103D CONGRESS 1st Session SENATE REPORT 103-106 TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL JULY 22 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993.-Ordered to be printed Mr. DECONCINI, from the Committee on Appropriations, REPORT [To accompany H.R. 2403] The Committee on Appropriations, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 2403) making appropriations for the Treasury Department, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain Independent Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1994, and for other purposes, reports to the Senate with various amendments, and presents herewith information relative to the changes recommended. Amount of bill as passed by House Amount of decrease by Senate Amount of bill as reported to the Senate Amount of estimate The bill as reported to the Senate: Below the appropriations provided in 1993 ... Above the estimates for 1994 .... $22,708,780,000 -377,321,000 22,331,459,000 22,006,136,000 -246,426,538 +325,323,000 - 377,321,000 70-537 cc Compliance with paragraph 7, rule XVI, of the Standing Rules of the Senate.. Compliance with paragraph 7(c), rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Compliance with paragraph 12, rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the GENERAL STATEMENT AND SUMMARY OF THE BILL The accompanying bill contains recommendations for new budget (obligational) authority for the Treasury Department, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1994. The Committee considered budget estimates for fiscal year 1994 in the aggregate amount of $22,006,136,000. Compared to that amount, the accompanying bill recommends new budget authority totaling $22,331,459,000 which is $325,323,000 more than the amount requested by the administration and $377,321,000 below the House-passed bill. The Committee recommendations are within the fiscal year 1994 section 602(b) budget authority and outlay allocations for the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Subcommittee. REPROGRAMMING REQUIREMENTS The Committee directs that prior approval by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations shall be required for any reprogramming request from an agency, department, or office, when the amount involved is in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent, whichever is greater, in any object class, budget activity, program line item, or program activity. The Committee also requires reprogramming approval by the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate if it is clear that such a reprogramming would result in a major change contrary to the program or item presented to and approved by the Committee or the Congress, or if the cumulative effect of past reprogramming actions added to the new action under consideration would exceed the reprogramming dollar threshold established by the Committee in this report. The Committee expects the justifications for proposed reprogramming actions to be clear and strongly documented. Furthermore, except in extraordinary circumstances, reprogramming proposals will not be approved by the Committee with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year, nor will they be approved if they propose actions that would effectively reverse previous congressional directives. Furthermore, the Committee expects reprogramming requests to be submitted for prior approval if any statutory or other earmark identified in the reports cannot be met. The Committee also expects that if funds provided for a specific purpose exceed actual requirements, a reprogramming shall be submitted to the Committee for prior approval. This specifically applies to those cases where there are savings and the realized savings are proposed to be used for other purposes. TRANSFER OF FUNDS BETWEEN APPROPRIATION ACCOUNTS The administration has requested authority for the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of General Services to transfer funds between appropriation accounts of the Department of the Treasury and General Services Administration, respectively. For the Secretary of the Treasury, a 2-percent transfer authority is being requested, and authority to transfer up to 2 percent between appropriation accounts for mandatory requirements is requested for the General Services Administration. In addition, authority to transfer up to 4 percent is requested for the Internal Revenue Service to transfer funds between its four appropriation accounts. The Committee recommends that the Administrator of General Services be allowed to transfer up to 2 percent between appropriation accounts during fiscal year 1994. Additionally, the Committee has approved the requested 2-percent transfer authority for the Secretary of the Treasury and the 4-percent transfer authority for the IRS. Such transfers shall be requested only in emergency situations when the need for such transfer is unforeseen and absolutely critical to the mission supported by the affected appropriation account, and only with prior approval of both the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. In addition, the Committee expects transfer requests to be submitted for Committee approval in a timely manner to permit a sufficient period for consideration. The Committee is concerned that in the past, transfer requests have been submitted so late that transfers of funds have already been effected by the agencies and cannot be reversed. The Committee is concerned that even in the past such limited transfer authority has been overutilized and often used by agencies for reorganizations that have major policy implications. Such transfers are interpreted by the Committee as circumventing the appropriations process and will not be condoned. DEFINITION OF PROGRAM, PROJECT, AND ACTIVITY AS PROVIDED FOR BY PUBLIC LAW 99–177, AS AMENDED During fiscal year 1994, for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177), as amended, the following information provides the definition of the term "program, project, and activity" for departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Subcommittee. The term "program, project, and activity" shall include the most specific level of budget items identified as a dollar amount in the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1993 (H.R. 2403), the House (H. Rept. 103-127) and the Senate committee report and the conference report and accompanying joint explanatory statement of the managers of the committee of conference accompanying that act. (Under the above definition, the Federal buildings fund, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing fund, and other intragovernmental funds are exempt under section 255(g)(1) of Public Law 99-177, as amended). In implementing a Presidential Order, departments and agencies shall apply the percentage reduction required for fiscal year 1994 pursuant to the provisions of Public Law 99-177, as amended, to each budget item that is listed under said accounts in the budget justifications submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations as modified by subsequent appropriations acts (including joint resolutions providing continuing appropriations), and accompanying House and Senate Committee reports, conference reports, or joint explanatory statements of the committee of conference. TOTAL FUNDING FOR TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS In addition to the new obligational authority recommended in the accompanying bill, additional significant sums are made available each year for the Treasury Department, the Office of Personnel Management, and other independent agencies under permanent indefinite authority which do not require consideration by the Congress during the annual appropriations process. The principal items in these categories include: payment of interest on the public debt, interest on Internal Revenue Service refunds of income tax payments, and other interest payments on selected accounts handled by the Department of the Treasury, which total an estimated $312,900,000,000 in fiscal year 1994; repayments of taxes collected by Puerto Rico, payment made when the earned income credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, special claims, and damage payments required as a result of judgments against the U.S. Government, and payments to the Presidential candidates and their parties, which total an estimated $12,100,000,000 in fiscal year 1994; and payments in connection with the civil service retirement and disability fund, estimated to be $36,000,000,000 in fiscal year 1994. The Committee also establishes limitations on the use of certain funds within the agencies covered by this act. In addition to the agencies whose funds are derived from direct appropriations, there are other agencies which operate under authorities which exempt them from congressional review, in whole or in part, during the annual appropriations process or, as a matter of fact, from any other regular oversight by the Congress. For example, the U.S. Postal Service, under the Postal Reorganization Act, is authorized to use all of its income from postage and services for its own purposes and to request an appropriation from the Congress for certain subsidies. Normally only the amount of the subsidy requirement is regularly reviewed by the Congress. In the Treasury Department, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, whose income is derived principally from assessments paid by national banks, is exempt from regular funding review, because such assessments are not construed under law to be Government funds. AGENCY ADHERENCE TO ESTIMATES CONTAINED IN BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONS The Committee believes that the agency budget justifications presented each year outlining the assumptions contained in the President's annual budget should accurately reflect the proposed |