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REVENUE RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1997
(Senate - June 27, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
[Pages S6670-S6720]
REVENUE RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1997
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
resume consideration of Senate bill 949, which the clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 949) to provide revenue reconciliation pursuant
to section 104(b) of the concurrent resolution on the budget
for fiscal year 1998.
The Senate resumed consideration of the bill.
Pending:
Dorgan amendment No. 515, to authorize the Secretary of the
Treasury to abate the accrual of interest on income tax
underpayments by taxpayers located in Presidentially declared
disaster areas if the Secretary extends the time for filing
returns and payment of tax (and waives any penalties relating
to the failure to so file or so pay) for such taxpayers.
Dorgan Amendment No. 516, to provide tax relief for
taxpayers located in Presidentially declared disaster areas.
Jeffords amendment No. 522, to provide for a trust fund for
District of Columbia school renovations.
Domenici-Lautenberg amendment No. 537, to implement the
enforcement provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement,
enforce the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, extend the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990 through fiscal year 2002, and make
technical and conforming changes to the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Biden amendment No. 539 (to amendment No. 537), to provide
for the transfer of funds from the general fund to the
Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
Nickles modified amendment No. 551, to provide for an
increase in deduction for health insurance costs of self-
employed individuals, and to modify rules for allocating
interest expense to tax-exempt interest.
Gramm amendment No. 552, to allow families to decide for
themselves how best to use their child tax credit.
Kerry amendment No. 554, to allow payroll taxes to be
included in the calculation of tax liability for receiving
the children's tax credit.
Amendment No. 551, as Modified
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is the Nickles amendment
No. 551, with 2 minutes equally divided for debate.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Hagel,
Senator Abraham, Senator Domenici, and others, the amendment that we
proposed last night we have modified. We did receive some requests from
Senators to delete the provision that dealt with corporate
deductibility of tax exempts. That was not a major portion of the
amendment. We did delete that.
I might mention I think it is a good provision. It is a provision
that is in the House bill, so it will be in conference.
Mr. President, this amendment accelerates self-employed deductibility
for insurance. It allows self-employed individuals to be able to deduct
a greater proportion of their health insurance needs. It increases it.
For example, in 1997, current law is 40 percent; it increases it to 50
percent. In 1999 it increases it to 60 percent. And so on.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. KERREY. I am not in opposition, but with the 2-percent provision
stricken, I ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor to this
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NICKLES. I also ask unanimous consent that Senator Thurmond be
added as a cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Kansas [Mr. Roberts] is
necessarily absent.
Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Ms. Moseley-
Braun] is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 138 Leg.]
YEAS--98
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Enzi
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Moseley-Braun
Roberts
The amendment (No. 551), as modified, was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the
amendment was agreed to.
Mr. LOTT. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remaining
votes in sequence be limited to 10 minutes in length.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. REID. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, is this going
to be a real 10 minutes?
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I can respond to that question. I was just
fixing to say that the 10 minutes be strictly enforced. Please don't
leave the Chamber. We just had a couple of Senators that didn't make
that vote because it had been beyond the normal time. When the 10
minutes is up we are going to turn it in.
[[Page S6671]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I have a further unanimous consent.
Mr. President, I am asking unanimous consent that following the
previously ordered stacked vote that the remainder of the sequence be
in an alternating fashion with the two managers determining the order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the
disposition of the Kerry amendment No. 554 that Senator Domenici be
recognized to offer an amendment No. 537, to be followed by the
amendments in the following order: Biden-Gramm, Gramm, Bumpers, Craig,
Brownback, Frist, Abraham, and Byrd.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 552
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, what is the order of business before us?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending amendment is the Gramm of Texas
amendment No. 552.
Mr. ROTH. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The debate is limited to 2 minutes equally
divided.
The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, from the very beginning of this tax debate
we have talked about a $500 tax credit per child. And the logic has
been to let working families decide how to spend their money on their
children. Then suddenly out of the Finance Committee on a very close
vote has come a provision that says we are going to give you a $500 tax
credit but you get it only if you use it the way we determine you
should use it, which is to have an educational IRA. I think educational
IRAs are wonderful, if you can afford them. But the whole purpose of
the $500 tax credit was to let working families decide.
I know the Senate is full of brilliant people, and we think we can
decide things for families better than they can. But that violates the
agreement we had with the American people on this bill. We hear every
time an issue is debated that this violates the commitment to the
Congress, or it violates the commitment to the President. This
provision violates the commitment to the American people, and all of us
talk about a $500 tax credit. We talk about parents choosing. Let's let
them choose.
Mr. ROTH addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 1 minute to the opposition.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I strongly oppose this amendment.
We had two goals in this legislation: To provide tax relief to the
family, to provide assistance for higher education to the families, and
this carefully crafted compromise does exactly that.
I yield what time is remaining to the Senator from Louisiana.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. BREAUX. The problem of bringing up the amendment is there is no
requirement that the tax credit be used for the child. This is a per-
child tax credit. We think there should be at least some encouragement
that it be used for the child.
Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, this provision would change American
families with children, and it will generate more wealth. It is good
for American families. We have been talking about it. In addition to
the child tax credit, there are a number of us--Republicans and
Democrats--talking about ways to make this tax credit a vehicle for
generating wealth for the last few years. It is a good provision.
I hope my colleagues will vote against the motion to strike.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired.
Mr. ROTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment
of the Senator from Texas. On this question, the yeas and nays have
been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 139 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Bond
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Coats
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Dorgan
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Hagel
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
Wellstone
NAYS--54
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Craig
Daschle
Dodd
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Mack
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Sarbanes
Specter
Stevens
Torricelli
Wyden
The amendment (No. 552) was rejected.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. SANTORUM. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, what is the pending order?
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, we must have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. We will not proceed until there is order in
the Chamber.
Amendment No. 554
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending question is on the Kerry of
Massachusetts amendment No. 554.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, may we have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Two minutes equally divided. The Senator from
Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. May we have order, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, we just heard the Senator from Texas talk
about getting a child tax credit for children. Under the child tax
credit as it is written in the Finance Committee bill, 99 percent of
the children eligible in the lowest 20 percent of income will not get
it; 86 percent of the children in the next quintile will not get it.
This is because, as we all know, most people in America pay their taxes
by the payroll tax.
What I do in my amendment is take the Contract With America provision
that was supported by Senator Gramm, Senator Lott, and Senator Coats
and apply a refundable tax credit so that we expand by 7 million the
number of children who will be given a tax credit. If we really want
the working people of America to get this credit, it is appropriate
that a working family that is earning $22,000 with two parents and two
children be able to get the credit. Under the current legislation, they
would not get the credit.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. KERRY. Only by the Contract With America provision can we expand
the number of children.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. One minute in opposition. The Senator from
Oklahoma.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I urge any colleagues to vote no on the
Kerry amendment. This is really an amendment to make the credit
refundable. Another way of saying that, this is a way for the Federal
Government to spend more money. Costed out, the outlays will increase
in this bill under this amendment by $22 billion over 5 years, by $47
billion over 10 years.
I might mention, refundable credits are one of the most fraudulent in
government. The EITC program has exploded. It has an error rate of over
25 percent. This is an amendment to redistribute wealth, and it denies
tax credits for families that have incomes above $60,000. I urge my
colleagues to vote no on this amendment.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise to make a point of order against
the
[[Page S6672]]
amendment. It would increase outlays by $22 billion over 5 years, $47
billion over 10 years and it thus violates section 302(b) of the Budget
Act.
Mr. KERRY addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this is revenue neutral, and I move to
waive the Budget Act to accept a revenue neutral amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator ask for the yeas and nays?
Mr. ROTH. Yeas and nays.
Mr. KERRY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays were ordered.
There are 2 minutes equally divided on this vote.
The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, let me just say to my colleagues this does
not cost one penny additional because we change the phase-in. It is
$100,000 plus that you extended to the people in the Finance Committee.
I put the phaseout at $65,000 to $70,000, and we phase in the children
by age. So there is no impact on the budget. It is revenue neutral.
Mr. NICKLES addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. KERRY. And it extends it to 7 million additional children. You
cannot say you are covering working children in America if a working
family is not able to take advantage of the credits.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired.
Mr. NICKLES addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If we can all have order, please.
The Senator from Oklahoma has 1 minute.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am advised by the Senator from New
Mexico that the low-income family with two children under the EITC
Program, if they have incomes of about $14,000, receive a refundable
tax credit of $3,680, a lot more than their total tax liability. The
Senator from Massachusetts wants to add to that and increase outlays by
$22 billion.
Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, there is a budget point of order,
neutrality or no neutrality. The expenditures in this amendment exceed
the expenditures that are allocated under the budget resolution, and
the Budget Act says you cannot spend more than is allocated to the
committee, regardless of whether it is neutral or not.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Chamber.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order. The question is
on agreeing to the motion to waive the point of order. The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
who desire to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 39, nays 60, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 140 Leg.]
YEAS--39
Akaka
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bumpers
Cleland
Coats
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Mikulski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Sarbanes
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--60
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Brownback
Bryan
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cochran
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kerrey
Kyl
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Durbin
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the nays are 60, the ayes are 39.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not voting in the
affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is sustained
and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 537
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now is on the Domenici amendment
No. 537, to which the pending business is the second-degree amendment,
No. 539.
The Senator from New Mexico.
Amendment No. 539 To Amendment No. 537
Mr. DOMENICI. I do not see Senator Biden on the floor but I do see
Senator Gramm. Do you object if I modify my amendment to include your
Biden-Gramm amendment, so when we vote on mine we would be taking yours
with us?
Mr. GRAMM. Why don't we put it on my amendment?
Mr. DOMENICI. I will object. Do you object?
Mr. GRAMM. No, being a sweet, wonderful person, I will not object.
Mr. DOMENICI. Being that everyone in the Chamber would want it to
happen, he agrees.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Hearing none, it is so
ordered.
The amendment (No. 539) was agreed to.
Amendment No. 537, as Amended
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be 2 minutes equally divided.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I am the proponent of the waiver at this
point, so I get 1 minute for the waiver.
All we have done here is taken current law, with reference to points
of order and the processes that we have to enforce budgets, the pay-go,
and what we put in is the 5-year caps which we did on the last 5-year
budget. We only did 2 years on the defense wall instead of 5. That
exists today.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, we must have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). The Senate will be in order.
Mr. DOMENICI. So, in order to enforce the agreement that we are
claiming is a balanced budget, we must adopt this amendment or it is
unenforceable, in terms of the appropriated accounts.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, might I just take a moment to observe
that, with no uproar, we are about to do something rather important. In
this vote on budget procedures we are going to legislate a change in
the inflation index used to update official calculations of baseline
spending.
Under section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings), required inflation
adjustments are made using a ``fixed-weight index'' produced by the
Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. Section 1559(a)(3),
of the changes in budget enforcement procedures now before us, require
that in the future the adjustments should be based on the ``domestic
product chain-type price index''--also produced by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis. Given the improvements in index number theory, this
is a perfectly appropriate change.
Might I also just remind my colleagues that the Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles two other indexes used by the
Government--CPI-U which is used to adjust provisions of the Tax Code
and CPI-W which is used to adjust benefits such as Social Security.
For the record I note that none of these indexes give the same
estimate of inflation.
Here are the numbers for 1996:
[In percent]
CPI-U...............................................................3.0
CPI-W...............................................................2.9
Fixed Weight Price Index............................................2.3
Chain Weight Price Index............................................2.1
Today's vote on budget procedures should be recalled when we return--
as we must--to the issue of producing an accurate cost of living index
for the purpose of automatic indexation of
[[Page S6673]]
Government programs. No one is referring to today's legislative actions
as ``politicizing'' the calculation of budget updates. We are just
getting the numbers right.
And no one should refer to legislating a correction in automatic
indexation formulas as a ``political'' fix.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators
Hatch and Gregg be added as cosponsors to the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I would like the 1 minute on the Biden-
Gramm second-degree amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 1 minute has expired.
Mr. GRAMM. But we have a second-degree amendment that was added to
the Domenici amendment by unanimous consent. We would like it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment has been accepted. All time has
expired.
Mr. DOMENICI. I ask consent that he gets 1 minute. It is fair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The
Senator from Texas.
The Senate will be in order.
Mr. GRAMM. Let me take 30 seconds and allow Senator Biden to have the
other 30 seconds. Our colleagues will remember that we set up a violent
crime trust fund to guarantee adequate funding for law enforcement, and
for our antidrug effort. That provision was set to expire and all we
are doing in this amendment is simply extending that trust fund. This
is a mightily important matter. I am confident no one is going to
oppose it. I simply wanted to make note of what we are doing. I yield
the remainder of the time.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, there is nothing to add. This is simply
extending the extent, the life of this agreement--the existence of the
trust fund.
Vote On Amendment No. 537, As Amended
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is on
agreeing to the amendment. The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
who desire to vote?
The result was announced, yeas 98, nays 2, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 141 Leg.]
YEAS--98
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bryan
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Enzi
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Robb
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wyden
NAYS--2
Bumpers
Wellstone
The amendment (No. 537), as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which
the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. DOMENICI. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, what actually happened on that vote,
the Parliamentarian misunderstood and he had us vote up or down on this
amendment, and I had asked that it be a waiver of the Budget Act. In
light of the fact we have--how many votes?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Ninety-eight yeas.
Mr. DOMENICI. I would like to clear the amendment and make sure we
have waived the Budget Act for this amendment so it is no longer
possible to raise a point of order against it.
So I move to waive the Budget Act for consideration of this amendment
to this bill and any conference report that returns with it in.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
waive the Budget Act with respect to amendment No. 539, as amended.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which
the motion was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. The next amendment is Senator Gramm's.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized.
Amendment No. 566
(Purpose: To guarantee a balanced Federal budget and expand tax relief
options)
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, let me remind everybody that in the
budget that we are enforcing here, we had $7 billion of net deficit
reduction as compared to current policy. Ninety-seven percent of
deficit reduction was simply assumed. That deficit reduction and policy
changes has now fallen to $1 billion because we are short on spectrum.
Everything we are doing in balancing the budget is based on
assumptions. The only enforcement mechanism we now have is on
discretionary spending, and the first act in considering this budget
was waiving that discretionary spending cap in the last budget.
My amendment sets out the deficit reduction targets that we have
committed to and enforces them with an across-the-board cut if we
refuse to meet them. Also, my provision says that in paying for a tax
cut, you can pay for it by cutting entitlements, by raising other taxes
or by lowering the discretionary spending caps. So it gives us the
option in the future, if we ever do another tax cut, to not have to cut
Medicare in order to pay for tax cuts, so that if we want to reduce
discretionary spending and put a spending cap in place, we can do it.
This budget has a lot of assumptions in it. We need as strong as
possible an enforcement. If you want strong enforcement, vote for this
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I oppose the Gramm amendment. The
amendment would radically change current budget rules by allowing
temporary, unspecified cuts in discretionary programs to pay for
permanent tax cuts. That would violate the bipartisan budget agreement
and could explode the deficit in the future.
This amendment also brings back the discredited Gramm-Rudman system
of automatic across-the-board cuts, the system that led to a
proliferation of gimmicks and rosy scenarios, and we didn't
significantly reduce the deficit until we got rid of it.
Madam President, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on
us. I yield the remainder of my time to my colleague from New Mexico.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, Gramm-Rudman-Hollings didn't work
before, and it won't work the next time. The Senator from Texas would
like to put back into effect Gramm-Rudman-Hollings automatic sequesters
if you miss your targets. As a Senator, I personally don't believe you
ought to offset appropriated accounts, to cut them to put in permanent
tax cuts. I think that deserves far more consideration than 30 seconds
on the floor of the Senate.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I raise a point of order that the
pending amendment is extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of
the Congressional Budget Act.
[[Page S6674]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator will withhold, the clerk will
first report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Texas [Mr. Gramm] proposes an amendment
numbered 566.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading
of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place, add the following:
SEC. . GUARANTEED BALANCED BUDGET.
(a) Maximum Deficit Amount.--Section 253 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), in the last sentence by striking the
period and inserting ``and $10,000,000,000 for fiscal years
1998 and thereafter.''; and
(2) by striking subsections (g) and (h) and inserting the
following:
``(g) Maximum Deficit Amount.--In this section--
``(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this or the term
`deficit' shall have the same meaning as the term `deficit'
in section 3(6) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 as on the day before the date of
enactment of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990; and
``(2) the term `maximum deficit amount' means--
``(A) with respect to fiscal year 1998, $90,500,000,000;
``(B) with respect to fiscal year 1999, $89,500,000,000;
``(C) with respect to fiscal year 2000, $82,900,000,000;
``(D) with respect to fiscal year 2001, $53,100,000,000;
``(E) with respect to fiscal year 2002 and fiscal years
thereafter, zero.''
(b) Look-Back Sequester.--Section 253 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
``(h) Look-Back Sequester.--
``(1) In general.--On July 1 of each fiscal year, the
Director of OMB shall determine if laws effective during the
current fiscal year will cause the deficit to exceed the
maximum deficit amount for such fiscal year. If the limit is
exceeded, there shall be a preliminary sequester of July 1 to
eliminate the excess.
``(2) Permanent sequester.--Budget authority sequestered on
July 1 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be permanently
canceled on July 15.
``(3) No margin.--The margin for determining a sequester
under this subsection shall be zero.
``(4) Squestration procedures.--The provision of
subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section shall apply to
a sequester under this subsection.''
(c) Offsetting Tax Cuts With Cuts in Discretionary
Spending.--Section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(f) Offsets With Discretionary Spending.--For purposes of
subsection (b), revenue reductions increasing the deficit may
be offset by reductions in discretionary appropriated amounts
reducing the deficit.''.
(d) Adjustment of Discretionary Spending Levels for Tax
Cuts.--Section 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(I) Tax relief adjustments.--If, for any fiscal year or
years, appropriations for discretionary appropriations are
reduced that Congress and the President designate in statute
as offsets for tax relief, the adjustments shall be the total
amount of such reductions in appropriations in discretionary
accounts and the outlays flowing in all years from such
reduction.''
(e) Notwithstanding, any provision of this or any other
Act, section 253 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act is extended through fiscal year 2002.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, under section 904 of the Budget Act, I
move to waive the point of order against the pending amendment, and I
ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
waive the Budget Act with respect to amendment No. 566. The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 37, nays 63, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 142 Leg.]
YEAS--37
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bond
Brownback
Coats
Collins
Coverdell
Craig
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Nickles
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
NAYS--63
Akaka
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Conrad
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Harkin
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Sarbanes
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 37, the nays are 63.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained, and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Arkansas is recognized to offer an amendment on which there will be 2
minutes of debate equally divided.
The Senator from Arkansas.
Amendment No. 568
(Purpose: To prohibit the scoring, for budget purposes, of revenues
associated with the sale of certain federal lands)
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Bumpers] proposes an
amendment numbered 568.
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that further
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place add the following:
``(f) Budgetary Treatment of Sales of Certain Federal
Lands.--The amounts realized from the sale or lease of lands
or interests in lands which are part of the National Park
System, the Forest Service System or the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife refuge system shall not be scored with respect to
the level of budget authority, outlays, or revenues.''
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, this amendment will prohibit the
scoring of the sale of any lands from a national park or a national
wildlife refuge or Forest Service lands.
To my colleagues, I want to say, I have witnessed over the past 10
years an irresistible urge on the part of some of my colleagues to
dispose of some of the national treasures of this country, even
suggesting a commission to determine which lands, which national parks,
we can do without and sell.
This amendment is designed to do two things. No. 1, it is designed to
discourage that by making it impossible to score the proceeds from a
sale of national parks, Forest Service lands, or wildlife refuges in a
reconciliation bill; and, No. 2, I want to say that I think it is a
terrible practice. When I was Governor, I never allowed a one-time
asset to be used in the budget.
Finally, to those who would say, well, this will keep us from leasing
ANWR, that is simply not true. You can lease ANWR. You can lease
anything, wildlife refuge or otherwise, but you cannot use it as an
asset in the reconciliation bill.
I yield back such time as I may have.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, fellow Senators, the bipartisan budget
agreement and the Domenici-Lautenberg amendment revised the asset sale
scoring rule. The new rule prohibits scoring asset sales that would
lead to a financial loss to the Government.
Much work has gone into this. Democrats and Republicans have worked
on it. Senator Bumpers wants to make a special exception for public
lands.
[[Page S6675]]
Let me suggest the awesome situation that he has talked about never
has happened in the U.S. Senate. We have never tried to sell national
parks. We have never had any commission to sell national parks.
Somebody in the House had a wild idea, and, frankly, that is never
going to happen here.
As a matter of fact, this amendment, what we have already adopted,
says that if there is any financial loss to the Government, you cannot
count an asset sale.
I make a point of order against the Bumpers amendment. It violates
section 313 of the Budget Act.
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I move to waive the Budget Act for
Senate consideration of my amendment.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the motion
to waive the Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk
will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 48, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 143 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Akaka
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Ford
Glenn
Graham
Gregg
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Snowe
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--52
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Coats
Cochran
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Feinstein
Frist
Gorton
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this question, the yeas are 47, the nays
are 52. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having
voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected, the point of order is
sustained, and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay it on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 569
(Purpose: To modify the pay-as-you-go requirement of the budget process
to prohibit the use of tax increases to pay for mandatory spending
increases)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Idaho is recognized to offer an amendment on which there will be 2
minutes of debate equally divided.
Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Craig] proposes an amendment
numbered 569.
Mr. CRAIG. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be
dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place insert the following:
SEC. . RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF TAX INCREASES.
(a) In General.--In the Senate, for purposes of section 202
of House Concurrent Resolution 67 (104th Congress), it shall
not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that provides an
increase in direct spending offset by an increase in
receipts.
(b) Waiver.--This section may be waived or suspended in the
Senate only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the
Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(c) Appeals.--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
concurrent resolution, bill, or joint resolution, as the case
may be. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of
the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the
Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a
point of order raised under this section.
(d) Determination of Budget Levels.--For purposes of this
section, the levels of direct spending and receipts for a
fiscal year shall be determined on the basis of estimates
made by the Committee on the Budget of the Senate.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, my amendment would change the current pay-
go procedures by establishing a 60-vote point of order against using
tax increases to pay for new mandatory spending increases. My amendment
is the first step toward reining in the uncontrolled costs of mandatory
spending programs that I believe threaten our fiscal future. This
budget should have gone further in entitlement reform and it should not
have added more entitlement spending, but there is one reform that
should be made definitely, and that is to cause no further harm.
My amendment will not affect a single current beneficiary of a single
existing entitlement program. My amendment will not affect a single
person who will qualify to become a beneficiary under the current
requirements of any existing entitlement program. My amendment will not
prevent the creation of a new entitlement program if there is a true
need for the program. It simply will require that such a need be truly
demonstrated.
My amendment will not prevent a tax increase that is used for deficit
reduction.
What my amendment will do is put an end to the fiction that tax
increases are capable of offsetting the cost of additional mandatory
spending.
Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to oppose the Craig amendment.
The amendment would change the pay-go system and mean that we could not
provide for health insurance to children by closing unnecessary tax
loopholes. You heard it from the Senator directly.
This is outrageous. It would undermine our efforts to ensure that all
of the 10 million children who lack health coverage in this country can
have it. There are already budget rules that limit the use of savings
that come from tax loopholes. This amendment would go much farther and
make it tougher to invest in children's health programs. If you vote
for the Craig amendment, you are voting to protect tax loopholes. If
you vote against it, you are voting to help children obtain health
insurance in the future.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is expired.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the
pending amendment is extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of
the Congressional Budget Act.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, under section 904 of the Budget Act, I move
to waive the point of order against the pending amendment, and I ask
for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a such second.
The yeas and nays were ordinary had.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the motion
to waive the Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk
will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 42, nays 58, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 144 Leg.]
YEAS--42
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bennett
Brownback
Campbell
Coats
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Roth
[[Page S6676]]
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NAYS--58
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 42, the nays are
58. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
The point of order is sustained, and the amendment fails.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the
motion was rejected.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 570
(Purpose: To establish procedures to ensure a balanced Federal budget
by fiscal year 2002)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Kansas is recognized to offer an amendment on which there are 2 minutes
of debate equally divided.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk in the
second-degree.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Brownback], for himself, Mr.
Kohl, and Mr. McCain, proposes an amendment numbered 570.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill, add the following:
TITLE --BUDGET CONTROL
SEC. 01. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the
``Bipartisan Budget Enforcement Act of 1997''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this title is--
(1) to ensure a balanced Federal budget by fiscal year
2002;
(2) to ensure that the Bipartisan Budget Agreement is
implemented; and
(3) to create a mechanism to monitor total costs of direct
spending programs, and, in the event that actual or projected
costs exceed targeted levels, to require the President and
Congress to address adjustments in direct spending.
SEC.--02. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECT SPENDING TARGETS.
(a) In General.--The initial direct spending targets for
each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002 shall equal total
outlays for all direct spending except net interest as
determined by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (hereinafter referred to in this title as the
``Director'') under subsection (b).
(b) Initial Report by Director.--
(1) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this title, the Director shall submit a report
to Congress setting forth projected direct spending targets
for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.
(2) Projections and assumptions.--The Director's
projections shall be based on legislation enacted as of 5
days before the report is submitted under paragraph (1). The
Director shall use the same economic and technical assumption
used in preparing the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 1998 (H.Con.Res. 84).
SEC.--03. ANNUAL REVIEW OF DIRECT SPENDING AND RECEIPTS BY
PRESIDENT.
As part of each budget submitted under section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code, the President shall provide an
annual review of direct spending and receipts, which shall
include--
(1) information on total outlays for programs covered by
the direct spending targets, including actual outlays for the
prior fiscal year and projected outlays for the current
fiscal year and the 5 succeeding fiscal years; and
(2) information on the major categories of Federal
receipts, including a comparison between the levels of those
receipts and the levels projected as of the date of enactment
of this title.
SEC.--04. SPECIAL DIRECT SPENDING MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT.
(a) Trigger.--If the information submitted by the President
under section----03 indicates--
(1) that actual outlays for direct spending in the prior
fiscal year exceeded the applicable direct spending target;
or
(2) that outlays for direct spending for the current or
budget year are projected to exceed the applicable direct
spending targets,
the President shall include in his budget a special direct
spending message meeting the requirements of subsection (b).
(b) Contents.--
(1) Inclusions.--The special direct spending message shall
include--
(A) an analysis of the variance in direct spending over the
direct spending targets; and
(B) the President's recommendations for addressing the
direct spending overages, if any, in the prior, current, or
budget year.
(2) Additional matters.--The President's recommendations
may consist of any of the following:
(A) Proposed legislative changes to recoup or eliminate the
overage for the prior, current, and budget years in the
current year, the budget year, and the 4 outyears.
(B) Proposed legislative changes to recoup or eliminate
part of the overage for the prior, current, and budget year
in the current year, the budget year, and the 4 outyears,
accompanied by a finding by the President that, because of
economic conditions or for other specified reasons, only some
of the overage should be recouped or eliminated by outlay
reductions or revenue increases, or both.
(C) A proposal to make no legislative changes to recoup or
eliminate any overage, accompanied by a finding by the
President that, because of economic conditions or for other
specified reasons, no legislative changes are warranted.
(c) Proposed Special Direct Spending Resolution.--If the
President recommends reductions consistent with subsection
(b)(2)(A) or (B), the special direct spending message shall
include the text of a special direct spending resolution
implementing the President's recommendations through
reconciliation directives instructing the appropriate
committees of the House of Representatives and Senate to
determine and recommend changes in laws within their
jurisdictions. If the President recommends no reductions
pursuant to (b)(2)(C), the special direct spending message
shall include the text of a special resolution concurring in
the President's recommendation of no legislative action.
SEC. . REQUIRED RESPONSE BY CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider a concurrent
resolution on the budget unless that concurrent resolution
fully addresses the entirety of any overage contained in the
applicable report of the President under section ____04
through reconciliation directives.
(b) Waiver and Suspension.--This section may be waived or
suspended in the Senate only by the affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. This
section shall be subject to the provisions of section 258 of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
(c) Appeals.--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 bill or
joint resolution, as the case may be. An affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal
of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under
this section.
SEC. 06. RELATIONSHIP TO BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY
DEFICIT CONTROL ACT.
Reductions in outlays or increases in receipts resulting
from legislation reported pursuant to section ____05 shall
not be taken into account for purposes of any budget
enforcement procedures under the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 07. ESTIMATING MARGIN.
For any fiscal year for which the overage is less than one-
half of 1 percent of the direct spending target for that
year, the procedures set forth in sections ____04 and ____05
shall not apply.
SEC. 08. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title shall apply to direct spending targets for
fiscal years 1998 through 2002 and shall expire at the end of
fiscal year 2002.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, Senator Kohl and I have offered this
amendment. It is a very, very simple amendment. It just says if we are
going to break the spending caps on this bill, on this budget agreement
that we've told the American people is going to balance the budget, if
we're going to break the spending limits on it, we have to vote on it.
And we have to vote and pass that by a 60-vote margin. That's it.
The President has to say how he is going to get us to a balanced
budget. If we're going to break that cap, he has to say how he is going
to get us to a balanced budget; if we're going to break that spending
cap, he has to say where we're going to make the spending cuts, and we
have to vote if we are going to break it.
I think this is the least we can do for the American people. It says,
``Folks,
[[Page S6677]]
we meant it when we said we were going to balance the budget. We meant
it when we said we're going to balance it by the year 2002.'' And if we
are going to break it, we've got to break it by a 60-vote margin.
I yield the remainder of my time to Senator Kohl.
Mr. KOHL. Thank you.
Mr. President, I also am a supporter of this amendment. What it
simply says is that we are going to do what we set out to do, which is
to balance the budget, and, if we go over it in any year, then we are
going to have to decide how we are going to reduce that spending to be
sure we stay on target to get the budget balanced over the next several
years. That is all this does. It is not a sequester. Nobody should fear
that. But it is simply an enforcement mechanism which is necessary.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this amendment is a fast-track ticket
to deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. It would essentially create a
cap for these and other essential mandatory programs like the Medicare
and Medicaid.
Mr. President, we ought not punish the people who are on Medicaid or
Medicare just because these programs grow faster than a particular
rate. Sometimes growth in these programs could be good.
For example, the first reconciliation bill includes money to recruit
3 million uninsured Medicaid-eligible children to sign up for the
program. If this happens, obviously Medicaid spending is going to
increase. But the question is, What do we want to do? Do we want to
take care of those kids or don't we? This would not be a good reason to
cut the program. This is a dangerous gimmick. We can balance the budget
without it. Furthermore, we ought not accept an amendment that could
force quick, drastic cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment to protect Medicare and
Medicaid.
Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is
extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of the Congressional
Budget Act.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I make a motion to waive the Budget Act
with respect to my amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second question?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on the motion to waive the
Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call
the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The yeas and nays resulted-- yeas 57, nays 43, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 145 Leg.]
YEAS--57
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bennett
Bond
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Chafee
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gorton
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kempthorne
Kohl
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Robb
Roberts
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NAYS--43
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Cleland
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Major Actions:
All articles in Senate section
REVENUE RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1997
(Senate - June 27, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
[Pages S6670-S6720]
REVENUE RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1997
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
resume consideration of Senate bill 949, which the clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 949) to provide revenue reconciliation pursuant
to section 104(b) of the concurrent resolution on the budget
for fiscal year 1998.
The Senate resumed consideration of the bill.
Pending:
Dorgan amendment No. 515, to authorize the Secretary of the
Treasury to abate the accrual of interest on income tax
underpayments by taxpayers located in Presidentially declared
disaster areas if the Secretary extends the time for filing
returns and payment of tax (and waives any penalties relating
to the failure to so file or so pay) for such taxpayers.
Dorgan Amendment No. 516, to provide tax relief for
taxpayers located in Presidentially declared disaster areas.
Jeffords amendment No. 522, to provide for a trust fund for
District of Columbia school renovations.
Domenici-Lautenberg amendment No. 537, to implement the
enforcement provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement,
enforce the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, extend the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990 through fiscal year 2002, and make
technical and conforming changes to the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Biden amendment No. 539 (to amendment No. 537), to provide
for the transfer of funds from the general fund to the
Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
Nickles modified amendment No. 551, to provide for an
increase in deduction for health insurance costs of self-
employed individuals, and to modify rules for allocating
interest expense to tax-exempt interest.
Gramm amendment No. 552, to allow families to decide for
themselves how best to use their child tax credit.
Kerry amendment No. 554, to allow payroll taxes to be
included in the calculation of tax liability for receiving
the children's tax credit.
Amendment No. 551, as Modified
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is the Nickles amendment
No. 551, with 2 minutes equally divided for debate.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Hagel,
Senator Abraham, Senator Domenici, and others, the amendment that we
proposed last night we have modified. We did receive some requests from
Senators to delete the provision that dealt with corporate
deductibility of tax exempts. That was not a major portion of the
amendment. We did delete that.
I might mention I think it is a good provision. It is a provision
that is in the House bill, so it will be in conference.
Mr. President, this amendment accelerates self-employed deductibility
for insurance. It allows self-employed individuals to be able to deduct
a greater proportion of their health insurance needs. It increases it.
For example, in 1997, current law is 40 percent; it increases it to 50
percent. In 1999 it increases it to 60 percent. And so on.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. KERREY. I am not in opposition, but with the 2-percent provision
stricken, I ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor to this
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NICKLES. I also ask unanimous consent that Senator Thurmond be
added as a cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Kansas [Mr. Roberts] is
necessarily absent.
Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Ms. Moseley-
Braun] is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 138 Leg.]
YEAS--98
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Enzi
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Moseley-Braun
Roberts
The amendment (No. 551), as modified, was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the
amendment was agreed to.
Mr. LOTT. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remaining
votes in sequence be limited to 10 minutes in length.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. REID. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, is this going
to be a real 10 minutes?
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I can respond to that question. I was just
fixing to say that the 10 minutes be strictly enforced. Please don't
leave the Chamber. We just had a couple of Senators that didn't make
that vote because it had been beyond the normal time. When the 10
minutes is up we are going to turn it in.
[[Page S6671]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I have a further unanimous consent.
Mr. President, I am asking unanimous consent that following the
previously ordered stacked vote that the remainder of the sequence be
in an alternating fashion with the two managers determining the order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the
disposition of the Kerry amendment No. 554 that Senator Domenici be
recognized to offer an amendment No. 537, to be followed by the
amendments in the following order: Biden-Gramm, Gramm, Bumpers, Craig,
Brownback, Frist, Abraham, and Byrd.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Amendment No. 552
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, what is the order of business before us?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending amendment is the Gramm of Texas
amendment No. 552.
Mr. ROTH. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The debate is limited to 2 minutes equally
divided.
The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, from the very beginning of this tax debate
we have talked about a $500 tax credit per child. And the logic has
been to let working families decide how to spend their money on their
children. Then suddenly out of the Finance Committee on a very close
vote has come a provision that says we are going to give you a $500 tax
credit but you get it only if you use it the way we determine you
should use it, which is to have an educational IRA. I think educational
IRAs are wonderful, if you can afford them. But the whole purpose of
the $500 tax credit was to let working families decide.
I know the Senate is full of brilliant people, and we think we can
decide things for families better than they can. But that violates the
agreement we had with the American people on this bill. We hear every
time an issue is debated that this violates the commitment to the
Congress, or it violates the commitment to the President. This
provision violates the commitment to the American people, and all of us
talk about a $500 tax credit. We talk about parents choosing. Let's let
them choose.
Mr. ROTH addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 1 minute to the opposition.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I strongly oppose this amendment.
We had two goals in this legislation: To provide tax relief to the
family, to provide assistance for higher education to the families, and
this carefully crafted compromise does exactly that.
I yield what time is remaining to the Senator from Louisiana.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. BREAUX. The problem of bringing up the amendment is there is no
requirement that the tax credit be used for the child. This is a per-
child tax credit. We think there should be at least some encouragement
that it be used for the child.
Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, this provision would change American
families with children, and it will generate more wealth. It is good
for American families. We have been talking about it. In addition to
the child tax credit, there are a number of us--Republicans and
Democrats--talking about ways to make this tax credit a vehicle for
generating wealth for the last few years. It is a good provision.
I hope my colleagues will vote against the motion to strike.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired.
Mr. ROTH. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment
of the Senator from Texas. On this question, the yeas and nays have
been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 54, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 139 Leg.]
YEAS--46
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Bond
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Coats
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Dorgan
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Hagel
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
Wellstone
NAYS--54
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Craig
Daschle
Dodd
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Mack
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Roth
Sarbanes
Specter
Stevens
Torricelli
Wyden
The amendment (No. 552) was rejected.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. SANTORUM. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, what is the pending order?
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, we must have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. We will not proceed until there is order in
the Chamber.
Amendment No. 554
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending question is on the Kerry of
Massachusetts amendment No. 554.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, may we have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Two minutes equally divided. The Senator from
Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. May we have order, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, we just heard the Senator from Texas talk
about getting a child tax credit for children. Under the child tax
credit as it is written in the Finance Committee bill, 99 percent of
the children eligible in the lowest 20 percent of income will not get
it; 86 percent of the children in the next quintile will not get it.
This is because, as we all know, most people in America pay their taxes
by the payroll tax.
What I do in my amendment is take the Contract With America provision
that was supported by Senator Gramm, Senator Lott, and Senator Coats
and apply a refundable tax credit so that we expand by 7 million the
number of children who will be given a tax credit. If we really want
the working people of America to get this credit, it is appropriate
that a working family that is earning $22,000 with two parents and two
children be able to get the credit. Under the current legislation, they
would not get the credit.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. KERRY. Only by the Contract With America provision can we expand
the number of children.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. One minute in opposition. The Senator from
Oklahoma.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I urge any colleagues to vote no on the
Kerry amendment. This is really an amendment to make the credit
refundable. Another way of saying that, this is a way for the Federal
Government to spend more money. Costed out, the outlays will increase
in this bill under this amendment by $22 billion over 5 years, by $47
billion over 10 years.
I might mention, refundable credits are one of the most fraudulent in
government. The EITC program has exploded. It has an error rate of over
25 percent. This is an amendment to redistribute wealth, and it denies
tax credits for families that have incomes above $60,000. I urge my
colleagues to vote no on this amendment.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise to make a point of order against
the
[[Page S6672]]
amendment. It would increase outlays by $22 billion over 5 years, $47
billion over 10 years and it thus violates section 302(b) of the Budget
Act.
Mr. KERRY addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this is revenue neutral, and I move to
waive the Budget Act to accept a revenue neutral amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator ask for the yeas and nays?
Mr. ROTH. Yeas and nays.
Mr. KERRY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays were ordered.
There are 2 minutes equally divided on this vote.
The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, let me just say to my colleagues this does
not cost one penny additional because we change the phase-in. It is
$100,000 plus that you extended to the people in the Finance Committee.
I put the phaseout at $65,000 to $70,000, and we phase in the children
by age. So there is no impact on the budget. It is revenue neutral.
Mr. NICKLES addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. May we have order, please.
Mr. KERRY. And it extends it to 7 million additional children. You
cannot say you are covering working children in America if a working
family is not able to take advantage of the credits.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired.
Mr. NICKLES addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If we can all have order, please.
The Senator from Oklahoma has 1 minute.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am advised by the Senator from New
Mexico that the low-income family with two children under the EITC
Program, if they have incomes of about $14,000, receive a refundable
tax credit of $3,680, a lot more than their total tax liability. The
Senator from Massachusetts wants to add to that and increase outlays by
$22 billion.
Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, there is a budget point of order,
neutrality or no neutrality. The expenditures in this amendment exceed
the expenditures that are allocated under the budget resolution, and
the Budget Act says you cannot spend more than is allocated to the
committee, regardless of whether it is neutral or not.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Chamber.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order. The question is
on agreeing to the motion to waive the point of order. The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
who desire to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 39, nays 60, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 140 Leg.]
YEAS--39
Akaka
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bumpers
Cleland
Coats
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Mikulski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Sarbanes
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--60
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Brownback
Bryan
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cochran
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kerrey
Kyl
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NOT VOTING--1
Durbin
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the nays are 60, the ayes are 39.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not voting in the
affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is sustained
and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 537
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now is on the Domenici amendment
No. 537, to which the pending business is the second-degree amendment,
No. 539.
The Senator from New Mexico.
Amendment No. 539 To Amendment No. 537
Mr. DOMENICI. I do not see Senator Biden on the floor but I do see
Senator Gramm. Do you object if I modify my amendment to include your
Biden-Gramm amendment, so when we vote on mine we would be taking yours
with us?
Mr. GRAMM. Why don't we put it on my amendment?
Mr. DOMENICI. I will object. Do you object?
Mr. GRAMM. No, being a sweet, wonderful person, I will not object.
Mr. DOMENICI. Being that everyone in the Chamber would want it to
happen, he agrees.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Hearing none, it is so
ordered.
The amendment (No. 539) was agreed to.
Amendment No. 537, as Amended
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be 2 minutes equally divided.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I am the proponent of the waiver at this
point, so I get 1 minute for the waiver.
All we have done here is taken current law, with reference to points
of order and the processes that we have to enforce budgets, the pay-go,
and what we put in is the 5-year caps which we did on the last 5-year
budget. We only did 2 years on the defense wall instead of 5. That
exists today.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, we must have order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). The Senate will be in order.
Mr. DOMENICI. So, in order to enforce the agreement that we are
claiming is a balanced budget, we must adopt this amendment or it is
unenforceable, in terms of the appropriated accounts.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, might I just take a moment to observe
that, with no uproar, we are about to do something rather important. In
this vote on budget procedures we are going to legislate a change in
the inflation index used to update official calculations of baseline
spending.
Under section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings), required inflation
adjustments are made using a ``fixed-weight index'' produced by the
Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. Section 1559(a)(3),
of the changes in budget enforcement procedures now before us, require
that in the future the adjustments should be based on the ``domestic
product chain-type price index''--also produced by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis. Given the improvements in index number theory, this
is a perfectly appropriate change.
Might I also just remind my colleagues that the Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles two other indexes used by the
Government--CPI-U which is used to adjust provisions of the Tax Code
and CPI-W which is used to adjust benefits such as Social Security.
For the record I note that none of these indexes give the same
estimate of inflation.
Here are the numbers for 1996:
[In percent]
CPI-U...............................................................3.0
CPI-W...............................................................2.9
Fixed Weight Price Index............................................2.3
Chain Weight Price Index............................................2.1
Today's vote on budget procedures should be recalled when we return--
as we must--to the issue of producing an accurate cost of living index
for the purpose of automatic indexation of
[[Page S6673]]
Government programs. No one is referring to today's legislative actions
as ``politicizing'' the calculation of budget updates. We are just
getting the numbers right.
And no one should refer to legislating a correction in automatic
indexation formulas as a ``political'' fix.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators
Hatch and Gregg be added as cosponsors to the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I would like the 1 minute on the Biden-
Gramm second-degree amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 1 minute has expired.
Mr. GRAMM. But we have a second-degree amendment that was added to
the Domenici amendment by unanimous consent. We would like it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The amendment has been accepted. All time has
expired.
Mr. DOMENICI. I ask consent that he gets 1 minute. It is fair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The
Senator from Texas.
The Senate will be in order.
Mr. GRAMM. Let me take 30 seconds and allow Senator Biden to have the
other 30 seconds. Our colleagues will remember that we set up a violent
crime trust fund to guarantee adequate funding for law enforcement, and
for our antidrug effort. That provision was set to expire and all we
are doing in this amendment is simply extending that trust fund. This
is a mightily important matter. I am confident no one is going to
oppose it. I simply wanted to make note of what we are doing. I yield
the remainder of the time.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, there is nothing to add. This is simply
extending the extent, the life of this agreement--the existence of the
trust fund.
Vote On Amendment No. 537, As Amended
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired. The question is on
agreeing to the amendment. The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
who desire to vote?
The result was announced, yeas 98, nays 2, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 141 Leg.]
YEAS--98
Abraham
Akaka
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bryan
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Enzi
Faircloth
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Frist
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kempthorne
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Robb
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Santorum
Sarbanes
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wyden
NAYS--2
Bumpers
Wellstone
The amendment (No. 537), as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which
the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. DOMENICI. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, what actually happened on that vote,
the Parliamentarian misunderstood and he had us vote up or down on this
amendment, and I had asked that it be a waiver of the Budget Act. In
light of the fact we have--how many votes?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Ninety-eight yeas.
Mr. DOMENICI. I would like to clear the amendment and make sure we
have waived the Budget Act for this amendment so it is no longer
possible to raise a point of order against it.
So I move to waive the Budget Act for consideration of this amendment
to this bill and any conference report that returns with it in.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
waive the Budget Act with respect to amendment No. 539, as amended.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which
the motion was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. ROTH. The next amendment is Senator Gramm's.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized.
Amendment No. 566
(Purpose: To guarantee a balanced Federal budget and expand tax relief
options)
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, let me remind everybody that in the
budget that we are enforcing here, we had $7 billion of net deficit
reduction as compared to current policy. Ninety-seven percent of
deficit reduction was simply assumed. That deficit reduction and policy
changes has now fallen to $1 billion because we are short on spectrum.
Everything we are doing in balancing the budget is based on
assumptions. The only enforcement mechanism we now have is on
discretionary spending, and the first act in considering this budget
was waiving that discretionary spending cap in the last budget.
My amendment sets out the deficit reduction targets that we have
committed to and enforces them with an across-the-board cut if we
refuse to meet them. Also, my provision says that in paying for a tax
cut, you can pay for it by cutting entitlements, by raising other taxes
or by lowering the discretionary spending caps. So it gives us the
option in the future, if we ever do another tax cut, to not have to cut
Medicare in order to pay for tax cuts, so that if we want to reduce
discretionary spending and put a spending cap in place, we can do it.
This budget has a lot of assumptions in it. We need as strong as
possible an enforcement. If you want strong enforcement, vote for this
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I oppose the Gramm amendment. The
amendment would radically change current budget rules by allowing
temporary, unspecified cuts in discretionary programs to pay for
permanent tax cuts. That would violate the bipartisan budget agreement
and could explode the deficit in the future.
This amendment also brings back the discredited Gramm-Rudman system
of automatic across-the-board cuts, the system that led to a
proliferation of gimmicks and rosy scenarios, and we didn't
significantly reduce the deficit until we got rid of it.
Madam President, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on
us. I yield the remainder of my time to my colleague from New Mexico.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, Gramm-Rudman-Hollings didn't work
before, and it won't work the next time. The Senator from Texas would
like to put back into effect Gramm-Rudman-Hollings automatic sequesters
if you miss your targets. As a Senator, I personally don't believe you
ought to offset appropriated accounts, to cut them to put in permanent
tax cuts. I think that deserves far more consideration than 30 seconds
on the floor of the Senate.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I raise a point of order that the
pending amendment is extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of
the Congressional Budget Act.
[[Page S6674]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator will withhold, the clerk will
first report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Texas [Mr. Gramm] proposes an amendment
numbered 566.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading
of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place, add the following:
SEC. . GUARANTEED BALANCED BUDGET.
(a) Maximum Deficit Amount.--Section 253 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), in the last sentence by striking the
period and inserting ``and $10,000,000,000 for fiscal years
1998 and thereafter.''; and
(2) by striking subsections (g) and (h) and inserting the
following:
``(g) Maximum Deficit Amount.--In this section--
``(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this or the term
`deficit' shall have the same meaning as the term `deficit'
in section 3(6) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 as on the day before the date of
enactment of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990; and
``(2) the term `maximum deficit amount' means--
``(A) with respect to fiscal year 1998, $90,500,000,000;
``(B) with respect to fiscal year 1999, $89,500,000,000;
``(C) with respect to fiscal year 2000, $82,900,000,000;
``(D) with respect to fiscal year 2001, $53,100,000,000;
``(E) with respect to fiscal year 2002 and fiscal years
thereafter, zero.''
(b) Look-Back Sequester.--Section 253 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
``(h) Look-Back Sequester.--
``(1) In general.--On July 1 of each fiscal year, the
Director of OMB shall determine if laws effective during the
current fiscal year will cause the deficit to exceed the
maximum deficit amount for such fiscal year. If the limit is
exceeded, there shall be a preliminary sequester of July 1 to
eliminate the excess.
``(2) Permanent sequester.--Budget authority sequestered on
July 1 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be permanently
canceled on July 15.
``(3) No margin.--The margin for determining a sequester
under this subsection shall be zero.
``(4) Squestration procedures.--The provision of
subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section shall apply to
a sequester under this subsection.''
(c) Offsetting Tax Cuts With Cuts in Discretionary
Spending.--Section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(f) Offsets With Discretionary Spending.--For purposes of
subsection (b), revenue reductions increasing the deficit may
be offset by reductions in discretionary appropriated amounts
reducing the deficit.''.
(d) Adjustment of Discretionary Spending Levels for Tax
Cuts.--Section 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(I) Tax relief adjustments.--If, for any fiscal year or
years, appropriations for discretionary appropriations are
reduced that Congress and the President designate in statute
as offsets for tax relief, the adjustments shall be the total
amount of such reductions in appropriations in discretionary
accounts and the outlays flowing in all years from such
reduction.''
(e) Notwithstanding, any provision of this or any other
Act, section 253 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act is extended through fiscal year 2002.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, under section 904 of the Budget Act, I
move to waive the point of order against the pending amendment, and I
ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
waive the Budget Act with respect to amendment No. 566. The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 37, nays 63, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 142 Leg.]
YEAS--37
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bond
Brownback
Coats
Collins
Coverdell
Craig
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Nickles
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
NAYS--63
Akaka
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Conrad
D'Amato
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Harkin
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murkowski
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Roberts
Rockefeller
Roth
Sarbanes
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 37, the nays are 63.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained, and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Arkansas is recognized to offer an amendment on which there will be 2
minutes of debate equally divided.
The Senator from Arkansas.
Amendment No. 568
(Purpose: To prohibit the scoring, for budget purposes, of revenues
associated with the sale of certain federal lands)
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Bumpers] proposes an
amendment numbered 568.
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that further
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place add the following:
``(f) Budgetary Treatment of Sales of Certain Federal
Lands.--The amounts realized from the sale or lease of lands
or interests in lands which are part of the National Park
System, the Forest Service System or the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife refuge system shall not be scored with respect to
the level of budget authority, outlays, or revenues.''
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, this amendment will prohibit the
scoring of the sale of any lands from a national park or a national
wildlife refuge or Forest Service lands.
To my colleagues, I want to say, I have witnessed over the past 10
years an irresistible urge on the part of some of my colleagues to
dispose of some of the national treasures of this country, even
suggesting a commission to determine which lands, which national parks,
we can do without and sell.
This amendment is designed to do two things. No. 1, it is designed to
discourage that by making it impossible to score the proceeds from a
sale of national parks, Forest Service lands, or wildlife refuges in a
reconciliation bill; and, No. 2, I want to say that I think it is a
terrible practice. When I was Governor, I never allowed a one-time
asset to be used in the budget.
Finally, to those who would say, well, this will keep us from leasing
ANWR, that is simply not true. You can lease ANWR. You can lease
anything, wildlife refuge or otherwise, but you cannot use it as an
asset in the reconciliation bill.
I yield back such time as I may have.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, fellow Senators, the bipartisan budget
agreement and the Domenici-Lautenberg amendment revised the asset sale
scoring rule. The new rule prohibits scoring asset sales that would
lead to a financial loss to the Government.
Much work has gone into this. Democrats and Republicans have worked
on it. Senator Bumpers wants to make a special exception for public
lands.
[[Page S6675]]
Let me suggest the awesome situation that he has talked about never
has happened in the U.S. Senate. We have never tried to sell national
parks. We have never had any commission to sell national parks.
Somebody in the House had a wild idea, and, frankly, that is never
going to happen here.
As a matter of fact, this amendment, what we have already adopted,
says that if there is any financial loss to the Government, you cannot
count an asset sale.
I make a point of order against the Bumpers amendment. It violates
section 313 of the Budget Act.
Mr. BUMPERS. Madam President, I move to waive the Budget Act for
Senate consideration of my amendment.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the motion
to waive the Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk
will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 48, nays 52, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 143 Leg.]
YEAS--48
Akaka
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Ford
Glenn
Graham
Gregg
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Snowe
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--52
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Baucus
Bennett
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Coats
Cochran
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Feinstein
Frist
Gorton
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this question, the yeas are 47, the nays
are 52. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having
voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected, the point of order is
sustained, and the amendment falls.
Mr. ROTH. I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay it on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 569
(Purpose: To modify the pay-as-you-go requirement of the budget process
to prohibit the use of tax increases to pay for mandatory spending
increases)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Idaho is recognized to offer an amendment on which there will be 2
minutes of debate equally divided.
Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Craig] proposes an amendment
numbered 569.
Mr. CRAIG. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be
dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place insert the following:
SEC. . RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF TAX INCREASES.
(a) In General.--In the Senate, for purposes of section 202
of House Concurrent Resolution 67 (104th Congress), it shall
not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that provides an
increase in direct spending offset by an increase in
receipts.
(b) Waiver.--This section may be waived or suspended in the
Senate only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the
Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(c) Appeals.--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
concurrent resolution, bill, or joint resolution, as the case
may be. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of
the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the
Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a
point of order raised under this section.
(d) Determination of Budget Levels.--For purposes of this
section, the levels of direct spending and receipts for a
fiscal year shall be determined on the basis of estimates
made by the Committee on the Budget of the Senate.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, my amendment would change the current pay-
go procedures by establishing a 60-vote point of order against using
tax increases to pay for new mandatory spending increases. My amendment
is the first step toward reining in the uncontrolled costs of mandatory
spending programs that I believe threaten our fiscal future. This
budget should have gone further in entitlement reform and it should not
have added more entitlement spending, but there is one reform that
should be made definitely, and that is to cause no further harm.
My amendment will not affect a single current beneficiary of a single
existing entitlement program. My amendment will not affect a single
person who will qualify to become a beneficiary under the current
requirements of any existing entitlement program. My amendment will not
prevent the creation of a new entitlement program if there is a true
need for the program. It simply will require that such a need be truly
demonstrated.
My amendment will not prevent a tax increase that is used for deficit
reduction.
What my amendment will do is put an end to the fiction that tax
increases are capable of offsetting the cost of additional mandatory
spending.
Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to oppose the Craig amendment.
The amendment would change the pay-go system and mean that we could not
provide for health insurance to children by closing unnecessary tax
loopholes. You heard it from the Senator directly.
This is outrageous. It would undermine our efforts to ensure that all
of the 10 million children who lack health coverage in this country can
have it. There are already budget rules that limit the use of savings
that come from tax loopholes. This amendment would go much farther and
make it tougher to invest in children's health programs. If you vote
for the Craig amendment, you are voting to protect tax loopholes. If
you vote against it, you are voting to help children obtain health
insurance in the future.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is expired.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the
pending amendment is extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of
the Congressional Budget Act.
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, under section 904 of the Budget Act, I move
to waive the point of order against the pending amendment, and I ask
for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a such second.
The yeas and nays were ordinary had.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the motion
to waive the Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk
will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 42, nays 58, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 144 Leg.]
YEAS--42
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bennett
Brownback
Campbell
Coats
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Kempthorne
Kyl
Lott
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Roberts
Roth
[[Page S6676]]
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NAYS--58
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Burns
Byrd
Chafee
Cleland
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Daschle
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Ford
Glenn
Gorton
Graham
Harkin
Hollings
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerrey
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Mikulski
Moseley-Braun
Moynihan
Murray
Reed
Reid
Robb
Rockefeller
Sarbanes
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Torricelli
Wellstone
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 42, the nays are
58. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
The point of order is sustained, and the amendment fails.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the
motion was rejected.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Amendment No. 570
(Purpose: To establish procedures to ensure a balanced Federal budget
by fiscal year 2002)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from
Kansas is recognized to offer an amendment on which there are 2 minutes
of debate equally divided.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk in the
second-degree.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Brownback], for himself, Mr.
Kohl, and Mr. McCain, proposes an amendment numbered 570.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill, add the following:
TITLE --BUDGET CONTROL
SEC. 01. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the
``Bipartisan Budget Enforcement Act of 1997''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this title is--
(1) to ensure a balanced Federal budget by fiscal year
2002;
(2) to ensure that the Bipartisan Budget Agreement is
implemented; and
(3) to create a mechanism to monitor total costs of direct
spending programs, and, in the event that actual or projected
costs exceed targeted levels, to require the President and
Congress to address adjustments in direct spending.
SEC.--02. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECT SPENDING TARGETS.
(a) In General.--The initial direct spending targets for
each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002 shall equal total
outlays for all direct spending except net interest as
determined by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (hereinafter referred to in this title as the
``Director'') under subsection (b).
(b) Initial Report by Director.--
(1) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this title, the Director shall submit a report
to Congress setting forth projected direct spending targets
for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.
(2) Projections and assumptions.--The Director's
projections shall be based on legislation enacted as of 5
days before the report is submitted under paragraph (1). The
Director shall use the same economic and technical assumption
used in preparing the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 1998 (H.Con.Res. 84).
SEC.--03. ANNUAL REVIEW OF DIRECT SPENDING AND RECEIPTS BY
PRESIDENT.
As part of each budget submitted under section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code, the President shall provide an
annual review of direct spending and receipts, which shall
include--
(1) information on total outlays for programs covered by
the direct spending targets, including actual outlays for the
prior fiscal year and projected outlays for the current
fiscal year and the 5 succeeding fiscal years; and
(2) information on the major categories of Federal
receipts, including a comparison between the levels of those
receipts and the levels projected as of the date of enactment
of this title.
SEC.--04. SPECIAL DIRECT SPENDING MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT.
(a) Trigger.--If the information submitted by the President
under section----03 indicates--
(1) that actual outlays for direct spending in the prior
fiscal year exceeded the applicable direct spending target;
or
(2) that outlays for direct spending for the current or
budget year are projected to exceed the applicable direct
spending targets,
the President shall include in his budget a special direct
spending message meeting the requirements of subsection (b).
(b) Contents.--
(1) Inclusions.--The special direct spending message shall
include--
(A) an analysis of the variance in direct spending over the
direct spending targets; and
(B) the President's recommendations for addressing the
direct spending overages, if any, in the prior, current, or
budget year.
(2) Additional matters.--The President's recommendations
may consist of any of the following:
(A) Proposed legislative changes to recoup or eliminate the
overage for the prior, current, and budget years in the
current year, the budget year, and the 4 outyears.
(B) Proposed legislative changes to recoup or eliminate
part of the overage for the prior, current, and budget year
in the current year, the budget year, and the 4 outyears,
accompanied by a finding by the President that, because of
economic conditions or for other specified reasons, only some
of the overage should be recouped or eliminated by outlay
reductions or revenue increases, or both.
(C) A proposal to make no legislative changes to recoup or
eliminate any overage, accompanied by a finding by the
President that, because of economic conditions or for other
specified reasons, no legislative changes are warranted.
(c) Proposed Special Direct Spending Resolution.--If the
President recommends reductions consistent with subsection
(b)(2)(A) or (B), the special direct spending message shall
include the text of a special direct spending resolution
implementing the President's recommendations through
reconciliation directives instructing the appropriate
committees of the House of Representatives and Senate to
determine and recommend changes in laws within their
jurisdictions. If the President recommends no reductions
pursuant to (b)(2)(C), the special direct spending message
shall include the text of a special resolution concurring in
the President's recommendation of no legislative action.
SEC. . REQUIRED RESPONSE BY CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider a concurrent
resolution on the budget unless that concurrent resolution
fully addresses the entirety of any overage contained in the
applicable report of the President under section ____04
through reconciliation directives.
(b) Waiver and Suspension.--This section may be waived or
suspended in the Senate only by the affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. This
section shall be subject to the provisions of section 258 of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
(c) Appeals.--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 bill or
joint resolution, as the case may be. An affirmative vote of
three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal
of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under
this section.
SEC. 06. RELATIONSHIP TO BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY
DEFICIT CONTROL ACT.
Reductions in outlays or increases in receipts resulting
from legislation reported pursuant to section ____05 shall
not be taken into account for purposes of any budget
enforcement procedures under the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 07. ESTIMATING MARGIN.
For any fiscal year for which the overage is less than one-
half of 1 percent of the direct spending target for that
year, the procedures set forth in sections ____04 and ____05
shall not apply.
SEC. 08. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title shall apply to direct spending targets for
fiscal years 1998 through 2002 and shall expire at the end of
fiscal year 2002.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, Senator Kohl and I have offered this
amendment. It is a very, very simple amendment. It just says if we are
going to break the spending caps on this bill, on this budget agreement
that we've told the American people is going to balance the budget, if
we're going to break the spending limits on it, we have to vote on it.
And we have to vote and pass that by a 60-vote margin. That's it.
The President has to say how he is going to get us to a balanced
budget. If we're going to break that cap, he has to say how he is going
to get us to a balanced budget; if we're going to break that spending
cap, he has to say where we're going to make the spending cuts, and we
have to vote if we are going to break it.
I think this is the least we can do for the American people. It says,
``Folks,
[[Page S6677]]
we meant it when we said we were going to balance the budget. We meant
it when we said we're going to balance it by the year 2002.'' And if we
are going to break it, we've got to break it by a 60-vote margin.
I yield the remainder of my time to Senator Kohl.
Mr. KOHL. Thank you.
Mr. President, I also am a supporter of this amendment. What it
simply says is that we are going to do what we set out to do, which is
to balance the budget, and, if we go over it in any year, then we are
going to have to decide how we are going to reduce that spending to be
sure we stay on target to get the budget balanced over the next several
years. That is all this does. It is not a sequester. Nobody should fear
that. But it is simply an enforcement mechanism which is necessary.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this amendment is a fast-track ticket
to deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. It would essentially create a
cap for these and other essential mandatory programs like the Medicare
and Medicaid.
Mr. President, we ought not punish the people who are on Medicaid or
Medicare just because these programs grow faster than a particular
rate. Sometimes growth in these programs could be good.
For example, the first reconciliation bill includes money to recruit
3 million uninsured Medicaid-eligible children to sign up for the
program. If this happens, obviously Medicaid spending is going to
increase. But the question is, What do we want to do? Do we want to
take care of those kids or don't we? This would not be a good reason to
cut the program. This is a dangerous gimmick. We can balance the budget
without it. Furthermore, we ought not accept an amendment that could
force quick, drastic cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment to protect Medicare and
Medicaid.
Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is
extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(A) of the Congressional
Budget Act.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I make a motion to waive the Budget Act
with respect to my amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second question?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Vote on Motion to Waive the Budget Act
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on the motion to waive the
Budget Act. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call
the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The yeas and nays resulted-- yeas 57, nays 43, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 145 Leg.]
YEAS--57
Abraham
Allard
Ashcroft
Bennett
Bond
Brownback
Burns
Campbell
Chafee
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Coverdell
Craig
D'Amato
DeWine
Domenici
Enzi
Faircloth
Frist
Gorton
Gramm
Grams
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Helms
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Jeffords
Kempthorne
Kohl
Kyl
Lott
Lugar
Mack
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nickles
Robb
Roberts
Roth
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Warner
NAYS--43
Akaka
Baucus
Biden
Bingaman
Boxer
Breaux
Bryan
Bumpers
Byrd
Cleland
Conrad
Daschle
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
F
