[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4594-4596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01528]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


2014 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act Annual Report

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Authority: 2 U.S.C. 934
SUMMARY: This report is being published as required by the Statutory 
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010, 2 U.S.C. 931 et seq. The Act 
requires that OMB issue (1) an annual report as specified in 2 U.S.C. 
934(a) and (2) a sequestration order, if necessary.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Locke. 202-395-3672.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This report and additional information about 
the PAYGO Act can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/paygo_default.

Courtney Timberlake,
Assistant Director for Budget.
    This Report is being published pursuant to section 5 of the 
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010, Public Law 111-139, 124 
Stat. 8, 2 U.S.C. 934, which requires that OMB issue an annual PAYGO 
report, including a sequestration order if necessary, no later than 14 
working days after the end of a congressional session.
    This Report describes the budgetary effects of all PAYGO 
legislation and legislation designated as an emergency under section 
4(g) of the PAYGO Act enacted during the second session of the 113th 
Congress and presents the 5-year and 10-year PAYGO scorecards 
maintained by OMB. Because neither the 5-year nor 10-year scorecard 
shows a debit for the budget year, which for purposes of this Report is 
fiscal year 2015,\1\ a sequestration order under subsection 5(b) of the 
PAYGO Act, 2 U.S.C. 934(b), is not necessary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ References to years on the PAYGO scorecards are to fiscal 
years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The scorecards include no current policy adjustments made under 
section 4(c) of the PAYGO Act, 2 U.S.C. 933(c), for legislation enacted 
during the second session of the 113th Congress. The authority for 
current policy adjustments expired as of December 31, 2011. For these 
reasons, the Report does not contain any information about or 
descriptions of any current policy adjustments.

I. PAYGO Legislation With Budgetary Effects

    PAYGO legislation is authorizing legislation that affects direct 
spending or revenues, and appropriations legislation that affects 
direct spending in the years beyond the budget year or affects revenues 
in any year.\2\ For a more complete description of the Statutory PAYGO 
Act, see the OMB Web site, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/paygo_description, and Chapter 9, ``Budget Concepts,'' of the 
Analytical Perspectives volume of the 2015 Budget, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/concepts.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Provisions in appropriations acts that affect direct 
spending in the years beyond the budget year (also known as 
``outyears'') or affect revenues in any year are considered to be 
budgetary effects for the purposes of the PAYGO scorecards except if 
the provisions produce outlay changes that net to zero over the 
current year, budget year, and the four subsequent years. As 
specified in section 3 of the PAYGO Act, off-budget effects are not 
counted as budgetary effects. Off-budget effects refer to effects on 
the Social Security trust funds (Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and 
Disability Insurance) and the Postal Service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 5-year and 10-year PAYGO scorecards for each Congressional 
session begin with the balances of costs or savings carried over from 
previous sessions and then tally the costs or savings of PAYGO laws 
enacted in that session. The 5-year PAYGO scorecard for the second 
session of the 113th Congress began with balances of savings of $9,969 
million in 2015 and $814 million in 2017, but with balances of costs of 
$1,066 million in 2016 and $25 million in 2018. The completed 5-year 
scorecard for the session shows that PAYGO legislation enacted during 
the session was estimated to have PAYGO budgetary effects that reduced 
the deficit by an average of $626 million each year from 2015 through 
2019.\3\ These new savings on the scorecard increased the balances of 
savings in 2015 and 2017, reduced the balance of costs in 2016, and 
eliminated the balance of costs in 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ As provided in section 4(d) of the PAYGO Act, 2 U.S.C. 
933(d), budgetary effects on the PAYGO scorecards are based on 
congressional estimates for bills including a reference to a 
congressional estimate in the Congressional Record, and for which 
such a reference is indeed present in the Record. Absent such a 
congressional cost estimate, OMB is required to use its own estimate 
for the scorecard. None of the bills enacted during the second 
session of the 113th Congress had such a congressional estimate and 
therefore OMB was required to provide an estimate for all PAYGO laws 
enacted during the session.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 10-year PAYGO scorecard for the second session of the 113th 
Congress began with balances of savings of $8,209 million in each year 
from 2015 to 2020, savings of $1,838 million in 2021, savings of $1,128 
million in 2022, and costs of $7 million in 2023. The completed 10-year 
scorecard for the session shows that PAYGO legislation for the session 
reduced the deficit by an average of $1,521 million each year from 2015 
through 2024. These new savings increased the balances of savings on 
the 10-year scorecard from 2015 through 2022 and eliminated the costs 
on the scorecard for 2023.
    In the second session of the 113th Congress, 54 laws were enacted 
that were determined to constitute PAYGO legislation. Of the 54 enacted 
PAYGO laws, 19 laws were estimated to have PAYGO budgetary effects 
(costs or savings) in excess of $500,000 over one or both of the 5-year 
or 10-year PAYGO windows. These were:
    <bullet> Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law 113-76;
    <bullet> Agriculture Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79;
    <bullet> OPM IG Act, Public Law 113-80;
    <bullet> An Act to ensure that the reduced annual cost-of-living 
adjustment to the

[[Page 4595]]

retired pay of members and former members of the Armed Forces under the 
age of 62 required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 will not apply 
to members or former members who first became members prior to January 
1, 2014, and for other purposes, Public Law 113-82;
    <bullet> Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, 
Public Law 113-89;
    <bullet> Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, Public Law 113-
94;
    <bullet> Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and 
Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014, Public Law 113-95;
    <bullet> Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility 
Act, Public Law 113-97;
    <bullet> Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, 
Public Law 113-101;
    <bullet> An Act to provide additional visas for the Afghan Special 
Immigrant Visa Program, and for other purposes, Public Law 113-160;
    <bullet> Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015, Public Law 
113-164;
    <bullet> Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 
2014, Public Law 113-175;
    <bullet> Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, 
Public Law 113-183;
    <bullet> Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 
2014, Public Law 113-185;
    <bullet> Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2015, Public Law 113-235;
    <bullet> An Act to amend certain provisions of the FAA 
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Public Law 113-243;
    <bullet> Crooked River Collaborative Water Security and Jobs Act of 
2014, Public Law 113-244;
    <bullet> Federal Duck Stamp Act of 2014, Public Law 113-264;
    <bullet> An Act to provide for the transfer of naval vessels to 
certain foreign recipients, and for other purposes, Public Law 113-276; 
and
    <bullet> Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, Public Law 113-291.
    In addition to the laws identified above, 35 laws enacted in this 
session were estimated to have negligible budgetary effects on the 
PAYGO scorecards--costs or savings of less than $500,000 over both the 
5-year and 10-year PAYGO windows.

II. Budgetary Effects Excluded From the Scorecard Balances

    As shown on the scorecards, one law was enacted in the second 
session of the 113th Congress with an emergency designation under the 
Statutory PAYGO Act: the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability 
Act of 2014, Public Law 113-146. The costs of this law appear on the 
scorecard, but the costs are subtracted before computing the scorecard 
totals.
    In addition, five laws enacted in the second session of the 113th 
Congress had estimated budgetary effects on direct spending and 
revenues that are not included in the calculations for the PAYGO 
scorecards due to provisions in law excluding all or part of the law 
from section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. Three 
laws included provisions excluding their budgetary effects from the 
PAYGO scorecards entirely: Public Law 113-93, Protecting Access to 
Medicare Act of 2014; Public Law 113-159, Highway and Transportation 
Funding Act of 2014; and Public Law 113-295, To amend the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions and make 
technical corrections, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
provide for the tax treatment of ABLE accounts established under State 
programs for the care of family members with disabilities, and for 
other purposes. In addition, two laws included provisions excluding 
certain portions of those laws from the scorecards: Public Law 113-76, 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, for which Section 10001 of 
Division C was excluded from the scorecards; and Public Law 113-235, 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, for which 
Divisions M, N, O, and P were excluded from the scorecards.

III. PAYGO Scorecards

                                                           Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Scorecards
                                        [In millions of dollars, negative amounts portray decreases in deficits]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               2015       2016       2017       2018       2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Session of the 113th Congress......       -626       -626       -626       -626       -626  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........
Balances from Previous Sessions...........     -9,969      1,066       -814         25          0  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........
Five-year PAYGO Scorecard.................    -10,595        440     -1,440       -601       -626  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               2015       2016       2017       2018       2019       2020       2021       2022       2023       2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Session of the 113th Congress......     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521     -1,521
Balances from Previous Sessions...........     -8,209     -8,209     -8,209     -8,209     -8,209     -8,209     -1,838     -1,128          7          0
Ten-year PAYGO Scorecard..................     -9,730     -9,730     -9,730     -9,730     -9,730     -9,730     -3,359     -2,649     -1,514     -1,521
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The total net budgetary effects of all PAYGO legislation enacted 
during the second session of the 113th Congress on the five-year 
scorecard reduce the deficit by $3,129 million. This total is averaged 
over the years 2015 to 2019 on the 5-year PAYGO scorecard, resulting in 
savings of $626 million in each year. Balances carried over from prior 
sessions of the Congress create total net savings in 2015 of $10,595 
million and $1,440 million in 2017. However, the balances carried over 
in 2016 create a net cost of $440 million in that year. Balances in 
2018 carried over from the prior session add costs to the scorecard 
which lessen net savings in that year to $601 million. The five-year 
PAYGO window extended only through 2018 in the first session of the 
113th Congress, so there were no five-year scorecard balances in 2019 
to carry over.
    The total 10-year net impact of legislation enacted during the 
second session of the 113th Congress was savings of $15,215 million. 
The 10-year PAYGO scorecard shows the total net impact averaged over 
the 10-year period, resulting in savings of $1,521 million in each 
year. Balances from prior sessions add savings to the scorecard which 
result in net savings of $9,730 million in 2015 through 2020, $3,359 
million in 2021, and $2,649 million in 2022. Balances in 2023 carried 
over from the prior session add costs to the scorecard which lessen net 
savings in that year to $1,514 million. The 10-year PAYGO window 
extended only through 2023 in the first session of the 113th Congress, 
so there were no 10-year scorecard balances in 2024 to carry over.

[[Page 4596]]

IV. Sequestration Order

    As shown on the scorecards, the budgetary effects of PAYGO 
legislation enacted in the second session of the 113th Congress, 
combined with the balances left on the scorecard from previous sessions 
of the Congress, resulted in net savings on both the 5-year and the 10-
year scorecard in the budget year, which is 2015 for the purposes of 
this Report. Because the costs for the budget year, as shown on the 
scorecards, do not exceed savings for the budget year, there is no 
``debit'' on either scorecard under section 3 of the PAYGO Act, 2 
U.S.C. 932, and there is no need for a sequestration order.
    The savings shown on the scorecards for 2015 will be removed from 
the scorecards that are used to record the budgetary effects of PAYGO 
legislation enacted in the first session of the 114th Congress. The 
totals shown in 2016 through 2024 will remain on the scorecards and 
will be used in determining whether a sequestration order will be 
necessary in the future. All of the years of the 5-year and 10-year 
scorecards that will carry over into the first session of the 114th 
Congress will show balances of savings except for the year 2016 on the 
5-year scorecard, which will show costs of $440 million. Because 2016 
will be the budget year in the first session of the 114th Congress, if 
the costs in that year on the 5-year scorecard are not offset by 
savings from PAYGO legislation enacted during the session, the PAYGO 
Act would require a sequestration order to be issued 14 days after the 
end of the session.

[FR Doc. 2015-01528 Filed 1-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P