I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3930 

To cap noninterest Federal spending as a percentage of potential GDP to 

right-size the Government, grow the economy, and balance the budget. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2019 

Mr. BRADY (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. WEBER of 

Texas, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. WILLIAMS, and Mr. 

WRIGHT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To cap noninterest Federal spending as a percentage of 

potential GDP to right-size the Government, grow the 

economy, and balance the budget. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Maximizing America’s 

5 Prosperity Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS. 

2 (a) TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS.—Section 251 of the 

3 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

4 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 251. TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS. 

6 ‘‘(a) PROJECTIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) OMB REPORT.—OMB shall prepare a re8 port comparing projected total spending under sec9 tion 257 and the total spending limits in subsection 

10 (c), and include such report in the budget as sub11 mitted by the President annually under section 

12 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(2) CBO REPORT.—CBO shall prepare a re14 port comparing projected total spending under sec15 tion 257 and the total spending limits in subsection 

16 (c), and include such report in the CBO annual 

17 baseline and reestimate of the President’s budget. 

18 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN SPENDING REDUCTION OR19 DERS.—Reports prepared pursuant to this sub20 section shall be included in a spending reduction 

21 order issued under subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(b) SPENDING REDUCTION ORDER.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 15 calendar days 

24 after Congress adjourns to end a session, there shall 

25 be a spending reduction order under section 

26 254(f)(4). 


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1 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF SPENDING REDUC2 TION.—Subject to paragraph (3), each non-exempt 

3 budget account shall be reduced by a dollar amount 

4 calculated by multiplying the enacted level of 

5 sequestrable budgetary resources in that account at 

6 that time by the uniform percentage necessary to 

7 achieve the required automatic spending reduction. 

8 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON REDUCTION.—No budget 

9 account shall be subject to a spending reduction of 

10 more than 5 percent of the budgetary resources of 

11 the budget account. 

12 ‘‘(c) FISCAL YEARS OF THE TOTAL SPENDING PE13 RIOD.—The total spending limit for each fiscal year shall 

14 be as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) Fiscal year 2022: 18.9 percent of potential 

16 GDP. 

17 ‘‘(2) Fiscal year 2023: 18.6 percent of potential 

18 GDP. 

19 ‘‘(3) Fiscal year 2024: 18.2 percent of potential 

20 GDP. 

21 ‘‘(4) Fiscal year 2025: 18.4 percent of potential 

22 GDP. 

23 ‘‘(5) Fiscal year 2026: 18.4 percent of potential 

24 GDP. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Fiscal year 2027: 18.2 percent of potential 

2 GDP. 

3 ‘‘(7) Fiscal year 2028: 18.6 percent of potential 

4 GDP. 

5 ‘‘(8) Fiscal year 2029: 17.9 percent of potential 

6 GDP. 

7 ‘‘(9) Fiscal year 2030: 17.7 percent of potential 

8 GDP. 

9 ‘‘(10) Fiscal year 2031 and subsequent fiscal 

10 years: 17.5 percent of potential GDP. 

11 ‘‘(d) REDUCTION FOR UNFUNDED FEDERAL MAN12 DATES.—The amount determined under subsection (c) 

13 with respect to each fiscal year shall be reduced by an 

14 amount equal to the amount of the unfunded direct costs 

15 with respect to such fiscal year of Federal mandates (as 

16 such terms are defined in section 421 of the Congressional 

17 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658)) enacted after the date 

18 of the enactment of the Maximizing America’s Prosperity 

19 Act of 2019. Such amount shall not be treated as being 

20 less than zero with respect to any fiscal year.’’. 

21 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 250(c) of the Balanced 

22 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

23 U.S.C. 900(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(22)(A) The term ‘total spending’ means all 

2 budget authority and outlays of the Government ex3 cluding net interest. 

4 ‘‘(B) The term ‘total spending limit’ means the 

5 maximum permissible total spending of the Govern6 ment set forth as a percentage of estimated potential 

7 GDP specified in section 251(c). 

8 ‘‘(23) The term ‘potential GDP’ means the 

9 gross domestic product that would occur if the econ10 omy were at full employment, not exceeding the em11 ployment level at which inflation would accelerate.’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Part C of the Bal13 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

14 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 254 (2 U.S.C. 904)— 

16 (A) in subsection (a), in the table, by in17 serting ‘‘and spending reduction’’ after ‘‘seques18 tration’’ each place it appears; 

19 (B) in subsection (c)— 

20 (i) in the subsection heading, by in21 serting ‘‘AND SPENDING REDUCTION’’ 

22 after ‘‘SEQUESTRATION’’; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘dis24 cretionary, pay-as-you-go, and deficit se25 questration’’ and inserting ‘‘pay-as-you-go 


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1 and deficit sequestration and regarding 

2 spending reduction’’; 

3 (iii) by striking paragraph (2) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) SPENDING REDUCTION REPORT.—The pre6 view reports shall set forth for the budget year esti7 mates for each of the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Estimated total spending. 

9 ‘‘(B) Estimate of potential GDP. 

10 ‘‘(C) The spending reduction necessary to 

11 comply with the total spending limit under sec12 tion 251(c).’’; 

13 (C) in subsection (e)— 

14 (i) in the subsection heading, by in15 serting ‘‘AND SPENDING REDUCTION’’ 

16 after ‘‘SEQUESTRATION’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and spending reduc18 tion’’ after ‘‘sequestration’’ each place it 

19 appears; and 

20 (D) in subsection (f)— 

21 (i) in the subsection heading, by in22 serting ‘‘AND SPENDING REDUCTION’’ 

23 after ‘‘SEQUESTRATION’’; 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and spending reduction’’ after ‘‘sequestra3 tion’’; 

4 (iii) by striking paragraph (2); 

5 (iv) by redesignating paragraphs (3), 

6 (4), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and 

7 (4), respectively; and 

8 (v) in paragraph (2), as so redesig9 nated— 

10 (I) in the heading, by inserting 

11 ‘‘AND SPENDING REDUCTION ’’ before 

12 ‘‘ REPORTS’’; 

13 (II) in the first sentence, by in14 serting ‘‘spending reduction report’’ 

15 after ‘‘preview reports’’; and 

16 (III) by striking the second sen17 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘In 

18 addition, these reports shall contain, 

19 for the budget year, for each account 

20 to be sequestered or subject to a 

21 spending reduction, as the case may 

22 be, estimates of the baseline level of 

23 sequestrable or reducible budgetary 

24 resources and resulting outlays and 

25 the amount of budgetary resources to 


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1 be sequestered or reduced and result2 ing outlay reductions.’’; 

3 (vi) in paragraph (3), as so redesig4 nated, by striking ‘‘sequesterable’’ and in5 serting ‘‘sequestrable or reducible’’; and 

6 (vii) in paragraph (4), as so redesig7 nated— 

8 (I) by inserting ‘‘or spending re9 duction’’ after ‘‘final sequestration’’; 

10 (II) by inserting ‘‘or spending re11 duction’’ before ‘‘is required’’; and 

12 (III) by inserting ‘‘or spending 

13 reductions, as the case may be,’’ after 

14 ‘‘sequestrations’’; 

15 (2) in section 257(a) (2 U.S.C. 907(a)), by in16 serting ‘‘total spending,’’ after ‘‘outlays,’’; and 

17 (3) in section 258C(a)(1) (2 U.S.C. 

18 907d(a)(1))— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘or spending reduction’’ 

20 after ‘‘sequestration’’ each place the term ap21 pears; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘252 or 253’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘251, 252, or 253’’. 

24 (d) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

25 section 250(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 


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1 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900(a)) is amended 

2 by striking the item relating to section 251 and inserting 

3 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 251. Total spending limits.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. ALLOCATION FOR EMERGENCIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302(a) of the Congres6 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(a)) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(6) ALLOCATION TO THE COMMITTEES ON AP9 PROPRIATIONS FOR EMERGENCIES.—Of the amounts 

10 of new budget authority and outlays allocated to the 

11 Committees on Appropriations for the first fiscal 

12 year of the concurrent resolution on the budget, 1 

13 percent shall be designated as for emergencies and 

14 may be used for no other purpose.’’. 

15 (b) BUDGET OF THE PRESIDENT.—Section 

16 1105(a)(14) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

17 by inserting ‘‘, including an amount for emergency spend18 ing not less than 1 percent of all discretionary spending 

19 for that year’’ before the period. 

Æ 


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