S-5377-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Sponsored by Rick Scott (R-FL)
What it does
This bill would amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit Senate floor debate on annual appropriation bills to 20 hours. It would also bar the House of Representatives from taking any adjournment period longer than three calendar days during July until it has passed all twelve annual appropriation bills covering every Appropriations subcommittee's jurisdiction for the upcoming fiscal year.
Who benefits
Members of Congress and congressional leadership who want faster action on appropriations bills and less reliance on continuing resolutions or omnibus packages; federal agencies and contractors who depend on timely, individual appropriations rather than stopgap funding; taxpayers and government program administrators who benefit from more predictable budget timelines.
Who is hurt
Senators who currently use extended debate (including filibuster-style delay) as leverage on appropriations bills would lose that tool; House members who value longer summer recess periods for constituent work, fundraising, or personal reasons; minority-party lawmakers in either chamber who rely on procedural delay to extract concessions on spending bills.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that Congress has completed all twelve appropriations bills on time only a handful of times since 1974, forcing reliance on continuing resolutions and omnibus packages that reduce individual scrutiny of spending. They contend that a firm 20-hour Senate debate limit and a House recess restriction would create real deadline pressure, forcing lawmakers to prioritize appropriations work and restore the annual, bill-by-bill budget process the 1974 Act originally envisioned.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that capping Senate debate at 20 hours could rush consideration of bills that collectively govern well over a trillion dollars in annual spending, limiting the ability of individual senators to offer and debate amendments. They contend that tying the House's July recess to completion of all twelve bills could pressure members into passing flawed or hastily assembled legislation, or into using other procedural workarounds, without actually solving the underlying disagreements that cause delays.
Constitutional context
Each house of Congress has authority under Article I, Section 5 to determine the rules of its own proceedings, which is the core provision governing this bill's debate-time limits and recess restrictions. Because the bill only binds each chamber's internal procedures and does not restructure federal power over private parties, it does not implicate Commerce Clause or delegation doctrines.
Checks and balances
This bill involves Congress regulating its own internal procedures rather than shifting power between branches; each chamber retains the ability to change or waive these rules by future rule change or unanimous consent, and no external body enforces compliance.
Historical precedent
Section 309 already contains debate-limiting procedures tied to budget resolutions under the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, and Congress has periodically revised budget process rules, such as through the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, though no prior law has directly tied House recess scheduling to completion of appropriations bills.