Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4551 - Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992

(House)
(Gephardt (D) Missouri and 95 others)

The Administration urges expedited enactment of H.R. 4551 so that its costs for purposes of the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA) can be financed from available balances.

H.R. 4551 is very similar to legislation proposed by the Administration. The President's Budget also proposed reductions in other mandatory (pay-as-you-go) programs, which, if enacted, could be used to offset the costs of the legislation. H.R. 4551 lacks such offsets. However, as of September 14, 1992, the available balances of pay-as-you-go offsets ($325 million for FY 1993 and $283 million for FY 1994) are sufficient to finance all payments to internees pursuant to H.R. 4551.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 4551 would increase direct spending; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of OBRA. No offsets to the direct spending increase are provided in the bill. A budget point of order applies in both the House and Senate against any bill that is not fully offset under CBO scoring. If, contrary to the Administration's recommendation, the House waives any such point of order that applies against H.R. 4551, the effects of enactment of this legislation would be included in a look back pay-as-you-go sequester report at the end of the congressional session.

OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from these estimates. If H.R. 4551 were enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published within five days of enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effects of all enacted legislation on direct spending will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to the Congress.

ESTIMATES FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO
(receipts in millions)