I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2471 
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 
MAY 20, 2015 
Mr. BRADY of Texas 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Maximizing America’s 
Prosperity Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS. 
(a) TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS.—Section 251 of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (2 U.S.C. 901) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 251. TOTAL SPENDING LIMITS. 
‘‘(a) PROJECTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) OMB REPORT.—OMB shall prepare a re-
port comparing projected total spending under sec-
tion 257 and the total spending limits in subsection 
(c), and include such report in the budget as sub-
mitted by the President annually under section 
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 
‘‘(2) CBO REPORT.—CBO shall prepare a re-
port comparing projected total spending under sec-
tion 257 and the total spending limits in subsection 
(c) and include such report in the CBO annual base-
line and reestimate of the President’s budget. 
‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN SPENDING REDUCTION OR-
DERS.—Reports prepared pursuant to this sub-
section shall be included in the spending reduction 
report. 
‘‘(b) SPENDING REDUCTION ORDER.—(1) Within 15 
calendar days after Congress adjourns to end a session, 
there shall be a spending reduction order under section 
254(f)(5). 
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‘‘(2) Each non-exempt discretionary budget account 
shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multi-
plying the enacted level of sequestrable budgetary re-
sources in that account at that time by the uniform per-
centage necessary to achieve the required automatic 
spending reduction. 
‘‘(3) No discretionary budget account shall be subject 
to a spending reduction of more than five percent of its 
budgetary resources. 
‘‘(c) FISCAL YEARS OF THE TOTAL SPENDING PE-
RIOD.—The fiscal years within the total spending period 
shall be as follows: 
‘‘(1) Fiscal year 2016: 19.0 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(2) Fiscal year 2017: 17.7 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(3) Fiscal year 2018: 17.0 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(4) Fiscal year 2019: 16.8 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(5) Fiscal year 2020: 16.7 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(6) Fiscal year 2021: 16.6 percent of potential 
GDP. 
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‘‘(7) Fiscal year 2022: 16.6 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(8) Fiscal year 2023: 16.3 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(9) Fiscal year 2024: 16.0 percent of potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(10) Fiscal year 2025 and subsequent fiscal 
years: 16.0 percent of potential GDP. 
‘‘(d) REDUCTION FOR UNFUNDED FEDERAL MAN-
DATES.—The amount determined under subsection (c) 
with respect to each fiscal year shall be reduced by an 
amount equal to the amount of the unfunded direct costs 
with respect to such fiscal year of Federal mandates (as 
such terms are defined under section 421 of the Congres-
sional Budget Act of 1974) enacted after the date of the 
enactment of this section. Such amount shall not be treat-
ed as being less than zero with respect to any fiscal year.’’. 
(b) REPEAL OF SECTION 251A.—Section 251A of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (2 U.S.C. 901a) is repealed. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Congressional 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 
622) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
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‘‘(12) The term ‘total spending’ means all out-
lays of the Government including those from off- 
budget entities and budget authority and outlays 
flowing therefrom, as applicable, designated as emer-
gencies, and excluding net interest. 
‘‘(13) The term ‘total spending limit’ means the 
maximum permissible total spending of the Govern-
ment set forth as a percentage of estimated potential 
GDP. 
‘‘(14) The term ‘potential GDP’ has the same 
meaning as the term potential GDP used by the 
Congressional Budget Office, which is the gross do-
mestic product that would occur if the economy were 
at full employment, not exceeding the employment 
level at which inflation would occur.’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RESULTING FROM 
THE REPEAL OF OLD SECTION 251.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraphs (3) and (4) of 
section 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emer-
gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 are repealed. 
(2) SECTIONS
254(c) AND
254(f) AMEND-
MENTS.—Sections 254(c)(2) and 254(f)(2) of such 
Act are repealed. 
(e) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
TO 
SECTION 254.—(1) The table set forth in section 254(a) 
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of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 904(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘se-
questration’’ each place it appears. 
(2) Section 254(c)(1) of such Act is amended by in-
serting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘pay-as-you-go’’ and by striking ‘‘, 
and deficit’’ and inserting ‘‘and regarding spending reduc-
tion’’. 
(3) Section 254(c)(4) of such Act is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(4) SPENDING REDUCTION REPORT.—The pre-
view report shall set forth for the budget year esti-
mates for each of the following: 
‘‘(A) Estimated total spending. 
‘‘(B) Estimate of potential GDP. 
‘‘(C) The spending reduction percentage 
necessary to achieve the applicable percent of 
potential GDP under section 251(c).’’. 
(4) Section 254(f)(3) of such Act is amended— 
(A) in the side heading, by striking ‘‘AND DEF-
ICIT
SEQUESTRATION
REPORTS’’ and insert ‘‘SE-
QUESTRATION REPORT AND SPENDING REDUCTION 
REPORT’’; and 
(B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘and def-
icit sequestration preview reports’’ and inserting ‘‘se-
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questration preview report and the spending reduc-
tion report’’. 
(f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO SECTION 250.— 
The item relating to section 251 in the table of contents 
set forth in 250(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emer-
gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900(a)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 251. Total spending limits.’’. 
SEC. 3. ALLOCATION FOR EMERGENCIES. 
(a) Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 633(a)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) ALLOCATION TO THE COMMITTEES ON AP-
PROPRIATIONS FOR EMERGENCIES.—Of the amounts 
of new budget authority and outlays allocated to the 
Committees on Appropriations for the first fiscal 
year of the concurrent resolution on the budget, 1 
percent shall be set aside for emergencies and may 
be used for no other purpose.’’. 
(b) Section 1105(a)(14) of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, including an amount for 
emergency spending not less than 1 percent of all discre-
tionary spending for that year’’ before the period. 
Æ 
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