To reduce the deficit by establishing discretionary spending caps for non-security spending.

SA 3549. Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Chambliss)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3475
proposed by Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Bayh) to the amendment SA
3452 proposed by Mr. Rockefeller to the bill H.R. 1586, to impose an
additional tax on bonuses received from certain TARP recipients; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted, insert the
following:

TITLE ___--HELP ACT

SEC. _01. HELP ACT.

(a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the ``Honest
Expenditure Limitation Program Act of 2010'' or the ``HELP
Act''.
(b) Expiration.--This title shall expire at the end of
fiscal year 2020.

Subtitle A--Congressional Non-Security Discretionary Spending Limits

SEC. 101. NON-SECURITY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS.

(a) In General.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974 is amended by inserting at the end the following:

[[Page S1677]]

``non-security discretionary spending limits

``Sec. 316.  (a) Non-Security Discretionary Spending
Limits.--It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint
resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes any
provision that would cause the non-security discretionary
spending limits as set forth in subsection (b) to be
exceeded.
``(b) Limits.--The non-security discretionary spending
limits are as follows:
``(1) For fiscal years 2011 through 2015, the spending
level for such spending in fiscal year 2010 reduced each year
thereafter on a pro rata basis so that the level for fiscal
year 2015 does not exceed the level for fiscal year 2008.
``(2) For fiscal years 2016 through 2020, the spending
level for fiscal year 2015.
``(c) Non-Security Spending.--In this section, the term
`non-security discretionary spending' means discretionary
spending other than spending for the Department of Defense,
homeland security activities, intelligence related activities
within the Department of State, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and national security related activities in the
Department of Energy.
``(d) Limitations on Changes to This Section.--It shall not
be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to
consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference
report that would--
``(1) repeal or otherwise change this section; or
``(2) exempt any new budget authority, outlays, and
receipts from being counted for purposes of this section.
``(e) Point of Order in the Senate.--
``(1) Waiver.--The provisions of this section shall be
waived or suspended in the Senate only--
``(A) by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members,
duly chosen and sworn; or
``(B) in the case of the defense budget authority, if
Congress declares war or authorizes the use of force.
``(2) Appeal.--Appeals in the Senate from the decisions of
the Chair relating to any provision of this section shall be
limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and
controlled by, the appellant and the manager of the measure.
An affirmative vote of two-thirds 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.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents set forth in
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 315 the following new item:

``Sec. 316. Non-security discretionary spending limits.''.

Subtitle B--Statutory Non-Security Discretionary Spending Limits

PART I--DEFINITIONS, ADMINISTRATION, AND SEQUESTRATION

SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

In this subtitle:
(1) Account.--The term ``account'' means--
(A) for discretionary budget authority, an item for which
appropriations are made in any appropriation Act; and
(B) for items not provided for in appropriation Acts,
direct spending and outlays therefrom identified in the
program and finance schedules contained in the appendix to
the Budget of the United States for the current year.
(2) Breach.--The term ``breach'' means, for any fiscal
year, the amount by which discretionary budget authority
enacted for that year exceeds the spending limit for budget
authority for that year.
(3) Budget authority; new budget authority; and outlays.--
The terms ``budget authority'', ``new budget authority'', and
``outlays'' have the meanings given to such terms in section
3 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 (2 U.S.C. 622).
(4) Budget year.--The term ``budget year'' means, with
respect to a session of Congress, the fiscal year of the
Government that starts on October 1 of the calendar year in
which that session begins.
(5) CBO.--The term ``CBO'' means the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office.
(6) Current.--The term ``current'' means--
(A) with respect to the Office of Management and Budget
estimates included with a budget submission under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the estimates
consistent with the economic and technical assumptions
underlying that budget;
(B) with respect to estimates made after that budget
submission that are not included with it, the estimates
consistent with the economic and technical assumptions
underlying the most recently submitted President's budget;
and
(C) with respect to the Congressional Budget Office,
estimates consistent with the economic and technical
assumptions as required by section 202(e)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(7) Current year.--The term ``current year'' means, with
respect to a budget year, the fiscal year that immediately
precedes that budget year.
(8) Discretionary appropriations and discretionary budget
authority.--The terms ``discretionary appropriations'' and
``discretionary budget authority'' shall have the meaning
given such terms in section 3(4) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974.
(9) Non-security discretionary spending limit.--The term
``non-security discretionary spending limit'' shall mean the
amounts specified in section 222.
(10) OMB.--The term ``OMB'' means the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
(11) Sequestration.--The term ``sequestration'' means the
cancellation or reduction of budget authority (except budget
authority to fund mandatory programs) provided in
appropriation Acts.

SEC. 212. ADMINISTRATION AND EFFECT OF SEQUESTRATION.

(a) Timetable.--The timetable with respect to this subtitle
is as follows:

On or before:                                        Action to be completed:
5 days before the President's budget submission      CBO Discretionary Sequestration Preview Report.
required under section 1105 of title 31, United
States Code.
The President's budget submission..................  OMB Discretionary Sequestration Preview Report.
10 days after end of session.......................  CBO Final Discretionary Sequestration Report.
15 days after end of session.......................  OMB Final Discretionary Sequestration/Presidential
Sequestration Order.

(b) Presidential Order.--
(1) In general.--On the date specified in subsection (a),
if in its Final Sequestration Report, OMB estimates that any
sequestration is required, the President shall issue an order
fully implementing without change all sequestrations required
by the OMB calculations set forth in that report. This order
shall be effective on issuance.
(2) Special rule.--If the date specified for the submission
of a Presidential order under subsection (a) falls on a
Sunday or legal holiday, such order shall be issued on the
following day.
(c) Effects of Sequestration.--The effects of sequestration
shall be as follows:
(1) Budgetary resources sequestered from any account shall
be permanently cancelled, except as provided in paragraph
(5).
(2) Except as otherwise provided, the same percentage
sequestration shall apply to all programs, projects, and
activities within a budget account (with programs, projects,
and activities as delineated in the appropriation Act or
accompanying report for the relevant fiscal year covering
that account).
(3) Administrative regulations or similar actions
implementing a sequestration shall be made within 120 days of
the sequestration order. To the extent that formula
allocations differ at different levels of budgetary resources
within an account, program, project, or activity, the
sequestration shall be interpreted as producing a lower total
appropriation, with the remaining amount of the appropriation
being obligated in a manner consistent with program
allocation formulas in substantive law.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this part, obligations
or budgetary resources in sequestered accounts shall be
reduced only in the fiscal year in which a sequester occurs.
(5) Budgetary resources sequestered in special fund
accounts and offsetting collections sequestered in
appropriation accounts shall not be available for obligation
during the fiscal year in which the sequestration occurs, but
shall be available in subsequent years to the extent
otherwise provided in law.
(d) Submission and Availability of Reports.--Each report
required by this section shall be submitted, in the case of
CBO, to the House of Representatives, the Senate, and OMB
and, in the case of OMB, to the House of Representatives, the
Senate, and the President on the day it is issued. On the
following day a notice of the report shall be printed in the
Federal Register.

PART II--NON-SECURITY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS

SEC. 221. DISCRETIONARY SEQUESTRATION REPORTS.

(a) Discretionary Sequestration Preview Reports.--
(1) Reporting requirement.--On the dates specified in
section 212(a), OMB shall report to the President and
Congress and CBO shall report to Congress a Discretionary
Sequestration Preview Report regarding discretionary
sequestration based on laws enacted through those dates.
(2) Discretionary.--The Discretionary Sequestration Preview
Report shall set forth estimates for the current year and
each subsequent year through 2014 of the applicable
discretionary spending limits and a projection of budget
authority exceeding discretionary limits subject to
sequester.
(3) Explanation of differences.--The OMB reports shall
explain the differences between OMB and CBO estimates for
each item set forth in this subsection.
(b) Discretionary Sequestration Reports.--On the dates
specified in section 212(a), OMB and CBO shall issue
Discretionary Sequestration Reports, reflecting laws enacted
through those dates, containing

[[Page S1678]]

all of the information required in the Discretionary
Sequestration Preview Reports.
(c) Final Discretionary Sequestration Reports.--
(1) Reporting requirements.--On the dates specified in
section 212(a), OMB and CBO shall each issue a Final
Discretionary Sequestration Report, updated to reflect laws
enacted through those dates.
(2) Discretionary spending.--The Final Discretionary
Sequestration Reports shall set forth estimates for each of
the following:
(A) For the current year and each subsequent year through
2014; the applicable discretionary spending limits.
(B) For the current year, if applicable, and the budget
year; the new budget authority and the breach, if any.
(C) The sequestration percentages necessary to eliminate
the breach.
(D) For the budget year, for each account to be
sequestered, the level of enacted, sequesterable budget
authority and resulting estimated outlays flowing therefrom.
(3) Explanation of differences.--The OMB report shall
explain--
(A) any differences between OMB and CBO estimates for the
amount of any breach and for any required discretionary
sequestration percentages; and
(B) differences in the amount of sequesterable resources
for any budget account to be reduced if such difference is
greater than $5,000,000.
(d) Economic and Technical Assumptions.--In all reports
required by this section, OMB shall use the same economic and
technical assumptions as used in the most recent budget
submitted by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code.

SEC. 222. LIMITS.

(a) Discretionary Spending Limits.--As used in this
subtitle, the term ``non-security discretionary spending
limit'' shall have the same meaning as in section 316 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(b) Enforcement.--
(1) Sequestration.--On the date specified in section
212(a), there shall be a sequestration to eliminate a budget-
year breach.
(2) Eliminating a breach.--Each non-security discretionary
account shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by
multiplying the enacted level of budget authority for that
year in that account at that time by the uniform percentage
necessary to eliminate a breach of the discretionary spending
limit.
(3) Part-year appropriations.--If, on the date the report
is issued under paragraph (1), there is in effect an Act
making continuing appropriations for part of a fiscal year
for any budget account, then the dollar sequestration
calculated for that account under paragraph (2) shall be
subtracted from--
(A) the annualized amount otherwise available by law in
that account under that or a subsequent part-year
appropriation; and
(B) when a full-year appropriation for that account is
enacted, from the amount otherwise provided by the full-year
appropriation.
(4) Look-back.--If, after June 30, an appropriation for the
fiscal year in progress is enacted that causes a breach for
that year (after taking into account any previous
sequestration), the discretionary spending limit for the next
fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount of that breach.
(5) Within-session sequestration reports and order.--If an
appropriation for a fiscal year in progress is enacted (after
Congress adjourns to end the session for that budget year and
before July 1 of that fiscal year) that causes a breach, 10
days later CBO shall issue a report containing the
information required in section 221(c). Fifteen days after
enactment, OMB shall issue a report containing the
information required in section 221(c). On the same day as
the OMB report, the President shall issue an order fully
implementing without change all sequestrations required by
the OMB calculations set forth in that report. This order
shall be effective on issuance.
(c) Estimates.--
(1) CBO estimates.--As soon as practicable after Congress
completes action on any legislation providing discretionary
appropriations, CBO shall provide an estimate to OMB of that
legislation.
(2) OMB estimates.--Not later than 7 calendar days
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the
date of enactment of any discretionary appropriations, OMB
shall transmit a report to the Senate and to the House of
Representatives containing--
(A) the CBO estimate of that legislation;
(B) an OMB estimate of that legislation using current
economic and technical assumptions; and
(C) an explanation of any difference between the 2
estimates.
(3) Differences.--If during the preparation of the report
under paragraph (2), OMB determines that there is a
difference between the OMB and CBO estimates, OMB shall
consult with the Committees on the Budget of the House of
Representatives and the Senate regarding that difference and
that consultation, to the extent practicable, shall include
written communication to such committees that affords such
committees the opportunity to comment before the issuance of
that report.
(4) Assumptions and guidelines.--OMB and CBO shall prepare
estimates under this paragraph in conformance with
scorekeeping guidelines determined after consultation among
the House and Senate Committees on the Budget, CBO, and OMB.

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