An original bill to provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the budget process.

Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require that, in making a designation of a provision of legislation as an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act): (1) the President shall submit a message to the Congress analyzing whether it meets certain emergency criteria; and (2) the committee report and any statements accompanying the legislation shall analyze whether it meets such criteria. Includes among such criteria determinations as to whether a proposed expenditure or tax change is: (1) necessary; (2) sudden; (3) a compelling need requiring immediate action; (4) unforeseen; and (5) temporary. Requires the President or committee report to provide a written justification of why a requirement should be accorded emergency status if it does not meet such criteria.

Provides that if a point of order is sustained against a provision designated as an emergency requirement, that provision and the language making the designation shall be stricken from the measure and may not be offered as a floor amendment.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 557 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                        Calendar No. 30
106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 557

To provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the 
                            budget process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 1999

Mr. Thompson, from the Committee on Governmental Affairs, reported the 
    following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the 
                                calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the 
                            budget process.

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

SECTION 1. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION GUIDANCE.

    The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end of title III the following:

``SEC. 318. EMERGENCY LEGISLATION.

    ``(a) Designations.--
            ``(1) Guidance.--In making a designation of a provision of 
        legislation as an emergency requirement under section 
        251(b)(2)(A) or 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
        Deficit Control Act of 1985--
                    ``(A) the President shall submit a message to the 
                Congress analyzing whether a proposed emergency 
                requirement meets all the criteria in paragraph (2); 
                and
                    ``(B) the committee report, and any statement of 
                managers if any, accompanying that legislation shall 
                analyze whether a proposed emergency requirement meets 
                all the criteria in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Criteria.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The criteria to be considered in 
                determining whether a proposed expenditure or tax 
                change is an emergency requirement are whether it is--
                            ``(i) necessary, essential, or vital (not 
                        merely useful or beneficial);
                            ``(ii) sudden, quickly coming into being, 
                        and not building up over time;
                            ``(iii) an urgent, pressing, and compelling 
                        need requiring immediate action;
                            ``(iv) subject to subparagraph (B), 
                        unforeseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated; 
                        and
                            ``(v) not permanent, temporary in nature.
                    ``(B) Unforeseen.--An emergency that is part of an 
                aggregate level of anticipated emergencies, 
                particularly when normally estimated in advance, is not 
                unforeseen.
            ``(3) Justification for failure to meet criteria.--If the 
        proposed emergency requirement does not meet all the criteria 
        set forth in paragraph (2), the President, the committee 
        report, or the statement of managers, as the case may be, shall 
        provide a written justification of why the requirement should 
        be accorded emergency status.
    ``(b) Point of Order.--
            ``(1) In general.--When the Senate is considering a bill, 
        resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report, upon a 
        point of order being made by a Senator against any provision in 
        that measure designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to 
        section 251(b)(2)(A) or 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and 
        Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Presiding Officer 
        sustains that point of order, that provision along with the 
        language making the designation shall be stricken from the 
        measure and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor.
            ``(2) General point of order.--A point of order under this 
        subsection may be raised by a Senator as provided in section 
        313(e).
            ``(3) Conference reports.--If a point of order is sustained 
        under this subsection against a conference report the report 
        shall be disposed of as provided in section 313(d).''; and
            (2) in the table of contents in section 1(a), by adding 
        after the item for section 317 the following:

``318. Emergency legislation.''.
                                     





                                                        Calendar No. 30

106th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 557

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the 
                            budget process.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 8, 1999

                 Read twice and placed on the calendar