To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a consistent eligibility date for provision of Department of Veterans Affairs memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and dependent children of veterans whose remains are unavailable.

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for April 2018. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, H. Con. Res. 71. This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budget points of order lie against pending legislation. The Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section

308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, CBA.

The enforceable levels included in this report reflect all of the numerical adjustments made to the resolution since its passage. The information contained in this report captures legislative activity from passage of the budget resolution through April 9, 2018. The only law enacted with significant budgetary effects since my last filing, on February 28, 2018, was the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, P.L. 115-141.

Republican Budget Committee staff prepared tables 1 to 4 of this report.

Table 1 gives the amount by which each Senate authorizing committee exceeds or is below its allocation for budget authority and outlays under the most recently adopted budget resolution. This information is used for enforcing committee allocations pursuant to section 302 of the CBA. For this reporting period, 10 of the 16 authorizing committees are in compliance with their allocations. As previously reported, the Senate Veterans' Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Finance; and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committees are in breach of their allocations. Since my last report, several committees' allocations were affected by changes in the nonappropriations provisions included in the omnibus appropriations bill. Still, the only new committee creating a breach was the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which spent $100 million more in both budget authority and outlays through Division P of the omnibus, Ray Baum's Act of 2018, than allowed under the budget resolution.

Table 2 gives the amount by which the Senate Committee on Appropriations is below or exceeds the statutory spending limits. This information is used to determine points of order related to the spending caps found in sections 312 and 314 of the CBA. Appropriations for 2018 are consistent with the statutory limits as modified by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

The budget resolution contains two points of order limiting the use of changes in mandatory programs in appropriations bills, CHIMPS. Tables 3 and 4 show compliance with fiscal year 2018 limits for overall CHIMPS $17 billion, and the crime victims fund CHIMP, $11.2 billion, respectively. This information is used for determining points of order under sections 4102 and 4103 of H. Con. Res. 71, respectively. CHIMPS included in the 2018 omnibus comply with the existing limits.

In addition to the tables provided by Budget Committee Republican staff, I am submitting CBO tables, which I will use to enforce budget totals approved by Congress.

CBO provided a spending and revenue report for fiscal year 2018, which helps enforce aggregate spending levels in budget resolutions under CBA section 311. CBO's estimates, which now include the full effects of appropriations for this year, show that current-law levels of spending for fiscal year 2018 are above the amounts assumed in the budget resolution by $152.2 billion in budget authority and $105.5 billion in outlays. For fiscal year 2018, Social Security outlay levels remain consistent with the budget resolution's assumption

Current-law revenues continue to be in excess of the levels assumed by the budget resolution. On-budget revenue levels currently exceed assumed levels by $3.2 billion in fiscal year 2018, $39.8 billion over the fiscal year 2018-2022 period, and $94.2 billion over the fiscal year 2018-2027 period. For fiscal year 2018, Social Security revenues are $446 million below levels assumed in the budget resolution.

CBO's report also provides information needed to enforce the Senate pay-as-you-go, PAYGO, rule. The Senate's PAYGO scorecard currently shows deficit reduction of $24 million in fiscal year 2018, but deficit increases of $10 million over the fiscal year 2017-2022 period and $11 million over the fiscal year 2017-2027 period. For fiscal year 2018, legislation has been enacted that would reduce outlays by $24 million. Over the fiscal year 2017-2022 period, legislation has been enacted that CBO estimates will decrease outlays by $13 million and decrease revenues by $23 million. Over the fiscal year 2017-2027 period, legislation has been enacted that CBO estimates will decrease outlays by $11 million and decrease revenues by $22 million. Consistent with recent congressional practice, the direct spending and revenue provisions included in the non-Appropriations Committee portion of the fiscal year 2018 omnibus, which increased deficits by $2.8 billion over 10 years are being excluded from PAYGO calculations. This is due to provisions in the omnibus that mandated the exclusion of those budgetary effects both from the Senate and statutory PAYGO scorecards. The Senate's PAYGO rule is enforced by section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71.

Also included in this submission is a table tracking the Senate's budget enforcement activity on the floor since Congress adopted the budget resolution. Two points of order were raised since my last filing. On March 14, 2018, Senator Sanders raised a PAYGO point of order against S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. This point of order was waived by a vote of 67 to 31. On March 21, 2018, Leader McConnell raised a PAYGO point of order against Senator Wyden's amendment, S. Amdt. 2213, to H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017. This point of order was sustained with a vote of 21 to 78 on Senator Wyden's waiver motion.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3656) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a consistent eligibility date for provision of Department of Veterans Affairs memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and dependent children of veterans whose remains are unavailable, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3656, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3656, as amended.

Under current law, VA may provide a memorial headstone or marker for a veteran's dependent child or surviving spouse if their remains are unavailable. But this law also contains an inconsistency. VA can provide a memorial headstone or marker for a spouse who dies on or after November 11, 1998, but can only provide one for a dependent child who dies on or after December 22, 2006.

The disparity makes it difficult for VA to administer this law. More importantly, it has led to some confusion among veterans and their families as to whether a particular family member is eligible for this benefit or not.

These families are not just mourning, but they are also coping with the heartbreak of not being able to properly lay their loved one to rest because the remains have not been recovered. I am concerned that it is possible that these families may not request a memorial VA headstone or marker because they aren't sure if they qualify. I hope that this bill will bring these families some peace by allowing VA to provide a permanent memorial marker to ensure their loved one will not be forgotten.

H.R. 3656 would help avoid confusion by making the eligibility dates for the memorial markers consistent for surviving spouses and dependent children. This may seem like a small change, but I know it will be very important to grieving families who want to ensure that their loved ones are properly memorialized.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3656, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Banks), an active member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and a Navy veteran.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this commonsense piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Roe for his hard work on behalf of our veterans as chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. I am very proud to serve on that committee under his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, because our veterans answered the call and served our country, we, in turn, must serve them and their families.

This commitment extends to assisting them in medical recovery, in successfully transitioning to the civilian workforce, and, just as importantly, in properly memorializing their lives when they are gone.

Current law provides memorial headstones for veterans and for their spouses and children when the remains of the deceased cannot be found. This can occur in unfortunate cases, such as a boating or a plane accident.

Public Law 105-368 provides headstones for spouses, and it was enacted in 1998. Public Law 109-461 provides headstones for dependent children, and it was enacted in 2006. Both groups are eligible for this benefit as of the date of enactment. However, as has already been said, it is unfortunate that these two laws did not go into effect at the same time, potentially opening the door for a parent to receive this benefit, but not a child.

Mr. Speaker, my bill, H.R. 3656, would amend title 38 of the United States Code to provide for a consistent eligibility date for spouses and dependent children. The date for both would be set at the current date for spouses: November 11, 1998.

This bill is especially necessary for the few tragic cases in which a spouse and a dependent child both passed away in the same accident during a period when these two laws were not in sync. We need to correct this situation.

My legislation is a practical fix to take care of our veterans and their families, and to keep our commitment to them. Therefore, I ask my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3656.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3656, as amended, which resolves an inconsistency in the eligibility for nonveteran spouses and children receiving memorial headstones. The legislation ensures a consistent applicability date for memorial headstones and markers for eligible nonveteran individuals whose remains are not available.

Under current law, a surviving spouse who dies on or after November 11, 1998, is eligible for a headstone or marker. But for dependent children who pass away, the date of eligibility for a headstone or marker does not occur until December 22, 2006.

This arbitrary difference causes situations in which VA can provide a marker for the parent, but not the dependent child. Clearly, this change would make it easier for surviving family members to make funeral and burial plans.

H.R. 3656, as amended, is supported by the major veteran service organizations and enjoys bipartisan support in the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 3656, as amended, and I urge my colleagues in the House to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. Again, I strongly support H.R. 3656, as amended, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3656 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.