****OMB Bulletin No. 00-01****
****OMB Home****
** November 24, 1999 **

BULLETIN NO. 00-01

TO THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT:  Rescission of FY 2000 Discretionary Budget Authority

**Purpose**.  This Bulletin provides guidance on the rescission of FY 2000discretionary budget authority and obligation limitations made by the FY 2000Consolidated Appropriations Bill.

**Background and coverage**.  The FY 2000 Consolidated Appropriations Bill(relevant portion at Attachment A) rescinds 0.38 percent of discretionary budget authority and obligation limitations provided for FY 2000.  This includes advanceappropriations for FY 2000 provided in FY 1999 or earlier years.  It does **not** include FY 2001 advance appropriations provided in the FY 2000Consolidated Appropriation Bill or other Acts.

The rescission applies to each department, agency, instrumentality, or entity of the FederalGovernment.  There are no exceptions or exemptions.  The rescission applies to all netdiscretionary budget authority and obligation limitations. 

The Bill requires: 

- that no program, project, or activity of any department, agency, instrumentality or entitymay be reduced by more than 15 percent, with "program, project, and activities" as delineated inthe appropriations Act or accompanying report for the relevant account, or for accounts anditems not included in appropriations Acts, as delineated in the most recently submittedPresident's budget; 
 that no reduction be taken from military personnel accounts;  

that reductions for the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, DefenseActivities, shall be applied proportionally to all Defense accounts; and,

that OMB report to the Congress in the FY 2001 Budget on the allocation of therescission.

**Required actions**.  Agencies will be separately provided with theirrescission amount by their OMB representative.  Agencies have the discretion to determine the allocation of  their requiredrescission amount by budget account, program, project, or activity, consistent with the provisionsof the law described above.  Agencies are directed to use the following criteria in making theallocation.
- Reductions should be taken from the least critical funding available to the agency.
Reductions should be considered from enacted funding above the President's request.

Wherever possible, no reductions should be taken that would require reductions-in-force.

Agencies should make targeted recommendations rather than an across-the-board fundingcut.

Please note that the Bill requires that all reductions are to be made from discretionary budgetauthority and obligation limitations only.

**Agencies must submit their proposed allocation of the reduction by accountsand the amounts of the rescission in the format of Attachment B, and any additional supportinginformation requested by the RMO, to their OMB representative by December 3, 1999.**

Agencies are asked in Attachment B to explain the overall allocation methodology for thereductions, including a specific explanation of how reductions are applied at the program,project, or activity level for reductions of $10 million or more to any account.  The reasons may include,but are not limited to, the criteria mentioned above.

Agencies should reflect their proposed allocations in their FY 2000 apportionments, whichare due to OMB 10 days after enactment of the FY 2000 Consolidated Appropriations Bill.  OMBwill work with agencies on changes, if any, to their proposed allocation as part of theapportionment process.

**Contact**.  Questions regarding this Bulletin should be directed tothe agency's OMB representative.

**Jacob J. Lew***Director*
Attachments

Attachment ABulletin No.  00-01
**FISCAL YEAR 2000 DISCRETIONARY BUDGETAUTHORITY RESCISSION**

Sec._____ (a) Government-wide Rescissions. -There is hereby rescinded an amount equal to0.38 percent of the discretionary budget authority provided (or obligation limit imposed) for fiscalyear 2000 in this or any other Act for each department, agency, instrumentality or entity of the FederalGovernment.

(b) Restrictions. -In carrying out the rescissions made by subsection (a), -

(1) no program, project or activity of any department, agency, instrumentality or entity maybe reduced by more than 15 per cent (with "programs, projects, and activities" as delineated in theappropriations Act or accompanying report for the relevant account, or for accounts and itemsnot included in appropriations Acts, as delineated in the most recently submitted President'sbudget),
(2) no reduction shall be taken from any military personnel account, and
(3) The reduction for the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy DefenseActivities shall be applied proportionately to all Defense accounts.
(c) Report. -The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall include in thePresident's budget submitted for the fiscal year 2001 a report specifying the reductions made toeach account pursuant to this section.
Attachment BBulletin No.  00-01
**Rescission of Fiscal Year 2000 Discretionary Budget Authority byAccount**

Agency:  _______________________ 

**Allocation Methodology:**

[For the Department/Agency as a whole, describe the overall methodology that youused to allocate the rescission.]

**Account Detail:**
(budget authority/obligation limitation in thousands of dollars)
**Account TitleTreasuryAccount Numberxx-xxxxFY 2000 Recission Amount
[List each Treasury account to which the reduction is being applied.]

**Explanation**:

[For each account with a reduction of $10 million or more, include a specific explanation ofhow the reduction is applied at the program, project, or activity level.  Describe your methodology forapplying the reduction within the account including, where appropriate, reference to the fourcriteria listed in the Bulletin.]

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