H. Res. 148.. 92-1__. 92-1 Magnuson 92-1 Pettis 92-1_ Dingell 92-1 Ruppe 92-1 Sikes 92-1__. Horton 92-1_ Michel 92-1 Cederberg 92-1__ Bow 10. Create House Select Committee on the Bureau of the Budget: 11. Require Federal Budget To Contain Information on Indirect Expendi 13. Require Federal Budget To Include Information on Estimated Tax Expenditures and Actual Tax Expenditures for Last Fiscal Year: 92-1 Chiles S. 1334_.. 14. Require Executive Agencies Bo Report Annually to ComptrollerGeneral on Amount of Reprogrammed Funds: S. 1333_-. 92-1 Chiles 15. No Funds Appropriated by any Regular Appropriations Act May Te Obligated or Expended Until the Final Regular Appropriation 17. Require GAO review of nonappropriated funds in Executive branch 20. Require budget to contain five-year cost projections of programs 21. Place three-year limit on authorizations for appropriations S. 3984__ S. 3984 Brock Source: Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions, 89th through 92nd Congresses LIST OF SENATE AND HOUSE BILLS ON THE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS (93D CONGRESS) The Library of Congress-Congressional Research Service (By Richard Kogan) Allow, unless Congress disapproves H. 886, H. 2317. Allow, unless either House disapproves. H. 158, H. 2672, H. 4053, Allow, unless either house or Director H. 4843. of GAO disapproves. Prohibit, unless Congress approves. H. 2403. S. 373, S. 1030, H. 1131, Suit: For release of impounded funds____ H. Res. 154. [From House of Representatives Report No. 93-13, Feb. 7, 1973] IMPROVING CONGRESSIONAL CONTROL OVER BUDGETARY OUTLAY AND RECEIPT TOTALS INTERIM REPORT BY THE JOINT STUDY COMMITTEE ON BUDGET CONTROL I. INTRODUCTION In the enactment last session of the legislation temporarily increasing the public debt limit (P.L. 92-599), Congress made provision for establishment of the Joint Study Committee on Budget Control because of its keen awareness of the disturbing fiscal situation facing the nation and the compelling need to find meaningful ways to deal with it. In its consideration of the debt ceiling legislation, Congress rejected the President's proposal for imposing a rigid spending ceiling for fiscal year 1973 because it would delegate to the President the responsibility of Congress to establish spending priorities. However, if Congress is to effectively maintain and carry out its Constitutional power over the purse, it is evident that it must establish an effective permanent mechanism for budget control which will assure a more comprehensive and coordinated review of budget totals and determination of spending priorities and spending goals, together with a determination of the appropriate associated revenue and debt levels. Section 301(b) of P.L. 92-599 specifically provides that the Joint Committee shall make a full study and review of: ... the procedures which should be adopted by the Congress for the purpose of improving Congressional control of budgetary outlay and receipt totals, including procedures for establishing and maintaining an overall view of each year's budgetary outlays which is fully coordinated with an overall view of the anticipated revenues for that year, . . . It should be noted that the charter given the Joint Study Committee on Budget Control is not to recommend procedures to reduce or increase spending or to reduce or increase taxes. Rather, the objective is clearly to propose procedures for "improving Congressional control of budgetary outlay and receipt totals" and for assuring full coordination of an "overall view of each year's budgetary outlays" with an "overall view of the anticipated revenues for that year." It should also be noted that this report deals with procedures to improve Congressional control of the budget rather than attempting to deal specifically with the current budgetary problems with respect to the fiscal year 1974. The members of the Joint Committee fully appreciate the importance and complexity of the task which they have been given and are pursuing an in-depth study in an effort to recommend new and improved budgetary control procedures which will provide a comprehensive, sound, workable system encompassing all Congressional actions affecting the budget process. The next section of this interim report presents the tentative recommendations of the Joint Study Committee. In large part these are stated in terms of principles. The committee plans to convert these principles into specífic legislative recommendations in the near future. Part III of the report presents in general form the basic problem before the committee which led to the tentative recommendations referred to above. II. TENTATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS Because of the difficulty of taking into account all of the different aspects of the problem, the Joint Study Committee, in the short time available to it, has as yet been unable to reach final conclusions as to a solution to the problems of legislative budgetary control. Nevertheless, it has concluded that the legislative process should include an opportunity for the Congress to examine the budget from an overall point of view, together with a congressional system of deciding priorities. It also believes that ways of preventing further splintering off of control from the Appropriations Committees should be found as well as ways of speeding up authorizations. While not having yet worked out the details of its proposals, the committee nevertheless can subscribe to the following as general principles: 1. There should be a mechanism for Congress to (a) determine the proper level of expenditures for the coming fiscal year after full consideration of the fiscal, economic, monetary and other factors involved, (b) provide an overall ceiling on expenditures and on budget authority for each year, and (c) determine the aggregate revenue and debt levels which appropriately should be associated with the expenditure and budget authority limits. The limitations referred to above should be provided only if Congress also makes provision for a system whereby it can make the decisions on budget priorities that will guide it as to where reductions are to be made in the event that this becomes necessary. The committee favors provision for limitations on both expenditure and new obligational authority so an impact, to the extent possible, will be felt in the current year (as a result of the expenditure limitation) and also so that control will be obtained over future growth, (as a result of the budget authority limitation). At the same time however, it is essential that Congress develop ways of making its own decisions on budget priorities so that realistic control over the purse can be regained by the Congress, as intended by the Constitution. Any mechanism for establishing these limitations also needs to provide an opportunity to review and make recommendations as to overall tax and debt policies, since these also are an essential part of the Government's fiscal policy. 2. Any limitation on expenditures and new obligational authority should cover not only budgetary outlays handled through the Appropriations Committees but also any legislation which provides funding separately from the annual appropriation process. Because of the increasing number in recent years of legislative bills, other than appropriation bills which provide for funding, any meaningful overall control of spending and budget authority also must apply to these types of spending. |