Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974/Title I

TITLE I — ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSE AND SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEES

Sec. 101. Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.

(a) Clause 1 of Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by redesignating paragraphs (e) through (u) as paragraphs (f) through (v). respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (d) the following new paragraph:

``(e) Committee on the Budget, to consist of twenty-three Members as follows:

``(1) five Members who are members of the Committee on Appropriations;

``(2) five Members who are members of the Committee on Ways and Means;

``(3) eleven Members who are members of other standing committees;

``(4) one Member from the leadership of the majority party; and

``(5) one Member from the leadership of the minority party.

``No Member shall serve as a member of the Committee on the Budget during more than two Congresses in any period of five successive Congresses beginning after 1974 (disregarding for this purpose any service performed as a member of such committee for less than a full session in any Congress). All selections of Members to serve on the committee shall be made without regard to seniority.´´.

(b) Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new clause:

``6. For carrying out the purposes set forth in clause 5 of Rule XI, the Committee on the Budget or any subcommittee thereof is authorized to sit and act at such times and places within the United States, whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such books or papers or documents or vouchers by subpena or otherwise, and to take such testimony and records, as it deems neccessary. Subpenas may be issued over the signature of the chairman of the committee or of any member of the committee designated by him; and may be served by any person designated by such chairman or member. The chaiiman of the committee, or any member thereof, may administer oaths to witnesses.´´.

(c) Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by redesignating clauses 5 through 33 as clauses 6 through 34, respectively, and by inserting after Clause 4 the following new clause:

``5. Committee on the Budget

``(a) All concurrent resolutions on the budget (as defined in section 3(a)(4) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974) and other matters required to be referred to the committee under titles III and IV of that Act.

``(b) The committee shall have the duty—

``(1) to report the matters required to be reported by it under titles III ana IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.;

``(2) to make continuing studies of the effect on budget outlays of relevant existing and proposed legislation and to report the results of such studies to the House on a recurring basis;

``(3) to request and evaluate continuing studies of tax expenditures, to devise methods of coordinating tax expenditures, policies, and programs with direct budget outlays, and to report the results of such studies to the House on a recurring basis; and

``(4) to review, on a continuing basis, the conduct by the Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties.´´.

Sec. 102. Budget Committee of the Senate.

(a) Paragraph 1 of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subparagraph:

``(r)(1) Committee on the Budget, to which committee shall be referred all concurrent resolutions on the budget (as defined in section 3(a)(4) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974) and all other matters required to be referred to that committee under titles III and IV of that Act, and messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating thereto.

``(2) Such committee shall have the duty—

``(A) to report the matters required to be reported by it under titles III and IV of the Congessional Budget Act of 1974;

``(B) to make continuing studies of the effect on budget outlays of relevant existing and proposed legislation and to report the results of such studies to the Senate on a recurring basis;

``(C) to request and evaluate continuing studies of tax expenditures, to devise methods of coordinating tax expenditures, policies, and programs with direct budget outlays, and to report the results of such studies to the Senate on a recurring basis; and

``(D) to review, on a continuing basis, the conduct by the Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties.´´.

(b) The table contained in paragraph 2 of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by inserting after—

``Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs . . . 15´´

the following:

``Budget . . . 15´´

(c) Paragraph 6 of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subparagraph:

``(h) For purposes of the first sentence of subparagraph (a), membership on the Committee on the Budget shall not be taken into account until that date occurring during the first session of the Ninety-fifth Congress, upon which the appointment of the majority and minority party members of the standing committees of the Senate is initially completed.´´.

(d) Each meeting of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate, or any subcommittee thereof, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public, except that a portion or portions of any such meeting may be closed to the public if the committee or subcommittee, as the case may be, determines by record vote of a majority of the members of the committee or subcommittee present that the matters to be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such portion or portions—

(1) will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign relations of the United States;

(2) will relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;

(3) will tend to charge an individual with crime or misconduct, to disgrace or injure the professional standing of an individual, or otherwise to expose an individual to public contempt or obloquy, or will represent a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual;

(4) will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement; or

(5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets or financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if—

(A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or

(B) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, other than through an application by such person for a specific Government financial or other benefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person.

(e) Paragraph 7(b) of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate and section 133A(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 shall not apply to the Committee on the Budget of the Senate.

---

Note : Title I through Title IX may be cited as the ``Congressional Budget Act of 1974´´.