[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 905 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 905
To increase accountability and equity in the Federal budget.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2007
Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to
the Committees on Ways and Means, and Rules, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase accountability and equity in the Federal budget.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Commission on Unfair Tax Breaks and
Subsidies (or `CUTS') Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a congressional advisory
commission to identify and evaluate inequitable Federal subsidies.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In General.--For purposes of this Act, the term ``inequitable
Federal subsidy'' means a payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage
that--
(1) is provided by the Government to any corporation,
partnership, joint venture, association, business trust, or
industry other than--
(A) a nonprofit organization described under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
(B) a State or local government or Indian Tribe or
Alaska Native village or regional or village
corporation as defined in or established pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.);
(2) is provided without a reasonable expectation,
demonstrated with the use of reliable performance criteria,
that actions or activities undertaken or performed in return
for such payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage would
result in a return or benefit, quantifiable or nonquantifiable,
to the public at least as great as the payment, benefit,
service, or tax advantage; and
(3) provides an unfair competitive advantage or financial
windfall.
(b) Exception.--Such term shall not include a payment, benefit,
service, or tax advantage that--
(1) is awarded for the purposes of research and development
that--
(A) is in the broad public interest on the basis of
a peer reviewed or other open, competitive, merit-based
procedure;
(B) is for a purpose consistent with the mission of
the agency;
(C) supports competing technologies at levels
appropriate to their potential, as determined by an
appropriate priority setting process; and
(D) the private sector cannot reasonably be
expected to undertake without Federal support at a
level or in a timeframe consistent with the payment,
benefit, service, or tax advantage's potential to
provide broad economic or other public benefit;
(2) Primarily benefits or promotes.--
(A) public health, safety, or the environment,
(B) development or use of energy from renewable
sources;
(C) more efficient generation, transmission, or use
of energy;
(D) national security, including homeland security;
or
(E) education;
(3) is necessary to comply with international trade or
treaty obligations; or
(4) is for the purpose of procurement of property or
services by the United States Government.
SEC. 4. COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established an independent commission
to be known as the ``Commission on Unfair Tax Breaks and Subsidies''
(hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
(b) Duties.--The Commission shall--
(1) examine the programs and tax laws of the Government and
identify programs and tax laws that provide inequitable Federal
subsidies;
(2) review inequitable Federal subsidies; and
(3) submit the report required under section 206 to the
Congress.
(c) Limitations.--
(1) Creation of new programs or taxes.--This Act is not
intended to result in the creation of new programs or taxes,
and the Commission established in this section shall limit its
activities to reviewing programs or tax laws as of the date of
enactment of this Act with the goal of ensuring fairness and
equity in the operation and application thereof.
(2) Elimination of agencies and departments.--The
Commission shall limit its recommendations to the termination
or reduction of payments, benefits, services, or tax
advantages, rather than the termination of Federal agencies or
departments.
(d) Advisory Committee.--The Commission shall be considered an
advisory committee within the meaning of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
(e) Appointment.--
(1) Members.--The Commissioners shall be appointed for the
life of the Commission and shall be composed of 5 members of
whom--
(A) one shall be appointed jointly by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives and the majority leader
of the Senate;
(B) one shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives;
(C) one shall be appointed by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives;
(D) one shall be appointed by the majority leader
of the Senate; and
(E) one shall be appointed by the minority leader
of the Senate.
Such appointments shall be made not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Consultation required.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the
minority leader of the Senate shall consult among themselves
prior to the appointment of the members of the Commission in
order to achieve, to the maximum extent possible, fair and
equitable representation of various points of view with respect
to the matters to be studied by the Commission under subsection
(b).
(3) Chairman.--The chairman of the Commission shall be the
member appointed as provided in paragraph (1)(A).
(4) Background.--The members shall represent a broad array
of expertise covering, to the extent practical, all subject
matter, programs, and tax laws the Commission is likely to
review.
(f) Terms.--Each member of the Commission including the chairman
shall serve until the termination of the Commission.
(g) Meetings.--
(1) Initial meeting.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall conduct
its first meeting. The first nonadministrative business of the
Commission shall be to establish criteria for evaluating
whether a payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage is an
inequitable Federal subsidy for purposes of this Act.
(2) Open meetings.--Each meeting of the Commission shall be
open to the public. In cases where classified information,
trade secrets, or personnel matters are discussed, the chairman
may close the meeting. All proceedings, information, and
deliberations of the Commission shall be available, upon
request, to the chairman and ranking member of the relevant
committees of Congress.
(h) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission--
(1) shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment not later than 30 days after the Commission is
given notice of the vacancy, and
(2) shall not affect the power of the remaining members to
execute the duties of the Commission.
(i) Pay and Travel Expenses.--
(1) Pay.--Notwithstanding section 7 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), each commissioner, other than
the chairman, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily
equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay for level IV
of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which
the member is engaged in the actual performance of duties
vested in the Commission.
(2) Chairman.--Notwithstanding section 7 of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the chairman shall be
paid for each day referred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal
to the daily payment of the minimum annual rate of basic pay
payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section
5314 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) Travel expenses.--Members shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in
accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States
Code.
(j) Director of Staff.--
(1) Qualifications.--The chairman shall appoint a Director
who has not served in any of the entities or industries that
the Commission intends to review during the 12 months preceding
the date of such appointment.
(2) Pay.--Notwithstanding section 7 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Director shall be paid at
the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) Reports.--On administrative and personnel matters, the
Director shall submit periodic reports to the Chairman of the
Commission and the chairman and ranking member of the Committee
on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Government Reform of the House of the Representatives.
(k) Staff.--
(1) Additional personnel.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and
(4), the Director, with the approval of the Commission, may
appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel.
(2) Appointments.--The Director may make such appointments
without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States
Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and
any personnel so appointed may be paid without regard to the
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of
that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay
rates.
(3) Detailees.--Upon the request of the Director, the head
of any Federal department or agency may detail any of the
personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to
assist the Commission in accordance with an agreement entered
into with the Commission.
(4) Restrictions on personnel and detailees.--The following
restrictions shall apply to personnel and detailees of the
Commission:
(A) Personnel.--No more than one-third of the
personnel detailed to the Commission may be on detail
from Federal agencies that deal directly or indirectly
with the Federal payments the Commission intends to
review.
(B) Analysts.--No more than one-fifth of the
professional analysts of the Commission may be persons
detailed from a Federal agency that deals directly or
indirectly with the Federal payments the Commission
intends to review.
(C) Lead analyst.--No person detailed from a
Federal agency to the Commission may be assigned as the
lead professional analyst with respect to an entity or
industry the Commission intends to review if the person
has been involved in regulatory or policy-making
decisions affecting any such entity or industry in the
12 months preceding such assignment.
(D) Detailee.--A person may not be detailed from a
Federal agency to the Commission if, within 12 months
before the detail is to begin, that person participated
personally and substantially in any matter within that
particular agency concerning the preparation of
recommendations under this Act.
(E) Federal officer or employee.--No member of a
Federal agency, and no officer or employee of a Federal
agency, may--
(i) prepare any report concerning the
effectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the
performance on the staff of the Commission of
any person detailed from a Federal agency to
that staff;
(ii) review the preparation of such report;
or
(iii) approve or disapprove such a report.
(F) Limitation on staff size.--
(i) Subject to clause (ii), there may not
be more than 50 persons (including any
detailees) on the staff at any time.
(ii) The Commission may increase personnel
in excess of the limitation under clause (i),
15 days after submitting notification of such
increase to the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Government Reform of the House of
Representatives.
(G) Limitation on federal officer.--No member of a
Federal agency and no employee of a Federal agency may
serve as a Commissioner or receive additional
compensation by reason of being a member of the staff.
(5) Assistance.--
(A) In general.--The Comptroller General of the
United States may provide assistance, including the
detailing of employees, to the Commission in accordance
with an agreement entered into with the Commission.
(B) Consultation.--The Commission and the
Comptroller General of the United States shall consult
with the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives on the agreement
referred to under subparagraph (A) before entering into
such agreement.
(l) Other Authority.--
(1) Experts and consultants.--The Commission may procure by
contract, to the extent funds are available, the temporary or
intermittent services of experts or consultants pursuant to
section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Leasing.--The Commission may lease space and acquire
personal property to the extent that funds are available.
(m) Funding.--
(1) Commission.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Commission such funds as are necessary to carry out its
duties under this Act.
(2) Comptroller general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Comptroller General of the United States
such funds as are necessary to carry out its duties under
subsection (k)(5).
(n) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the 90th day
after the date that the Commission submits its report under section
205(a)(1).
SEC. 5. REPORT; CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.
(a) Report of Commission.--
(1) Report to congress.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the first meeting of the Commission, the
Commission shall submit to each House of Congress a
report containing--
(i) the Commission's findings, and
(ii) any recommendations agreed to by at
least 4 Commission members for the termination,
reduction, or revision of any of the
inequitable Federal subsidies reviewed by the
Commission.
(B) Specifications.--Such findings and
recommendations shall specify--
(i) all actions, circumstances, and
considerations relating to or bearing upon the
recommendations; and
(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, the
estimated effect of the recommendations upon
the policies, laws and programs directly or
indirectly affected by the recommendations.
(2) Review of preliminary report by comptroller general.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days before the
submission of the report under paragraph (1), the
Commission shall submit the most recent version of such
report to Comptroller General of the United States.
(B) Analysis by comptroller general.--Not later
than 60 days after receiving the version of the report
referred to in subparagraph (A), the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to the
Commission a report containing a detailed analysis of
such version of the report.
(b) Submission of Recommendations to the Senate and House of
Representatives.--
(1) Submission to congress.--The recommendations submitted
to the Congress under subsection (a) shall be submitted to the
Senate and the House of Representatives on the same day, and
shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate
is not in session, and to the Clerk of the House of
Representatives if the House is not in session.
(2) Publication.--Any recommendations and accompanying
information submitted under subsection (a) shall be published
and made available to the public by the Commission.
(c) Introduction.--Not later than 30 days after the date the report
under subsection (a) is submitted to the Congress, the majority leaders
of the Senate and the House of Representatives or their respective
designees, shall introduce a bill to implement the recommendations
submitted under subsection (a).
(d) Committee Referral and Action.--
(1) In general.--
(A) In general.--Any committee to which a bill or
bills introduced under subsection (c) is referred shall
report such bill no later than 20 days after the date
of referral. No amendment during committee
consideration of a bill or bills introduced under
subsection (c) shall be in order unless that amendment
is confined to terminating, or reducing an inequitable
Federal subsidy as defined in section 4 of this Act.
Any such reported bill shall be referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and
the Committee on Rules of the House of Representatives,
as applicable.
(B) Tax bills.--Any bill referred to the Committee
on Finance of the Senate or the Committee on Ways and
Means of the House of Representatives that contains
revenue increases may be amended to include reductions
in revenues in the form of tax cuts in an amount up to
the amount of the revenue increases, but no amendment
shall be in order that would result in a limited tax
benefit as defined in subparagraph (C) of this
paragraph.
(C) Limited tax benefit.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term ``limited tax benefit'' means--
(i) any revenue-losing provision which
provides a Federal tax deduction, credit,
exclusion, or preference to 100 or fewer
beneficiaries under the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 in any fiscal year for which the
provision is in effect; and
(ii) any Federal tax provision which
provides temporary or permanent transitional
relief for 10 or fewer beneficiaries in any
fiscal year from a change to the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
(D) Exceptions.--A provision shall not be treated
as a limited tax benefit if the effect of that
provision is that--
(i) all persons in the same industry or
engaged in the same type of activity receive
the same treatment;
(ii) all persons owning the same type of
property, or issuing the same type of
investment, receive the same treatment; or
(iii) any difference in the treatment of
persons is based solely on--
(I) in the case of businesses and
associations, the size or form of the
business or association involved;
(II) in the case of individuals,
general demographic conditions, such as
income, marital status, number of
dependents, or tax return filing
status;
(III) the amount involved; or
(IV) a generally-available election
under the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
(E) Further exceptions.--A provision shall not be
treated as a limited tax benefit if--
(i) it provides for the retention of prior
law with respect to all binding contracts or
other legally enforceable obligations in
existence on a date contemporaneous with
congressional action specifying such date; or
(ii) it is a technical correction to
previously enacted legislation that is
estimated to have no revenue effect.
(F) Treatment.--For purposes of this paragraph--
(i) all businesses and associations which
are related within the meaning of sections
707(b) and
(ii) all qualified plans of an employer
shall be treated as a single beneficiary;
(iii) all holders of the same bond issue
shall be treated as a single beneficiary; and
(iv) if a corporation, partnership,
association, trust or estate is the beneficiary
of a provision, the shareholders of the
corporation, the partners of the partnership,
the members of the association, or the
beneficiaries of the trust or estate shall not
also be treated as beneficiaries of such
provision.
(G) Revenue-losing provision.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term ``revenue-losing provision'' means
any provision which results in a reduction in Federal
tax revenues for any one of the two following periods--
(i) the first fiscal year for which the
provision is effective; or
(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years
beginning with the first fiscal year for which
the provision is effective.
(H) The terms used in this paragraph shall have the
same meaning as those terms have generally in the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, unless otherwise
expressly provided.
(2) Discharge.--If a committee does not report a bill
within the 120-day period as provided under paragraph (1), such
bill shall be discharged from the committee and referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate or the
Committee on Rules of the House of Representatives, as
applicable.
(3) Report to floor; consolidation.--
(A) In general.--No later than the first day the
Senate or the House of Representatives (as applicable)
is in session following 10 calendar days in session
after the end of the period described under paragraphs
(1) and (2), the Committee on Rules and Administration
of the Senate and the Committee on Rules of the House
of Representatives, as applicable, shall--
(i) consolidate all bills referred under
paragraphs (1) and (2) into a single bill
(without substantive amendment) and report such
bill to the Senate or the House of
Representatives; or
(ii) if only 1 bill is referred under
paragraph (1) or (2), report such bill (without
amendment) to the Senate or House of
Representatives.
(B) Legislative calendar.--The bill reported under
subparagraph (A) shall be placed on the legislative
calendar of the appropriate House.
(e) Procedure in Senate After Report of Committee; Debate;
Amendments.--
(1) Debate on bill.--Debate in the Senate on a bill
reported under subsection (d)(3), and all amendments thereto
and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith,
shall be limited to not more than 30 hours. The time shall be
equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader
and minority leader or their designees.
(2) Debate on amendments.--Debate in the Senate on any
amendment to the bill shall be limited to 1 hour, to be equally
divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager
of the bill, and debate on any amendment to an amendment,
debatable motion, or appeal shall be limited to 30 minutes, to
be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and
the manager of the bill, except that in the event the manager
of the bill is in favor of any such amendment, motion or
appeal, the time in opposition thereto shall be controlled by
the minority leader or his designee.
(3) Limit of debate.--
(A) A motion to further limit debate is not
debatable. A motion by the majority leader or his
designee to extend debate is not debatable. A motion to
recommit is not in order.
(B) No amendment to the bill reported under
subsection (d)(3) shall be in order unless--
(i) that amendment is confined to
terminating or reducing an inequitable Federal
payment as defined by section 4 of this Act;
(ii) that amendment is germane to the bill
reported by the Committee on Governmental
Affairs; and
(iii) for the purposes of such bill,
``germane'' means only amendments which strike
language from such bill, or restore language in
the bill or bills introduced under subsection
(c).
(4) Conference reports.--
(A) Motion to proceed.--A motion to proceed to the
consideration of the conference report on a bill
subject to the procedures of this section and reported
to the Senate may be made even though a previous motion
to the same effect has been disagreed to.
(B) Time limitation.--The consideration in the
Senate of the conference report on the bill and any
amendments in disagreement thereto, including all
debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith,
shall be limited to 5 hours, to be equally divided
between, and controlled by, the majority leader and
minority leader or their designees. Debate on any
debatable motion, appeal related to the conference
report, or any amendment to an amendment in
disagreement, shall be limited to 30 minutes, to be
equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover
and the manager of the conference report (or a message
between Houses).
(f) Procedure in House of Representatives After Report of the
Committee; Debate.--
(1) Motion to consider.--When the Committee on Rules of the
House of Representatives reports a bill under subsection (d)(3)
it is in order (at any time after the fifth day (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) following the day on
which any committee report filed on a bill referred under
subsection (d)(1) to the Committee on Rules has been available
to Members of the House) to move to proceed to the
consideration of the bill reported to the House of
Representatives. The motion is highly privileged and is not
debatable. An amendment to the motion is not in order, and it
is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the
motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
(2) Debate.--General debate on the bill in the House of
Representatives shall be limited to not more than 10 hours,
which shall be divided equally between the majority and
minority parties. A motion further to limit debate is not
debatable. A motion to postpone debate is not in order, and it
is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the
bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
(3) Terms of consideration.--Consideration of the bill by
the House of Representatives shall be in the Committee of the
Whole, and the bill shall be considered for amendment under the
5-minute rule in accordance with the applicable provisions of
rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives for the
110th Congress. After the committee rises and reports the bill
back to the House, the previous question shall be considered as
ordered on the bill and any amendments thereto to final passage
without intervening motion.
(4) Limit on debate.--Debate in the House of
Representatives on the conference report on a bill subject to
the procedures under this section and reported to the House of
Representatives shall be limited to not more than 5 hours,
which shall be divided equally between the majority and
minority parties. A motion further to limit debate is not
debatable. A motion to recommit the conference report is not in
order, and it is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by
which the conference report is agreed to or disagreed to. A
motion to postpone is not in order.
(5) Appeals.--Appeals from decisions of the chair relating
to the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives
to the procedure relating to the bill shall be decided without
debate.
(g) Rules of the Senate and House of Representatives.--This section
is enacted by Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and the House of Representatives, respectively, but applicable
only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House
in the case of a bill under this section, and it supersedes
other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with
such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules as far as relating to the
procedure of that House at any time, in the same manner, and to
the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
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