Jim Nussle

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of House Concurrent Resolution 376, I am transmitting this document titled ``Guidelines for the Application of Provisions Designated as Emergencies, Contingency Operations, or Unanticipated Defense-related Operations.'' It sets forth an explicit explanation of the characteristics of spending that is appropriately exempted from the enforcement controls of the Congressional Budget Act.

This report is required under the terms of House Concurrent Resolution 376, which is currently in effect as a concurrent resolution on the budget in the House for fiscal year 2007, deemed in force under the provisions of House Resolution 818.

Guidelines for Application of Provisions Designated as Emergencies,

Contingency Operations, or Unanticipated Defense-Related Operations

Summary

The fiscal year 2007 budget resolution, H. Con. Res. 376,

sets forth three categories of spending that are treated by

Congress under special procedures outside the normal budget

process: domestic emergencies, defense-related emergencies,

and contingency operations directly related to the global war

on terrorism. The first of these, domestic emergencies, has a

special reserve fund to finance emergency spending

priorities, such as unforeseen natural disasters that tend to

occur nearly every year. The remaining two categories--

defense-related emergencies and terror-related response

contingency operations--are exempted from normal controls due

to the special nature of each.

Although Congress did not reach a conference agreement on

the budget resolution, the House did deem the House-passed

resolution to be in force for all purposes of the

Congressional Budget Act. The general definition of an

emergency, as spelled out in the budget resolution, is not

new: its terms have long been employed by the

administration's Office of Management and Budget [OMB], and

have been carried in previous budget resolutions. What is new

is the enhanced discipline, called for by the resolution, in

applying these terms to the three special categories of

spending cited above. Section 503 of the resolution includes

the following mandate:

``In the House, as soon as practicable after the adoption

of this resolution, the chairman of the Committee on the

Budget shall, after consultation with the chairmen of the

applicable committees, and the Director of the Congressional

Budget Office, prepare guidelines for application of the

definition of an emergency and publish such guidelines in the

Congressional Record, and may issue any committee print from

the Committee on the Budget for this or other purposes.''

This discussion, therefore, provides guidelines for the

application of these spending categories.

Definition and General Guidelines for Emergency Spending

Section 502 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for

Fiscal Year 2007 establishes in general terms the definition

of spending that is appropriately designated as an emergency.

Although these guidelines may be used to apply to

``unanticipated'' defense-related emergencies, they aim

principally to help determine what domestic priorities are

eligible to be funded through the reserve fund established by

the budget resolution, and to define an ``emergency'' in

general.

The term ``emergency'' is important because any spending so

designated escapes the regular controls applicable to all

other spending. But the definition, and the guidelines below,

are not intended to judge the policy importance of any given

emergency spending; that is for the Appropriations Committee

and the Congress in general to determine. It is rather to

identify general characteristics of such spending that

identifies it as meriting special procedures exempting it

from the normal congressional budget process.

There are two essential components to the application of

this designation: that an ``emergency'' concerns a threat to

life, property, or national security; and that the event was

``unanticipated.'' The definition also asserts that funding

in response to an emergency should be temporary in nature.

The applicable text in the resolution fleshes out these

terms, and is largely self-explanatory. It reads as follows:

``(1) The term `emergency' means a situation that--

``(A) requires new budget authority and outlays (or new

budget authority and the outlays flowing therefrom) for the

prevention or mitigation of, or response to, loss of life or

property, or a threat to national security; and

``(B) is unanticipated.

``(2) The term `unanticipated' means that the underlying

situation is--

``(A) Sudden, which means quickly coming into being or not

building up over time;

``(B) Urgent, which means a pressing and compelling need

requiring immediate action;

``(C) Unforeseen, which means not predicted or anticipated

as an emerging need; and

``(D) Temporary, which means not of a permanent duration.''

An example of ``emergency'' spending that was

``unanticipated'' was the major California earthquake of

January 1993. The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act

of 1994 (Public Law 103-211, 12 February 1994). The measure

provided $376.1 million to programs of the Department of

Agriculture, such as for Watershed and Flood Prevention

Operations. In contrast, there were attempts to declare the

funding for the 2000 Census required by the Constitution as

an emergency. This clearly would have been an abuse of the

designation: The census has been required every ten years for

over two centuries.

An example of ``urgent'' funding needs appeared in the

response to Hurricanes Fran and Hortense and other disasters,

Public Law 104-208. The measure provided $88 million for U.S.

Department of Agriculture [USDA] flood assistance programs,

including $63 million for Watershed and Flood Prevention

Operations, and $25 million for the Emergency Conservation

Program. Had the funding been delayed until the next budget

cycle, the consequences of the hurricanes would have been

irreparable, in Congress's judgment.

The term ``unforeseen'' applies to funding for activities

that could not be anticipated as an emerging need and are

over and above the aggregate level of anticipated emergencies

that are normally estimated in advance. A good example of an

unforeseen emergency is the terrorist attacks against New

York and Washington, D.C. on 11 September 2001.

The term ``temporary'' means that emergency spending should

not in general be for multiple fiscal years or in general be

for permanent new entitlements. For example, the Emergency

Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-234,

15 June 2006) included $55 million for USDA to repair its own

damaged facilities. Such spending was to respond to Hurricane

Katrina and was for a purpose that was not recurring--and was

directly related to the property destruction caused by the

hurricane.

Emergencies are divided into three categories: nondefense-

related, defense-related, and spending related to the Global

War on Terrorism. These categories are described at length

below, but a general summary is as follows:

Nondefense-related emergencies are chiefly, but not always,

associated with natural disasters such as hurricanes,

droughts, or earthquakes. The resolution creates a new

reserve fund to anticipate such events. The fund and its

application are further discussed below.

Defense-related spending, if unanticipated, is, in effect,

excepted from the Congressional budget process. This is

established in section 402 of H. Con. Res. 376.

Budget authority needed for the ``Global War on Terrorism''

includes spending for the security of the United States and

for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The emergency designation should only be used as follows:

The designation should be used when preparing

appropriations language and should be specific to each

appropriation account for which the designation will be used.

If not designated specifically as emergency under Section 402

or 501 of the Budget Resolution, the appropriation will be

scored against the subcommittee's 302(b) discretionary budget

totals for the year.

The designation is not to be used as a relief valve for

regular appropriations to circumvent 302 allocations. In

other words, this designation should not be used to

artificially deflate regular budget requests. It is to be

used for unknowns. If a known program requires known funding

at the time of the regular appropriations, it should not be

treated as an emergency.

The appropriations subcommittee will designate funding as

emergency when identifying the appropriation. The President

may request the funds as emergency or as contingent

emergency, but that request is non-binding and the

subcommittees may appropriate funds with or without the

designation as is appropriate. The Office of Management and

Budget is the arbiter of what is or is not designated as an

emergency in the request. OMB's guidance in its Circular A-11

to the Agencies on this matter is fairly loose and mentions

emergencies only in the context of supplemental requests. The

guidance lists an ``emergency'' as one of the rationales for

a supplemental stating that a supplemental is appropriate

when: An unforeseen emergency situation occurs (e.g., natural

disaster requiring expenditures for the preservation of life

or property).

The emergency designation is legislative language that

falls within the primary jurisdiction of the Committee on the

Budget. In addition, the Budget Committee enforces the

allocation of spending authority given to each Congressional

Committee. If the Appropriations Committee includes language

designating a provision of spending as an emergency, the

Budget Committee adjusts this general allocation by an equal

amount. Because this does not automatically cause a

corresponding increase in the suballocations that the

Appropriations Committee distributes to each of its

subcommittees (and which must equal the general allocation),

it must act to revise that suballocation for a bill or

amendment to escape a point of order under 302(f) of the

Budget Act which prohibits the consideration of measures

breaching the permissible levels of spending.

The Budget Committee does not, as a matter of course,

validate that all funds designated emergency meet the

criteria outlined above for amounts within the nondefense

reserve fund--the adjustments are automatic once the

designation is placed in the legislative text. Once the

reserve fund is exhausted, and adjustments are required above

the amount set aside for nondefense emergencies ($6.45

billion for fiscal year 2007), the committee must meet in

open session to consider whether the additional

amounts designated should be accommodated by an additional

adjustment in the allocation to the Appropriations

Committee. In the meeting, the amount by which the

allocation should be raised is open for amendment--though

it is not in order to raise the amount above the level

designated as an emergency in the bill to be considered on

the floor of the House.

Nondefense Emergency Reserve Fund

Section 501 of the budget resolution creates an emergency

reserve fund that effectively caps the overall amount that

can be used for nondefense domestic emergencies (such as

natural disasters). Funding beyond the reserve amount may be

provided only if the Budget Committee meets and approves an

increase in the cap.

The concept of the emergency reserve fund is not unlike a

colloquial ``rainy-day fund.'' It does not attempt to predict

any specific natural disaster. Instead, it recognizes that

natural disasters of some kind--whether hurricanes, forest

fires, floods, or others--occur in the United States nearly

every year; the reserve sets aside an amount of funding in

advance to address such needs, should they arise. The amount

in the fund is based on historical experience. It does not

assume to anticipate extraordinary disasters, such as

Hurricane Katrina; it would be impractical and impracticable

to set aside funds of that magnitude for events that are so

rare.

Guidelines for Budget Authority for the Global War on Terrorism

This section (section 402) exempts from the Congressional

Budget Act and its enforcement provisions only those spending

provisions that meet the following definitions:

(a) General contingency operation: A provision designated

as a contingency operation related to the global war on

terrorism may be either:

Defense-related; or

Nondefense-related.

(b) Defense-related contingency operation: A provision

designated as a defense-related contingency operation:

May be for spending directly related to an immediate

response to a terrorist attack by the Department of Defense,

whether domestic or international;

May be for spending directly related to the costs of

Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom;

May be for spending that also meets the definition of an

``unanticipated defense-related operation'' described in this

committee print;

May not be for spending for routine military expenditures

not specifically caused by or directly related to Operation

Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. It is not

appropriate to use the designation to fund special interest

projects that could be addressed in the normal appropriation

process.

(c) Nondefense-related contingency operation: A spending

provision designated as a nondefense-related contingency

operation:

May be for any immediate nondefense response to a terrorist

attack, whether domestic or international;

May not be for nondefense-related spending predominantly

required to respond to unanticipated criminal law enforcement

needs, except for nondefense terrorism-related spending;

May not be used to offset spending on projects or earmarks

that are anticipated and should be in regular spending bills.

(d) Terrorism-related spending: Both defense and nondefense

``terrorism-related spending'' includes, but is not limited

to, immediate responses to terrorist attacks carried out by

individual terrorists or terrorist organizations to either

domestic or international interests of the United States [or

other applicable nation-states or international

organizations]. Terrorism-related spending does not include

legislative or appropriations provisions intended to reduce,

prevent or mitigate future terrorist attacks that could

adequately be addressed in the normal authorizing and

appropriations process (that is unless the measure in

question is in response to a need that has arisen subsequent

to the passage of the budget resolution).

(f) Terrorist attack: A ``terrorist attack'' is the use or

threatened use of force or violence to civilian or military

persons, buildings, installations or other property [people

or property] carried out by an individual or organization;

and

Is not carried out by an internationally recognized nation-

state;

May be the result of state-sponsored terrorism.

Further Guidelines for the Designation of Unanticipated Defense-Related

Operations

Unanticipated Defense-related spending may be:

For defense facilities damaged by natural disasters, or

For a response to natural disasters that entails the use of

military resources; or

For all costs associated with the national defense that can

not be accommodated through the normal appropriations

process.

Other General Definitions

(a) Defense-related spending: ``Defense-related'' means

spending from provisions from accounts within function 050--

National Defense.

(b) Nondefense-related spending: ``Nondefense-related''

means spending from provisions from accounts not within

function 050--National Defense.

(c) Directly related: ``Directly related'' means the direct

relation between the spending designated under this section

and the response to an activity that would not be necessary

were general contingency operations as described in this

committee print not required. For instance crop and livestock

disaster assistance should not be available to those not

directly affected by the disaster but who happen to live in

the same geographic region that was generally impacted.

Mr. Speaker, I am transmitting a status report on the current levels of on-budget spending and revenues for fiscal year 2007 and for the five-year period of fiscal years 2007 through 2011. This report is necessary to facilitate the application of sections 302 and 311 of the Congressional Budget Act and sections 401 and 501 of H. Con. Res. 376, which is currently in effect as a concurrent resolution on the budget in the House under H. Res. 818. This status report is current through November 8, 2006.

The term ``current level'' refers to the amounts of spending and revenues estimated for each fiscal year based on laws enacted or awaiting the President's signature.

The first table in the report compares the current levels of total budget authority, outlays, and revenues with the aggregate levels set by H. Con. Res. 376. This comparison is needed to enforce section 311(a) of the Budget Act, which creates a point of order against measures that would breach the budget resolution's aggregate levels. The table does not show budget authority and outlays for years after fiscal year 2007 because appropriations for those years have not yet been considered.

The second table compares the current levels of budget authority and outlays for discretionary action by each authorizing committee with the ``section 302(a)'' allocations made under H. Con. Res. 376 for fiscal year 2007 and fiscal years 2007 through 2011. ``Discretionary action'' refers to legislation enacted after the adoption of the budget resolution. This comparison is needed to enforce section 302(f) of the Budget Act, which creates a point of order against measures that would breach the section 302(a) discretionary action allocation of new budget authority for the committee that reported the measure. It is also needed to implement section 311(b), which exempts committees that comply with their allocations from the point of order under section 311(a).

The third table compares the current levels of discretionary appropriations for fiscal year 2007 with the ``section 302(b)'' suballocations of discretionary budget authority and outlays among Appropriations subcommittees. The comparison is also needed to enforce section 302(f) of the Budget Act because the point of order under that section equally applies to measures that would breach the applicable section 302(b) suballocation.

The fourth table gives the current level for 2008 of accounts identified for advance appropriations under section 401 of H. Con. Res. 376. This list is needed to enforce section 401 of the budget resolution, which creates a point of order against appropriation bills that contain advance appropriations that are: (i) not identified in the statement of managers or (ii) would cause the aggregate amount of such appropriations to exceed the level specified in the resolution.

The fifth table provides the current level of the nondefense reserve fund for emergencies established by section 501 of H. Con. Res 376. The table is required by section 505 of the budget resolution, and is needed to determine whether an increase in the reserve fund, allocations and aggregates will be necessary for any pending legislation that contains emergency-designated discretionary budget authority.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Child Custody Protection Act (S. 403). This important legislation protects our children by imposing stiff penalties on adults who evade State parental consent laws to transport a minor across State lines for the sole purpose of having an abortion.

I believe we must protect our children from being exploited or coerced into having an abortion and reaffirm the rights of parents to be involved in the important decisions of their lives. We currently require parental consent forms for field trips, sports and other activities. It's only common-sense that these important laws are not circumvented for the purpose of performing an abortion.

With over 50 percent of States having parental consent laws on the books, I believe it is imperative the Child Custody Protection Act become law to protect those who may not be able to protect themselves from harm as well as to ensure that these important state laws are respected.