	Background

The sunset concept provides for programs and agencies to terminate automatically according to a predetermined schedule unless explicitly renewed by law. 2939 (105 th Congress) was introduced by Representative Kevin Brady of Texas. 2373 , as H.R. In the House, two bills were introduced. On July 14, Representative Brady also reintroduced his sunset commission bill as H.R. 3282 . Both the OMB draft and H.R. No further action occurred in the 109 th Congress. Developments in the 110th Congress

On February 5, 2007, President Bush, in his budget submission for FY2008, again endorsed creation of a federal sunset commission and called for enactment of a bill incorporating provisions of the Administration's proposal sent to Congress in 2005:
The Sunset Commission would consider Presidential proposals to retain, restructure, or terminate agencies and programs according to a schedule set by Congress. In the budget submission for FY2009 transmitted on February 4, 2008, President Bush reaffirmed his support for a federal sunset commission. In the 110 th Congress, Senator John Cornyn introduced a new sunset measure, S. 1731 , the United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act, on June 28, 2007. Congressman Brady introduced H.R. Developments in the 111th Congress

In the 111 th Congress, Representative Brady and Senator Cornyn reintroduced their respective sunset commission bills. The Federal Sunset Act of 2009 ( H.R. 393 also were included as a separate title in three budget reform bills. The Spending Reform Act of 2009 ( H.R. 393

H.R. H.R. Related Measures Without Action Forcing Provisions

Another bill, H.R. Similarly, H.R. P.L. 5568

Another bill with an action-forcing mechanism was introduced in the second session. Key provisions of the SWEEP Act included the following:
the creation of a Federal Programs Sunset Commission (FPSC) as a bipartisan legislative body, with all members appointed by the congressional leadership and excluding any officer or employee of the executive branch and with powers to hold hearings, obtain official data from executive agencies, and issue subpoenas; the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to prepare a preliminary and then a final program inventory organized by program areas reflective of national needs and agency missions, and with assistance from the Director of the Congressional Research Service and compilation of required budgetary information from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office; the commission to establish the schedule for review of each program, arranged by functional category, at least once every 10 fiscal years; the commission to review all government-funded programs to determine their merit in proven outcomes, cost-effective record, scope of interest, and whether there exist programs receiving funding for duplicative purposes; the commission to report to Congress annually on programs that should be abolished, consolidated, transferred, reorganized, or remain untouched, and include in the report implementation bills to bring about any recommended actions (such as abolishment); and the bill provided expedited procedures to facilitate prompt congressional consideration and action, including an up or down vote, on legislation combining, reorganizing, or abolishing wasteful programs as recommended by the commission, thereby reducing unnecessary government spending. 2142 . 393 (Brady bill), S. 926 (Cornyn bill), and H.R. Provisions in H.R. On February 10, 2011, Representative Schock, along with three cosponsors, introduced H.R. On March 16, 2011, Senator John Cornyn proposed S.Amdt. 186 to S. 493 , a small business reauthorization bill. Brief Overview of Arguments for and Against Sunset Commissions

Supporters of sunset commission measures suggest that there are too many overlapping and ineffective federal programs that contribute to the growing federal deficit, and that the existing structure of congressional committees does not encourage systematic review of similar agencies and programs. According to sunset proponents, the perception that congressional reviews of many programs are sporadic and inadequate is also evidenced by the number of unauthorized appropriations. Therefore, those favoring a federal sunset commission contend, an action-forcing mechanism—such as threat of termination—is necessary; a sunset commission, they continue, would assist Congress in performing its oversight function, thereby reducing fraud, waste, and abuse. Critics of the sunset commission measures counter that such bills would burden Congress with a tremendous workload for mandatory reauthorization of agencies and programs and might prove infeasible to carry out, or alternatively, result in perfunctory reviews. A sunset commission might increase congressional personnel costs, since additional staff would be needed to assist the commission in its review activities.
The sunset concept provides for programs and agencies to terminate automatically on a periodic basis unless explicitly renewed by law. Beginning in the 107th Congress, Representative Kevin Brady introduced a series of bills to create a federal sunset commission, modeled on the sunset review process in Texas (including most recently H.R. 393 in the 111th Congress).
Former President George W. Bush called for creation of a federal sunset commission in his FY2006 budget submission. Bills reflecting an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) draft proposal were introduced in the 109th Congress, and the Government Reform Committee voted to report H.R. 3282 favorably, but no further action occurred.
In the 110th Congress, with the budget submissions for FY2008 and FY2009, President Bush reaffirmed his support for passage of the Administration's proposal to create a federal sunset commission. In addition to the Brady bill (H.R. 5794), a new sunset measure, S. 1731, was introduced on June 28, 2007, by Senator John Cornyn.
In the 111th Congress, Representative Brady reintroduced his sunset commission bill as H.R. 393, the Federal Sunset Act of 2009. Senator Cornyn likewise reintroduced his measure as S. 926, the United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act of 2009. Provisions very similar to those in H.R. 393 also were found as a separate title in at least three budget reform bills in the 111th Congress, including H.R. 311 (Title II), H.R. 534 (Title I), and H.R. 3964 (Title IV, Subtitle A). In the second session, two sunset-related measures, absent action-forcing provisions, were introduced as H.R. 5407 and H.R. 2142, with the latter, as amended, eventually enacted as P.L. 111-352. H.R. 5568, the Stop Waste by Eliminating Excessive Programs (SWEEP) Act, was introduced by Representative Glenn Nye.
In the 112th Congress, a newly formulated sunset commission bill, H.R. 606, the Federal Program Sunset Commission Act, was introduced on February 10, 2011, by Representative Aaron Schock and cosponsors. Representative Brady introduced a bill with sunset-like provisions but no commission (H.R. 235 §11). On March 16, 2011, Senator Cornyn proposed provisions previously seen in his sunset commission measure as an amendment (S.Amdt. 186 to S. 493).
Supporters of sunset commission measures suggest that there are too many overlapping and ineffective federal programs that contribute to the growing federal deficit, and that the existing structure of congressional committees does not encourage systematic review of similar agencies and programs. According to sunset proponents, congressional reviews of many programs are sporadic and inadequate, as evidenced by the number of unauthorized appropriations. An action-forcing mechanism—such as threat of termination—is necessary; a sunset commission would assist Congress in performing its oversight function, thereby reducing fraud, waste, and abuse.
Critics of the sunset commission measures counter that such bills would burden Congress with a tremendous workload for mandatory reauthorization of agencies and programs. Consequently, such measures may prove infeasible to carry out, or alternatively, result in perfunctory reviews. Sunset commissions might increase congressional personnel costs, since additional staff would be needed to assist the commission in its review activities. Opponents further contend that the review and reauthorization process would pose a special threat to certain kinds of programs, such as those which provide a safety net for the most vulnerable in society.
This report will be updated as events warrant.