I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2560 

To cut, cap, and balance the Federal budget. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 15, 2011 

Mr. CHAFFETZ (for himself, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. 

PENCE, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. RIGELL, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, 

Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. BROOKS, Mr. ROSS

of Florida, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. HUNTER, 

Mr. LAMBORN, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. PITTS, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. 

BENISHEK, Mr. WEST, Mr. HARPER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. JENKINS, 

Mr. ROKITA, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, 

Mr. WALSH of Illinois, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. STUTZMAN, 

Mr. FLORES, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. 

SOUTHERLAND, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. 

GOODLATTE, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. CAMP, Mr. AMASH, Mr. HUELSKAMP, 

Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. REED, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. 

RENACCI, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. AKIN, Mr. QUAYLE, Mr. 

WOODALL, Mr. WEBSTER, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. LANDRY, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

NEUGEBAUER, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. HERGER, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, 

Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. SCHILLING, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. AUSTRIA, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. YODER, Mr. LATHAM, 

Mrs. ADAMS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. ISSA, Mr. 

NUGENT, Mr. POMPEO, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. 

GARRETT, and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committees on Rules and Ways and Means, 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 cut, cap, and balance the Federal budget. 


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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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cut, Cap, and Balance 

5 Act of 2011’’. 

6 TITLE I—CUT 

7 SEC. 101. MODIFICATION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET 

8 ACT. 

9 Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

10 is amended by inserting at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 316. DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the 

13 House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 

14 bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that 

15 would cause the discretionary spending limits as set forth 

16 in this section to be exceeded. 

17 ‘‘(b) LIMITS.—In this section, the term ‘discretionary 

18 spending limits’ means for fiscal year 2012: for the discre19 tionary category, $1,019,402,000,000 in new budget au20 thority and $1,224,568,000,000 in outlays. 

21 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—After the reporting of a bill or 

22 joint resolution relating to the global war on terrorism de23 scribed in subsection (d), or the offering of an amendment 

24 thereto or the submission of a conference report thereon— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the chair of the House or Senate Com2 mittee on the Budget may adjust the discretionary 

3 spending limits provided in this section for purposes 

4 of congressional enforcement, the budgetary aggre5 gates in the concurrent resolution on the budget 

6 most recently adopted by the Senate and the House 

7 of Representatives, and allocations pursuant to sec8 tion 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 

9 1974, by the amount of new budget authority in 

10 that measure for that purpose and the outlays flow11 ing therefrom; and 

12 ‘‘(2) following any adjustment under paragraph 

13 (1), the House or Senate Committee on Appropria14 tions may report appropriately revised suballocations 

15 pursuant to section 302(b) of the Congressional 

16 Budget Act of 1974 to carry out this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(d) GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM.—If a bill or joint 

18 resolution is reported making appropriations for fiscal 

19 year 2012 that provides funding for the global war on ter20 rorism, the allowable adjustments provided for in sub21 section (c) for fiscal year 2012 shall not exceed 

22 $126,544,000,000 in budget authority and the outlays 

23 flowing therefrom. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 317. CERTAIN DIRECT SPENDING LIMITS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the 

3 House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 

4 bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that 

5 includes any provision that would cause total direct spend6 ing, except as excluded in subsection (b), to exceed the 

7 limits specified in subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(b) EXEMPT FROM DIRECT SPENDING LIMITS.— 

9 Direct spending for the following functions is exempt from 

10 the limits specified in subsection (c): 

11 ‘‘(1) Social Security, function 650. 

12 ‘‘(2) Medicare, function 570. 

13 ‘‘(3) Veterans Benefits and Services, function 

14 700. 

15 ‘‘(4) Net Interest, function 900. 

16 ‘‘(c) LIMITS ON OTHER DIRECT SPENDING.—The 

17 total combined outlays for all direct spending not exempt18 ed in subsection (b) for fiscal year 2012 shall not exceed 

19 $680,730,000,000.’’. 

20 SEC. 102. STATUTORY ENFORCEMENT OF SPENDING CAPS 

21 THROUGH SEQUESTRATION. 

22 Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

23 is amended by inserting after section 317 the following 

24 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 318. ENFORCEMENT OF DISCRETIONARY AND DIRECT 

2 SPENDING CAPS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IMPLEMENTATION.—The sequesters shall be im4 plemented as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) DISCRETIONARY SPENDING IMPLEMENTA6 TION.—For the discretionary limits in section 316 of 

7 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, pursuant to 

8 section 251(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emer9 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 with each cat10 egory sequestered separately. 

11 ‘‘(2) DIRECT SPENDING IMPLEMENTATION.— 

12 (A) The sequestration to enforce this section for di13 rect spending shall be implemented pursuant to sec14 tion 254 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

15 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

16 ‘‘(B) Section 255 of the Balanced Budget and 

17 Control Act of 1985 shall not apply to this section, 

18 except that payments for military personnel accounts 

19 (within subfunctional category 051), TRICARE for 

20 Life, Medicare (functional category 570), military 

21 retirement, Social Security (functional category 

22 650), veterans (functional category 700), net inter23 est (functional category 900), and discretionary ap24 propriations shall be exempt. 

25 ‘‘(b) MODIFICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ORDER.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At any time after the Di2 rector of OMB issues a sequestration report under 

3 subsection (a) and section 319(c) the provisions of 

4 section 258A of the Balanced Budget and Emer5 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 shall apply to the 

6 consideration in the House of Representatives and 

7 the Senate of a bill or joint resolution to override the 

8 order if the bill or joint resolution, as enacted, would 

9 achieve the same level of reductions in new budget 

10 authority and outlays for the applicable fiscal year 

11 as set forth in the order. 

12 ‘‘(2) POINT OF ORDER.—In the House of Rep13 resentatives or Senate, it shall not be in order to 

14 consider a bill or joint resolution which waives, 

15 modifies, or in any way alters a sequestration order 

16 unless the chair of the House or Senate Committee 

17 on the Budget certifies that the measure achieves 

18 the same levels of reductions in new budget author19 ity and outlays for the applicable year as set forth 

20 in the order.’’. 

21 TITLE II—CAP 

22 SEC. 201. LIMIT ON TOTAL SPENDING. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 250(c) of the Balanced 

24 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is 

25 amended by striking paragraph (4), redesignating the sucVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:35 Jul 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.IH H2560

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1 ceeding paragraphs accordingly, and adding the following 

2 new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(19) The term ‘GDP’, for any fiscal year, 

4 means the gross domestic product during such fiscal 

5 year consistent with Department of Commerce defi6 nitions.’’. 

7 (b) CAPS.—The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

8 is amended by inserting after section 318 the following 

9 new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 319. ENFORCING GDP OUTLAY LIMITS. 

11 ‘‘(a) ENFORCING GDP OUTLAY LIMITS.—In this sec12 tion, the term ‘GDP outlay limit’ means an amount, as 

13 estimated by OMB, equal to— 

14 ‘‘(1) projected GDP for that fiscal year as esti15 mated by OMB, multiplied by 

16 ‘‘(2) 21.7 percent for fiscal year 2013; 20.8 

17 percent for fiscal year 2014; 20.2 percent for fiscal 

18 year 2015; 20.1 percent for fiscal year 2016; 19.9 

19 percent for fiscal year 2017; 19.7 percent for fiscal 

20 year 2018; 19.9 percent for fiscal year 2019; 19.9 

21 percent for fiscal year 2020; and 19.9 percent for 

22 fiscal year 2021. 

23 ‘‘(b) GDP OUTLAY LIMIT AND OUTLAYS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DETERMINING THE GDP OUTLAY LIMIT.— 

25 The Office of Management and Budget shall estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:35 Jul 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2560.IH H2560

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1 lish in the President’s budget the GDP outlay limit 

2 for the budget year. 

3 ‘‘(2) TOTAL FEDERAL OUTLAYS.—In this sec4 tion, total Federal outlays shall include all on-budget 

5 and off-budget outlays. 

6 ‘‘(c) SEQUESTRATION.—The sequestration to enforce 

7 this section shall be implemented pursuant to section 254 

8 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

9 Act of 1985. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXEMPT PROGRAMS.—Section 255 of the Bal11 anced Budget and Control Act of 1985 shall not apply 

12 to this section, except that payments for military per13 sonnel accounts (within subfunctional category 051), 

14 TRICARE for Life, Medicare (functional category 570), 

15 military retirement, Social Security (functional category 

16 650), veterans (functional category 700), and net interest 

17 (functional category 900) shall be exempt.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES UNDER THE CON19 GRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT OF 1974. 

20 (a) ENFORCEMENT.—Title III of the Congressional 

21 Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding after section 

22 319 the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 320. ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES. 

24 ‘‘It shall not be in order in the House of Representa25 tives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, 


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1 amendment, or conference report that would cause the 

2 most recently reported current GDP outlay limits set forth 

3 in section 319 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

4 to be exceeded.’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

6 section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impound7 ment Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after 

8 the item relating to section 315 the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 316. Discretionary spending limits. 

‘‘Sec. 317. Certain direct spending limits. 

‘‘Sec. 318. Enforcement of discretionary and direct spending caps. 

‘‘Sec. 319. Enforcing GDP outlay limits. 

‘‘Sec. 320. Enforcement procedures.’’. 

9 TITLE III—BALANCE 

10 SEC. 301. REQUIREMENT THAT A BALANCED BUDGET 

11 AMENDMENT BE SUBMITTED TO STATES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

13 shall not exercise the additional borrowing authority pro14 vided under subsection (b) until the Archivist of the 

15 United States transmits to the States H.J. Res. 1 in the 

16 form reported on June 23, 2011, S.J. Res. 10 in the form 

17 introduced on March 31, 2011, or H.J. Res. 56 in the 

18 form introduced on April 7, 2011, a balanced budget 

19 amendment to the Constitution, or a similar amendment 

20 if it requires that total outlays not exceed total receipts, 

21 that contains a spending limitation as a percentage of 

22 GDP, and requires that tax increases be approved by a 


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1 two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress for their ratifi2 cation. 

3 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 31.—Effective on the 

4 date the Archivist of the United States transmits to the 

5 States H.J. Res 1 in the form reported, S.J. Res. 10 in 

6 the form introduced, or H.J. Res. 56 in the form intro7 duced, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, 

8 or a similar amendment if it requires that total outlays 

9 not exceed total receipts, contains a spending limitation 

10 as a percentage of GDP, and requires tax increases be 

11 approved by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress 

12 for their ratification, section 3101(b) of title 31, United 

13 States Code, is amended by striking the dollar limitation 

14 contained in such subsection and inserting 

15 $16,700,000,000,000. 

Æ 


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