Topic: Macroeconomics — National Budget
Subject: Economics and public finance
Date: 2013-05-08 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on March 18, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014 - Title I: Fair Value Estimates - (Sec. 101) Amends the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) (title V of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 [CBA]) to:

 rename the FCRA the Fair Value Accounting Act of 2014 (FVAA of 2014); and revise the budgetary treatment of federal direct loans and loan guarantees to account for them on a fair value basis (currently, a FCRA accrual basis). Requires the President's budget from FY2017 on to reflect the costs of direct loan and loan guarantee programs.

 Requires the budget to also include:

 the planned level of new direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments associated with each appropriations request; and for each of FY2017-FY2021, on an agency-by-agency basis, subsidy estimates and costs of direct loan and loan guarantee programs with and without the risk component. Defines the "risk component" as an amount of the estimated long-term cost to the federal government of a direct loan or loan guarantee (or modification) that is equal to the difference between:

 that cost estimated on a fair value basis, applying the guidelines set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in Financial Accounting Standards #157 (or a successor), excluding administrative costs and any incidental effects on governmental receipts or outlays; and the same cost calculated on a net present value basis (the Treasury discounting component), excluding the same administrative costs and incidental effects. Revises other requirements for the President's budget, beginning with FY2017, including conditions for new direct loans or loan guarantee commitments. Requires new budget authority for such loans or loan guarantee commitments to be provided in advance in an appropriation Act.

Exempts a direct loan or loan guarantee program that constitutes an entitlement (such as the guaranteed student loan program or the veteran's home loan guaranty program), all existing credit programs of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), or any direct loan or loan guarantee made by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government-sponsored enterprises or GSEs) from:

 the requirement that new direct loan obligations may be incurred and new loan guarantee commitments may be made for any fiscal year only to the extent that new budget authority to cover their costs is provided in advance in an appropriation Act, and the prohibition against modification of an outstanding direct loan or loan guarantee in a manner that increases its costs unless budget authority for the additional cost has been provided in advance in an appropriation Act. Repeals the general authorization of appropriations to federal agencies for the cost associated with such direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments.

Revises requirements for Treasury transactions with financing accounts (nonbudget accounts associated with each program account which holds balances, receives the cost payment from the program account, and also includes all other cash flows to and from the federal government resulting from direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made on or after October 1, 1991). Limits the availability of amounts in liquidating accounts to specified payments resulting from direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments made before October 1, 1991. (Sec. 102) Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to treat a change in discretionary spending solely as a result of the amendment to title V of the CBA made by this Act as a change of concept (requiring adjustments to discretionary spending limits). Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), before adjusting such discretionary spending limits, to report to congressional budget committees on the amount of that adjustment and other specified related matters. Title II: Budgetary Treatment - (Sec. 201) Requires each of the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to study and make recommendations to congressional budget committees on the feasibility of applying fair value concepts to budgeting for the costs of federal insurance programs. (Sec. 202) Requires the receipts and disbursements, including the administrative expenses, of the GSEs to be counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of:

 the President's budget, the congressional budget, and the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. (Sec. 203) Terminates mandatory on-budget status treatment for a GSE after all of the following occurs:

 its conservatorship has been terminated; the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has certified in writing that the GSE has repaid to the federal government the maximum amount consistent with minimizing the total federal cost of the financial assistance provided to the GSE; and its charter has been revoked, annulled, or terminated and its authorizing statute has been repealed. Title III: Budget Review and Analysis - (Sec. 301) Requires OMB to:

 study the history of offsetting collections against expenditures and the amount of receipts collected annually, especially the historical application of the budgetary terms "revenue," "offsetting collections," and "offsetting receipts"; and review the application of those terms and make recommendations to the congressional budget committees on whether such usage should be continued or modified. (Sec. 302) Requires any federal agency, whenever it prepares and submits written budget justification materials for any congressional committee, to:

 post them on the same day as its submission on the "open" page of its public website; and include with its justification the process and methodology the agency is using to comply with the FVAA of 2014. Requires OMB to notify each federal agency of the format in which to post it.

Requires OMB to report to congressional budget committees, on the day of issuance, all guidelines, regulations, or criteria it issues to agencies on how to calculate the risk component under the FVAA of 2014.

Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) for FY2017-FY2021 to review and evaluate annually the progress of agencies in implementing the FVAA of 2014.

Deems such guidelines, regulations, or criteria as rules for purposes of federal rulemaking procedures. Requires them to be issued after notice and opportunity for public comment.