Focus on Children Act
This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to produce studies and reports regarding federal spending on children.
The CBO must provide
The CBO may provide a warning report to Congress regarding a fiscal year in which outlays for interest on the public debt will exceed spending on children.
The CBO must also develop and maintain a public website that includes
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1780 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1780
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for studies
and reports relating to the impact of legislation on spending on
children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2019
Ms. Harris (for herself, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Casey) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Budget
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for studies
and reports relating to the impact of legislation on spending on
children, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Focus on Children Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDIES AND REPORTS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE RELATING
TO THE IMPACT OF LEGISLATION ON SPENDING ON CHILDREN.
Section 202(g) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
602(g)) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by inserting ``and Reports to
Congress'' after ``Studies''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Spending on children studies and reports.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the term `budget of the President'
means the budget of the President submitted to
Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code;
``(ii) the term `child' means an individual
under 19 years of age;
``(iii) the term `key indicator' includes
information relating to the outlays described
in subclause (I), (II), (III), or (IV) of
clause (iv); and
``(iv) the term `spending on children'
includes--
``(I) outlays under an entitlement
authority that go directly to children;
``(II) outlays for a Federal
program or initiative that, consistent
with the mission of the program or
initiative, delivers services
exclusively to children;
``(III) outlays for a Federal
program or initiative that, while not
serving children directly, has as a
core mission goal the improvement of
the health, education, welfare, or
general well-being of children; and
``(IV) for a Federal program or
initiative that delivers services to
both children and adults, the portion
of outlays under the program or
initiative attributable to providing
benefits for children, based on the
best available data.
``(B) Studies.--At the request of the Chairman or
Ranking Member of a committee of the Senate or the
House of Representatives, the Director shall, to the
extent practicable, conduct a study of a bill, joint
resolution, amendment, amendment between the Houses, or
conference report containing changes in spending on
children.
``(C) Annual reports on spending.--Not later than
15 days after the last day of each fiscal year, the
Director shall submit to Congress a report that
includes--
``(i) information and data regarding
spending on children under appropriation Acts,
including Acts making supplemental
appropriations and continuing resolutions, for
that fiscal year;
``(ii) information and data regarding
spending on children under an entitlement
authority for that fiscal year;
``(iii) the share of Federal spending that
constitutes spending on children under
appropriation Acts, including Acts making
supplemental appropriations and continuing
resolutions, for that fiscal year; and
``(iv) the share of Federal spending that
constitutes spending on children under an
entitlement authority for that fiscal year.
``(D) Annual reports on the budget of the
president.--Not later than 15 days after the date on
which the President submits to Congress the budget of
the President for a fiscal year, the Director shall
submit to Congress a report on the budget of the
President that includes, for the prior fiscal year, the
current fiscal year, the fiscal year for which the
budget of the President is submitted, and the ensuing
fiscal year--
``(i) a summary of the total amount of the
appropriations or new obligational authority
and outlays requested for spending on children;
``(ii) an estimate of the level of spending
on children;
``(iii) an estimate of the share of Federal
spending that constitutes spending on children;
and
``(iv) an estimate of the date on which
Federal spending on children will be less than
outlays for interest on the public debt.
``(E) Warning reports.--
``(i) In general.--At the discretion of the
Director, the Director may provide a warning
report to Congress regarding a fiscal year in
which outlays for interest on the public debt
will exceed spending on children.
``(ii) Contents of warning reports.--The
Director may include in a report issued under
clause (i) a list of possible budgetary
options, including, if appropriate, the
inclusion of reconciliation directives under
section 310 in the concurrent resolution on the
budget for a fiscal year, that may be used by
Congress in order to prevent such an imbalance
between outlays for interest on the public debt
and spending on children.
``(F) Open data and transparency.--
``(i) In general.--The Director shall
publish all of the reports and studies required
under this paragraph in a publicly accessible
format, including through--
``(I) the dashboard described in
clause (ii); and
``(II) the open data portal
described in clause (iii).
``(ii) Dashboard.--The Director shall
develop and maintain on an internet website
available to the public a tool (commonly
referred to as a `dashboard') that--
``(I) highlights the key indicators
identified in the reports and studies
required under this paragraph; and
``(II) uses visualization tools to
assist the public in understanding
trends in spending on children over
periods of time.
``(iii) Open data portal.--The Director
shall develop and maintain an internet website
available to the public that--
``(I) provides raw quantitative
data relating to spending on children
contained in reports and studies
required under this paragraph;
``(II) provides that data in a
widely accessible file format that
allows the public to analyze the data;
and
``(III) categorizes that data by
budget account.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
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