VIEWS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

Reconciliation is an important tool to restrain Federal spending. It is authorized by Title III of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344). Reconciliation permits the Congress to consider spending reductions from several committees in one bill, while reserving to the individual committees the power to make recommendations for reductions in laws within their respective jurisdictions.

ADOPTION OF RECONCILIATION INSTRUCTIONS

On June 23, 1982, Congress adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 92, the First Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 1983. That resolution mandated dramatic reductions in the large budget deficits which would otherwise face the nation. Revenue and spending targets for the fiscal years 1983 through 1985 contained in the resolution will lower deficits over the next 3 years by $379 billion.

In order to help achieve the fiscal policy set forth in Senate Concurrent Resolution 92, Congress included in that resolution instructions to nine House committees and eight Senate committees to recommend changes in laws in their jurisdiction which would cut spending by $10.9 billion in budget authority and $27.2 billion in outlays in the fiscal years 1983 through 1985. In addition, the Senate Finance and the House Ways and Means Committees were given reconciliation instructions to report revenue increases totalling $98.3 billion during the fiscal year 1983-85 period.

Seven of the eight Senate committees were assigned a reporting date of July 20, 1982. Pursuant to subsection 310(c)(2) of the Budget Act, those Committees submitted their reports to the Senate Budget Committee on or before this deadline. The Budget Committee is responsible for combining the legislative recommendations of these committees into a single bill and for reporting these recommendations to the Senate without any substantive revision.

The Senate Finance Committee was required to report its responses to reconciliation, both spending reductions and revenue increases, by July 12, 1982. The Finance Committee was the only committee required to report by that date. Pursuant to subsection 310(c)(1) of the Budget Act, the Finance Committee was instructed to report directly to the full Senate. The Finance Committee's reconciliation bill, H.R. 4961, known as the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, was reported on July 12. That bill was passed by the Senate during the session of July 22, 1982.

RECONCILIATION IS A NECESSARY TOOL TO ACHIEVE SAVINGS

The Budget Committee believes that the reconciliation process is a necessary procedure by which to achieve many of the dramatic reductions in Federal spending called for by Senate Concurrent Resolution 92. These spending reductions are necessary in order to wage an effective battle against large Federal deficits and the high interest rates which have plagued the national economy for many months.

THIS BILL AND REPORT

The Senate Budget Committee reports herewith the recommendations of seven Senate committees, without any substantive revision, and with a recommendation that the bill do pass.

NONBUDGETARY PROVISIONS

The Budget Committee believes that the inclusion of non-budgetary provisions in a reconciliation bill is inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the Budget Act, damages the credibility of the budget process, and could have the effect of circumventing Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

The problem of so-called "extraneous matters" became a major issue last year during Senate consideration of S. 1377, the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981. A number of provisions which were determined to be clearly extraneous were stricken from that bill. A special time agreement was entered into with respect to other provisions which some Senators contended were extraneous.

The Budget Committee has authorized the Chairman and Ranking Member to consult with the Chairman and Ranking Members of committees which have submitted legislation, and with the Senate leadership, to identify any clearly extraneous matters in this bill and to reach an agreement on any amendments which may be necessary to eliminate such matters from the bill. The Budget Committee recommends that such amendments as agreed upon be adopted by the Senate.

LEVEL OF SAVINGS ACHIEVED

The total reductions in deficits as reported by the seven Senate committees exceed by $1.1 billion the total outlay savings in fiscal years 1983-85 specified by the reconciliation instructions included in the First Budget Resolution. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, all seven of the committees whose recommendations are included in this bill met or exceeded the savings levels specified in the reconciliation instructions. Indeed, two committees-Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Veterans Affairsreported legislative savings exceeding their instructions by substantial amounts.

The Governmental Affairs Committee achieved a small portion of its savings target (less than 5 percent) by recommending actions which will increase Federal receipts. While a question could be raised about whether this conforms to the reconciliation instruc

tions, the Budget Committee believes the Governmental Affairs Committee has complied fully with the spirit of the instructions.

SAVINGS ACHIEVED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES AND FOREIGN RELATIONS

The Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations were instructed in the First Budget Resolution to report recommended changes in direct spending programs (as defined by subsection 401(c)(2)(C) of the Budget Act) within their jurisdiction. The First Budget Resolution assumed that these two committees would cap the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Federal retirement programs within their jurisdictions at 4 percent. These savings will occur automatically under this bill because the Committee on Governmental Affairs recommended changes in COLAS for civil service retirees. The uniformed service and foreign service retiree COLAS are tied by law to the civil service retirement COLA. Therefore, there was no need for the Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations to report any legislative language for their titles. Provisions are included in Titles II and V of this Act to clarify how the reconciliation instructions for the Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations were met. Similar cross reference language was included in the Reconciliation Acts of 1980 and 1981.

RECONCILIATION PROCEDURE

Just as the Budget Act provides for the reconciliation procedure itself, it provides in sections 310(e) and 305 special rules for the consideration of reconciliation bills.

The following rules apply to the consideration of a reconciliation bill in the Senate:

First, debate on any reconciliation bill and all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith is limited to 20 hours.

Second, debate on the bill (including amendments, debatable motions, and appeals) shall be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.

Third, debate on any amendment is limited to 2 hours, divided between the mover of the amendment and the manager of the bill.

Fourth, debate on any amendment to an amendment, debatable motion, or appeal is limited to 1 hour, divided between the mover and the manager.

Fifth, a motion to limit debate to less than 20 hours is not debatable.

Sixth, a motion to recommit is not in order unless it contains instructions to report back within a specified time, not to exceed 3 days, and debate on such a motion is limited to 1 hour, divided between the mover and the manager.

Seventh, any germane amendment which amends the bill in more than one place and which achieves or maintains mathematical consistency is always in order.

Eighth, amendments to the bill must be "germane to the provisions of" the legislation. The "germaneness rule" has been interpreted as prohibiting any amendment which introduces "new subject matter."

The instructed committees, therefore, set the parameters of germaneness, as the Budget Committee reports what is submitted to it without any substantive revision.

The "germaneness rule" does not apply to a motion to recommit the bill with instructions to report a specific amendment, if a committee has not complied with its reconciliation instructions, and if the effect of the motion would be to bring the bill into compliance with the reconciliation instructions.

Ninth, floor consideration of the conference report on a reconciliation bill is in order any time after the third day following the day on which the conference report is reported and is available to Senators. Debate on the conference report is limited to 10 hours, divided equally, with debate on any appeal or motion limited to 1 hour divided between the mover and the manager.