Source: https://budgetcounsel.com/laws-and-rules/balanced-budget-and-emergency-deficit-control-act-of-1985/%C2%A7202-section-251-enforcing-discretionary-spending-limits/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 08:45:23+00:00

Document:
§202. Section 251. Enforcing Discretionary Spending Limits (251 Current Law).
sec. 251. enforcing discretionary spending limits.
(1) Sequestration.—Within 15 calendar days after Congress adjourns to end a session there shall be a sequestration to eliminate a budget-year breach, if any, within any category.
(2) Eliminating a breach.—Each non-exempt account within a category shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying the enacted level of sequestrable budgetary resources in that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary to eliminate a breach within that category.
(3) Military personnel.—If the President uses the authority to exempt any personnel account from sequestration under section 255(f), each account within subfunctional category 051 (other than those military personnel accounts for which the authority provided under section 255(f) has been exercised) shall be further reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying the enacted level of non-exempt budgetary resources in that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary to offset the total dollar amount by which outlays are not reduced in military personnel accounts by reason of the use of such authority.
(B) when a full-year appropriation for that account is enacted, from the amount otherwise provided by the full year appropriation for that account.
(5) Lookback.—If, after June 30, an appropriation for the fiscal year in progress is enacted that causes a breach within a category for that year (after taking into account any sequestration of amounts within that category), the discretionary spending limits for that category for the next fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount or amounts of that breach.
(A) CBO estimates.—As soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any discretionary appropriation, CBO, after consultation with the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall provide OMB with an estimate of the amount of discretionary new budget authority and outlays for the current year, if any, and the budget year provided by that legislation.
(B) OMB estimates and explanation of differences.—Not later than 7 calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the date of enactment of any discretionary appropriation, OMB shall transmit a report to the House of Representatives and to the Senate containing the CBO estimate of that legislation, an OMB estimate of the amount of discretionary new budget authority and outlays for the current year, if any, and the budget year provided by that legislation, and an explanation of any difference between the 2 estimates. If during the preparation of the report OMB determines that there is a significant difference between OMB and CBO, OMB shall consult with the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding that difference and that consultation shall include, to the extent practicable, written communication to those committees that affords such committees the opportunity to comment before the issuance of the report.
(C) Assumptions and guidelines.—OMB estimates under this paragraph shall be made using current economic and technical assumptions. OMB shall use the OMB estimates transmitted to the Congress under this paragraph. OMB and CBO shall prepare estimates under this paragraph in conformance with scorekeeping guidelines determined after consultation among the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate, CBO, and OMB.
(D) Annual appropriations.—For purposes of this paragraph, amounts provided by annual appropriations shall include any discretionary appropriations for the current year, if any, and the budget year in accounts for which funding is provided in that legislation that result from previously enacted legislation.
(1) Concepts and Definitions.—When the President submits the budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, OMB shall calculate and the budget shall include adjustments to discretionary spending limits (and those limits as cumulatively adjusted) for the budget year and each outyear to reflect changes in concepts and definitions. Such changes shall equal the baseline levels of new budget authority and outlays using up-to-date concepts and definitions, minus those levels using the concepts and definitions in effect before such changes. Such changes may only be made after consultation with the Committees on Appropriations and the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and that consultation shall include written communication to such committees that affords such committees the opportunity to comment before official action is taken with respect to such changes.
the adjustment shall be the total of such appropriations in discretionary accounts designated as emergency requirements or for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism, as applicable.
(X) for fiscal year 2021, $1,302,000,000 in additional new budget authority.
(III) the term “additional new budget authority” means the amount provided for a fiscal year, in excess of $273,000,000, in an appropriation Act and specified to pay for the costs of continuing disability reviews, redeterminations, co-operative disability investigation units, and fraud prosecutions under the heading “Limitation on Administrative Expenses” for the Social Security Administration.
(X) for fiscal year 2021, $496,000,000 in additional new budget authority.
(ii) As used in this subparagraph, the term “additional new budget authority” means the amount provided for a fiscal year, in excess of $311,000,000, in an appropriation Act and specified to pay for the costs of the health care fraud and abuse control program.
(III) the cumulative net total of the unused carryover for fiscal year 2018 and all subsequent fiscal years, where the unused carryover for each fiscal year is calculated as the sum of the amounts in subclauses (I) and (II) less the enacted appropriations for that fiscal year that have been designated as being for disaster relief.
(ii) OMB shall report to the Committees on Appropriations and Budget in each House the average calculated pursuant to clause (i)(II), not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of the Wildfire Suppression Funding and Forest Management Activities Act.
(iii) For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term “disaster relief” means activities carried out pursuant to a determination under section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)).
(iv) Appropriations considered disaster relief under this subparagraph in a fiscal year shall not be eligible for adjustments under subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year.
(IV) for fiscal year 2021, 83,000,000.
(ii) Definition.—As used in this subparagraph, the term “additional new budget authority” means the amount provided for a fiscal year, in excess of $117,000,000, in an appropriation Act and specified to pay for grants to States under section 306 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 506].
(VIII) for fiscal year 2027, $2,950,000,000.
(I) Additional new budget authority.—The term “additional new budget authority” means the amount provided for a fiscal year in an appropriation Act that is in excess of the average costs for wildfire suppression operations as reported in the budget of the President submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2015 and are specified to pay for the costs of wildfire suppression operations in an amount not to exceed the amount specified for that fiscal year in clause (i).
(cc) the funds necessary to repay any transfers needed for the costs of wildfire suppression operations.
(B) for the revised nonsecurity category, $597,000,000,000 in new budget authority;”.
as adjusted in strict conformance with subsection (b).
This section is classified to the U.S. Code at 2 U.S.C. 901.
“Sec. 609. Separate Allocation for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism.
“(a) Allocation.—In the House, there shall be a separate allocation to the Committee on Appropriations for overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism. For purposes of enforcing such separate allocation under section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the “first fiscal year” and the “total of fiscal years” shall be deemed to refer to fiscal year 2014. Such separate allocation shall be the exclusive allocation for overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism under section 302(a) of such Act. Section 302(c) of such Act shall not apply to such separate allocation. The Committee on Appropriations may provide suballocations of such separate allocation under section 302(b) of such Act. Spending that counts toward the allocation established by this section shall be designated pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
“(b) Adjustment.—In the House, for purposes of subsection (a) for fiscal year 2014, no adjustment shall be made under section 314(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 if any adjustment would be made under section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
 The Wildfire Suppression Funding and Forest Management Activities Act was enacted on March 23, 2018.
(2) Major Disaster.—’Major disaster’ means any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under this chapter to supplement the efforts and available resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby.
 Subparagraph (E) was added by section 30206 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123). This section of the BBA 2018 created a new program related to providing grants to states for employment services eligibility assessments. The program created both an adjustment to this section, and also to section 314 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which corresponds to adjustments in the Congressional budget enforcement procedures.
 The fiscal years range from fiscal year 2020 through 2027, but the last year in subsection (c) for which there is a discretionary spending limit is fiscal year 2021. This may have been done for (1) political reasons to demonstrate a commitment for a full ten-year funding period, or (2) an expectation the spending limits will be extended at some point in the future, and the limits will have already been set; perhaps both.
The discretionary spending were first established in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and though Congress has the responsibility to determine the purpose of “discretionary spending“, and the amount to the purpose. Despite this, specific purposes have been written into the law to attempt to assure, or mandate, guarantee, a certain level of funding for a particular program or policy area. Two method have been used to implement this: Separate categories within the spending limits, and “adjustments” to the limits.
Adjustments took the form of allowing spending to be provided, but then requiring OMB to adjust the spending limits upward by that amount. These grew to include such things as adoption incentive payments and the earned income tax credit compliance initiative.
Separate “categories” are not spending within the general spending limit, but rather alongside it, so that with a separate cap, the spending to that purpose did not count against the overall discretionary spending limits but rather were viewed independently. Different categories were established for policy areas like defense, non-defense, international, transportation, and conservation.
Pub. L. 115-123, §30106, 32 Stat. 64; February 9, 2018; H.R. 1892, as Enrolled (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018) See section 30106(c) of BBA 2018.
Pub. L. 114–74, title I, §101(a), title VIII, §815, Nov. 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 585 (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015).
Pub. L. 114–113, div. O, title X, §1003, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 3035 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016).
Pub. L. 112–25, title I, §101, Aug. 2, 2011, 125 Stat. 241 (Budget Control Act of 2011).
Pub. L. 112–240, title IX, §901(d)(1), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2370 (American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012).
Pub. L. 108–88, §10(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 1127 (Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003).
Pub. L. 108–310, §10(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 1160 (Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V).
Pub. L. 107–117, div. C, §101(a), Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2341 (Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002).
Pub. L. 106–429, §101(a) [title VII, §701(a)], Nov. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 1900, page 1900A-64 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2001).
Pub. L. 106–291, title VIII, §801(a), (b), Oct. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 1026, page 1027 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001).
Pub. L. 105–89, title II, §201(b)(1), Nov. 19, 1997, 111 Stat. 2125 (Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997).
Pub. L. 105–33, title X, §10203(a), (b), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 698 , page 701 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1997).
Pub. L. 105–178, title VIII, §8101(a), (d), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 488, page 490 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century).
Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, §101(c) [title V, §577], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–121 , pages 3009-169 (Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997).
Pub. L. 104–193, title II, §211(d)(5)(B), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2191 (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996).
Pub. L. 104–121, title I, §103(b), Mar. 29, 1996, 110 Stat. 848 (Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996).
Pub. L. 103–87, title V, §571, Sept. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 971 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994).
Pub. L. 103–66, title XIV, §14002(c)(1), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 683 (285 (311)-685(711)) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993).
Pub. L. 103–354, title I, §119(d)(1), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3208 (Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reauthorization Act of 1994).
Pub. L. 103–306, title V, §562, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1649 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995).
Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(a), (e)(2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–577 , 1388-593 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990).
Pub. L. 100–203, title VIII, §8003(f), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–282 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987).
Pub. L. 100–119, title I, §102(a), Sept. 29, 1987, 101 Stat. 754 (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987).
Pub. L. 99–177, title II, §251, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1063 (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985).
The Social Security Act, referred to in subsection (b)(2)(B)(i), is from Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. In the Act, titles II and XVI are classified to the U.S. Code generally to subchapters II (§401 et seq.) and XVI (§1381 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.
The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–508, §13101(e)(2)) redesignated former subsection (a)(6)(I) of this section as section 257(e) of Pub. L. 99–177.
The CAA 2018 created a program adjustment for Wildfire Suppression, thereby increasing spending by a set amount each year if an appropriation Act provides that amount of spending. The spending adjustments extend through fiscal year 2017 even though the spending limits themselves expire in section 2021. Also, unlike the additional adjustment added by the BBA 2018, no corresponding adjustment is specifically written into section 314 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Subsection (b)(2). Creation of Adjustment for Reemployment services and eligibility assessments.
Section 30106(c) of BBA 2018 established a new adjustment for the discretionary spending limits by adding a new subparagraph (E) after paragraph (2) for reemployment services, which is intended to expedite finding new employment for those newly unemployed. The adjustment is also intended to assure those receiving such assistance remain eligible.
Pub. L. 113–67 (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013) struck out paragraphs (1) to (10), which defined the discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2012 to 2021. That Act replaced them with paragraphs (1) to (8). This had the effect of repealing the fiscal years that had already past, revising the amounts for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, and conforming subsection (c) as it had been revised by section 251A.
Pub. L. 112–25 (BCA 2011) amended section generally. Prior to the amendments made by this law, the Budget Control Act of 2011, this section related to enforcing discretionary spending limits. See Changes in Existing Law for Section 251 (BBEDCA) Made by the BCA.
Pub. L. 109–59, §8002, (SAFETEA-LU 1997) reenacted heading of subparagraph (B) without change and amended text of subparagraphs (B) to (E) generally. Prior to amendment, subparagraph (B) provided for adjustments to align highway spending with revenues using amount of obligations set forth in section 8103 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and estimates of receipts for fiscal years 1998 through 2003, subparagraph (C) provided for additional adjustments required in budget submissions for fiscal years 2000 through 2003, subparagraph (D) provided for a final sequester report for fiscal year 1999 and an adjustment of estimates upon submission of the budget for fiscal years 2000 through 2003, and subparagraph (E) required consultation with the Committees on the Budget and inclusion of a report on adjustments under subparagraphs (B) and (C) in the preview report.
“(C) for the conservation spending category: $2,080,000,000, in new budget authority and $2,032,000,000 in outlays;”.
Pub. L. 108–310, §10(a) (STEA 2004), which directed amendment of paragraph (2) by striking out “through 2002” in introductory provisions, could not be executed because the phrase “through 2002” did not appear subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 108–88, §10(a). See 2003 Amendment note below.
Pub. L. 108–310, §10(b) (STEA 2004), which directed the amendment of subsection (c) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (1), substituting “with respect to fiscal year 2005-” for “with respect to fiscal year 2005” and adding subparagraphs (A) and (B) in paragraph (1), redesignating remaining provisions of paragraph (1) as subparagraph (C), redesignating paragraphs (9) to (16) as (2) to (9), respectively, and striking out former paragraphs (1) to (7), which defined “discretionary spending limit” with respect to fiscal years 2002 to 2006, either could not be executed or could not be executed as intended because of prior amendments by Pub. L. 108–88, §10(b) (STEA 2003). See 2003 Amendment notes below.
Pub. L. 108–88, §10(a) (STEA 2003), struck out “through 2002” after “succeeding year” in introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 108–88, §10(b)(1) (STEA 2003), redesignated paragraph (8) as (1), substituted “with respect to fiscal year 2004-” for “with respect to fiscal year 2004”, added subparagraphs (A) and (B), redesignated remaining provisions of paragraph (1) as subparagraph (C), and struck out former paragraph (1), which defined “discretionary spending limit” with respect to fiscal year 1997.
Pub. L. 108–88, §10(b) (STEA 2003), redesignated paragraphs (9) to (16) as (2) to (9), respectively, and struck out former paragraphs (2) to (7), which defined “discretionary spending limit” with respect to fiscal years 1998 to 2003.
Pub. L. 107–117, §101(a)(1) (ESA 2002), added subparagraph (A) and struck out former subparagraph (A) which read as follows: “for the discretionary category: $551,074,000,000 in new budget authority and $560,799,000,000 in outlays;”.
Pub. L. 107–117, §101(a)(2) (ESA 2002), struck out second “and” at end.
Pub. L. 107–117, §101(a)(3) (ESA 2002), substituted $1,473,000,000” for “$1,232,000,000”.
Pub. L. 106–291, §801(b) (DOI App. 2001), added subparagraph (H).
“for the discretionary category: $542,032,000,000 in new budget authority and $564,396,000,000 in outlays;”.
‘‘for the discretionary category: $637,000,000,000 in new budget authority and $612,695,000,000 in outlays;’’.
Pub. L. 106–291 (DOI App. 2001), §801(a)(1), added subparagraph (D).
Pub. L. 106–291, §801(a)(2) (DOI App. 2001), added subparagraph (C).
Pub. L. 106–291, §801(a)(3) (DOI App. 2001), added paragraphs (8) to (16).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(d) (TEA21), designated existing provisions as subparagraph (A), inserted heading, and added subparagraphs (B) to (E).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(a)(1) (TEA21), added subparagraphs (D) and (E).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(a)(2) (TEA21), added subparagraphs (C) and (D).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(a)(3) (TEA21), substituted a dash for comma after “2001”, designated remaining provisions as subparagraph (A), realigned margins, struck out “and” at end, and added subparagraphs (B) and (C).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(a)(4) (TEA21), substituted a dash for comma after “2002”, designated remaining provisions as subparagraph (A), realigned margins, and added subparagraphs (B) and (C).
Pub. L. 105–178, §8101(a)(5) (TEA21), added paragraph (7).
Pub. L. 105–33, §10203(a)(1) (BEA 1997), struck out “Fiscal Years 1991–1998” before “Enforcement” in heading.
Pub. L. 105–33, §10203(a)(2) (BEA 1997), substituted “section 905(f)” for “section 905(h)” in two places.
Pub. L. 105–33, §10203(a)(4) (BEA 1997), added subsection (b) and struck out the heading and repealed the text of former subsection (b) which provided that when the President submitted the budget for a budget year from 1992 to 1998, OMB was to calculate, and the budget was to include, adjustments to discretionary spending limits reflecting certain enumerated factors and provided that when OMB submitted a sequestration report for a fiscal year from 1991 to 1998, OMB was to calculate, and the sequestration report and subsequent budgets were to include, adjustments to discretionary spending limits reflecting certain enumerated factors.
Pub. L. 105–89 (ASFA 1997) added subparagraph (G). Subparagraph (G) was a program adjustment for Adoption Incentive payments. This subparagraph was repealed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Pub. L. 112-25) when it amended subsection (b) generally.
Pub. L. 104–208 (Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations, Fiscal Year 1997) substituted “fiscal years 1994, 1995, and 1997” for “fiscal year 1994 and 1995” in two places. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (Title X of Pub. L. 105–33) repealed this subparagraph [subsection (b)(2)(G)] in 1997 when it .
Pub. L. 104–121 (Contract With America Act of 1996) added subparagraph (H).The Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (Title X of Pub. L. 105–33) repealed this subparagraph [subsection (b)(2)(H)] in 1997.
Pub. L. 104–193, §211(d)(5)(B)(i) (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reconciliation Law of 1996)), substituted “$175,000,000” for “$25,000,000” and “$310,000,000” for “$160,000,000” in subclause (II), and “$245,000,000” for “$145,000,000” and “$470,000,000” for “$370,000,000” in subclause (III).
Pub. L. 104–193, §211(d)(5)(B)(ii)(Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reconciliation Law of 1996)), amended subclause (I) generally. Prior to amendment, subclause (I) read as follows: “the term ‘continuing disability reviews’ has the meaning given such term by section 401(g)(1)(A) of title 42;”.
Pub. L. 103–306 (Foreign Ops 1995) substituted “1994 and 1995” for “1994” in two places.
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(A) (OBRA 1993), substituted “1998” for “1995” in heading.
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(i) (OBRA 1993), in introductory provisions, substituted “1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998” for “or 1995” and “outyear through 1998” for “outyear through 1995”.
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(ii) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), added clause (iii).
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(iii) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), in introductory provisions, substituted “1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998” for “or 1995” and “year through 1998” for “year through 1995”.
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(iv) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), substituted “for any fiscal year,” for “for fiscal year 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, or 1995,”.
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(v) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), added clause (iv).
Pub. L. 103–66, §14002(c)(1)(B)(vi) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), inserted before period at end “, and not to exceed 0.5 percent of the adjusted descretionary [sic] spending limit on outlays for the fiscal year in fiscal year 1996, 1997, or 1998”.
Pub. L. 103–87 (Foreign Ops 1994) added subparagraph (G).
Pub. L. 101–508, §13101(a) (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990), amended section generally, substituting subsections (a) and (b) relating to enforcement of discretionary spending limits for former subsections (a) to (e) relating to reporting of excess deficits.
Pub. L. 101–508 §13101(e)(2) (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990), redesignated subsection (a)(6)(I) of this section as section 907(e) of this title.
Pub. L. 100–119 (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987) amended section generally, substituting provisions consisting of subsections (a) to (e) relating to reports by Director of CBO to Director of OMB and to Congress and by Director of OMB to President and Congress for provisions consisting of subsections (a) to (g) relating to joint reports by Directors of CBO and OMB to Comptroller General and report by Comptroller General to President and Congress.
Pub. L. 100–203, §8003(f) (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987), struck out “and” before “contract authority” and inserted provision whereby the authority to provide insurance through the Federal Housing Administration Fund be continued.
The amendment made by Pub. L. 105–89 (ASFA 1997) (effective Nov. 19, 1997, except as otherwise provided, with delay permitted if State legislation is required, see section 501 of Pub. L. 105–89 (ASFA 1997), set out as a note under section 622 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.
Pub. L. 103–354, title I, §119(d)(1), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3208 (Crop Insurance Act 1994), provided that the amendment made by that section is effective Jan. 1, 1995.
Pub. L. 106–429, §101(a) [title VII, §701(c)], Nov. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 1900 , 1900A-64, provided for adjustments for rounding.
Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(5) [title III, §307], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A-306 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000) provided for adjustments for rounding.
Pub. L. 105–178, title VIII, §8101(b), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 489 (TEA 21), as amended by Pub. L. 105–206, title IX, §9013(a), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 865, provided adjustments of nondefense category for fiscal year 1999, discretionary category for fiscal year 2000, and discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2001 and 2002.
“(6) for the period beginning on October 1, 2009, and ending on September 30, 2010, $42,469,970,178.
“(7) for the period beginning on October 1, 2010, and ending on December 31, 2010, $10,617,492,545.”.
“(6) for the period beginning on October 1, 2009, and ending on December 31, 2010, $10,338,065,000.
“(7) for the period beginning on October 1, 2010, and ending on December 31, 2010, $2,584,516,250.”.
Pub. L. 111–322, title II, §2308, Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3530 (Continuing Appropriations and Surface Transportation Extensions Act, 2011).
sec. 308. level of obligation limitations.
“(7) for fiscal year 2011, $42,469,970,178.
“(7) for fiscal year 2011, $10,338,065,000.
Pub. L. 105–178, title VIII, §8103, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 492 (TEA 21), as amended by Pub. L. 108–88, §11(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 1128 (STEA 2003).
Pub. L. 108–310, §11(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 1161 (STEA Part V 2004).
Summary: This Act (Pub. L. 11-177, 99 Stat. 1063) established section 251 in law. At the time it did not include discretionary spending limits, currently its primary purpose. Upon original enactment, the main subject of the section was setting forth definitions and the baseline. These functions are not found in section 250 and 257, respectively, after having been transferred by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.
Summary: Pub. L. 100–119, title I, §102(a), Sept. 29, 1987, 101 Stat. 754; 100 Congress.
Note: BBEDCRA was enacted after the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. See Bowsher v. Synar.
Summary: Pub. L. 100–203, title VIII, §8003(f), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–282 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987).
Note: This amended section 251 before it was amended to set discretionary spending limits. Originally, it defined various terms (now found in section 250) and included the baseline (now found in section 257). This section of OBRA 1987 modified the definition of “contract authority” to specify the treatment of certain contracts in the Federal House Administration.
Summary: Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(a), (e)(2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–577 , 1388-593 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990).
Note: The BEA 1990 departed from the previous budget law enacted, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Reduction Act of 1985, in that it replaced that Act’s emphasis on deficit reduction with deficit management. By establishing discretionary spending limits and the “pay-as-you-go” regimen for direct spending and revenues, it’s main emphasis was to prevent deficit from becoming larger rather than using the procedure to reduce them.
Summary: Pub. L. 103–66, title XIV, §14002(c)(1), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 683 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993).
Note: Budget law proposed by President William Clinton. See OBRA 1993 – Budget Provisions (Title XIV) .
Summary: Pub. L. 103–87, title V, §571, Sept. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 971 – Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1994; H.R. 2295, 103rd Congress, 1st Session.
Note: Section 581 of this Act provided a specific exemption from the discretionary spending limits for fiscal year 1994 appropriations for the net guarantee costs for Pub. L. 102-391 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1993).
Summary: Pub. L. 103–306, title V, §562, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1649 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995).
Note: Section 562 of this Act modified section 251(b)(2)(G), which removed international loan guarantees to Israel from being subject to the discretionary spending limits by adding “1995” to “1994” — extending it by an additional year. This exemption was later extended for fiscal year 1997 by the Pub. L. 104-208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997.
Summary: Pub. L. 103–354, title I, §119(d)(1), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3208 (Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reauthorization Act of 1994).
Note: Section 119(d)(1) of this Act added text stating that section 251(b)(2)(D), which required the discretionary spending limits to be adjusted upward for amounts designated as an emergency, would not apply to crop insurance.
Summary: Pub. L. 104–121, title I, §103(b), Mar. 29, 1996, 110 Stat. 848 (Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996); H.R. 3136; 104th Congress.
Note: This Act included an increase in the Public Debt Limit. It also provided for Continuing Disability Review adjustments from 1996 through 2002 to Congressional committee allocations to parallel the adjustments to the discretionary spending limits in place pursuant to this section (section 251 of BBEDCA).
Note: This Act was considered by Congress pursuant to section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, commonly known as “reconciliation”, and hence was provided for by instructions included in H. Con. Res. 178 (Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 1997). The Act is commonly referred to as the “Welfare Bill” or the “Welfare Law”.
Summary: Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, §101(c) [title V, §577], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–121 , 3009-169 (Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997); H.R. 3610, 104th Congress.
Note: Section 577 of the Omnibus Consolidate Appropriation for fiscal year 1997 amended section 251(b)(2)(G) by extending the exemption for loan guarantees to Israel from the discretionary spending limits to fiscal year 1997. Previously, it had only applied to fiscal year 1994 and 1995. See Pub. L. 103-306 for a prior amendment to this subparagraph (adding fiscal year 1995).
Summary: Pub. L. 105–33, title X, §10203(a), (b), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 698 , 701 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1997).
Note: Title X of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) is formally referred to as the “Budget Enforcement Act of 1997”. The entire bill is a comprehensive budget agreement between Congress and President William Clinton, concluded in 1997. The Act began as a reconciliation bill, deriving its instructions from the fiscal year 1997 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 84), and included a substantial reform of the budget statutes, primarily by updating existing provisions rather than creating new procedures.
Summary: Pub. L. 105–89, title II, §201(b)(1), Nov. 19, 1997, 111 Stat. 2125 (Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997).
Note: Section 201 of this Act added “Adoption Incentive Payments” as an accepted adjustment to the discretionary spending limits, which allowed increases in that program to cause an upward adjustment in the limits rather requiring them to be offset.
Summary: Pub. L. 105–178, title VIII, §8101(a), (d), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 488 , 490 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century).
Note: This Act established separate transportation spending limits within the general discretionary spending limits. This was part of an agreement after Chairman Bud Shuster attempted to take transportation “off-budget”. This provided a guaranteed funding level for highway-related programs which were funded from the Highway Trust Fund, which receives receipts from the excise tax on fuel.
Summary: Pub. L. 106–291, title VIII, §801(a), (b), Oct. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 1026 , 1027 ; H.R. 4578, 106th Congress.
Note: Though this was an Interior Department appropriation bill, it included provisions extending spending limits for transportation. The spending for these programs are anomalous insofar as the budget authority is considered to be direct spending but the outlays are classified as discretionary. The discretionary spending limits also included a level for those outlays and even though the general limits expired after fiscal year 2002, this appropriation measure set transportation limits through fiscal year 2006.
Summary: Pub. L. 106–429, §101(a) [title VII, §701(a)], Nov. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 1900 , 1900A-64 (Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2001).
Note: H.R. 5526, another FY2001 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, was incorporated and its text included in the H.R. 4811 conference report: H. Rept. 106-997. H.R. 5526 was enacted by reference in sec. 101a of P.L. 106-429. S. 3140, the Kentucky National Forest Land Transfer Act of 2000, was incorporated in H.R. 5526 as sec. 595 and enacted by reference to H.R. 5526 in sec. 101a of P.L. 106-429.
Summary: Pub. L. 107–117, div. C, §101(a), Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2341 (Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002). H.R. 3338, 107th Congress. [Note: Division C of Pub. L. 107-117 included a short title: ‘‘Emergency Supplemental Act, 2002’’.
Note: Division C of Pub. L. 107-117 included a short title: ‘‘Emergency Supplemental Act, 2002’’.
Summary: Pub. L. 108–88, §10(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 1127 (Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003); H.R. 3087 (108th Congress).
Note: The general discretionary spending limits expired at the end of fiscal year 2002, but the specific transportation spending limit continued on after that year since spending levels in Transportation Acts referred to those limits.
Summary: Pub. L. 108–310, §10(a), (b), Sept. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 1160 (Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V).
Note: Pub. L. 108-310 amended and extended previous transportation funding bills.
Summary: Pub. L. 109–59, title VIII, §§8001(a), 8002, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1915 , 1916 (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users).
Note: Though the last general discretionary limit had been set for fiscal year 2002 when this bill was enacted, “highway” and “mass transit” funding levels, both derived from the Highway Trust Fund, was predicated on the levels set in section 251(b)(1). SAFETEA-LU repealed the old discretionary levels, since they were for years gone by, but extended specific caps for the “mass transit category” and the “highway category” through fiscal year 2009. Section 101 of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Pub. L. 112-25) eliminated these two spending categories, but reestablished the spending limits through fiscal year 2021.
Summary: Pub. L. 112–25, title I, §101, Aug. 2, 2011, 125 Stat. 241 (Budget Control Act of 2011).
Note: This bill was largely a result of negotiations between Rep. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, and President Barack Obama. Importantly, it set ten-year spending limits (through fiscal year 2021) and also a “Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction” given great authority to produce legislation to reduce the deficit. It was bipartisan, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and was unable to come to any agreement on any legislation and none was ever written, introduced or considered by Congress.
See Changes in Existing Law for Section 251 (BBEDCA) Made by the BCA.
Summary: Pub. L. 112–240, title IX, §901(d)(1), 126 Stat. 2370, Jan. 2, 2013.
Note: This Act made permanent certain tax laws first enacted in calendar years 2001 and 2003, often referred to as the “Bush Tax Cuts”. They are the “Economic Growth and Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001″ and the Jobs and Growth Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003”, respectively.
Note: The formal vehicle used for the BBA 2013 was the H. J. Res. 59 – Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014.
Note: This legislation has no formal report associated with it, though House Budget Counsel prepared a Counsel Report on it. Chairman Thomas Price of the House Budget Committee declined to publish it as a committee print. The committee report on this Act, H. Rept. 114-67, is of a previous vehicle used for the legislation and has no relation to the BBA 2015.
Note: Section 7 included text that gave direction to OMB regarding technical estimates.
Summary: Section 184 of this Act postponed the date on which the Final Sequestration Report is required under section 254 (BBEDCA) from 15 days within the end of Congressional Session (January 3, 2017) to within 15 days of April 28, 2017.
Note: The Act postponed the Final Sequestration Report for a possible sequestration if the discretionary spending limits were exceeded, but it also had the effect of postponing the report required to enforce any debit related to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act scorecards related to deficit effects of enacted legislation which generally only effects direct spending and revenue laws.

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