BBA 2018 (Contents)
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
Section 30104
DIVISION C—BUDGETARY AND OTHER MATTERS
TITLE I—BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 30104. Authority for fiscal year 2019 budget resolution in the House of Representatives.
(a) Fiscal Year 2019.—If a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2019 has not been adopted by April 15, 2018, for the purpose of enforcing the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the allocations, aggregates, and levels provided for in subsection (b) shall apply in the House of Representatives after April 15, 2018, in the same manner as for a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2019 with appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal year 2019 and for fiscal years 2020 through 2028.[1]
(b) Committee Allocations, Aggregates, and Levels.—In the House of Representatives, the Chair of the Committee on the Budget shall submit a statement for publication in the Congressional Record after April 15, 2018, but not later than May 15, 2018, containing—
(1) for the Committee on Appropriations, committee allocations for fiscal year 2019 for discretionary budget authority at the total level set forth in section 251(c)(6) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended by this Act, and the outlays flowing therefrom, and committee allocations for fiscal year 2019 for current law mandatory budget authority and outlays, for the purpose of enforcing section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;[2]
(2) for all committees other than the Committee on Appropriations, committee allocations for fiscal year 2019 and for the period of fiscal years 2019 through 2028 at the levels included in the most recent baseline of the Congressional Budget Office, as adjusted for the budgetary effects of any provision of law enacted during the period beginning on the date such baseline is issued and ending on the date of submission of such statement, for the purpose of enforcing section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;[3] and
(3) aggregate spending levels for fiscal year 2019 and aggregate revenue levels for fiscal year 2019 and for the period of fiscal years 2019 through 2028, at the levels included in the most recent baseline of the Congressional Budget Office, as adjusted for the budgetary effects of any provision of law enacted during the period beginning on the date such baseline is issued and ending on the date of submission of such statement, for the purpose of enforcing section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(c) Additional Matter.—The statement referred to in subsection (b) may also include for fiscal year 2019, the matter contained in the provisions referred to in subsection (f)(1).
(d) Fiscal Year 2019 Allocation to the Committee on Appropriations.—If the statement referred to in subsection (b) is not filed by May 15, 2018, then the matter referred to in subsection (b)(1) shall be submitted by the Chair of the Committee on the Budget for publication in the Congressional Record on the next day that the House of Representatives is in session.
(e) Adjustments.—The chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives may adjust the levels included in the statement referred to in subsection (b) to reflect the budgetary effects of any legislation enacted during the 115th Congress that reduces the deficit or as otherwise necessary.
(f) Application.—Upon submission of the statement referred to in subsection (b)—
(1) all references in sections 5101 through 5112, sections 5201 through 5205, section 5301, and section 5401[4] of House Concurrent Resolution 71 (115th Congress) to a fiscal year shall be considered for all purposes in the House to be references to the succeeding fiscal year; and
(2) all references in the provisions referred to in paragraph (1) to allocations, aggregates, or other appropriate levels in “this concurrent resolution”, “the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget”, or “this resolution” shall be considered for all purposes in the House to be references to the allocations, aggregates, or other appropriate levels contained in the statement referred to in subsection (b), as adjusted.
(g) Expiration.—Subsections (a) through (f) shall no longer apply if a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2019 is agreed to by the Senate and House of Representatives.
Counsel Notes
Endnotes
[1] This subsection deems levels to be inserted into the Congressional Record by the House Budget Chairman to be tantamount to a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2019. It becomes effective on April 16, 2019, since April 15 is the statutory deadline set in section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (and displayed in the timetable set forth in section 300 (CBA).
These levels were inserted in the Congressional Record as the “Publication of Budgetary Material” on May 10, 2018 by Chairman Womack.
[2] Paragraph (3) is intended to take the place of an allocation to the House Committee on Appropriations under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA). The paragraph uses the term “committee allocations” and says the statement for the record containing these allocations are for the purpose of enforcing section 302” (CBA), the language should more clearly state the levels are considered to be the same as an allocation provided under section 302(a) (CBA). Then the suballocations required by section 302(b) (CBA) for the Committee on Appropriations to make to its subcommittees would be very clearly required.
The reference to “current law mandatory budget authority and outlays” is meant to indicate appropriated mandatory spending, for which section 302(a)(3)(B)(i) uses the term “mandatory amounts”.
[3] Paragraph (4) is clearly designed to take the place of allocations to authorizing committees, which are provided for the first fiscal year of a concurrent resolution on the budget and for the period of fiscal years covered by such a measure. These are required to enforce section 302(f) (CBA) points of order against increasing direct spending over the limit set for these time periods. The difficulty here is the ambiguity as to whether this “deeming” language fulfills the requirement of the point of order which stipulates that it is enforceable “After the Congress has completed action on a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year”.
[4] Sections 5201 through 5205, section 5301, and section 5401 from H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress) are as follows:
Sec. 5101. Point of order against increasing long-term direct spending.
Sec. 5102. Allocation for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism.
Sec. 5103. Limitation on changes in certain mandatory programs.
Sec. 5104. Limitation on advance appropriations.
Sec. 5105. Estimates of debt service costs.
Sec. 5106. Fair-value credit estimates.
Sec. 5107. Estimates of macroeconomic effects of major legislation.
Sec. 5108. Adjustments for improved control of budgetary resources.
Sec. 5109. Scoring rule for Energy Savings Performance Contracts.
Sec. 5110. Limitation on transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund.
Sec. 5111. Prohibition on use of Federal Reserve surpluses as an offset. .
Sec. 5112. Prohibition on use of guarantee fees as an offset.
Sec. 5201. Budgetary treatment of administrative expenses.
Sec. 5202. Application and effect of changes in allocations and aggregates.
Sec. 5203. Adjustments to reflect changes in concepts and definitions.
Sec. 5204. Adjustment for changes in the baseline.
Sec. 5205. Application of rule regarding limits on discretionary spending.
Sec. 5301. Adjustment authority for amendments to statutory caps.
Sec. 5401. Reserve fund for investments in national infrastructure.
Previous Deeming Resolutions
This deeming resolution assumes, it seems, that H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the Budget Resolution for fiscal year 2018, continues in place for its procedural elements, in particular those items found in title III and V. The real question is whether that constitutes the passage of a concurrent resolution for a new fiscal year. H. Con. Res. 71 does continue in force for all practical purposes until its provisions are superseded either explicitly (such as repeal or expiration) or implicitly by more recent amounts and levels being adopted. One of the essential aspects, though, is the enforcement of section 302(f) (CBA), which requires the “completion” of a budget resolution “for a fiscal year” to be effective. Whether this constitutes such an event is questionable.
Section 115(a) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (House Deemer)
Section 102 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Senate Deemer)
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-123; 132 Stat. 64; February 9, 2018; H.R. 1892 (115th Congress)
Previous:Section 30103
|
Next:Section 30105
|
Budget Counsel 