BEA 1990 (Contents)

Budget Enforcement Act of 1990

Section 13303

Title XIII—Budget Enforcement

Subtitle  C—Social Security

SEC. 13303. SOCIAL SECURITY FIREWALL AND POINT OF ORDER IN THE SENATE.

(a) Concurrent Resolution on the Budget.—Section 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and by adding after paragraph (5) the following new paragraphs:

“(6) For purposes of Senate enforcement under this title, outlays of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program established under title II of the Social Security Act for the fiscal year of the resolution and for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years; and

“(7) For purposes of Senate enforcement under this title, revenues of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program established under title II of the Social Security Act (and the related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the fiscal year of the resolution and for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.”.

(b) Point of Order.—Section 301(i) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows:

“(i) It shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget as reported to the Senate that would decrease the excess of social security revenues over social security outlays in any of the fiscal years covered by the concurrent resolution. No change in chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as affecting the amount of social security revenues unless such provision changes the income tax treatment of social security benefits.”.

(c) Committee Allocations.—

(1) Section 302(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after “appropriate levels of” the following: “social security outlays for the fiscal year of the resolution and for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years,”.

(2) Section 302(f)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting before the period the following: “or provides for social security outlays in excess of the appropriate allocation of social security outlays under subsection (a) for the fiscal year of the resolution or for the total of that year and the 4 succeeding fiscal years”.

(3) Section 302(f)(2) of such Act is further amended by adding at the end the following: “In applying this paragraph—

“(A) estimated social security outlays shall be deemed to be reduced by the excess of estimated social security revenues (including social security revenues provided for in the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report with respect to which this paragraph is applied) over the appropriate level of social security revenues specified in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget;

“(B) estimated social security outlays shall be deemed increased by the shortfall of estimated social security revenues (including social security revenues provided for in the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report with respect to which this paragraph is applied) below the appropriate level of social security revenues specified in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget; and

“(C) no provision of any bill or resolution, or any amendment thereto or conference report thereon, involving a change in chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as affecting the amount of social security revenues unless such provision changes the income tax treatment of social security benefits.

The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may file with the Senate appropriately revised allocations under subsection (a) and revised functional levels and aggregates to reflect the application of the preceding sentence. Such revised allocations, functional levels, and aggregates shall be considered as allocations, functional levels, and aggregates contained in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget, and the appropriate committees shall report revised allocations pursuant to subsection (b).”.

(d) Point of Order Under Section  311.—(1) Subsection (a) of section 311(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is redesignated as subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) are redesignated as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).

(2) Section 311(a) of such Act is amended by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:

“(2)(A) After the Congress has completed action on a concurrent resolution on the budget, it shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that would cause the appropriate level of total new budget authority or total budget outlays or social security outlays set forth for the first fiscal year in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget covering such fiscal year to be exceeded, or would cause revenues to be less than the appropriate level of total revenues (or social security revenues to be less than the appropriate level of social security revenues) set forth for the first fiscal year covered by the resolution and for the period including the first fiscal year plus the following 4 fiscal years in such concurrent resolution.

“(B) In applying this paragraph—

“(i)(I) estimated social security outlays shall be deemed to be reduced by the excess of estimated social security revenues (including those provided for in the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report with respect to which this subsection is applied) over the appropriate level of Social Security revenues specified in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget;

“(II) estimated social security revenues shall be deemed to be increased to the extent that estimated social security outlays are less (taking into account the effect of the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report to which this subsection is being applied) than the appropriate level of social security outlays in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget; and

“(ii)(I) estimated Social Security outlays shall be deemed to be increased by the shortfall of estimated social security revenues (including Social Security revenues provided for in the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report with respect to which this subsection is applied) below the appropriate level of social security revenues specified in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget; and

“(II) estimated social security revenues shall be deemed to be reduced by the excess of estimated social security outlays (including social security outlays provided for in the bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report with respect to which this subsection is applied) above the appropriate level of social security outlays specified in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget; and

“(iii) no provision of any bill or resolution, or any amendment thereto or conference report thereon, involving a change in chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as affecting the amount of social security revenues unless such provision changes the income tax treatment of social security benefits.

The chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may file with the Senate appropriately revised allocations under section 302(a) and revised functional levels and aggregates to reflect the application of the preceding sentence. Such revised allocations, functional levels, and aggregates shall be considered as allocations, functional levels, and aggregates contained in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget, and the appropriate committees shall report revised allocations pursuant to section 302(b).”

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COUNSEL NOTES

Codification

This section is not classified to the U.S. Code because it amended previously codified law. 

BEA 1990 Joint Explanatory Statement on Social Security

The Joint Explanatory Statement of Managers on the Conference Report for the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 included this description of the amendments made to the Social Security program:

vi. treatment of social security

Current Law

Under current law, the Social Security trust funds are off-budget but are included in deficit estimates and calculations made for purposes of the sequestration process. However, Social Security benefit payments are exempt from any sequestration order.

Section 310(g) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 prohibits the consideration of reconciliation legislation “that contains recommendations” with respect to Social Security. (A motion to waive this point of order requires 60 votes in the Senate and a simple majority in the House.)

House Bill

The House bill reaffirms the off-budget status of Social Security and removes the trust funds-excluding interest receipts-from the deficit estimates and calculations made in the sequestration process. The House bill retains the current law exemption of Social Security benefit payments from any sequestration order.

The House bill creates a “fair wall” point of order (as free-standing legislation) to prohibit the consideration of legislation that would change the actuarial balance of the Social Security trust funds over a 5-year or 75-year period. In the case of legislation decreasing Social Security revenues, the prohibition would not apply if the legislation also included an equivalent increase in Medicare taxes for the period covered by the legislation.

Senate Amendment

The Senate amendment also reaffirms the off-budget status of Social Security and removes the trust funds from the deficit estimates and calculations made in the sequestration process. However, unlike the House bill, the Senate amendment removes the gross trust fund transactions-including interest receipts-from the sequestration deficit calculations. The Senate amendment also retains the current law exemption of Social Security benefit payments from any sequestration order.

The Senate amendment also creates a procedural fire wall to protect Social Security financing, but does so by expanding certain budget enforcement provisions of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The Senate amendment expands the prohibition in Section 310(g) of the Budget Act to specifically protect Social Security financing, prohibits the consideration of a reported budget resolution calling for a reduction in Social Security surplus, and includes Social Security in the enforcement procedures under Sections 302 and 311 of the Budget Act. The Senate amendment also requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide an actuarial analysis of any legislation affecting Social Security, and generally prohibits the consideration of legislation lacking such an analysis.

For more on the budgetary treatment of Social Security under current law and historically, see Senate Comm. on the Budget, Social Security Preservation Act, S. Rep. No. 101-426, 101st Cong. 2d Sess. (1990).

Conference Agreement

The conference agreement incorporates the Senate position on the budgetary treatment of the Social Security trust funds, reaffirming their off-budget status and removing all their transactions from the deficit estimates and calculations made in the sequestration process.

Further, the conference agreement provides that the “fire wall” procedure proposed by the House shall apply only to the House and that the “fire wall” procedures proposed by the Senate shall apply only to the Senate.

U.S. House of Representatives, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990: Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5835, House Report 101-964 (October 27, 1990), pp. 1160-1161. (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990).

 

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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY NOTES

Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13303, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388, 1388–625; (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990).

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