid provides critical access to long-term
care and other services for the elderly and individuals
living with disabilities, and is the single largest
provider of long-term care services. Medicaid also pays
for personal care and other supportive services that
are typically not provided by private health insurance
or Medicare, but are necessary to enable individuals
with spinal cord injuries, developmental disabilities,
neurological degenerative diseases, serious and
persistent mental illnesses, HIV/AIDS, and other
chronic conditions to remain in the community, to work,
and to maintain independence.
(3) Medicaid supplements the Medicare program for
about 7,500,000 low-income elderly or disabled Medicare
beneficiaries, assisting them with their Medicare
premiums and co-insurance, wrap-around benefits, and
the costs of nursing home care that Medicare does not
cover. The Medicaid program spends over
$100,000,000,000 on uncovered Medicare services.
(4) Medicaid provides health insurance for more
than one-quarter of America's children and is the
largest purchaser of maternity care, paying for more
than one-third of all the births in the United States
each year. Medicaid also provides critical access to
care for children with disabilities, covering more than
70 percent of poor children with disabilities.
(5) More than 21,000,000 women depend on Medicaid
for their health care. Women comprise the majority of
seniors (64 percent) on Medicaid. Half of nonelderly
women with permanent mental or physical disabilities
have health coverage through Medicaid. Medicaid
provides treatment for low-income women diagnosed with
breast or cervical cancer in every State.
(6) Medicaid is the Nation's largest source of
payment for mental health services, HIV/AIDS care, and
care for children with special needs. Much of this care
is either not covered by private insurance or limited
in scope or duration. Medicaid is also a critical
source of funding for health care for children in
foster care and for health services in schools.
(7) Medicaid funds help ensure access to care for
all Americans. Medicaid is the single largest source of
revenue for the Nation's safety net hospitals, health
centers, and nursing homes, and is critical to the
ability of these providers to adequately serve all
Americans.
(8) Medicaid serves a major role in ensuring that
the number of Americans without health insurance,
approximately 47,000,000 in 2006, is not substantially
higher. The system of Federal matching for State
Medicaid expenditures ensures that Federal funds will
grow as State spending increases in response to unmet
needs, enabling Medicaid to help buffer the drop in
private coverage during recessions.
(9) The Bush Administration has issued several
regulations that shift Medicaid cost burdens onto
States and put at risk the continued availability of
much-needed services. The regulations relate to Federal
payments to public providers, and for graduate medical
education, rehabilitation services, school-based
administration, school-based transportation, optional
case management services.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that administrative regulations should not--
(1) undermine the role the Medicaid program plays
as a critical component of the health care system of
the United States;
(2) cap Federal Medicaid spending, or otherwise
shift Medicaid cost burdens to State or local
governments and their taxpayers and health providers,
forcing a reduction in access to essential health
services for low-income elderly individuals,
individuals with disabilities, and children and
families; or
(3) undermine the Federal guarantee of health
insurance coverage Medicaid provides, which would
threaten not only the health care safety net of the
United States, but the entire health care system.
Subtitle B--Sense of the Congress
SEC. 511. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON SERVICEMEMBERS' AND VETERANS' HEALTH
CARE AND OTHER PRIORITIES.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Congress supports excellent health care for
current and former members of the United States Armed
Services--they have served well and honorably and have
made significant sacrifices for this Nation;
(2) this resolution provides $48,202,000,000 in
discretionary budget authority for 2009 for Function
700 (Veterans Benefits and Services), including
veterans' health care, which is $4,940,000,000 more
than the 2008 level, $3,654,000,000 more than the
Congressional Budget Office's baseline level for 2009,
and $3,284,000,000 more than the President's budget for
2009; and also provides more discretionary budget
authority than the President's budget in every year
after 2009;
(3) this resolution provides funding to continue
addressing problems such as those identified at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center to improve military and
veterans' health care facilities and services;
(4) this resolution assumes the rejection of the
health care enrollment fees and pharmaceutical co-
payment increases in the President's budget;
(5) this resolution provides additional funding
above the President's inadequate budget levels for the
Department of Veterans Affairs to research and treat
veterans' mental health, post-traumatic stress
disorder, and traumatic brain injury; and
(6) this resolution provides additional funding
above the President's inadequate budget levels for the
Department of Veterans Affairs to improve the speed and
accuracy of its processing of disability compensation
claims, including funding to hire additional personnel
above the President's requested level.
SEC. 512. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON HOMELAND SECURITY.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) this resolution assumes additional homeland
security funding above the President's requested level
for 2009 and every subsequent year;
(2) this resolution assumes funding above the
President's requested level for 2009, and additional
amounts in subsequent years, in the four budget
functions--Function 400 (Transportation), Function 450
(Community and Regional Development), Function 550
(Health), and Function 750 (Administration of
Justice)--that fund most nondefense homeland security
activities; and
(3) the homeland security funding provided in this
resolution will help to strengthen the security of our
Nation's transportation system, particularly our ports
where significant security shortfalls still exist and
foreign ports, by expanding efforts to identify and
scan all high-risk United States-bound cargo, equip,
train and support first responders (including enhancing
interoperable communications and emergency management),
strengthen border patrol, and increase the preparedness
of the public health system.
SEC. 513. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING LONG-TERM FISCAL REFORM.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) both the Government Accountability Office and
the Congressional Budget Office have warned that the
Federal budget is on an unsustainable path of rising
deficits and debt;
(2) using recent trend data and reasonable policy
assumptions, CBO has projected that the gap between
spending and revenues over the next 75 years will reach
6.9 percent of GDP;
(3) publicly held debt will rise from 36 percent
today to 400 percent of GDP by the decade beginning in
2050 under CBO's alternative policy scenario;
(4) the most significant factor affecting the long-
term Federal fiscal landscape is the expectation that
total public and private health spending will continue
to grow faster than the economy;
(5) the Congress calls upon governmental and
nongovernmental experts to develop specific options to
reform the health care system and control costs, that
further research and analysis on topics including
comparative effectiveness, health information
technology, preventative care, and provider incentives
is needed, and that of critical importance is the
development of a consensus on the appropriate methods
for estimating the budgetary impact and health outcome
effects of these proposals; and
(6) immediate policy action is needed to address
the long-term fiscal challenges facing the United
States, including the rising costs of entitlements, in
a manner that is fiscally responsible, equitable, and
lasting, and that also honors commitments made to
beneficiaries, and that such action should be
bipartisan, bicameral, involve both legislative and
executive branch participants, as well as public
participation, and be conducted in a manner that
ensures full, fair, and timely Congressional
consideration.
SEC. 514. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) all committees should examine programs within
their jurisdiction to identify wasteful and fraudulent
spending;
(2) title III of this resolution includes cap
adjustments to provide appropriations for agencies that
control programs that accounted for a significant share
of improper payments reported by Federal agencies:
Social Security Administration Continuing Disability
Reviews, the Medicare/Medicaid Health Care Fraud and
Abuse Control Program, and Unemployment Insurance
Program Integrity;
(3) title III also includes a cap adjustment for
the Internal Revenue Services for tax compliance
efforts to close the $345,000,000,000 tax gap;
(4) the resolution's deficit-neutral reserve funds
require authorizing committees to cut lower priority
and wasteful spending to accommodate any new high-
priority entitlement benefits; and
(5) title III of the resolution directs all
committees to review the performance of programs within
their jurisdiction and report recommendations annually
to the appropriate Committee on the Budget as part of
the views and estimates process required by section
301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act.
SEC. 515. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING EXTENSION OF THE STATUTORY
PAY-AS-YOU-GO RULE.
It is the sense of the Congress that to reduce the deficit,
Congress should extend PAYGO consistent with provisions of the
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.
SEC. 516. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON LONG-TERM BUDGETING.
It is the sense of the Congress that the determination of
the congressional budget for the United States Government and
the President's budget request should include consideration of
the Financial Report of the United States Government,
especially its information regarding the Government's net
operating cost, financial position, and long-term liabilities.
SEC. 517. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) nearly 47 million Americans, including nine
million children, lack health insurance;
(2) people without health insurance are more likely
to experience problems getting medical care and to be
hospitalized for avoidable health problems;
(3) most Americans receive health coverage through
their employers, and a major issue facing all employers
is the rising cost of health insurance;
(4) small businesses, which have generated most of
the new jobs annually over the last decade, have an
especially difficult time affording health coverage,
because of higher administrative costs and fewer people
over whom to spread the risk of catastrophic costs;
(5) because it is especially costly for small
businesses to provide health coverage, their employees
make up a large proportion of the Nation's uninsured
individuals; and
(6) legislation consistent with the pay-as-you-go
principle should be adopted that makes health insurance
more affordable and accessible, with attention to the
special circumstances affecting employees of small
businesses, and that lowers costs and improves the
quality of health care by encouraging integration of
health information technology tools into the practice
of medicine, by expanding comparative effectiveness
research, and by promoting improvements in disease
management and disease prevention.
SEC. 518. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING PAY PARITY.
It is the sense of the Congress that rates of compensation
for civilian employees of the United States should be adjusted
at the same time, and in the same proportion, as are rates of
compensation for members of the uniformed services.
SEC. 519. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING SUBPRIME LENDING AND
FORECLOSURES.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) over the last six months, the Nation has
experienced a significant increase in the number of
homeowners facing the risk of foreclosure with
estimates of as many as 2.8 million subprime and other
distressed borrowers facing the loss of their homes
over the next five years;
(2) the rise in foreclosures not only has an
immediate, devastating impact on homeowners and their
families, but it also has ripple effects--
(A) local communities experiencing high
levels of foreclosures experience deterioration
as a result of the large number of vacant
foreclosed and abandoned homes;
(B) rising foreclosure rates can accelerate
drops in home prices, affecting all homeowners;
and
(C) home mortgage default and foreclosure
rates increase risk for lenders, further
restricting the availability of credit, which
can in turn slow economic growth; and
(3) the rise in foreclosures is not only a crisis
for subprime borrowers, but a larger problem for
communities as a whole, and considering the multi-
layered effects of increasing foreclosures, the
Congress should consider steps to address this complex
problem.
SEC. 520. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED TO MAINTAIN AND
BUILD UPON EFFORTS TO FIGHT HUNGER.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) 35.5 million Americans (12.6 million of them
children) are food insecure--uncertain of having, or
unable to acquire, enough food, and that 11.1 million
Americans are hungry because of lack of food;
(2) despite the critical contributions of the
Department of Agriculture nutrition programs
(particularly the food stamp program), which
significantly reduced payment error rates while
providing help to partially mitigate the effects of
rising poverty and unemployment, significant need
remains, even among families that receive food stamps;
(3) nearly 25 million people, including more than
nine million children and nearly three million seniors,
sought emergency food assistance from food pantries,
soup kitchens, shelters, and local charities last year;
(4) additional resources are needed to ensure that
nutrition assistance keeps up with inflation and rising
food prices; and
(5) Department of Agriculture programs that help us
fight hunger should be maintained and the Congress
should continue to seize opportunities to reach
Americans in need and to fight hunger.
SEC. 521. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF CHILD
SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) additional legislative action is needed to
ensure that States have the necessary resources to
collect all child support that is owed to families and
to allow them to pass 100 percent of support on to
families without financial penalty; and
(2) when 100 percent of child support payments are
passed to the child, rather than administrative
expenses, program integrity is improved and child
support participation increases.
SEC. 522. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON THE INNOVATION AGENDA AND AMERICA
COMPETES ACT.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Congress should provide sufficient funding
so that our Nation may continue to be the world leader
in education, innovation and economic growth;
(2) last year, Congress passed and the President
signed the America COMPETES Act, bipartisan legislation
designed to ensure that American students, teachers,
businesses, and workers are prepared to continue
leading the world in innovation, research, and
technology well into the future;
(3) this resolution supports the efforts authorized
in the America COMPETES Act, providing substantially
increased funding above the President's requested level
for 2009, and increased amounts after 2009 in Function
250 (General Science, Space and Technology) and other
functions;
(4) additional increases for scientific research
and education are included in Function 270 (Energy),
Function 300 (Environment and Natural Resources),
Function 500 (Education, Employment, Training and
Social Services), and Function 550 (Health), all of
which receive more funding than the President's budget
provides;
(5) because America's greatest resource for
innovation resides within classrooms across the
country, the increased funding provided in this
resolution will support initiatives within the America
COMPETES Act to educate tens of thousands of new
scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, and place
highly qualified teachers in math and science K-12
classrooms; and
(6) because independent scientific research
provides the foundation for innovation and future
technologies, this resolution will keep us on the path
toward doubling funding for the National Science
Foundation, basic research in the physical sciences,
and collaborative research partnerships, and toward
achieving energy independence through the development
of clean and sustainable alternative energy
technologies.
And the House agree to the same.
John Spratt,
Rosa L. DeLauro,
Chet Edwards,
Managers on the Part of the House.
Kent Conrad,
Patty Murray,
Ron Wyden,
Managers on the Part of the Senate.
JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
The managers on the part of the House and the Senate at the
conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the
amendment of the House to the concurrent resolution (S. Con.
Res. 70), setting forth the congressional budget for the United
States Government for fiscal year 2009 and including the
appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2008 and 2010
through 2013, submit the following joint statement to the House
and the Senate in explanation of the effect of the action
agreed upon by the managers and recommended in the accompanying
conference report:
The House amendment struck all of the Senate concurrent
resolution after the resolving clause and inserted the House-
passed concurrent resolution on the budget (H. Con. Res. 312)
as a substitute text.
The Senate recedes from its disagreement to the amendment
of the House with an amendment that is a substitute for the
Senate concurrent resolution and the House amendment. The
differences between the Senate concurrent resolution, the House
amendment, and the substitute agreed to in conference are noted
below, except for clerical corrections, conforming changes made
necessary by agreements reached by the conferees, and minor
drafting and clarifying changes.
DISPLAYS AND AMOUNTS
The required contents of concurrent budget resolutions
are set forth in section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974. The years in this document are fiscal years unless
otherwise noted.
The treatment of budget function levels in the House-
passed and Senate-passed budget resolutions and the conference
report is as follows:
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution includes all of the items required
as part of a concurrent budget resolution under section 301(a)
of the Congressional Budget Act other than the spending and
revenue levels for Social Security (which are used to enforce a
point of order applicable only in the Senate).
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate concurrent resolution includes all of the
items required under section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes all of the items
required by section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act.
AGGREGATE AND FUNCTION LEVELS
Pursuant to section 301(a)(4) of the Congressional Budget
Act, the budget resolution must set appropriate levels for each
major functional category based on the 302(a) allocations and
the budgetary totals.
The respective levels of the House concurrent resolution,
the Senate concurrent resolution, and conference agreement for
each major budget function, as well as revenue totals, are
discussed in the section after the numerical tables. A summary
of the overall budget policy is as follows:
Total spending is $3.034 trillion in budget authority
(BA) and $3.066 trillion in outlays in 2009, and $16.155
trillion in BA and $16.228 trillion in outlays over 2009-2013.
Discretionary spending for 2009 totals $1.088 trillion in
BA and $1.183 trillion in outlays in 2009, and $5.328 trillion
in BA and $5.719 trillion in outlays over 2009-2013. Excluding
funding for overseas deployments and other activities,
discretionary spending for 2009 totals $1.013 trillion in BA
and $1.075 trillion in outlays. These aggregate amounts (minus
cap adjustments for program integrity initiatives) are
allocated to the Appropriations Committees to be suballocated
among their respective appropriations subcommittees.
Mandatory spending totals $1.945 trillion in BA and
$1.883 trillion in outlays in 2009, and $10.827 trillion in BA
and $10.509 trillion in outlays over 2009-2013.
Revenue totals $2.725 trillion in 2009, and $15.637
trillion over five years. Specific policies will be determined
by the Committee on Finance in the Senate and the Committee on
Ways and Means in the House.
The conference agreement uses the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) March baseline, updated for legislation that has
passed the Congress since the baseline was developed.
The conference agreement reduces the budget deficit from
$340.4 billion in 2009, to a surplus of $21.9 billion in 2012
and remains in surplus in 2013.
The following section describes the conference
agreement's revenue levels and spending according to the
budget's functional categories.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
REVENUES
Summary
The revenue component of the budget resolution reflects
all of the federal government's tax receipts that are
classified as ``on-budget.'' This includes individual income
taxes; corporate income taxes; excise taxes, such as the
gasoline tax; and other taxes, such as estate and gift taxes.
Taxes collected for the Social Security system--the Old Age and
Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) payroll tax--are
``off-budget.'' The Hospital Insurance payroll tax portion of
Medicare, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act payroll tax,
railroad retirement and other retirement systems are all ``on-
budget.'' Customs duties, tariffs, and other miscellaneous
receipts are also included in the revenue component. Pursuant
to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990, Social Security payroll taxes are not
included in the budget resolution.
House-passed Resolution
The House budget resolution matches the total level of
revenues under the CBO baseline over the 2008-2013 period, with
revenue losses in 2009 and an offsetting gain in 2010-2013,
consistent with the resolution's reconciliation instruction to
the Ways and Means Committee regarding revenue. For the unified
budget, the House resolution calls for a total of $2.7 trillion
in revenues for 2009, and $16.0 trillion over five years. (The
budget resolution provides only the on-budget amounts, which
are $2.0 trillion in revenues for 2009, and $12.1 trillion over
five years.)
By following the baseline revenue total for 2008-2013,
the House resolution achieves current-law total revenue levels,
but does not assume maintaining current tax law. Thus, the
House-passed budget resolution accommodates reform of the
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and extension of tax cuts
benefitting middle-income households (including, but not
limited to, the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, the
10 percent bracket, and the deduction for State and local sales
taxes), as long as such changes to tax law are accomplished,
consistent with the House pay-as-you-go rule, in a deficit-
neutral manner over the 2008-2013 and 2008-2018 periods.
The House resolution also accommodates deficit-neutral
extension of other expiring tax provisions, such as the
research and experimentation tax credit and the deduction for
small business expensing. In addition, the House resolution
accommodates deficit-neutral elimination of estate taxes on all
but a minute fraction of estates by reforming and substantially
increasing the unified tax credit. It also accommodates other
high priority deficit-neutral revenue adjustments, such as tax
incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and a
tax credit for local bonds to support the repair or
construction of public schools.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate budget resolution includes $2.0 trillion in
on-budget revenues for 2009, and $11.7 trillion over 2009-2013.
(The corresponding revenue figures on a unified basis are $2.7
trillion for 2009 and $15.6 trillion over five years.)
The revenue level in the Senate resolution is $407.5
billion below the levels in the CBO baseline over 2008-2013.
This provides for one year of relief from the AMT, protecting
more than 20 million taxpayers from being subject to the AMT in
2008. It also provides for the extension after 2010 of middle-
class tax relief--child tax credit, the 10 percent bracket, and
marriage penalty relief--as well as continuation of the estate
tax at 2009 levels adjusted for inflation. In addition, this
revenue level accommodates a number of other tax policies, such
as property tax relief; relief to those whose homes were
damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; tax relief
for America's troops and veterans; enhancement of the
refundable portion of the child tax credit; and extension of
the adoption and dependent care tax credits. Finally, this
total accommodates revenue provisions that could be part of an
overall economic stimulus package.
The Senate resolution also includes the effects of a
number of other tax policies whose cost is offset over the
period covered by the resolution. For instance, the resolution
reflects tax relief to make college education more affordable
and reflects incentives to encourage the development of
renewable energy, promote more conservation and energy
efficiency, and reduce dependence on foreign energy supplies.
In a similar fashion, the resolution assumes that tax
provisions that have been routinely extended in the past will
be extended and that their cost will be offset.
In addition, the Senate resolution includes several
reserve funds that provide for tax relief, including refundable
tax relief and the extension of expiring tax relief, as long as
the costs of these provisions are offset. These deficit-neutral
reserve funds would accommodate, for instance, tax policies
designed to encourage the continued production in the United
States of advanced technologies, extend enhanced charitable
giving from individual retirement accounts, make it easier for
companies to use accumulated alternative minimum tax and
research and development credits, reduce the cost of teacher
out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies, encourage highly
qualified teachers to serve in high-needs schools, extend
existing energy tax incentives as well as provide additional
incentives for clean-burning wood stoves, cellulosic ethanol
production, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and energy-efficient
buildings, products, and power plants. Deficit-neutral reserve
funds in the resolution also address AMT reform and reducing
the income threshold for the refundable portion of the child
tax credit starting in 2009.
The Senate resolution assumes that any additional
revenues needed under the resolution can be achieved by closing
the tax gap, shutting down abusive tax shelters, addressing
offshore tax havens, and without raising taxes. To help close
the tax gap and bolster Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
enforcement, the resolution fully funds the President's budget
request for the IRS, including additional resources available
through a discretionary cap adjustment that directs $490
million to IRS enforcement activities.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes $2.0 trillion in on-
budget revenues for 2009, and $11.8 trillion over 2009-2013.
(The corresponding revenue figures on a unified basis are $2.7
trillion for 2009 and $15.6 trillion over five years.) The
conference agreement provides immediate relief from the AMT,
with its cost fully offset. The agreement supports tax relief
to benefit the middle class--including extension of the child
tax credit, 10 percent bracket, and marriage penalty relief--
and provides for estate tax reform. In addition, the agreement
reflects the effects of tax policies in other areas, such as
energy and education tax incentives and the extension of
expiring and expired provisions, whose costs are offset over
the period covered by the resolution. Further, the agreement
includes several deficit-neutral reserve funds that provide for
a wide range of tax policies.
The revenue level in the conference agreement is $340.570
billion below the levels under current law over 2008-2013.
Revenue legislation is subject to House and Senate pay-as-you-
go rules. In addition, the House reserve fund adjustment for
revenue measures (section 220)--the House ``trigger''
mechanism--creates a second procedural hurdle in the House
only, in addition to the pay-as-you-go rule, to ensure fiscal
responsibility.
NATIONAL DEFENSE: FUNCTION 050
Function Summary
The National Defense function includes the military
activities of the Department of Defense (DoD), the nuclear
weapons-related activities of the Department of Energy (DOE)
and the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the
national security activities of several other agencies such as
the Selective Service, Coast Guard, and Federal Bureau of
Investigation. The programs in this function include: the pay
and benefits of active, Guard, and reserve military personnel;
DoD operations including training, maintenance of equipment,
and facilities; health care for military personnel and
dependents; procurement of weapons; research and development;
construction of military facilities, including housing;
research on nuclear weapons; and the cleanup of nuclear weapons
production facilities.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution reflects a total of $542.5 billion
in BA and $573.4 billion in outlays in 2009, and $2.8 trillion
in BA and outlays over five years. There is no higher priority
than the defense of our nation. The House resolution
accordingly provides robust funding for Function 050 (National
Defense). The House resolution calls, however, for a
reallocation of resources to address the most severe threats
facing the nation, to emphasize readiness, to guarantee first-
rate health care for members of our armed forces, and to
improve the quality of life of our troops and their families.
The House resolution also calls for greater accountability at
the Department of Defense. It includes assumptions on specific
defense policy in Title V, section 502.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the
United States (commonly referred to as the 9/11 Commission)
identified terrorists with weapons of mass destruction as one
of the nation's gravest threats. It recommended that Congress
supply more resources to secure nuclear weapons and the fissile
materials used in making these weapons. It is the policy of the
House resolution that non-proliferation programs, such as the
Cooperative Threat Reduction program, be given greater priority
and higher funding.
As a result of our overseas deployments, military
readiness has suffered, especially the readiness of our
National Guard and Reserve. The Commission on National Guard
and Reserve concluded in its final report, issued on January
31, 2008, that there are substantial shortcomings in the
nation's ability to respond during a national crisis. In view
of this, the House resolution calls for greater attention to
mitigating readiness shortfalls to ensure our military is ready
when called upon.
The country owes a great debt of gratitude to those who
have sacrificed and to those who are currently sacrificing by
serving in the Armed Forces. To honor their service, the
country should not only support the troops when they are called
to duty, but it should also improve the quality of life of the
troops and their families, and ensure that the resources are
available when they are discharged from service to provide them
the excellent health care they deserve and the assistance they
need to make the transition to civilian life. For that reason,
the House resolution opposes TRICARE fee increases proposed by
the President and calls for a substantial increase in funding
for the veterans' health care system. The House resolution
provides funding to continue addressing problems such as those
identified at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The House
resolution also calls for enhanced pay and benefits to improve
the quality of life of the troops and their families, including
emphasis on providing adequate funding for programs like the
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, which provides support and
assistance to troops and their families while they are deployed
and when they return from deployments to readjust to civilian
life.
The President's 2009 budget is noncompliant with section
1008, Public Law 109-364, the John Warner National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, by excluding a full
request for overseas military operations. The House resolution
reaffirms section 1008. It also calls on the Administration to
end the practice of including non-war requirements in funding
requests for overseas military operations as a way to avoid
making tradeoffs in the defense budget. The Congressional
Budget Office reported in September 2007 that 40 percent of
supplemental funds requested for Army ``reset'' (fixing and
replacing equipment) was instead used for upgrading the
capability of weapons systems and procuring new equipment to
eliminate shortfalls, and in some cases, shortfalls that were
long-standing.
It is the policy of the House resolution that missile
defense acquisition be funded at lower, but still adequate
levels and development of space-based interceptors as part of
the missile defense program should be de-emphasized. The House
resolution also points out the need to restrain excessive cost
and schedule growth in defense research, development, and
procurement programs. DoD has allowed the cost of its major
acquisition programs to grow at an unsustainable rate. The
Department's major acquisition programs grew by more than $392
billion above their initial projections from 2002 to 2007.
The House resolution recognizes the need for DoD to root
out wasteful spending with far more diligence. Eighteen years
after passage of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, DoD
still cannot pass a standard audit. The Department cannot
adequately track what it owns or what it spends in its annual
budgets. DoD has awarded contracts for its foreign deployments
that have been grossly more wasteful than domestic contracts,
especially in Iraq. Furthermore, DoD continues to fund weapons
systems that were developed years ago to counter Cold War era
threats, which may not be as effective in protecting the nation
from today's threats.
Over the last seven years, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) has performed numerous audits of DoD's financial
management, contracting, and business practices. GAO made 2,864
recommendations, of which 1,260 have yet to be implemented. The
House resolution assumes that enhancing accounting practices at
DoD and implementing many GAO recommendations would yield
substantial savings that could be applied to other security
needs, including those mentioned above.
The House resolution also encourages the committees with
jurisdiction over defense to conduct more oversight with the
objective of ferreting out wasteful practices, fraud, and
abuse. It encourages the committees to require DoD to report to
Congress on its progress in implementing GAO audit
recommendations and to report on the applicability of Cold War
era weapons to 21st century challenges. The House resolution
also directs GAO to report by the end of the 110th Congress on
DoD's progress in implementing its audit recommendations.
The House resolution also recognizes the need for DoD to
do a better job of reconciling its plans with its budget,
including the Navy's shipbuilding plan. Unrealistic
expectations of technology development and ship designs have
led to high unit costs and a plan that is not viable in terms
of providing the Navy with an adequate ship force, or the
shipbuilding industrial base with a sustainable level of work.
The House resolution therefore encourages more congressional
oversight to ensure the Administration puts more emphasis on
developing a viable shipbuilding plan to maintain a naval ship
force and a shipbuilding industrial base that meets the
challenges of the 21st century.
In addition to emphasizing nuclear nonproliferation
programs at the Department of Energy, the House recognizes the
importance of the Department's Environmental Management program
and that nuclear cleanup activities are a high priority.
For mandatory programs, the House resolution matches the
President's request.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $612.5 billion
in BA and $645.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and $2.9 trillion
in BA and $3.0 trillion in outlays over five years. This
includes full funding for the President's requests for war
costs in 2008 and 2009.
Excluding requested war funds, the Senate resolution
provides $542.5 billion in BA for defense in 2009, an increase
of $26.2 billion in BA over the 2008 level adjusted for
inflation.
The Senate resolution provides for a 3.4 percent pay
raise for military personnel, and again rejects the President's
proposals for new TRICARE enrollment fees and deductibles for
military retirees under the age of 65.
The Senate resolution also assumes no less than $5.8
billion in funding for the Defense Environmental Cleanup
account, an increase of $500 million compared to the
President's request. The environmental management program is
charged with efficiently cleaning up the environmental damage
resulting from 50 years of nuclear weapons production. The
President's budget underfunded cleanup efforts at several major
sites addressed under this program including Hanford, Idaho
Falls, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River. This increase brings
total environmental management funding for nuclear site cleanup
(including amounts in other budget functions) to $6.4 billion.
The National Guard has a long history of outstanding
service to our nation, and our nation's reliance on the Guard
has only increased since September 11, 2001. The Senate
resolution assumes that the Department of Defense will provide
at least $49.1 billion to recruit, train, equip, and sustain
National Guard and Reserve units. The Appropriations Committee
is encouraged to identify additional resources within the
defense budget to address critical needs for National Guard
equipment left unfunded in the President's budget.
Some servicemembers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan have
been inappropriately given ``personality disorder'' discharges
that cost them access to various veterans' benefits and care.
The defense funding level in the Senate resolution includes an
amendment addressing the backlog at the military services'
respective Boards for the Correction of Military Records to
allow these servicemembers to have their discharges promptly
reviewed and, if appropriate, upgraded to ``honorable'' status.
The Administration continues to seek war funding as an
emergency, five years into the war in Iraq. The Armed Services
and Foreign Relations Committees have indicated that they
believe these costs should no longer be handled on an emergency
basis. The Senate resolution includes a $70 billion cap
adjustment provision that allows the Chairman of the Budget
Committee to revise the discretionary spending cap for non-
emergency appropriations related to the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The Senate resolution's levels of deficits and
debt assume that this cap adjustment is fully utilized.
The existence of this cap adjustment would not prevent
the Appropriations Committee from reporting emergency
supplemental appropriations legislation if war costs exceed the
allotted level. Emergency funding falls outside the
discretionary spending caps included in the resolution, and
hence does not require an adjustment.
The Senate resolution also includes a program integrity
cap adjustment dedicated to reducing waste in defense
contracting. The cap adjustment allows the Chairman of the
Budget Committee to increase the discretionary spending cap by
up to $100 million to accommodate legislation appropriating
funding for the Department of Defense for additional activities
to reduce waste, fraud, abuse and overpayments in defense
contracting; achieve the legal requirement for the Pentagon to
submit auditable financial statements; reduce waste by
improving accounting for and ordering of spare parts; or
subject contracts performed outside the United States to the
same ethical standards as those performed domestically. When
billions of dollars are wasted due to poor contracting
practices, ordering of unneeded spare parts, or other waste,
fraud and abuse, it is our troops that suffer.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement for Function 050 includes a
total of $542.5 billion in BA and $573.4 billion in outlays in
2009, and $2.8 trillion in BA and outlays over five years. The
conference agreement does not assume enactment of the
President's proposals for new TRICARE enrollment fees and
deductibles for military retirees under the age of 65.
Consistent with both the House- and Senate-passed resolutions,
the conference agreement affirms the need for increased
emphasis on programs to provide support to troops and their
families while troops are deployed and to assist with
reintegration when troops return from deployments. The
conference agreement also reaffirms the importance of adequate
funding for atomic energy defense environmental cleanup
activities.
For mandatory programs, the conference agreement is
consistent with current law.
The conference agreement reflects the cost of overseas
deployments and other activities in Function 970, as in the
House-passed resolution.
The conference agreement also includes two deficit-
neutral reserve funds (section 202 and section 203 in the
House, and section 225 and section 226 in the Senate) to
accommodate initiatives related to meeting our commitments to
the nation's military personnel and veterans, and their
survivors.
The conference agreement includes a statement of policy
on defense issues (section 402) that outlines key priorities to
be funded within the defense allocation and the need for the
Department of Defense to do a better job of reining in wasteful
spending, particularly with regard to contracting practices and
continuing funding of Cold War era weapons systems that may not
be as effective against today's threats. Consistent with the
Senate-passed resolution, the statement of policy also calls
for expediting review of cases involving former servicemembers
suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic
brain injury and whose discharge from service was handled
erroneously, resulting in a loss of benefits or care.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: FUNCTION 150
Function Summary
Function 150 covers funding for U.S. international
activities, including: operating and securing U.S. embassies
and consulates throughout the world; providing military
assistance to allies; assisting refugees; aiding developing
nations; dispensing economic assistance to fledgling
democracies; promoting U.S. exports abroad; making U.S.
payments to international organizations; and contributing to
international peacekeeping efforts. The major agencies in this
function include the Departments of State, Agriculture, and the
Treasury; the U.S. Agency for International Development; and
the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $37.1 billion
in BA and $35.7 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $196.0
billion in BA and $186.8 billion in outlays over five years.
The function's negative mandatory budget authority and outlay
levels reflect receipts of the foreign military sales trust
fund, the repayment of loans and credits by foreign nations,
and the liquidation of economic assistance loans, foreign
military financing loans, Export-Import Bank loans, and housing
and other credit guaranty programs.
The House resolution's discretionary budget authority for
2009 is $4.0 billion (11.6 percent) above the 2008 level
excluding emergencies and $3.3 billion (9.6 percent) more than
the amount needed to maintain purchasing power at the 2008
level. The House resolution matches the President's Function
150 request for HIV/AIDS relief. The House resolution also
provides funding for the Department of State to hire a
significant number of new staff to strengthen the United
States' diplomacy and national security.
Consistent with the President's budget, the House
resolution provides $2.6 billion for Foreign Military Financing
(FMF) for Israel. The United States signed a new agreement with
Israel in 2007 to provide $30 billion in FMF over ten years.
The House resolution provides additional funding above
the President's requested level for 2009 for the McGovern-Dole
International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.
This additional funding will be used to maintain and expand the
number of children, especially girls, who benefit from this
program as food and transportation costs rise.
The House notes the importance of robust funding for
child survival and health programs, development assistance, and
the United States' contributions to international organizations
and peacekeeping.
The House notes the large amount of funding for the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) that remains unobligated
or unspent. MCC has received about $7.5 billion in total
appropriations from 2004 through 2008.
The House recognizes the humanitarian problem of millions
of Iraqis who are refugees in neighboring countries or are
internally displaced in Iraq.
The House notes the strong support for H.R. 1595, the
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, which the House
approved on May 8, 2007. The bill authorizes compensation to
the Guamanian victims of the Imperial Japanese military
occupation during World War II.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $38.6 billion
in BA and $39.5 billion in outlays in 2009, and $184.5 billion
in BA and $183.4 billion in outlays over five years, excluding
emergencies. The amount provided in 2009 is $2 million less
than the President's request.
Overall, the Senate resolution assumes a U.S.
contribution to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria of $1.35 billion. In addition, the Senate resolution
assumes additional funds will be provided to respond to
international appeals for Iraqi refugee assistance, and for
victims of humanitarian disasters in Africa and the Middle
East.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement provides a total of $37.2
billion in BA and $35.7 billion in outlays for 2009, and $190.2
billion in BA and $182.6 billion in outlays over five years,
excluding emergencies. The conference agreement provides $38.3
billion in BA for 2009 for discretionary programs, which is
$3.3 billion (9.6 percent) more than the amount needed to
maintain purchasing power at the 2008 level, excluding
emergencies. (The total BA and outlay levels are lower than the
discretionary BA and outlay levels because this function has
negative mandatory BA and outlay levels, reflecting various
U.S. receipts from other nations.)
GENERAL SCIENCE, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY: FUNCTION 250
Function Summary
The General Science, Space, and Technology function
includes funding for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), except aviation programs, the National
Science Foundation (NSF), as well as programs in the Department
of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $29.9 billion
in BA and $28.7 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $162.7
billion in BA and $159.5 billion in outlays over five years.
Funding in Function 250 exceeds the funding levels in the
President's budget and the current services level for all five
years in the budget window. Additional increases for scientific
research and education are included in Function 270 (Energy),
Function 300 (Environment and Natural Resources), Function 350
(Agriculture), Function 370 (Commerce and Housing Credit),
Function 400 (Transportation), Function 500 (Education,
Training, Employment, and Social Services), and Function 550
(Health), all of which receive more funding than the President
requested. These increases will support the goals of the House
Leadership's Innovation Agenda and the America COMPETES Act: To
put NSF funding on a path toward doubling, to train more
qualified science and math teachers, and to invest in basic
research on energy technologies.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $30.5 billion
in BA and $29.0 billion in outlays for 2009, and $154.9 billion
in BA and $153.9 billion in outlays over five years.
The Senate resolution assumes $18.7 billion for NASA, $1
billion above the President's 2009 request. This level of
funding reflects the ongoing need to reimburse NASA for the
catastrophic loss of Space Shuttle Columbia as well as the
costs of investigating the Columbia tragedy. The United States'
goals for space exploration were defined in the President's
``Vision for Space Exploration'' and included in the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005,
which is scheduled to be updated and renewed during the current
session of Congress. The Senate resolution recognizes the
importance of our nation's space program and endorsed the Act's
balanced goals of exploration, science and aeronautics. The Act
calls for retirement of the Space Shuttle by 2010 and launching
the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) as close to 2010 as
possible. NASA currently projects that the CEV will not be
operational before 2015, thus creating a five-year gap in U.S.
human space flight capability. The Senate resolution recognizes
the strategic importance of uninterrupted access to space and
supports efforts to reduce this five-year gap in U.S. human
space flight.
In addition, the Senate resolution fully funds the
President's 2009 request for programs authorized in the America
COMPETES Act. These programs help to ensure that the U.S.
maintains its technological innovation advantage in the global
economy.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes $30.6 billion in BA and
$29.1 billion in outlays in 2009, and $164.8 billion in BA and
$161.5 billion in outlays over five years. The conference
agreement provides significant increases in this function in
every year within the budget window for competitiveness
programs that support the goals of the COMPETES Act and other
Innovation programs, with additional resources provided in
other functions. In addition, for NASA, the conference
agreement recognizes the contributions of our nation's space
program and the strategic importance of uninterrupted access to
space. The conference agreement provides $18.7 billion for
NASA, $1 billion above the President's budget in 2009, and
significant increases in the outyears.
ENERGY: FUNCTION 270
Function Summary
Function 270 covers energy-related programs including
research and development, environmental clean-up, and rural
utility loans. Most of these programs are within the Department
of Energy (DOE). This function covers about 20 percent of
appropriated funding for DOE but does not include DOE's
national security activities, which are in Function 050
(National Defense), or its basic research and science
activities, which are in Function 250 (General Science, Space
and Technology). This function also includes the Agriculture
Department's Rural Utilities Service, the Tennessee Valley
Authority, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $4.7 billion in
BA and $2.2 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $23.7 billion
in BA and $16.2 billion in outlays over five years. The House
resolution provides $1.1 billion in appropriated funding above
the 2008 level and $1.2 billion above the President's budget
for 2009, funding that could be used for energy efficiency and
renewable energy programs. The House resolution maintains the
Weatherization Assistance Program, which the President's budget
unwisely terminates.
The House resolution also invests in new initiatives for
renewable energy and energy efficiency, emerging energy and
vehicle technologies, carbon capture and sequestration, and
worker training for green collar jobs.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $7.0 billion
in BA and $2.8 billion in outlays for 2009, and $34.6 billion
in BA and $25.0 billion in outlays over five years. This
funding level would provide a significant commitment of
resources to invest in clean energy, create green collar jobs
in our communities, and reduce our dependence on imported
energy. The resolution assumes $8.45 billion in 2009 energy
discretionary spending. This would represent the highest
discretionary spending level for the energy function since
1981.
The Senate resolution includes $2.7 billion to invest in
green jobs in our nation's communities (including $100 million
in Function 500). This funding level could accommodate
significant increases in a variety of loan guarantee and grant
programs which would fund energy efficiency and conservation
activities, the production of fuel efficient vehicles, worker
training programs, and biofuels production. These programs were
authorized in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
and not adequately funded in the President's budget. Funding
these programs will move our nation towards energy
independence, cleaner energy, and energy efficiency while also
developing new industries and creating green jobs. The
resolution also assumes funding increases for similar programs
authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The Senate resolution assumes approximately $2 billion
for DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program. This
funding level is $738 million above the President's request and
would accommodate significant increases for programs such as
wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and biorefinery R&D, hydrogen,
and vehicle/building technologies. This funding level would
also provide $450 million for the Weatherization Assistance
Program, a program which was zeroed out in the President's
budget. The resolution significantly increases funding for the
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program and
Energy Grants for Universities and Institutions.
The Senate resolution includes significant increases for
fossil energy R&D. This funding would provide additional
resources for programs such as carbon sequestration and clean
coal research. The resolution also significantly increases
funding for DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability.
The Senate resolution supports consideration by the
Budget Committees of the reclassification of receipts for the
annual operating expenses of Southeastern, Southwestern, and
Western Area Power Administrations. By reclassifying the
receipts, power rates will become more closely linked to the
annual appropriations they fund. This direct link will promote
long-term planning and improve the overall efficiency and
reliability of the federal power program.
The Senate resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve
fund for legislation that would decrease greenhouse gas
emissions, reduce our nation's dependence on imported energy,
produce green jobs, or preserve or protect national parks,
oceans, or coastal areas. The legislation may include tax
legislation. The resolution also includes deficit-neutral
reserve funds for legislation that would improve energy
efficiency and production or provide for investments in energy
infrastructure.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement provides a total of $6.5 billion
in BA and $2.8 billion in outlays for 2009, and $32.6 billion
in BA and $22.9 billion in outlays over five years. The
conference agreement provides $7.7 billion for discretionary
programs in this function. This amount is $2.8 billion more
than the President's proposed funding level for 2009. (The
total BA and outlay levels are lower than the discretionary BA
and outlay levels because this function has negative mandatory
BA and outlay levels, reflecting that the U.S. government
collects more money than it spends marketing federally produced
power and collects fees from commercial nuclear reactors.)
The conference agreement includes $2.0 billion to create
green collar jobs in our nation's communities. The conference
agreement includes a significant commitment of resources to
invest in cleaner energy, promote renewable energy and energy
efficiency, and reduce our nation's dependence on imported
energy. It also provides increases for the Weatherization
Assistance Program and emerging energy technologies such as
carbon capture and sequestration.
The conference agreement includes deficit-neutral reserve
funds to accommodate energy legislation in both the House and
the Senate.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT: FUNCTION 300
Function Summary
The Natural Resources and Environment function consists
of funding for water resources, conservation, land management,
pollution control and abatement, and recreational resources.
Major departments and agencies in this function are the
Department of the Interior (including the National Park
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of
Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Minerals
Management Service), conservation-oriented and land management
agencies within the Department of Agriculture (including the
Forest Service), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration at the Department of Commerce, the Army Corps of
Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $38.7 billion
in BA and $35.6 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $179.2
billion in BA and $182.2 billion in outlays over five years.
The House resolution rejects the President's deep and misguided
cuts to priority programs, such as the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, the Fish and Wildlife Service's wildlife
refuge system, the EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund and
other grants to States and Tribes to address water and air
quality, and other EPA programs. It also includes funding to
address high-priority brownfield redevelopment concerns. In
addition, the House resolution accommodates the President's
emergency Army Corps spending for efforts related to Hurricane
Katrina rebuilding. Additionally, the House resolution
recognizes that in recent years, fire suppression costs have
overwhelmed the Forest Service's budget, and that Congress
should work to identify solutions to this problem and to
address the impact of increasing fire suppression costs.
The House resolution includes deficit-neutral reserve
funds for Secure Rural Schools and Payments in Lieu of Taxes,
San Joaquin River Restoration and Navajo Nation Water Rights
Settlements, and the establishment of the National Park
Centennial Fund. Additional funding addressing environmental
quality is accommodated in the House resolution's deficit-
neutral renewable energy and energy efficiency reserve fund.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $39.8 billion
in BA and $36.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and $182.9 billion
in BA and $185.7 billion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution includes approximately $7.9 billion for the EPA.
This funding level will accommodate significant increases for
programs such as Superfund and EPA's programs to support clean
and safe drinking water. The resolution rejects the President's
proposal to cut a variety of environmental protection programs.
The resolution also rejects the President's cuts to a variety
of discretionary programs which fund climate change research.
The Senate resolution provides significant increases for
the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation and
includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to accommodate
legislation that provides for investments in water
infrastructure.
The Senate resolution includes $5.8 billion in 2009
emergency funding for the Corps of Engineers to continue its
Katrina-related recovery work in Louisiana. The Senate
resolution also includes increases sufficient to fully fund
ongoing Everglades Restoration Activities at the Army Corps of
Engineers and the Department of the Interior. These additional
funds are provided to commence construction of the Indian River
Lagoon which received only planning funding in the President's
request. Additionally, these funds will provide increases to
Modified Water Deliveries, the C-111 canal, and the Kissimmee
River Restoration, all critical components of Everglades
Restoration.
The Senate resolution rejects the President's proposal to
cut crucial Great Lakes funding. The resolution recognizes the
importance of the Great Lakes, as they make up 90 percent of
the United States' surface fresh water and serve as a source of
drinking water for over 35 million people. The Senate
resolution also recognizes that the approximately 5,000 miles
of U.S. shoreline along the Great Lakes is greater than that of
either the Eastern or Western seaboard. Unfortunately, the
Great Lakes continue to face unique and challenging problems
such as toxic sediment remediation, invasive species, non-point
source pollution, and habitat loss. The Senate resolution
includes $175 million for Great Lakes programs including the
Great Lakes Legacy Act, the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife
Restoration Act, Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration,
Remedial Action Plan (RAP) Assistance, Great Lakes
Environmental Research Lab and the Great Lakes Basin Program.
The Senate resolution includes a reserve fund to invest
in clean energy, preserve the environment, and provide for
certain settlements. The reserve fund would accommodate
legislation that would decrease greenhouse gas emissions,
reduce our Nation's dependence on imported energy, produce
green jobs, or preserve or protect national parks, oceans, or
coastal areas. It would also accommodate legislation that would
fulfill the purposes of the San Joaquin River Restoration
Settlement Act or implement a Navajo Nation water rights
settlement and other provisions authorized by the Northwestern
New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act.
The Senate resolution rejects the President's cuts to
numerous programs at the Department of the Interior and the
Forest Service. The Senate resolution reflects concerns that,
in recent years, the President's budget has significantly
underestimated fire suppression costs. The Senate resolution
also responds to concerns that increasing fire suppression
costs are having a negative impact on funding levels for other
discretionary programs at agencies such as the Forest Service.
The funding levels in the resolution assume that if the
severity of the fire season requires additional funding,
wildland fire suppression activities will be funded for 2009 at
no less than $500 million above the ten-year average.
The Senate resolution does not assume savings from
proposals to permit oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. The Senate resolution also does not assume any
savings from the President's proposal to sell federal lands.
The Senate resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund
that would accommodate legislation that terminates deductions
from mineral revenue payments to states.
The Senate resolution rejects the proposal in the
President's budget to reallocate the repayment of the capital
costs of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin irrigation program to
power customers. The Senate resolution recognizes the
importance of the Bureau of Reclamation rural water program to
support ongoing Municipal, Rural, and Industrial (MR&I) systems
for the Great Plains Region. The Bureau of Reclamation supplies
drinking water to 2.6 million people in the Great Plains region
and is encouraged to prioritize the completion of the Pick-
Sloan Missouri Basin Program--Garrison Diversion Unit, Mni
Wiconi, Lewis and Clark, Perkins County, Fort Peck Reservation/
Dry Prairie, and Rocky Boy's/North Central rural water system
projects. The Senate supports funding these vital rural water
development projects at a level that is as close to $306
million as possible.
The Senate resolution includes increases for the United
States Geological Survey and Endangered Species Act assistance.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes a total of $40.5
billion in BA and $36.9 billion in outlays for 2009, and $187.5
billion in BA and $189.5 billion in outlays over five years.
The conference agreement includes significant increases
for natural resources and environment programs, including a
variety of programs at the EPA. The agreement provides
additional resources for agencies such as the Army Corps of
Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation to invest in national
water infrastructure priorities. It also increases funding for
a number of other programs throughout the Department of the
Interior and the Forest Service. The funding levels in the
conference agreement assume that if the severity of the fire
season requires additional funding, wildland fire suppression
activities will be funded for 2009 at a level that is above the
ten-year average.
AGRICULTURE: FUNCTION 350
Function Summary
The Agriculture function includes farm income
stabilization, agricultural research, and other services
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
discretionary programs include research and education programs,
economics and statistics services, administration of the farm
support programs, farm loan programs, meat and poultry
inspection, and a portion of the Public Law 480 international
food aid program. The mandatory programs include commodity
programs, crop insurance, and certain farm loans.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $21.5 billion
in BA and $21.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $110.0
billion in BA and $106.1 billion in outlays over five years.
The budget resolution provides greater funds than the President
to ensure sufficient resources to bolster commodity support,
agricultural research, and animal and plant inspection
programs. The House resolution also assumes sufficient
resources for the farm bill, providing resources for such
objectives as to secure an economic safety net for agricultural
producers, conserve our natural resources, and address
nutrition needs.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution reflects a total of $21.4 billion
in BA and $21.1 billion in outlays for 2009, and $108.9 billion
in BA and $105.0 billion in outlays over five years. With the
2002 Farm Bill expiring, the Senate resolution provides a
deficit-neutral reserve fund for the reauthorization of
agricultural programs. To address the needs of rural America
and promote new sources of renewable energy from U.S. farm
products, it would provide a $15.0 billion deficit-neutral
reserve fund for the 2008 through 2013 period to reauthorize
the Farm Bill. The reauthorization of the Farm Bill will
provide an economic safety net for agricultural producers,
enhance the stewardship of our natural resources, address
domestic nutrition needs, increase agricultural research, and
improve our export competitiveness.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement calls for a total of $22.6
billion in BA and $22.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$109.9 billion in BA and $103.6 billion in outlays over five
years. For discretionary spending, the agreement matches CBO's
baseline estimate in 2009. For mandatory spending, the
agreement incorporates the effects of the recently passed Farm
Bill in this and several other functions where its effects
appear. In addition, in the event further action is required by
Congress, the conference agreement includes a Senate-only
deficit-neutral reserve fund (section 221(g)(1)) for the Farm
Bill and related changes.
COMMERCE AND HOUSING CREDIT: FUNCTION 370
Function Summary
The Commerce and Housing Credit function includes
mortgage credit, the Postal Service, deposit insurance, and
other advancement of commerce (the majority of the
discretionary and mandatory spending in this function). The
mortgage credit component of this function includes housing
assistance through the Federal Housing Administration, the
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the Government
National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and rural housing
programs of the Department of Agriculture. The function also
includes net Postal Service spending and spending for deposit
insurance activities of banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Most
of the Commerce Department is provided for in this function,
including the International Trade Administration, the Bureau of
Economic Analysis, the Patent and Trademark Office, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the
Bureau of the Census. Finally, the function also includes
funding for independent agencies such as the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications
Commission, and the majority of the Small Business
Administration.
House-passed Resolution
For the unified budget, the House resolution calls for a
total of $10.8 billion in BA and $5.0 billion in outlays for
2009, and for $53.1 billion in BA and $16.9 billion in outlays
over five years. (The budget resolution provides only the on-
budget amounts, which are $9.6 billion in BA and $3.7 billion
in outlays for 2009, and $51.3 billion in BA and $15.1 billion
in outlays over five years.) The discretionary function total
includes significantly increased funding for the Bureau of the
Census, reflecting continued preparation for the 2010 census,
and continues to support agencies such as the National
Institute of Standards and Technology. For 2009, and over the
following four years, funding in Function 370 is above the
level in the President's budget.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $10.6 billion
in unified BA and $5.0 billion in unified outlays for 2009, and
$46.3 billion in unified BA and $10.6 billion in unified
outlays over five years. (The corresponding on-budget figures
are $9.4 billion in BA and $3.8 billion in outlays for 2009,
and $44.5 billion in BA over five years and $8.8 billion in
outlays over five years.) The Senate resolution rejects the
President's proposal to cut assistance to America's small
businesses. The President proposes to eliminate the
Manufacturing Extension Program, which helps small businesses
adopt advanced manufacturing technologies. The Senate
resolution restores funding to this vital program to the level
authorized in the America COMPETES Act. The Senate resolution
also provides robust resources for the Small Business
Administration and the Census Bureau.
Conference Agreement
For the unified budget, the conference agreement calls
for a total of $10.8 billion in BA and $5.0 billion in outlays
for 2009, and for $53.1 billion in BA and $16.9 billion in
outlays over five years. (The conference agreement provides
only the on-budget amounts, which are $9.6 billion in BA and
$3.7 billion in outlays for 2009, and $51.3 billion in BA and
$15.1 billion in outlays over five years.) The discretionary
function total includes significantly increased funding for the
Bureau of the Census, reflecting continued preparation for the
2010 census, and continues to support programs such as the
Manufacturing Extension Program and the Technology Innovation
Program. For 2009, and over the following four years, funding
in Function 370 is above the level in the President's budget.
TRANSPORTATION: FUNCTION 400
Function Summary
The Transportation function consists mostly of the
programs administered by the Department of Transportation,
including programs for highways, mass transit, aviation, and
maritime activities. This function also includes two components
of the Department of Homeland Security: the Coast Guard and the
Transportation Security Administration. In addition, this
function includes several small transportation-related agencies
and the research program for civilian aviation at NASA.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $73.4 billion
in BA and $80.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $389.4
billion in BA and $428.9 billion in outlays over five years.
This resolution recognizes the importance of investing in
infrastructure systems on which our Nation depends. Our society
depends on transportation systems to integrate the economies of
our communities. However, those systems are stressed from
growing congestion and a backlog of repair needs. It is
imperative that, in the last year of the current surface
transportation authorization, the budget place these systems in
a position to address the challenges of the 21st century. To
that end, the House resolution fully funds the highway,
transit, and highway safety programs at the levels originally
authorized in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
Specifically, considering the country's infrastructure
challenges, the House resolution does not accept the
President's estimate of revenue aligned budget authority
(RABA), or the further cuts in highway and transit funding
included in the President's 2009 budget. Rather, the House
resolution continues to invest in infrastructure, laying the
groundwork for a reauthorization of these programs in 2010.
The House resolution increases funding for Amtrak and
provides additional funding for grants to airports, in
anticipation of a new aviation authorization.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $75.1 billion
in BA and $83.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and $392.5 billion
in BA and $434.6 billion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution rejects the President's cuts to transportation
programs and fully funds the highway, transit, and highway
safety programs authorized in SAFETEA-LU for 2009. The Senate
resolution also provides an additional $7 billion for ``ready-
to-go'' infrastructure projects. Additionally, the Senate
resolution provides $1.8 billion in BA for Amtrak, a funding
level that is $1 billion above the President's request. Amtrak
is a vital link to many small communities, and the Senate
resolution will help Amtrak pay off debt and continue to
improve its operations.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement calls for a total of $74.7
billion in BA and $80.8 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$392.0 billion in BA and $430.7 billion in outlays over five
years. This agreement recognizes the importance of investing in
infrastructure systems on which our Nation depends. Our society
depends on transportation systems to integrate the economies of
our communities. However, those systems are stressed from
growing congestion and a backlog of repair needs. The
conference agreement fully funds the highway, transit, and
highway safety programs at the levels originally authorized in
SAFETEA-LU. Specifically, considering the country's
infrastructure challenges, the agreement does not accept the
President's estimate of RABA, or the further cuts in highway
and transit funding included in the President's 2009 budget.
Rather, the agreement continues to invest in infrastructure,
laying the groundwork for a reauthorization of these programs
in 2010.
The conference agreement provides $1.8 billion in BA for
Amtrak and provides additional funding for grants to airports,
in anticipation of a new aviation authorization.
COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: FUNCTION 450
Function Summary
The Community and Regional Development function includes
federal programs to improve community economic conditions,
promote rural development, and assist in federal preparations
for and response to disasters. This function provides
appropriated funding for the Community Development Block Grant,
Department of Agriculture rural development programs, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) (including homeland security grants),
and other disaster mitigation and community development-related
programs. It also provides mandatory funding for the federal
flood insurance program.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $14.6 billion
in BA and $24.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $75.7
billion in BA and $95.3 billion in outlays over five years. The
budget resolution provides substantially more than the
President's 2009 discretionary funding level for Function 450,
rejecting the President's deep cuts to the Community
Development Block Grant program, first responder grants, and
rural development.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $15.2 billion
in BA and $24.5 billion in outlays for 2009, and $77.7 billion
in BA and $96.9 billion in outlays over five years. This level
restores cuts proposed in the President's budget for community
development programs and several Department of Homeland
Security grant programs, including first responder grants. In
addition, the Senate resolution includes increases in funding
for interoperable communications equipment grants, FEMA
operations and management, and BIA tribal justice programs.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes a total of $15.2
billion in BA and $24.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and $78.0
billion in BA and $97.1 billion in outlays over five years. The
conference agreement rejects the President's deep cuts to
community and rural development programs, including the
Community Development Block Grant, and to several Department of
Homeland Security grant programs, including first responder
grants. The agreement accommodates higher funding for programs
such as interoperable communications equipment grants, FEMA
operations and management, a new Department of Homeland
Security headquarters, and BIA tribal justice programs.
EDUCATION, TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT, AND SOCIAL SERVICES: FUNCTION 500
Function Summary
The Education, Training, Employment and Social Services
function includes funding for the Department of Education, as
well as programs in the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) and the Department of Labor. This function provides
funding for elementary and secondary, career and technical, and
post-secondary educational programs; job training and
employment services; children and family services; and
statistical analysis and research related to these areas. It
also contains funding for the Library of Congress and
independent research and arts agencies such as the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, the Smithsonian Institution, the
National Gallery of Art, the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
House-passed Resolution
The House budget resolution calls for a total of $95.2
billion in BA and $90.9 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$513.0 billion in BA and $500.3 billion in outlays over five
years. The House resolution specifically rejects the
President's cuts to education funding, including his plan to
eliminate many education programs, including all vocational
education programs. The House resolution also rejects the
President's steep cuts to job training and social services
programs--programs needed now more than ever when the economy
is slowing and the cost of living is rising.
In contrast to the President's funding cuts, the House
budget resolution makes a down payment toward addressing long-
standing needs in education, training, employment, and social
services. To that end, the House resolution provides an
appropriated program level for Function 500 that is $7.1
billion above the 2009 level in the President's budget.
The House resolution's increased funding could be used to
support vital assistance to help children learn and succeed.
Increased funding could support key programs such as Head
Start, Impact Aid, and the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. It also could support the No Child Left Behind
Act programs to ensure that children can read and achieve at
grade level, including programs such as Title I, school
improvement programs, teacher quality improvement, and
education technology state grants. Finally, the House
resolution's funding increase for education can help make
college more affordable and accessible by raising the maximum
Pell grant, maintaining Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grants and Perkins Loans, and broadening access to Historically
Black Colleges and Universities as well as Hispanic-serving
institutions and other minority-serving institutions, which
continue to make important contributions towards increasing the
percentage of minority students gaining a college degree.
Increased funding could be used to enhance funding for
the Workforce Investment Act programs, which provide important
job training and assistance. It could also support training for
green collar jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency
fields. Other aspects of the Democratic leadership's innovation
agenda could also be supported, including math and science
education, development of basic and applied research, as well
as demonstrations of effective approaches to innovative
learning such as those in H.R. 3631, the Revolutionizing
Education Through Digital Investment Act of 2007.
The House resolution rejects the President's proposed
cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and provides a
funding level that could be used to support an increase. The
House continues to support two-year advance funding for the
Corporation.
The House resolution also contains a reserve fund to
accommodate legislation that makes college more affordable,
consistent with the House pay-as-you-go rule.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $94.7 billion
in BA and $91.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and $515.0 billion
in BA and $502.2 billion in outlays over five years.
The Senate-passed budget resolution recognizes that
strong education and training programs at all levels are
critical for building a highly skilled workforce that can
compete in the global marketplace. It makes this effort a high
priority by providing an increase for discretionary education
and training program-level funding of $9.3 billion above the
President's request, or $6 billion above 2009 baseline levels.
The Senate-passed resolution rejects the President's
proposed cuts in education, training and social services,
including his proposal to eliminate programs and slash
resources for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It
assumes that additional funding will be invested in critical
areas from birth through post-secondary education, including
Head Start; key programs authorized by the No Child Left Behind
Act, especially Title I; the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA); Pell Grants; and job training. The
increased investments will:
<bullet> ensure that more preschool children will
be ready for school;
<bullet> help grade schools, middle schools, and
high schools close achievement gaps, increase
graduation rates, and reduce the need for remedial
education;
<bullet> ensure that all schools can attract,
train, and retain high-quality teachers and reduce
class sizes;
<bullet> keep our commitment to educate students
with disabilities;
<bullet> expand access to higher education by
making college more affordable;
<bullet> ensure that employers have increasingly
well-educated employees that can compete in the global
marketplace; and
<bullet> expand job training opportunities to help
workers respond to shifts in the economic landscape,
including training for green jobs.
With regard to the Department of Education, the Senate
resolution increases overall program-level funding by $5.7
billion above the President's requested level. In contrast, the
President cuts Department of Education funding by $612 million
in 2009, or one percent, below the 2008 inflation-adjusted
level. To help schools meet the requirements of the No Child
Left Behind Act and IDEA, the Senate resolution provides the
largest increase for elementary and secondary education
programs since 2002. In addition, the Senate resolution assumes
an increase in the maximum Pell grant award, and fully funds
the Pell shortfall.
The Senate adopted amendments to increase funding for the
Teacher Incentive Fund, adult literacy and civics programs, and
programs under the Older Americans Act, including the Lifespan
Respite Care Act at the Administration on Aging.
The Senate resolution provides deficit-neutral reserve
funds to facilitate enactment of legislation to improve college
access and affordability, facilitate modernization of school
facilities through renovation or construction bonds, reduce the
cost of teachers' out-of-pocket expenses for school supplies,
provide tax incentives for highly qualified teachers to serve
in high-needs schools, improve student achievement during
secondary education, and promote flexibility in existing
federal education programs.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement calls for a total of $94.3
billion in BA and $91.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$511.9 billion in BA and $500.7 billion in outlays over five
years. The conference agreement rejects the cuts to education,
training, and social services programs in the President's 2009
budget, including the President's proposal to eliminate many
programs that boost student achievement, provide needed social
services, and provide workers with training and assistance. In
contrast to the President's funding cuts, the conference
agreement increases funds for vital programs, providing $8.4
billion more than the President's budget for program year 2009.
The conference agreement recognizes the importance of
investing in strong education and training programs and
supporting social services, particularly when the cost of
living is rising rapidly and we are building a highly skilled
workforce that can compete in the global marketplace. It
therefore includes significant increases for education programs
to help students from early childhood through post-secondary
education, which include programs such as Head Start, Title I,
services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
Pell Grants, and other key programs.
The conference agreement contains a deficit-neutral
reserve fund for the House to accommodate legislation that
makes college more affordable. It also includes a Senate
reserve fund to facilitate enactment of legislation to make
higher education more accessible or more affordable, facilitate
modernization of school facilities through renovation or
construction bonds, reduce the cost of teachers' out-of-pocket
expenses for school supplies, provide tax incentives for highly
qualified teachers to serve in high-needs schools, improve
student achievement during secondary education, and promote
flexibility and accountability in federal education programs.
HEALTH: FUNCTION 550
Function Summary
The Health function includes most direct health care
service programs as well as funding for anti-bioterrorism
activities, national biomedical research, protecting the health
of the general population and workers in their places of
employment, providing health services for under-served
populations, and promoting training for the health care
workforce. The major programs in this function include
Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP), health benefits for federal workers and retirees, the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Indian Health Service
(IHS), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $306.8 billion
in BA and $305.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $1.7
trillion in BA and $1.7 trillion in outlays over five years.
The budget resolution rejects the Administration's harmful cuts
to Medicaid.
The discretionary resources for Function 550 for 2009
represent an increase over both the 2008 level and the
President's 2009 request, with a particular focus on NIH, CDC,
FDA, and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration
(OSHA). The House resolution increases resources for public
health, which includes programs focused on addressing health
promotion and disease prevention. Preventative health care
measures and disease management have the potential to lead to
more efficient use of health care spending, and reduced
illness, as well as an improvement in the health of the public.
The House resolution also includes increased funding for food
safety, access to quality health care for under-served
populations, and other important programs.
Programs in Function 550 are also addressed in the House
resolution's deficit-neutral reserve funds for SCHIP and for
Medicaid.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $313.1 billion
in BA and $310.6 billion in outlays for 2009, and $1.7 trillion
in BA and $1.7 trillion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution includes increases above the 2008 enacted level
adjusted for inflation and above the President's request for
NIH, HRSA, FDA, CDC, and IHS. Significant increases for
Community Health Centers, health professions, and the National
Health Service Corps within HRSA are also included. The Senate
resolution rejects the President's proposed cuts for Rural
Health Activities in HRSA. The Senate resolution also supports
funding demonstration programs to provide patient navigator
services as authorized in the Patient Navigator, Outreach, and
Chronic Disease Prevention Act under HRSA as well as funding to
support research into the causes, diagnoses, and treatments for
postpartum depression. The Senate resolution also includes
increases for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, for
autism research, education, and early detection, and for the
organ transplantation program. In addition, the Senate
resolution contains various health care related deficit-neutral
reserve funds, including a reserve fund for SCHIP legislation.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes a total of $310.3
billion in BA and $307.5 billion in outlays for 2009, and $1.7
trillion in BA and $1.7 trillion in outlays over five years.
The conference agreement rejects the Administration's harmful
cuts to Medicaid.
The discretionary resources for Function 550 for 2009
include increases above the 2008 enacted level adjusted for
inflation and above the President's request for NIH, HRSA, FDA,
CDC, IHS, and OSHA. The conference agreement includes an
increase for the Indian Health Service to help meet the health
needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The conference
agreement assumes additional FDA funding to give the agency
resources to protect and promote the health of American
families. Significant increases for Community Health Centers,
the National Health Service Corps, and health professions
within HRSA are also included as well as increases for patient
navigator services, the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,
and resources to enhance federal efforts on autism. The
conference agreement increases resources for programs focused
on addressing health promotion and disease prevention.
Preventative health care measures and disease management have
the potential to lead to more efficient use of health care
spending, and reduced illness, as well as an improvement in the
health of the public.
Programs in Function 550 are also addressed in various
deficit-neutral reserve funds, including those addressing SCHIP
and Medicaid.
MEDICARE: FUNCTION 570
Function Summary
The Medicare function includes funding to administer and
to provide benefits under the Medicare program. Medicare is a
federal health insurance program that currently covers 44
million Americans aged 65 and older, as well as younger adults
who are disabled or suffer from end-stage renal disease.
Congress provides an annual appropriation for the costs
of administering Medicare, including resources to conduct
program integrity activities to guard against improper
payments, fraud, and abuse. The remainder of spending in this
function is mandatory and reflects payments to health care
providers and private insurance plans, as well as beneficiary
premiums and other receipts and payments to the Medicare trust
funds, under the Part A Hospital Insurance (HI) program, the
Part B Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) program, the Part
C Medicare Advantage program, and the Part D Prescription Drug
program.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution reflects a total of $420.2 billion
in BA and $420.0 billion in outlays in 2009, and $2.4 trillion
in BA and $2.4 trillion in outlays over five years.
The House resolution rejects the Administration's harmful
cuts to Medicare. The House resolution assumes the extension of
Medicare premium assistance for qualified individuals with
incomes between 120 and 135 percent of the federal poverty
level and limited financial resources. The House resolution
assumes that savings from Medicare program efficiency
improvements will offset the costs of extending the premium
assistance program as well as other initiatives to improve the
Medicare program for beneficiaries.
The House resolution assumes targeted assistance to
hospitals with 100 beds or more that have faced a reduction in
Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments due to
assignment to a Micropolitan area.
The House resolution provides a discretionary cap
adjustment of $198 million for additional activities aimed at
detecting and preventing Medicare fraud. The Health Care Fraud
and Abuse Control program--a joint effort of the Department of
Health and Human Services, the HHS Office of Inspector General,
and the Department of Justice--generated roughly $4 in program
savings for every dollar spent in 2004 and 2005.
The House resolution also contains a reserve fund to
accommodate legislation for Medicare program improvements.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $420.4 billion
in BA and $420.2 billion in outlays for 2009, and $2.4 trillion
in BA and $2.4 trillion in outlays over five years.
For 2009, the discretionary funding levels in this
function include a discretionary cap adjustment of up to $198
million for program integrity activities of the Health Care
Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC program) to address improper
payments, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program.
In addition, the mandatory funding levels in this
function assume Medicare savings of $1.3 billion in 2013,
allowing for legislation to delay the Medicare trigger.
Specific policies to enact these savings will be determined by
the Senate Finance Committee.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement reflects a total of $420.2
billion in BA and $420.0 billion in outlays in 2009, and $2.4
trillion in BA and $2.4 trillion in outlays over five years.
Discretionary and mandatory spending levels in this function
are consistent with the CBO baseline funding levels.
For 2009, the discretionary funding levels in Function
920 include a discretionary cap adjustment of up to $198
million for program integrity activities of the Health Care
Fraud and Abuse Control program, to address improper payments,
fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program.
INCOME SECURITY: FUNCTION 600
Function Summary
The Income Security function contains a range of income
security programs including: 1) major cash and in-kind means-
tested entitlements; 2) general retirement, disability, and
pension programs excluding Social Security and veterans'
compensation programs; 3) federal and military retirement
programs; 4) unemployment compensation; 5) low-income housing
programs; and 6) other low-income support programs. Major
federal entitlement programs in this function include
unemployment insurance, food stamps, child nutrition, Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), foster care, child support
enforcement, child care, Supplemental Security Income, and
spending for the refundable portion of the Earned Income
Credit.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $411.7 billion
in BA and $414.0 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $2.1
trillion in BA and $2.1 trillion in outlays over five years.
The discretionary resources for Function 600 represent an
increase over both the 2008 level and the President's request.
The funding will support efforts to reduce the unacceptable
number of Americans who live in poverty and to provide
assistance to those in need. The budget resolution includes
additional funding to address the current shortfall in the
project-based rental assistance program, prevent a shortfall in
the tenant-based rental assistance program which would occur
under the President's budget, and improve supportive housing
for the elderly, as in H.R. 2930 as passed by the House. The
House resolution also specifically rejects the President's cut
to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Economic uncertainty and rising costs are increasing the
need for food assistance for children and adults. The House
budget resolution rejects the President's proposals to
terminate food stamps for 390,000 working families and
eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and notes
that legislation that passed the House with bipartisan support
was an appropriate first step toward ensuring that nutrition
assistance keeps up with inflation and rising food prices.
Mandatory programs in Function 600 are also addressed in
the House resolution's deficit-neutral reserve funds for trade
adjustment assistance and unemployment insurance modernization,
and child support enforcement.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $414.4 billion
in BA and $419.0 billion in outlays for 2009, and $2.1 trillion
in BA and $2.1 trillion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution includes increases for the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program to continue providing heating and cooling
assistance to over five million low income households,
including the working poor, disabled persons, elderly, and
families with young children. The Senate resolution rejects the
President's proposals to cut various housing assistance
programs and includes significant resources for Section 8
housing assistance in order to address the funding shortfall
for the project-based Section 8 program. The Senate resolution
also provides increases for the Child Care Development Block
Grant and for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The Senate resolution also
includes several deficit-neutral reserve funds including
reserve funds for up to an additional $5.0 billion in mandatory
child care funding, for the reauthorization of the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families supplemental grants, for
improvements to TANF, child welfare, or child support
enforcement, for improvements to the unemployment compensation
program, and the reauthorization of the trade adjustment
assistance programs.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement calls for a total of $415.5
billion in BA and $416.0 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$2.1 trillion in BA and $2.1 trillion in outlays over five
years. The conference agreement supports a total funding level
of $5.1 billion for LIHEAP--$3.1 billion in regular funding and
$2 billion in contingency funding. Rising fuel costs have
strained family budgets. The conference agreement level for
LIHEAP will provide heating and cooling assistance to over five
million low income households, including the working poor,
disabled persons, elderly, and families with young children.
The conference agreement also recognizes that additional
funding above the 2008 level adjusted for inflation will be
needed for WIC.
The conference agreement accommodates additional funding
for the project-based rental assistance program shortfall and
to increase funding for the tenant-based rental assistance
program. The conference agreement also includes funding to
improve supportive housing for the elderly, as in H.R. 2930 as
passed by the House.
Mandatory programs in Function 600 are addressed in
several deficit-neutral reserve funds in the House and the
Senate, including reserve funds for up to an additional $5.0
billion in mandatory child care funding, for reauthorization or
expansion of TANF grants, for child welfare or child support
enforcement, for modernization of the unemployment compensation
program, and for the reauthorization of the trade adjustment
assistance programs.
SOCIAL SECURITY: FUNCTION 650
Function Summary
The Social Security function includes funding for the
Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) programs,
which provide earned Social Security benefits to nearly 50
million eligible retired workers, disabled persons, and their
spouses and survivors. In addition, this function provides
funding to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to administer the Social
Security program and ensure program integrity.
Under provisions of the Congressional Budget Act and the
Budget Enforcement Act, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
(OASI) trust fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund
are off-budget and do not appear in the budget resolution
totals. A small portion of spending in Function 650, the
general fund transfer of income taxes on Social Security
benefits to the trust funds, is considered on-budget and
appears in the budget resolution totals.
House-passed Resolution
For the unified budget, the House resolution calls for a
total of $654.3 billion in BA and $651.4 billion in outlays for
2009, and for $3.6 trillion in BA and outlays over five years.
(The budget resolution provides only the on-budget amounts,
which are $21.3 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and $135.9
billion in BA and outlays over five years.) The House
resolution rejects the President's private account proposal for
Social Security.
The administrative budget for the SSA includes resources
in Function 570 (Medicare) and Function 600 (Income Security)
as well as Function 650. The House resolution assumes a $10.4
billion discretionary funding level for the administrative
expenses of SSA and the OIG. The increased resources will
enable SSA to address the significant number of individuals
waiting for disability and hearing decisions and thereby reduce
its unacceptable backlog in case reviews.
The House resolution also accommodates an additional $240
million above the funding level through a discretionary cap
adjustment for program integrity initiatives. The cap
adjustment allows the agency to conduct an increasing number of
Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) and Supplemental Security
Income redeterminations.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for $21.3 billion in on-
budget BA and outlays for 2009, and $135.9 billion in on-budget
BA and outlays over five years. (The corresponding figures on a
unified basis are $654.5 billion in BA and $651.7 billion in
outlays for 2009 and $3.6 trillion in BA and outlays over five
years.) This spending reflects the general fund transfer of
income taxes on Social Security benefits to the trust funds.
For 2009, the Senate resolution provides $5.5 billion in
BA and $5.5 billion in outlays for SSA administrative expenses,
as outlined in section 102(c) of the resolution, which
represents a $240 million increase over the President's
request. The resolution also provides $150 million in
additional one-time funding for SSA administrative expenses.
The additional funding is intended to help address the serious
backlog of Social Security disability claims and hearings, as
well as other backlog workloads for which additional resources
are needed.
Conference Agreement
For the unified budget, the conference agreement calls
for $654.3 billion in BA and $651.4 billion in outlays for
2009, and $3.6 trillion in BA and outlays over five years. (The
conference agreement provides only the on-budget amounts, which
are $21.3 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and $136.0
billion in BA and outlays over five years.) The conference
agreement rejects the President's private account proposal for
Social Security.
For 2009, the conference agreement provides total net
discretionary resources for the administrative expenses of SSA
and the OIG (across all relevant functions) of $10.7 billion,
$240 million above the President's requested level. The total
SSA funding level in the conference agreement assumes both the
President's full request for a cap adjustment in Function 920
for program integrity efforts (including CDRs and SSI
redeterminations), and additional resources to address the
serious backlog of disability claims and hearings, as well as
other backlog workloads for which additional resources are
needed.
VETERANS BENEFITS AND SERVICES: FUNCTION 700
Function Summary
Function 700 covers the programs of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), including veterans' medical care,
compensation and pensions, education and rehabilitation
benefits, and housing programs. It also includes the Department
of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service, the
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the
American Battle Monuments Commission. More than 99 percent of
appropriated veterans' funding goes to VA, and more than 85
percent of this funding is for VA medical care and hospital
services.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $93.3 billion
in BA and $92.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $495.3
billion in BA and $492.2 billion in outlays over five years.
For 2009, the House resolution provides $4.9 billion of
discretionary budget authority over the 2008 level and $3.2
billion above the President's 2009 budget. The House resolution
reflects the very high priority that Congress places on
adequately funding veterans' medical care. The House resolution
also rejects the health care enrollment fees and drug co-
payment increases proposed by the President's budget.
The House resolution provides full funding to support
excellent health care for veterans. The House resolution
provides funding to continue addressing problems such as those
identified at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to improve
military and veterans' health care facilities and services.
The House resolution provides funding in Function 700
above the President's requested level for 2009 to address
important priorities including veterans' mental health, post-
traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury. There
have been many traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The House notes that there is legislation to
address the prevalence of epilepsy among veterans, especially
those with traumatic brain injury. Research conducted by VA and
the Department of Defense found that about half of Vietnam
veterans who suffered penetrating head injuries developed
epilepsy. The House resolution also has additional funding for
disability compensation claims processing so that VA can
continue to address the inventory of pending claims.
The House notes that many military service families are
experiencing financial difficulties due to overseas military
deployments and that Congress should consider ways to address
these difficulties.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $93.3 billion
in BA and $92.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and $490.9 billion
in BA and $488.1 billion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution provides $48.2 billion in BA in 2009 for
discretionary veterans' programs, including medical care. This
amount is $3.3 billion more than the President's proposed
funding level. The funding in the Senate resolution will ensure
that the Veterans Health Administration within VA can provide
the highest quality health care for all veterans.
Over the past several years, the President has
consistently underestimated the needs of veterans, and Congress
has made up the shortfall. In 2005, the President's budget
underfunded the Veterans Health Administration, which required
Congress to pass two supplemental funding bills. Last year, the
nation was shocked to learn of the mistreatment of soldiers
recuperating from wounds at the Walter Reed Army Medical
Center. To address these and other funding shortfalls in the
President's budget, last year's budget resolution paved the way
for the largest funding increase in VA's history.
The Senate resolution also recognizes the difficulties
veterans leaving active duty have in transitioning their
medical records to the VA. These administrative disconnects can
have dramatic and sometimes dire consequences on our young men
and women when they leave the military. It is also difficult
for VA to evaluate and treat veterans because VA may not have a
complete medical record. Therefore, the Senate resolution
supports efforts to implement fully the Wounded Warrior Act,
section 1635 in the National Defense Authorization Act. This
provision requires the Department of Defense and VA to develop
a ``fully interoperable electronic personal health information
system'' as well as establish a joint program office to oversee
the creation of this new healthcare system.
Additionally, the Senate resolution recognizes that the
President's proposed funding for VA major construction projects
will result in significant delays and cost-growth to on-going
projects. Therefore, the Senate resolution provides robust
resources for VA major projects. The Senate resolution also
notes the importance of medical research at VA, including the
Air Force Health Study, and provides the resources for this
important priority. The Senate resolution also supports robust
funding for State Veterans Cemeteries.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement provides a total of $93.3
billion in BA and $92.5 billion in outlays for 2009, and $496.3
billion in BA and $493.1 billion in outlays over five years.
The conference agreement provides $48.2 billion for 2009 for
discretionary veterans' programs, including medical care. This
amount is $4.9 billion more than the 2008 enacted level, $3.7
billion more than the amount needed to maintain purchasing
power at the 2008 level, and $3.3 billion more than the
President's proposed funding level for 2009. Over five years
(2009-2013) the agreement provides $39.0 billion more than the
President's budget. The conference agreement level enjoys the
strong support of major veterans organizations, including the
Independent Budget--which is developed by AMVETS, Disabled
American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans
of Foreign Wars--the American Legion, Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America, and Vietnam Veterans of America.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE: FUNCTION 750
Function Summary
The Administration of Justice function includes funding
for federal law enforcement activities at the Department of
Justice (DOJ) including criminal investigations by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA). The function also includes funding for border
enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Additionally, the function includes funding for civil rights
enforcement and prosecution; federal block, categorical, and
formula law enforcement grant programs to state and local
governments; prison construction and operation; the United
States Attorneys; and the federal judiciary.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $48.1 billion
in BA and $47.9 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $252.1
billion in BA and $252.2 billion in outlays over five years.
For Function 750, the House resolution rejects the President's
repeated cut of local law enforcement programs. Instead, the
function total includes enough resources to increase homeland
security programs and provide for law enforcement programs,
such as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)--
and recognizes the importance of this critical reimbursement
program.
In addition to rejecting the repeated cuts to SCAAP in
the President's budget, the House resolution also rejects the
President's cuts to Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
and Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants--both of
which are important priorities for keeping our communities
safe. The House resolution values the funding Byrne-JAG
provides to local law enforcement at a time when many
communities are combating problems including a methamphetamine
epidemic and other crimes.
In addition, the House resolution protects both our youth
and victims of crime by restoring cuts to both juvenile justice
and programs to prevent violence against women and by limiting
amounts diverted from the Crime Victims Fund. The House
resolution provides funding above the President's budget level
for 2009 for these purposes and to protect the border.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of $49.4 billion
in BA and $46.9 billion in outlays for 2009, and $246.9 billion
in BA and $247.5 billion in outlays over five years. This level
restores cuts proposed in the President's budget and provides
additional resources for several law enforcement grant programs
such as COPS, including meth hotspot grants, and the Edward
Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. In addition,
the Senate resolution restores cuts and provides additional
resources to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program,
Violence Against Women Act programs, and DOJ Tribal Justice
programs. The Senate resolution also includes increases in
funding proposed in the President's budget for border security.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement calls for a total of $48.3
billion in BA and $48.1 billion in outlays for 2009, and for
$247.5 billion in BA and $248.1 billion in outlays over five
years. For Function 750, the agreement rejects the President's
repeated cuts and provides additional resources for law
enforcement programs such as COPS, including meth hotspot
grants, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
program, and SCAAP--an important reimbursement program for our
state and local law enforcement agencies.
In addition, the conference agreement protects both our
youth and victims of crime by rejecting cuts to juvenile
justice, programs to prevent violence against women, and DOJ
tribal justice programs. The agreement provides funding for
these purposes and to protect the border.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT: FUNCTION 800
Function Summary
The General Government function consists of the
activities of the Legislative Branch, the Executive Office of
the President, general tax collection and fiscal operations of
the Department of the Treasury (including the IRS), the Office
of Personnel Management, the property and personnel costs of
the General Services Administration, and general purpose fiscal
assistance to states, localities, the District of Columbia, and
U.S. territories.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $23.5 billion
in BA and $23.9 billion in outlays for 2009, and for $107.4
billion in BA and $107.5 billion in outlays over five years.
The budget resolution includes a program integrity initiative
to increase IRS tax compliance efforts to collect unpaid taxes
from those who are not paying what they owe. Funding in this
function could be used for items such as H.R. 3548, the Plain
Language in Government Communications Act of 2007, to enhance
citizen access to government information and services by
establishing plain language as the standard style of covered
government documents issued to the public.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for $24.5 billion in BA and
$24.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and $106.8 billion in BA and
$106.9 billion in outlays over five years. The Senate
resolution fully funds the President's budget request for the
IRS, including additional resources available through a
discretionary cap adjustment that directs an additional $490
million to IRS enforcement activities. The Senate resolution
includes funding to carry out the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) by establishing the Office of Government Information
Services at the National Archives. The Senate resolution also
includes funding to construct a new headquarters for the
Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve
fund to accommodate legislation that provides for the
reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000, or makes changes to the Payments in
Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976, or both. The Senate resolution also
includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation that
achieves savings by requiring that agencies increase their use
of recovery audits.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes $24.0 billion in BA and
$24.4 billion in outlays for 2009, and $106.9 billion in BA and
$107.0 billion in outlays over five years. It fully funds the
President's budget request for the IRS, including additional
resources available through a discretionary cap adjustment
(included in Function 920) that directs $490 million to IRS
enforcement activities. The conference agreement includes a
deficit-neutral reserve fund to accommodate legislation that
provides for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools
and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, or makes changes
to the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976, or both.
NET INTEREST: FUNCTION 900
Function Summary
The Net Interest function is entirely mandatory with no
discretionary components. It consists primarily of the interest
paid by the federal government to private and foreign
government holders of U.S. Treasury securities. It includes the
interest on the public debt after deducting the interest income
received by the federal government from trust fund investments,
loans and cash balances, and earnings of the National Railroad
Retirement Investment Trust.
House-passed Resolution
For the unified budget, the House resolution calls for a
total of $216.8 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and for
$1.3 trillion in BA and outlays over five years. (The budget
resolution provides only the on-budget amounts, which are
$334.2 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and $2.0 trillion in
BA and outlays over five years.)
Since 2001, the federal government's net interest
payments on its debt have grown dramatically, becoming one of
the largest and fastest-growing components of the federal
budget, exceeding spending on education, veterans' affairs, and
homeland security combined.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for BA and outlays of $217.7
billion in unified net interest payments in 2009 and a total of
$1.3 trillion over five years. (The on-budget totals for BA and
outlays are $335.1 billion for 2009 and $2.0 trillion over five
years.)
Conference Agreement
For the unified budget, the conference agreement calls
for a total of $217.0 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and
for $1.3 trillion in BA and outlays over five years. (The on-
budget amounts are $334.4 billion in BA and outlays for 2009,
and $2.0 trillion in BA and outlays over five years.)
ALLOWANCES: FUNCTION 920
Function Summary
The Allowances function is used for planning purposes to
address the budgetary effects of proposals or assumptions that
cross several budget functions. Once such changes are enacted,
the budgetary effects are distributed to the appropriate budget
function.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution calls for a total of $0.0 billion in
BA and $0.3 billion in outlays for 2009, and for -$0.8 billion
in BA and -$0.3 billion in outlays over five years. The House
resolution includes $1.0 billion in 2008 discretionary budget
authority to cover unanticipated needs, should they arise. The
House resolution also includes $750 million in mandatory
savings over six years. These savings reflect a reconciliation
instruction to the Ways and Means Committee. To meet the
instructions, savings can be achieved in any program within the
Committee's jurisdiction, other than Social Security, which
reconciliation cannot impact.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for a total of -$14.9 billion
in BA and -$4.1 billion in outlays for 2009, and -$49.6 billion
in BA and -$43.7 billion in outlays over five years.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes a total of -$13.2
billion in BA and -$6.5 billion in outlays for 2009, and -$63.2
billion in BA and -$54.8 billion in outlays over five years.
These funding levels reflect adjustments for program integrity
and other non-security adjustments.
UNDISTRIBUTED OFFSETTING RECEIPTS: FUNCTION 950
Function Summary
The Undistributed Offsetting Receipts function includes
major offsetting receipt items that would distort the funding
levels of other functional categories if they were distributed
to them. Examples of such items include the employer share of
federal employee retirement benefits, outer continental shelf
rents and royalties, and the sale of major assets.
House-passed Resolution
For the unified budget, the House resolution calls for a
total of -$81.0 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and for
-$444.9 billion in BA and outlays over five years. (The budget
resolution provides only the on-budget amounts, which are
-$67.1 billion in BA and outlays for 2009, and -$366.9 billion
in BA and outlays over five years.) The negative spending in
Function 950 represents CBO's baseline estimate of
undistributed offsetting receipts.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution calls for unified undistributed
offsetting receipts of $81.0 billion in BA and outlays for 2009
and -$444.9 billion in BA and outlays over five years. (The on-
budget totals for BA and outlays are -$67.1 billion for 2009
and -$366.9 billion over five years.) The Senate resolution
matches CBO's baseline estimate of undistributed offsetting
receipts.
Conference Agreement
For the unified budget, the conference agreement includes
undistributed offsetting receipts of -$81.0 billion in BA and
outlays for 2009, and -$444.9 billion in BA and outlays over
five years. (The on-budget amounts are -$67.1 billion in BA and
outlays for 2009, and -$366.9 billion in BA and outlays over
five years.)
OVERSEAS DEPLOYMENTS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES: FUNCTION 970
Function Summary
This function includes funding for overseas deployments
and other activities.
House-passed Resolution
The House resolution includes, as a placeholder, an
amount equal to the President's pending request for 2008 and
2009 to account for any future House consideration of
appropriations for overseas deployments and other activities.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution did not include Function 970.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement includes Function 970 in an
amount equal to the President's pending request for 2008 and
2009 as a placeholder to account for any future consideration
of appropriations for overseas deployments and other
activities.
RECONCILIATION
House-passed Resolution
Section 201 of the House-passed resolution contains
reconciliation instructions. Reconciliation is a special
congressional procedure used to implement the spending and
revenue targets in a budget resolution. The instructions direct
a committee to make changes in laws under its jurisdiction that
affect revenues or direct spending to achieve a specified
budgetary result. The legislation used to implement those
instructions is reported as a reconciliation bill.
Section 201 contains two separate instructions to the
House Committee on Ways and Means. Subsection (a) directs the
Committee to report a measure by September 12, 2008, that
reduces direct spending by $750 million for the period of 2008
through 2013. Subsection (b) directs the Committee to report a
measure by July 15, 2008, to decrease revenues by $70 billion
in 2009 and to increase revenues by $70 billion for the period
of 2010 through 2013. When only one committee receives an
instruction the measure is reported directly to the House.
Last year the House adopted a rule relating to
reconciliation instructions (clause 7, Rule XXI). The rule
requires that any reconciliation instruction must not increase
the deficit or reduce the surplus over the pay-as-you-go time
periods. These instructions satisfy the requirement established
under clause 7 of Rule XXI.
Senate-passed Resolution
The Senate resolution did not include any reconciliation
instructions.
Conference Agreement
The conference agreement does not include any
reconciliation instructions.
RESERVE FUNDS
The House and the Senate use reserve funds in connection
with consideration of deficit-neutral legislation that complies
with each chamber's rules. The conference agreement therefore
contains reserve funds for the House and for the Senate to
address the rules and procedures that apply in each chamber.
House-passed Resolution
Sec. 301. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the State
Children's Health Insurance Program
The reserve fund accommodates legislation, within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, of up to
$50 billion in additional outlays to improve children's health
through reauthorization of the State Children's Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP) as long as the authorizing
legislation placed before the House complies with the pay-as-
you-go principle. These additional resources will sustain
current caseloads, expand coverage, and reduce the number of
uninsured children. There are over nine million uninsured
children in this nation. Last year, Congress twice passed
bipartisan legislation that would have expanded coverage to
nearly four million additional children if the President had
not twice vetoed the legislation.
Sec. 302. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for veterans and
servicemembers
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that enhances
medical care for wounded or disabled military personnel or
veterans; maintains affordable health care for military
retirees and veterans; improves disability benefits or
evaluations for wounded or disabled military personnel or
veterans, including measures to expedite the claims process;
expands eligibility to permit additional disabled military
retirees to receive both disability compensation and retired
pay; eliminates the offset between Survivor Benefit Plan
annuities and veterans' Dependency and Indemnity Compensation;
or provides or increases benefits for Filipino veterans of
World War II or their survivors and dependents, to the extent
that any such legislation complies with the pay-as-you-go
principle.
Sec. 303. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for education
benefits for servicemembers, veterans, and their
families
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that enhances
education benefits or assistance for servicemembers, members of
the National Guard, reservists, veterans, or their spouses,
survivors, or dependents, to the extent that such legislation
complies with the pay-as-you-go principle. Among the proposals
that the reserve fund could accommodate is H.R. 3882, which
would address a provision in law that results in certain
members of the National Guard and Reserves receiving less in
Montgomery GI bill (MGIB) education benefits than
servicemembers who served about the same amount of time on
active duty. The current requirement for receiving full MGIB
benefits is active-duty service of 24 months.
Sec. 304. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for infrastructure
investment
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that provides
for increased investment in infrastructure projects, so long as
it complies with the pay-as-you-go principle. The fund
accommodates new investment in highways, bridges, transit,
rail, aviation, ports, waterways, and water treatment
facilities, among other types of infrastructure.
Sec. 305. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for renewable energy
and energy efficiency
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that provides
tax incentives for or otherwise encourages the production of
renewable energy or increased energy efficiency; encourages
investment in emerging energy or vehicle technologies or carbon
capture and sequestration; provides for reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions; or facilitates the training of
workers for these industries (green collar jobs), to the extent
that any such legislation complies with the pay-as-you-go
principle. For example, one item that the reserve fund could
accommodate is extension of the solar energy and fuel cell
investment tax credit.
Sec. 306. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for middle-income
tax relief and economic equity
The reserve fund for middle-income tax relief supports
legislation to reduce tax burdens on middle-income families and
taxpayers that complies with the pay-as-you-go principle. This
includes legislation such as the extension of the 10 percent
individual income tax rate, marriage penalty relief, the child
tax credit, the research and experimentation tax credit, the
deduction for small business expensing, and the deduction for
State and local sales taxes. It also accommodates elimination
of estate taxes on all but a minute fraction of estates, and a
tax credit for school construction.
Sec. 307. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reform of the
alternative minimum tax
The reserve fund for Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief
accommodates legislation that reforms the tax code to shield
middle-income families from the AMT as long as it adheres to
the pay-as-you-go principle. Without reform, the number of
taxpayers subject to the AMT will rise from 4.2 million in 2007
to 25.7 million in 2008 and to 28.3 million in 2009, according
to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Sec. 308. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for higher education
The reserve fund accommodates reforms to the student loan
programs or changes in law that increase benefits to students,
consistent with the pay-as-you-go principle adopted by the
House. Both the House and the Senate have passed bills to
reauthorize the Higher Education Act, and this reserve fund
will provide committees maximum flexibility in finding offsets
to make college more affordable and accessible for students.
Sec. 309. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for affordable
housing
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that creates an
affordable housing fund, offset by savings from reforming the
regulation of certain government-sponsored entities, such as
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to the extent that such legislation
complies with the pay-as-you-go principle.
Sec. 310. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicare
improvements
The reserve fund accommodates additional mandatory
spending for Medicare program improvements such as increasing
the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians while holding
beneficiaries harmless from associated premium increases, as
long as the legislation is consistent with the House pay-as-
you-go principle. Under current law, physicians face a 10.6
percent cut in their Medicare payment rate on July 1 of this
year, and further cuts every year through 2016. The reserve
fund also accommodates other program improvements, such as
greater access to preventive benefits; additional assistance
for low-income beneficiaries; and better efficiencies within
the Part D program, such as prompt payment of prescription drug
claims; as long as the legislation is consistent with the pay-
as-you-go principle.
Sec. 311. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for health care
quality, effectiveness, and efficiency
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that: provides
incentives or other support for adoption of modern health
information technology; establishes a new federal or public-
private initiative for research on the comparative
effectiveness of different medical interventions; or that
provides parity between health insurance coverage of mental
health benefits and benefits for medical and surgical services,
including parity in public programs; as long as the legislation
is consistent with the House pay-as-you-go principle.
Sec. 312. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicaid and
other programs
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that prevents
or delays the implementation or administration of regulations
or administrative actions affecting Medicaid, SCHIP, or other
programs, as well as extension of the Transitional Medical
Assistance (TMA) or Qualified Individuals (QI) programs, as
long as the legislation complies with the pay-as-you-go
principle. TMA provides temporary Medicaid assistance for
families transitioning to the workforce and QI provides premium
assistance for lower-income Medicare beneficiaries.
Sec. 313. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for trade adjustment
assistance and unemployment insurance modernization
The reserve fund accommodates legislation to reauthorize
and expand the trade adjustment assistance program (TAA) and
modernize the unemployment insurance (UI) system, consistent
with the pay-as-you-go rule adopted by the House. Last year,
the House passed legislation that included much-needed reforms
to substantially increase the number of workers able to receive
needed income support and job training.
Sec. 314. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for county payments
legislation
The reserve fund accommodates any legislation that
reauthorizes the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act (Public Law 106-393) or makes changes to the
Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-565), to
the extent that such legislation complies with the pay-as-you-
go principle. Public Law 106-393 provides economic assistance
for roads and schools in rural communities affected by the loss
of receipts from sales on federal lands in their communities.
Federal payments under Public Law 94-565 to local governments
are designed to offset lost property tax revenue from federal
lands within the localities. Both forms of assistance are
intended to compensate local governments for the tax-exempt
status of the national forests and other federal lands.
Sec. 315. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for San Joaquin
River restoration and Navajo Nation water rights
settlements
The reserve fund accommodates legislation that would
fulfill the purposes of the San Joaquin River Restoration
Settlement Act, implement a Navajo Nation water rights
settlement as authorized by the Northwestern New Mexico Rural
Water Projects Act, or both, to the extent that the legislation
complies with the pay-as-you-go principle.
Sec. 316. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the National
Park Centennial Fund
The reserve fund accommodates any legislation that
provides for the establishment of the National Park Centennial
Fund, so long as it complies with the pay-as-you-go principle.
The Centennial Fund would provide additional funding for
specific Interior-approved, community-supported projects within
the National Park system to improve parks and provide better
visitor experiences.
Sec. 317. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for child support
enforcement
The reserve fund accommodates legislation to increase the
number of children who receive the full child support that is
owed to them by enhancing federal collection efforts or
supporting state initiatives to pass through 100 percent of
collected child support to families, as long as the legislation
complies with the pay-as-you-go principle. For every dollar the
federal government spends on child support enforcement, $6.50
is collected on behalf of working families. Last year, the
child support enforcement system collected $22 billion in
private support for 17 million children.
Senate-passed Resolution
Sec. 301. Strengthening and stimulating the American
economy and providing economic relief to American
families
(a) Tax Relief. The Senate-passed resolution allows the
Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels in the
resolution for one or more pieces of tax relief legislation,
which may include extensions of expiring tax cuts and
reinstatement of expired tax relief, provided the legislation
is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(b) Manufacturing. The Senate-passed resolution allows
the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels in
the resolution for legislation aimed at revitalizing the
manufacturing sector in the United States, which may include
tax incentives, increased research and development, and other
important support, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral
over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(c) Housing. The Senate-passed resolution allows the
Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels in the
resolution for legislation that would provide housing
assistance, which may include low-income rental assistance, or
establish an affordable housing fund to finance low-income
housing investments, financed by contributions from the
government-sponsored enterprises or other sources, provided the
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
(d) Flood Insurance Reform. The Senate-passed resolution
allows the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that authorizes flood
insurance reform and modernization, provided the legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(e) Trade. The Senate-passed resolution allows the
Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels in the
resolution for legislation to address our nation's trade
agreements, preferences, sanctions, enforcement, or customs
laws, provided the legislation is deficit-neutral over the
total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(f) Economic Relief for American Families. The Senate-
passed resolution allows the Chairman of the Budget Committee
to revise the levels in the resolution for legislation in the
following areas, provided it is deficit-neutral over the total
of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018:
(1) TANF--legislation reauthorizing Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families supplemental grants or making improvements
to the TANF program, child welfare programs, or child support
enforcement. The legislation for improving child welfare
includes steps to help support foster children being raised by
grandparents, older youth aging out of foster care, and other
improvements in child welfare financing to prevent child abuse
and neglect and promote permanent families for children. In
addition, legislation that strengthens support for treatment
options for families struggling with substance abuse and
addiction, and in particular takes steps to prevent the
increased use of methamphetamines as well as provides treatment
for addicted individuals and families can be accommodated
within this reserve fund to improve child welfare.
(2) Child Care--legislation providing up to $5 billion
for the child care entitlement to states.
(3) Emergency Food Assistance--legislation providing up
to $40 million for the emergency food assistance program.
(4) Unemployment Compensation--legislation improving the
unemployment compensation program.
(5) TAA--legislation reauthorizing trade adjustment
assistance programs.
(g) America's Farms and Rural America.
(1) Farm Bill. The Senate-passed resolution allows the
Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels in the
resolution for legislation to reauthorize agricultural
programs, address the needs of rural America, promote new
sources of renewable energy from U.S. farm products, provide an
economic safety net for agricultural producers, enhance the
stewardship of our natural resources, address domestic
nutrition needs, increase agricultural research, and improve
our export competitiveness, provided the legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(2) County Payments. The Senate-passed resolution
includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund allowing the Chairman
of the Budget Committee to revise the levels and limits in the
resolution for legislation that provides for the
reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000, makes changes to the Payments in
Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976, or both, provided the legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 302. Improving education
The Senate-passed resolution includes deficit-neutral
reserve funds allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to
revise the levels in the resolution for--
(a) legislation to make higher education more
accessible or more affordable, which may include
increasing funding for the federal Pell Grant program
or increasing federal student loan limits, modernize
school facilities through renovation or construction
bonds, reduce the cost to teachers of out-of-pocket
expenses for school supplies, or provide tax incentives
for highly-qualified teachers to serve in high-needs
schools; and
(b) legislation to improve student achievement
during secondary education--
provided the legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of
2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 303. Investing in infrastructure
The Senate-passed resolution provides a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels and limits in the resolution for legislation to provide
a sustained, robust federal investment in our nation's
infrastructure, which may include transit, housing, energy,
water, highways, bridges, or other important infrastructure
projects, provided the legislation is deficit-neutral over the
total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 304. Investing in clean energy, preserving the
environment, and providing for certain settlements
(a) Energy and the Environment: The Senate-passed
resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund that will
allow the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the levels
and limits in the resolution for energy legislation or
environmental legislation that would decrease greenhouse gas
emissions, reduce our nation's dependence on imported energy,
produce ``green'' jobs, or protect national parks, oceans, or
coastal areas, provided the legislation is deficit-neutral over
the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018. The legislation may
include tax provisions.
(b) Settlements: The Senate-passed resolution includes a
deficit-neutral reserve fund allowing the Chairman of the
Budget Committee to revise the levels in the resolution for
legislation to carry out the San Joaquin River Restoration
Settlement Act, or legislation to implement a Navajo Nation
water rights settlement and other provisions authorized by the
Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, provided the
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
Sec. 305. Providing for America's veterans, wounded
servicemembers, and a post-9/11 G.I. bill
The Senate-passed resolution includes deficit-neutral
reserve funds allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to
revise the levels in the resolution for--
(a) Veterans and Wounded Servicemembers: Legislation that
would--
(1) enhance medical care, disability evaluations,
or disability benefits for wounded or disabled military
personnel or veterans;
(2) provide for or increase benefits to Filipino
veterans of World War II, their survivors and
dependents;
(3) allow for the transfer of education benefits
from servicemembers to family members or veterans
(including the elimination of the offset between
Survivor Benefit Plan annuities and veterans'
dependency and indemnity compensation);
(4) provide for continuing payment to Armed Forces
Members retired or separated due to combat-related
injury after September 11, 2001, of bonuses they were
entitled to prior to retirement or separation; or
(5) enhance availability of health care and other
services for veterans in rural areas
--provided the legislation does not include increased fees
charged to veterans for pharmacy co-payments, annual
enrollment, or other third-party insurance payment offsets, and
provided it is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
(b) A Post-9/11 G.I. Bill: Legislation to enhance
educational benefits of servicemembers and veterans with
service on active duty in the Armed Forces on or after
September 11, 2001, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 306. Improving America's health
The Senate-passed resolution includes deficit-neutral
reserve funds allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to
revise the levels in the resolution for legislation in the
following areas, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral
over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
(a) SCHIP: Legislation to reauthorize the State
Children's Health Insurance Program, expand coverage of the
estimated six million children eligible but not enrolled in
either SCHIP or Medicaid, and maintain coverage for all
currently-enrolled children.
(b) Medicare Improvements--
(1) Physician Payments: Legislation to increase the
reimbursement rate for physician services under
Medicare Part B. Under current law, without further
Congressional action, physician payments under Medicare
Part B will be cut over ten percent on July 1, 2008,
and an additional five percent in subsequent years. The
President's budget does not propose to prevent this
cut. If no adjustments are made, over time, more and
more physicians will stop providing services to
Medicare patients, reducing seniors' access to care.
(2) Other Medicare Improvements: Legislation to
make other improvements to the Medicare program,
including improvements to the prescription drug benefit
under Medicare Part D, adjustments to the Medicare
Savings Program, reductions to beneficiary cost-sharing
for preventive benefits under Medicare Part B, and to
encourage physicians to train in primary care
residencies and attract more physicians and other
health care providers to States that face a shortage of
health care providers.
(3) Electronic Prescribing: Legislation to promote
deployment and use of electronic prescribing
technologies.
(4) Rural Equity Payment Policies: Legislation to
preserve existing Medicare payment provisions
supporting rural health care and promote Medicare
payment policies that increase access to quality health
care in isolated and undeserved rural areas.
(5) Medicare Low-Income Programs: Legislation
making improvements to the Medicare Savings Program and
the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy program.
(c) Health Care Quality, Effectiveness, Efficiency, and
Transparency, including:
(1) Comparative Effectiveness Research: Legislation
to establish a new federal or public-private initiative
for comparative effectiveness research.
(2) Improving the Health Care System: Legislation
to create a framework and parameters for the use of
Medicare data for the purpose of conducting research,
public reporting, and other activities to evaluate
health care safety, effectiveness, efficiency, quality,
and resource utilization in federal programs and the
private health care system, while protecting the
privacy of beneficiaries and other proprietary
information.
(3) Health Information Technology and Best
Practices--
(A) Health Information Technology:
Legislation to provide incentives or other
support for adoption of modern health
information technology, including the adoption
of electronic prescribing technology, to
improve quality and protect privacy in health
care, such as activities by the Department of
Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs
to integrate their electronic health record
data.
(B) Best Practices: Legislation that
provides for payments that are based on
adherence to clinical ``best practices.''
(d) FDA, including:
(1) Regulation: Legislation that authorizes the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate products
and assess user fees on manufacturers and importers of
these products to cover the cost of FDA's regulatory
activities, and
(2) Drug Importation: Legislation allowing for the
safe importation of prescription drugs approved by the
FDA.
(e) Medicaid, including:
(1) Rules or Administrative Actions: Legislation
addressing certain rules or administrative actions, and
(2) TMA: Legislation extending the Transitional
Medical Assistance program.
(f) Other Improvements in Health, including legislation
making health insurance coverage more affordable and available
to small businesses and their employees, improving health care
and provide quality health insurance for the uninsured and
underinsured, reauthorizing special diabetes programs,
improving long-term care, or providing for mental health
parity.
(g) Pediatric Dental Care, for legislation providing for
improved access to pediatric dental care for children from low-
income families. The Senate recognizes the importance of
pediatric dental services in the overall health of children and
the potential preventative dental care services have to save
costs in the long run. However, access to pediatric dental
services can be improved. For example, community-based dental
clinics cite low reimbursement as a strain on their ability to
treat uninsured patients and improve access to Medicaid and
SCHIP beneficiaries. To address this issue, the Senate-passed
resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for
legislation to improve pediatric oral health and increase
access to such services, including adequately compensating
qualified dental clinics and other oral health providers for
treatment of children from low-income families.
Sec. 308. Judicial pay and judgeships
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that authorizes salary
adjustments for justices and judges of the United States or
increases the number of federal judgeships, provided such
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
Sec. 309. Reforming the AMT for individuals
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would reinstate
the pre-1993 rates for the alternative minimum tax for
individuals, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over
the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 310. Repealing the 1993 increase in the income tax on
Social Security benefits
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would repeal the
1993 increase in the income tax on Social Security benefits,
provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of
2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 311. Improving energy efficiency and production
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation including specific
proposals to improve energy efficiency and production, provided
such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013
and 2008-2018.
Sec. 312. Immigration reform and enforcement
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would provide
increased border security, immigration law enforcement,
staffing, reform measures, and penalties against employers
hiring undocumented immigrants; prohibit employers hiring
undocumented immigrants from receiving federal contracts;
provide funding for enforcing sanctions against such employers;
deploy National Guard troops to the northern or southern
borders of the U.S. under certain circumstances; evaluate
noncitizen prison populations for removable criminal aliens; or
implement exit data, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 313. Border security, immigration enforcement, and
criminal alien removal
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that funds border
security, immigration enforcement, and criminal alien removal
programs, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over the
total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 314. Science parks
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that provides grants
and loan guarantees for developing and constructing science
parks to promote innovation through high technology, provided
such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013
and 2008-2018.
Sec. 315. Pilot program for background checks on long-term
care employees
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that provides for a
three-year extension of the pilot program for national and
state background checks on direct patient access employees of
long-term care facilities or providers under section 307 of the
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
of 2003 and removes the limit on the number of participating
states under the pilot program, provided such legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 316. Studying the effect of cooperation with local law
enforcement
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that requires an
assessment of the impact of local ordinances prohibiting
cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security regarding
the effectiveness of law enforcement, success rates of criminal
prosecutions, reporting of criminal activities by immigrant
victims of crime, and level of public safety; changes in the
number of reported incidents or complaints of racial profiling;
or wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent
residents, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over
the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 317. Terminating deductions from mineral revenue
payments to states
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would terminate
the authority to deduct certain amounts from mineral revenues
payable to states, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral
over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 318. Establishing state internet sites for disclosure
of information regarding payments made under the
state Medicaid program
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution if legislation is reported by the
Finance Committee that provides for states to disclose through
a publicly accessible internet site institutional providers
receiving payment under the state Medicaid program, amounts
paid to each provider each year, the number of patients treated
by each provider, and the dollar amount paid per patient to
each provider, provided that the Finance Committee is within
its committee allocation pursuant to section 302(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and such legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 319. Traumatic brain injury
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would provide at
least $9 million for 2009 to fund traumatic brain injury
programs, provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over the
total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 320. Improving the animal health and disease program
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would fully fund
the animal health and disease program, provided such
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
Sec. 321. Implementing yellow ribbon reintegration program
for National Guard and Reserve members
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would provide for
implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program for
members of the National Guard and Reserve, provided such
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013.
Sec. 322. Reimbursing states for costs of housing
undocumented criminal aliens
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would reimburse
states and local governments for costs incurred to house
undocumented criminal aliens, provided such legislation is
deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 323. Acceleration of phased-in eligibility for
concurrent receipt of benefits
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would change the
date from December 31, 2013, to September 30, 2008, by which
eligibility of members of the Armed Forces for concurrent
receipt of retired pay and veterans' disability compensation
would be fully phased in, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 324. Increased use of recovery audits
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would achieve
savings by requiring agencies to increase their use of recovery
audits and use those savings to reduce the deficit, provided
such legislation would not increase the deficit over the total
of 2008-2013 or 2008-2018.
Sec. 325. Food safety
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would expand FDA
and Department of Agriculture food safety inspection services,
develop risk-based approaches to inspecting domestic and
imported food products, provide for infrastructure and
information technology systems to enhance the safety of the
food supply, expand scientific capacity and training, invest in
improved surveillance and testing technologies, provide for
foodborne illness awareness and education, and enhance the
FDA's recall authority, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 326. Demonstration project regarding Medicaid coverage
of low-income HIV-infected individuals
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would provide for
a demonstration project under which a state may apply to
provide medical assistance under a state Medicaid program to
HIV-infected individuals who are otherwise ineligible for such
medical assistance, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 327. Reducing the income threshold for the refundable
child tax credit
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would reduce the
income threshold for the refundable child tax credit to $10,000
for 2009 and 2010 with no inflation adjustment, provided such
legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and
2008-2018.
Sec. 329. Education reform
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would promote
flexibility in federal education programs, restore state and
local authority in education, ensure that public schools are
held accountable for results, and prevent discrimination
against homeschoolers, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 330. Processing naturalization applications
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would provide for
adjudication of name check and security clearances by the FBI
or provide for adjudication of applicants, including
interviewing and swearing-in of applicants by the Department of
Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by
October 1, 2008, for individuals who have submitted
applications for naturalization before March 1, 2008, provided
such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of 2008-2013
and 2008-2018.
Sec. 331. Access to quality and affordable health insurance
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would promote
choice and competition to drive down costs and improve access
to health care for all Americans without increasing taxes,
strengthen health care quality by promoting wellness and
empowering consumers with information on quality and cost,
protect Americans' economic security from catastrophic events
by expanding insurance options and improving health insurance
portability, and promote advanced research and development of
new treatments and cures, provided such legislation is deficit-
neutral over the total of 2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 332. 9/11 health program
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution if the HELP Committee reports
legislation to establish a program that includes medical
monitoring and treatment to address adverse health impacts
linked to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and if the HELP
Committee finds that previously spent World Trade Center Health
Program funds were used to provide screening, monitoring, and
treatment services and directly related program support,
provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of
2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Sec. 333. Banning Medicare Advantage and Medicare
prescription drug plan sales and marketing abuses
The Senate-passed resolution includes a reserve fund
allowing the Chairman of the Budget Committee to revise the
levels in the resolution for legislation that would limit
inappropriate or abusive marketing tactics by private insurers
and their agents offering Medicare Advantage or Medicare
prescription drug plans by enacting recommendations agreed to
by leaders of the health insurance industry on March 3, 2008,
provided such legislation is deficit-neutral over the total of
2008-2013 and 2008-2018.
Conference Agreement
Title II of the conference agreement contains reserve
funds.
Subtitle A: House reserve funds
Subtitle A of the conference agreement contains the
following reserve funds that apply only in the House:
Sec. 201. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for SCHIP
legislation (Sec. 301 of the House-passed resolution)
Sec. 202. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
America's veterans and servicemembers (Sec. 302 of the
House-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 203. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
education benefits for servicemembers, veterans, and
their families (Sec. 303 of the House-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 204. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
infrastructure investment (Sec. 304 of the House-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 205. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
renewable energy and energy efficiency (Sec. 305 of the
House-passed resolution)
Sec. 206. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for middle-
income tax relief and economic equity (Sec. 306 of the
House-passed resolution)
Sec. 207. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reform
of the alternative minimum tax (Sec. 307 of the House-
passed resolution)
Sec. 208. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for higher
education (Sec. 308 of the House-passed resolution)
Sec. 209. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
affordable housing (Sec. 309 of the House-passed
resolution)
Sec. 210. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicare
improvements (Sec. 310 of the House-passed resolution,
as modified)
Sec. 211. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for health
care quality, effectiveness, and efficiency (Sec. 311
of the House-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 212. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Medicaid
and other programs (Sec. 312 of the House-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 213. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for a 9/11
health program (Sec. 332 of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 214. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for trade
adjustment assistance and unemployment insurance
modernization (Sec. 313 of the House-passed resolution)
Sec. 215. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for county
payments legislation (Sec. 314 of the House-passed
resolution)
Sec. 216. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for San
Joaquin River restoration and Navajo Nation water
rights settlements (Sec. 315 of the House-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 217. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the
National Park Centennial Fund (Sec. 316 of the House-
passed resolution)
Sec. 218. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for child
support enforcement (Sec. 317 of the House-passed
resolution)
Sec. 219. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for children
and families (Sec. 301(f) of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 220. Reserve fund adjustment for revenue
measures in the House
Last year, section 321 of the Conference Report to
accompany S. Con. Res. 21 created a reserve fund for
consideration of any revenue measure (including a conference
report) in the House. This section supersedes last year's
provision. It applies to revenue measures that would increase
the deficit or reduce the surplus in violation of the House
PAYGO rule and would reduce revenues below the revenue levels
for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 as measured
against the Congressional Budget Office baseline used for
consideration of this concurrent resolution. The revenue
measure can become effective only upon certification by the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget that any reduction in revenues for the
period comprising the fiscal years through 2013 will not exceed
the lesser of $340.570 billion or 80 percent of the sum of the
unified budget surplus for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, as
estimated by them no earlier than October 1, 2009. If this
certification provision is not included in the language of the
measure, the Chairman of the House Budget Committee will adjust
aggregate revenue levels in the resolution to create a point of
order in the House against the measure under section 311 of the
Congressional Budget Act. The Chairman would readjust the
levels upon disposition of any measure considered in violation
of this section. This point of order would be in addition to a
House PAYGO point of order, which lies against any bill that is
not deficit-neutral over the periods specified in the PAYGO
rule, notwithstanding any other provisions of this conference
agreement.
Any measure, including a conference report, that is in
violation of the PAYGO rule and decreases revenues in fiscal
years 2009 through 2013 below the CBO baseline for that period,
would have this additional point of order against it in the
House, unless the measure includes a provision consistent with
the following:
None of the provisions of this Act or amendments
made by it shall have legal force or effect unless on
or after October 1, 2009, the Secretary of the Treasury
and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
project a unified budget surplus for the fiscal years
2012 and 2013, estimate the budgetary impact of this
Act, and certify by a joint communication, published in
the Federal Register, that the estimated reduction in
revenues for the period comprising the fiscal years
through 2013 resulting from this Act (including any
amendments made by this Act) will not exceed the lesser
of $340.570 billion or 80 percent of the sum of the
projected unified surplus for fiscal years 2012 and
2013.
Section 220 is a reserve fund that applies in the House
only. It does not apply in the Senate. Its inclusion in this
conference report, and the inclusion of the above language by
the House of Representatives in this joint statement regarding
the operation of this section in the House, is not to be
construed as setting any procedural precedent in the Senate and
does not reflect the Senate's agreement to any provisions in
any conference agreement on revenue measures that are affected
in the House by the requirements of this reserve fund.
Subtitle B: Senate reserve funds
Subtitle B of the conference agreement contains the
following reserve funds that apply only in the Senate:
Sec. 221. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to
strengthen and stimulate the American economy and
provide economic relief to American families (Sec. 301
of the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 222. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
improving education (Secs. 302 and 329 of the Senate-
passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 223. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
investments in America's infrastructure (Sec. 303 of
the Senate-passed resolution)
Sec. 224. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to invest in
clean energy, preserve the environment, and provide for
certain settlements (combines provisions from Sec. 304
and Sec. 311 of the Senate-passed resolution, as
modified)
Sec. 225. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
America's veterans and servicemembers (Sec. 305(a) of
the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 226. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
education benefits for servicemembers, veterans, and
their families (Sec. 305(b) of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 227. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve
America's health (Secs. 306, 315, and 333 of the
Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 228. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reform
of the alternative minimum tax (Sec. 309 of the Senate-
passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 229. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for judicial
pay and judgeships (Sec. 308 of the Senate-passed
resolution)
Sec. 230. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
immigration enforcement and reform (replaces Secs. 312,
313, 316, 322, and 330 of the Senate-passed resolution)
Sec. 231. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for science
parks (Sec. 314 of the Senate-passed resolution, as
modified)
Sec. 232. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to terminate
deductions from mineral revenue payments to States
(Sec. 317 of the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 233. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
increased used of recovery audits (Sec. 324 of the
Senate-passed resolution)
Sec. 234. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for food
safety (Sec. 325 of the Senate-passed resolution, as
modified)
Sec. 235. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for
demonstration project regarding Medicaid coverage of
low-income HIV-infected individuals (Sec. 326 of the
Senate-passed resolution)
Sec. 236. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reducing
the income threshold for the refundable child tax
credit, and other selected tax relief policies (Sec.
327 of the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 237. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for a 9/11
health program (Sec. 332 of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Throughout this subtitle, the use of the word ``limits''
refers to the discretionary spending limits in the Senate.
BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
The House and the Senate use enforcement provisions to
ensure that legislation is consistent with the budget plan set
forth in the budget resolution. The conference agreement
contains enforcement provisions for the House and Senate to
accommodate the procedures that apply to consideration of
legislation in each chamber. Other provisions applicable in
both the House and Senate are included in Subtitle C.
House-passed Resolution
Sec. 401. Program Integrity Initiatives
Section 401 provides for specific allocation adjustments
for the Committee on Appropriations when the Committee reports
legislation that includes increased appropriations for the
following four program integrity initiatives: (1) continuing
disability reviews and Supplemental Security Income
redeterminations for the Social Security Administration; (2)
improved compliance with the provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code; (3) the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control program at
the Department of Health and Human Services; and (4)
unemployment insurance in-person reemployment and eligibility
assessments and improper payment reviews.
The adjustments under this section are intended to do no
more than provide additional administrative funding for current
program integrity activities to eliminate errors or fraud in
the operation of a number of federal programs and to promote
compliance with federal tax laws. For example, the adjustment
for unemployment compensation programs is provided to increase
limited administrative funding for current program integrity
activities, and not to finance other proposals that would
adversely affect workers who have received unemployment
benefits. The section outlines procedures for these allocation
adjustments.
Sec. 402. Oversight of Government Performance
Section 402 directs Committees of the House of
Representatives to review programs within their jurisdiction
for waste, fraud, and abuse and to include recommendations for
improved governmental performance in views and estimates
submitted to the Budget Committee pursuant to section 301(d) of
the Congressional Budget Act.
Sec. 403. Advance Appropriations
Section 403 limits the amount and type of advance
appropriations for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. Under this
section, advance appropriations for fiscal year 2010 are
restricted to $27.558 billion for the programs, projects,
activities, or accounts to be included in the joint explanatory
statement of managers to accompany the conference report on
this resolution. Advances for 2011 are listed separately. The
section defines advance appropriations as any new discretionary
budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making
general or continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2009 that
first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2009.
Sec. 404. Overseas Deployments and Emergency Needs
Section 404 establishes a procedure whereby provisions or
measures reported by the Committee on Appropriations will be
exempt from the restrictions under titles III and IV of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The exemption will apply if:
(1) the Committee determines and designates that amounts
appropriated are necessary for overseas deployments and related
activities; or, (2) the Committee provides discretionary
appropriations and designates those amounts as necessary to
meet emergency needs.
Sec. 405. Budgetary Treatment of Certain Discretionary
Administrative Expenses
Section 405 provides that administrative expenses of the
Social Security Administration and of the Postal Service shall
be part of the annual appropriations process by including those
expenses in the allocation to the Committee on Appropriations
pursuant to section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act.
Sec. 406. Application and Effect of Changes in Allocations
and Aggregates
Section 406 details the allocation and aggregate
adjustment procedures that are required to accommodate
legislation for the reserve funds and program integrity
initiatives in this resolution. This section provides that the
adjustments shall apply while the legislation is under
consideration and take effect upon enactment of the
legislation. In addition, the section requires the adjustments
to be printed in the Congressional Record.
The section also notes that, for purposes of enforcement,
aggregate and allocation levels resulting from adjustments made
pursuant to this resolution will have the same effect as if
adopted in the original levels of Title I of this budget
resolution. This section also provides that the Committee on
the Budget shall determine the budgetary levels and estimates
which are required to enforce points of order under the
Congressional Budget Act.
Sec. 407. Adjustments to Reflect Changes in Concepts and
Definitions
Section 407 requires the chairman of the Committee on the
Budget to adjust levels and allocations in this budget
resolution upon enactment of legislation that changes concepts
or definitions.
Sec. 408. Exercise of Rulemaking Powers
Section 408 provides that, once adopted, the provisions
of the budget resolution are incorporated into the rules of the
House of Representatives and shall supersede inconsistent
rules. The section recognizes the constitutional right of the
House of Representatives to change those rules at any time.
Senate-passed Resolution
The FY2008 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 21, 110th
Congress) included many important enforcement provisions which
remain in effect in the Senate. These include:
<bullet> The Senate pay-as-you-go point of order (Sec.
201), requiring that new mandatory spending and tax
cuts be offset or get 60 votes. The Senate-passed
resolution assumed that all existing balances on the
Senate pay-as-you-go ledger would be eliminated, and
the scorecard reset to zero for 2008-2013 and 2008-
2018;
<bullet> The 60-vote point of order against
reconciliation increasing the deficit (Sec. 202);
<bullet> The 60-vote point of order against emergency
designations (Sec. 204);
<bullet> Continued 60-vote enforcement of Senate
budgetary points of order (Sec. 205); and
<bullet> The requirement that the discretionary
administrative expenses of the Social Security
Administration be included in the Appropriations
Committee's 302(a) allocation in any budget resolution
(Sec. 210).
The Senate-passed resolution for 2009, S. Con. Res. 70,
included the following enforcement provisions, most of which
updated provisions that were part of the 2008 budget
resolution.
Subtitle A--Direct Spending and Receipts
Sec. 201. Point of order against legislation increasing
long-term deficits
The Senate-passed resolution included a point of order in
the Senate against legislation that would cause a net deficit
increase (including changes in revenues and mandatory spending,
but excluding debt service) in any of the four consecutive ten-
year periods beginning with the first fiscal year that is ten
years after the budget year provided for in the most recently-
adopted budget resolution (for 2009 these time periods would be
2019-2028, 2029-2038, 2039-2048, and 2049-2058). The point of
order could be waived with 60 votes, and it would sunset at the
end of 2017.
Sec. 202. Point of order--20 percent limit on new direct
spending in reconciliation legislation
The Senate-passed resolution would create a 60-vote point
of order against provisions of any reconciliation legislation
that would increase outlays if the effect of all the provisions
in any committee's jurisdiction would create gross new direct
spending exceeding 20% of the total savings instruction to that
committee.
Subtitle B--Discretionary Spending
Sec. 211. Discretionary spending caps
The Senate-passed resolution would strengthen fiscal
responsibility by establishing discretionary spending limits
for 2008 and 2009, and enforce them with a point of order in
the Senate that could only be waived with 60 votes. For 2008,
it provides a cap of $1,055.478 billion in budget authority and
$1,093.343 billion in outlays. For 2009, it sets a cap of
$1,008.482 billion in budget authority and $1,108.449 billion
in outlays.
As in past years, the Senate resolution would permit
adjustments to the discretionary spending limits in 2009 for
program integrity initiatives, such as Social Security
Administration continuing disability reviews (CDRs) and
Supplemental Security Income redeterminations, enhanced
Internal Revenue Service tax enforcement to address the tax
gap, appropriations for the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control
(HCFAC) program at the Department of Health and Human Services,
and unemployment insurance improper payments reviews at the
Department of Labor. It also provides for adjustments in 2008
and 2009 for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as
adjustments in 2009 for comparative effectiveness research at
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
The Senate resolution also includes a program integrity
cap adjustment dedicated to reducing waste in defense
contracting. It allows the Chairman of the Budget Committee to
increase the discretionary spending cap by up to $100,000,000
to accommodate legislation appropriating funding for the
Department of Defense for additional activities to reduce
waste, fraud, abuse, and overpayments in defense contracting;
achieve the legal requirement for the Pentagon to submit
auditable financial statements; subject contracts performed
outside the U.S. to the same requirements as those performed
domestically; or improve accounting for and ordering of spare
parts.
Sec. 212. Advance appropriations
As in past years, the Senate-passed resolution provided a
supermajority point of order in the Senate against
appropriations in fiscal year 2009 bills that would first
become effective in any year after fiscal year 2009, and
against appropriations in fiscal year 2010 bills that would
first become effective in any year after fiscal year 2010. It
would not apply against appropriations for the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, nor against changes in mandatory programs
or deferrals of mandatory budget authority from one year to the
next. There is an exemption for each of fiscal years 2009 and
2010 of up to $29.352 billion for the following:
ACCOUNTS IDENTIFIED FOR ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS IN THE SENATE
Labor, HHS:
Employment and Training Administration
Job Corps
Education for the Disadvantaged
School Improvement
Children and Family Services (Head Start)
Special Education
Career, Technical, and Adult Education
Financial Services and General Government: Payment to
Postal Service
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development: Section 8
Renewals
Sec. 213. Appropriations changes in mandatory programs
(ChIMPs) with net costs
The Senate-passed resolution again included a 60-vote
point of order against any provision of appropriations
legislation that would have been estimated as affecting direct
spending or receipts if it were included in legislation other
than appropriations legislation, if all three of the following
conditions are met:
(1) the provision would increase BA in--
(a) at least one of the nine fiscal years
that follow the budget year, and
(b) over the period of the total of the
budget year and the nine fiscal years following
the budget year;
(2) the provision would increase net outlays over
the period of the total of the nine fiscal years
following the budget year; and
(3) the sum total of all changes in mandatory
programs in the legislation would increase net outlays
as measured over the period of the total of the nine
fiscal years following the budget year.
The point of order would not apply against any ChIMPs
that were enacted in each of the three fiscal years prior to
the budget year. The point of order works like the Byrd rule in
that it applies against individual provisions of legislation
rather than against an entire bill, amendment, or conference
report. If the point of order is not waived then the offending
provision is stricken.
Sec. 214. Treatment of Postal Service administrative
expenses
The 2008 budget resolution included a provision, which
remains in effect, requiring that all budget resolutions
include the Administrative Expenses of the Social Security
Administration in the 302(a) allocations to the Appropriations
Committee. The Senate-passed resolution for 2009 included a
new, similar requirement, that all budget resolutions include
the Administrative Expenses of the Postal Service in the 302(a)
allocations to the Appropriations Committee.
Subtitle C--Other Provisions
Sec. 221. Application and effect of changes in allocations
and aggregates
This section of the Senate-passed resolution details the
adjustment procedures required to accommodate legislation
provided for in this resolution, and requires adjustments made
to be printed in the Congressional Record. For purposes of
enforcement, the levels resulting from adjustments made
pursuant to this resolution will have the same effect as if
adopted in the levels of Title I of this resolution. The
Committee on the Budget of the Senate determines the budgetary
levels and estimates required to enforce budgetary points of
order, including those pursuant to this resolution and the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Sec. 222. Adjustments to reflect changes in concepts and
definitions
This section of the Senate-passed resolution allows the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget to adjust levels in
this resolution upon the enactment of legislation that changes
concepts or definitions.
Secs. 223 and 224. Debt disclosure
These sections reflected an amendment adopted in the
Senate Budget Committee regarding the levels of debt assumed in
the budget resolution and to require budget resolutions to
contain a debt disclosure section.
Sec. 225. Exercise of rulemaking powers
This section of the Senate-passed resolution recognizes
that the provisions of this resolution are adopted pursuant to
the rulemaking power of the Senate, and also recognizes the
Constitutional right of the Senate to change those rules as
they apply to the Senate.
Sec. 226. Circuit breaker to protect Social Security
This section of the Senate resolution would create a 60-
vote point of order, in any year in which CBO projects an on-
budget deficit for the budget year or any subsequent fiscal
year, against a budget resolution for that year (and amendments
thereto) which would fail to reduce on-budget deficits relative
to CBO's projections and put the budget on a path to achieve
on-budget balance within five years. There is an exception
during times of war and low economic growth.
Conference Agreement
Title III contains the following enforcement provisions:
Subtitle A: House Enforcement Provisions
Sec. 301. Program integrity initiatives and other
adjustments (Secs. 401 and 404 of the House-passed resolution,
as modified, and Sec. 211(d) of the Senate-passed resolution,
as made applicable in the House)
Sec. 302. Point of order against advance appropriations
(Sec. 403 of the House-passed resolution, as modified)
Accounts identified for advance appropriations in the
House:
Advance Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010:
Employment and Training Administration
Job Corps
Education for the Disadvantaged
School Improvement
Children and Family Services (Head Start)
Special Education
Career, Technical and Adult Education
Payment to Postal Service
Tenant-based Rental Assistance
Project-based Rental Assistance
Advance Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011:
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Subtitle B: Senate Enforcement Provisions
The FY2008 budget resolution (S. Con Res. 21, 110th
Congress) included many important enforcement provisions which
remain in effect in the Senate. These include:
<bullet> The Senate pay-as-you-go point of order
(Sec. 201), requiring that new mandatory spending and
tax cuts be offset or get 60 votes. The Senate-passed
resolution assumed that all existing balances on the
Senate pay-as-you-go ledger would be eliminated, and
the scorecard reset to zero for 2008-2013 and 2008-
2018;
<bullet> The 60-vote point of order against
reconciliation increasing the deficit (Sec. 202);
<bullet> The 60-vote point of order against
emergency designations (Sec. 204);
<bullet> Continued 60-vote enforcement of Senate
budgetary points of order (Sec. 205); and
<bullet> The requirement that the discretionary
administrative expenses of the Social Security
Administration be included in the Appropriations
Committee's 302(a) allocation in any budget resolution
(Sec. 210).
Sec. 311. Senate point of order against legislation
increasing long-term deficits (Sec. 201 of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 312. Discretionary spending limits, program
integrity initiatives, and other adjustments (Sec. 211 of the
Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 313. Point of order against advance appropriations
(Sec. 212 of the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Accounts identified for advance appropriations in the
Senate:
Labor, HHS:
Employment and Training Administration
Job Corps
Education for the Disadvantaged
School Improvement
Children and Family Services (Head Start)
Special Education
Career, Technical, and Adult Education
Financial Services and General Government: Payment to
Postal Service
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development:
Tenant-based Rental Assistance
Project-based Rental Assistance
Sec. 314. Senate point of order against provisions of
appropriations legislation that constitute changes in mandatory
programs with net costs (Sec. 213 of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
Sec. 315. Senate point of order against legislation
increasing short-term deficit
This section creates a point of order in the Senate
against legislation other than appropriations measures that
would increase the on-budget deficit by more than $10 billion
in any year covered by the budget resolution, unless the
legislation is fully offset over the total of all of the years
covered by the budget resolution. Its purpose is to complement
paygo, by requiring that any measure with a cost of over $10
billion in any year be paid for over the budget window. The
point of order can be waived only with 60 votes. Like paygo and
other Senate points of order, it will remain in place until
September 30, 2017.
Subtitle C: Other Provisions
Sec. 321. Oversight of government performance (Sec. 402
of the House-passed resolution and Sec. 211(d) of the Senate-
passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 322. Budgetary treatment of certain discretionary
administrative expenses (Sec. 405 of the House-passed
resolution and Sec. 214 of the Senate-passed resolution, as
modified)
Sec. 323. Application and effect of changes in
allocations and aggregates (Sec. 406 of the House-passed
resolution and Sec. 221 of the Senate-passed resolution, as
modified)
Sec. 324. Adjustments to reflect changes in concepts and
definitions (Sec. 407 of the House-passed resolution and Sec.
222 of the Senate-passed resolution, as modified)
Sec. 325. Exercise of rulemaking powers (Sec. 408 of the
House-passed resolution and Sec. 225 of the Senate-passed
resolution, as modified)
POLICY
House-passed Resolution
Title V of the House-passed resolution contains the
following policy sections:
Sec. 501. Policy on middle-income tax relief
Sec. 502. Policy on defense priorities
Senate-passed Resolution
Unlike Title V of the House-passed resolution, the Senate
resolution did not contain a policy statement title.
Conference Agreement
Title IV of the conference agreement contains the
following policy sections:
Sec. 401. Policy on middle-income tax relief
Sec. 401 applies only in the House.
The policy of the Senate with regard to middle-income tax
relief is as follows:
The Senate adopted by a vote of 99 to 1 an amendment to
S. Con. Res. 70 as reported by the Senate Committee on the
Budget which, with regard to tax relief, reduced the revenue
aggregates by $340.570 billion to provide for--
(A) extension of the child tax credit;
(B) extension of marriage penalty relief;
(C) extension of the 10 percent individual income
tax bracket;
(D) reform of the estate tax to protect small
businesses and family farms;
(E) extension of the adoption tax credit;
(F) extension of the dependent care tax credit;
(G) tax relief for America's troops and veterans;
(H) property tax relief for homeowners;
(I) expansion of the availability of the child tax
credit for low-income families;
(J) relief for those whose homes were damaged or
destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and
(K) other, unspecified tax relief.
It is the policy of the Senate that this resolution
supports both the enactment of the policies listed above and
the Senate pay-as-you-go rule in section 201 of the FY2008
budget resolution (S. Con Res. 21, 110th Congress), and that
any additional revenues needed to meet the Senate's tax policy
goals can be achieved by closing the tax gap, shutting down
abusive tax shelters, addressing offshore tax havens, and
without raising taxes.
Sec. 402. Policy on defense priorities
Sec. 402 applies in both the House and the Senate.
SENSE OF THE HOUSE, SENATE, AND CONGRESS
House-passed Resolution
Title VI of the House-passed resolution contains the
following Sense of the House sections:
Sec. 601. Sense of the House on the Innovation
Agenda and America COMPETES Act
Sec. 602. Sense of the House on servicemembers' and
veterans' health care and other priorities
Sec. 603. Sense of the House on homeland security
Sec. 604. Sense of the House regarding long-term
fiscal reform
Sec. 605. Sense of the House regarding waste,
fraud, and abuse
Sec. 606. Sense of the House regarding extension of
the statutory pay-as-you-go rule
Sec. 607. Sense of the House on long-term budgeting
Sec. 608. Sense of the House regarding the need to
maintain and build upon efforts to fight hunger
Sec. 609. Sense of the House regarding affordable
health coverage
Sec. 610. Sense of the House regarding pay parity
Sec. 611. Sense of the House regarding subprime
lending and foreclosures
Sec. 612. Sense of the House regarding the
importance of child support enforcement
Senate-passed Resolution
Title III of the Senate-passed resolution contains the
following Sense of the Senate sections:
Sec. 307. Sense of the Senate regarding Medicaid
administrative regulations
The Senate-passed resolution expresses the sense of the
Senate that administrative regulations should not undermine
Medicaid's role as a critical component of health care in the
United States, cap Medicaid spending or otherwise shift
Medicaid cost burdens to state or local governments and their
taxpayers and health providers, or undermine the federal
guarantee of health insurance coverage that Medicaid provides.
Sec. 328. Sense of the Senate regarding diversion
of funds set aside for USPTO
The Senate-passed resolution expresses the sense of the
Senate that none of the funds recommended by this resolution or
appropriated or otherwise made available under any other Act to
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shall be diverted,
redirected, transferred, or used for any purpose other than
that for which the funds were intended.
Sec. 334. Sense of the Senate regarding ``moving to
work agreement''
The Senate-passed resolution expresses the sense of the
Senate that the Philadelphia Housing Authority should be
granted a one-year extension of its ``Moving to Work
Agreement'' with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
Sec. 335. Sense of the Senate regarding balanced
budget amendment to the Constitution of the United
States
The Senate-passed resolution expresses the sense of the
Senate that a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution
should be voted on at the earliest opportunity.
Sec. 336. Sense of the Senate regarding
comprehensive legislation to legalize importation of
prescription drugs from highly-industrialized countries
with safe pharmaceutical infrastructures
The Senate-passed resolution expresses the sense of the
Senate in support of Senate consideration of comprehensive
legislation to legalize the importation of prescription drugs
from highly-industrialized countries with safe pharmaceutical
infrastructures and create a regulatory pathway to ensure such
drugs are safe.
Conference Agreement
Title V of the conference agreement contains the
following sense of the Senate and Congress provisions:
Subtitle A: Sense of the Senate
Sec. 501. Sense of the Senate regarding Medicaid
administrative regulations
Subtitle B: Sense of the Congress
Sec. 511. Sense of the Congress on servicemembers' and
veterans' health care and other priorities
Sec. 512. Sense of the Congress on homeland security
Sec. 513. Sense of the Congress regarding long-term
fiscal reform
Sec. 514. Sense of the Congress regarding waste, fraud,
and abuse
Sec. 515. Sense of the Congress regarding extension of
the statutory pay-as-you-go rule
Sec. 516. Sense of the Congress on long-term budgeting
Sec. 517. Sense of the Congress regarding affordable
health coverage
Sec. 518. Sense of the Congress regarding pay parity
Sec. 519. Sense of the Congress regarding subprime
lending and foreclosures
Sec. 520. Sense of the Congress regarding the need to
maintain and build upon efforts to fight hunger
Sec. 521. Sense of the Congress regarding the importance
of child support enforcement
Sec. 522. Sense of the Congress on the Innovation Agenda
and America COMPETES Act
ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS
Section 301(g)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act
requires that the joint explanatory statement accompanying a
conference report on a budget resolution set forth the common
economic assumptions upon which the joint statement and
conference report are based. The conference agreement is built
upon the economic forecasts developed by the Congressional
Budget Office, as updated in March 2008 to include the
forecasted economic effects of the fiscal stimulus package.
House-passed Resolution
CBO's economic assumptions were used.
Senate-passed Resolution
CBO's economic assumptions were used.
Conference Agreement
CBO's economic assumptions were used.
ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS OF THE BUDGET RESOLUTION
[Calendar Years]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real GDP, Percent Change, Year Over Year........................ 1.9 2.3 3.9 3.6 2.7 2.6
GDP Price Index, Percent Change, Year Over Year................. 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9
Consumer Prices, Percent Change, Year Over Year................. 2.8 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.2 2.2
Unemployment Rate, Percent, Yearly Average...................... 5.2 5.5 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.8
3-Month Treasury Bill Rate, Percent, Yearly Average............. 2.1 2.4 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.7
10-Year Treasury Bond Rate, Percent, Yearly Average............. 3.6 3.8 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLOCATIONS
As required in section 302 of the Congressional Budget
Act, the joint statement of managers includes an allocation,
based on the conference agreement, of total budget authority
and total budget outlays among each of the appropriate
committees. The allocations are as follows:
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
PAY-AS-YOU-GO SCORECARD FOR THE SENATE REFLECTING LEVELS FOR THE
CONFERENCE AGREEMENT
Period of the current fiscal year, the budget year, and
the four fiscal years following the budget year: $0.
Period of the current fiscal year, the budget year, and
the nine fiscal years following the budget year: $0.
HOUSE RULE XXVIII
The adoption of this conference agreement by the two
houses would result in the engrossment of a House Joint
Resolution changing the statutory limit on the public debt
pursuant to House Rule XXVIII, clause 3. The rule requires a
joint resolution in the following form:
Resolved, by the Senate and the House of
Representatives of the United States in Congress
assembled, that subsection (b) of section 3101 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the
dollar limitation contained in such subsection and
inserting in lieu thereof $10,615,000,000,000.
Legislative jurisdiction over the public debt remains
with the Finance Committee in the Senate and the Committee on
Ways and Means in the House.
John Spratt,
Rosa L. DeLauro,
Chet Edwards,
Managers on the Part of the House.
Kent Conrad,
Patty Murray,
Ron Wyden,
Managers on the Part of the Senate.
<all>