BPLA (Contents)
Budget Process Law Annotated (1993)
Section 304
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
[Pages 117-119]
[page 117]
permissible revisions of concurrent resolutions on the budget
Sec. 304.329 (a) In General.—At any time330 after the concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year has been agreed to pursuant to section 301,331 and before the end of such fiscal year, the two Houses may adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which revises or reaffirms the concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year most recently agreed to.332
[Notes to Subsection (a)]
329. Section 304 is codified as amended at 2 U.S.C. § 635 (1988 and Supp. IV 1992).
330. In some years, Congress bas revised the budget for the current fiscal year as part of the budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year. For example, the budget resolution for fiscal year 1986 also revised the budget totals for fiscal year 1985.
331. See supra pp. 50-87.
332. For examples of second and revised budget resolutions, see Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, 1982, S. Con. Res. 50, 97th Cong., 1st Sess., 95 Stat. 1778 (1981); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal Year 1981, H. Con. Res. 448, 96th Cong., 2d Sess., 94 Stat. 3680 (1980); Third Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, Fiscal Year 1980, S. Con. Res. S3, 96th Cong., 1st Sess., 93 Stat. 1428 (1979); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal Year 1980, S. Con. Res. 36, 96th Cong., 1st Sess., 125 Cong. Rec. 30,796 (1979) (adopted); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal Year 1979, H. Con. Res. 683, 95th Cong., 2d Sess., 92 Stat. 3878 (1978); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget -Fiscal Year 1978, H. Con. Res. 341, 95th Cong., 1st Sess., 91 Stat.1683 (1977); Third Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal Year 1977, S. Con. Res. 10, 95th Cong., 1st Sess., 91 Stat. 1666 (1977); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal Year 1m, S. Con. Res. 139, 94th Cong., 2d Sess., 90 Stat. 3044 (1976); Second Concurrent Resolution on the Budget Fiscal 1976, H. Con. Res. 466, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., 89 Stat. 1209 (1975).
[Subsection (b)]
(b)333 Economic Assumptions.—The provisions of [p. 118] section 301(g)334 shall apply with respect to concurrent resolutions on the budget under this section (and amendments thereto335 and conference reports thereon) in the same way they apply to concurrent resolutions on the budget under such [p. 119] section 301(g)336 (and amendments thereto and conference reports thereon).337
[Notes to Subsection (b)]
333. Section 13112(a)(8) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 repealed what used to be subsection (b) and redesignated what used to be subsection (c) as subsection (b). See infra p. 709. Section 208(b) or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 added what was then subsection (c) and is now subsection (b). Pub. L. 100-119, §208(b), 101 Stat. 754, 786 (1987).
Before enactment of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, subsection (b) read as follows:
(b) Maximum Deficit Amount May Not Be Exceeded.—The provisions of section 301(i) shall apply with respect to concurrent resolutions on the budget under this section (and amendments thereto and conference reports thereon) in the same way they apply to concurrent resolutions on the budget under such section 301(i) (and amendments thereto and conference reports thereon).
Section 13303(b) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (see infra p. 756) repealed what used to be section 301(i). Section 13111 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (see infra p. 707) added a new section 606(c) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (see infra p. 334) that fulfills much the same function as did the old section 301(i). (Compare the text of what used to be section 301(i) (see infra note 912) with that of the new section 606(c). See infra p. 334.) Note, however, that section 606(c) does not apply to revisions of budget resolutions under section 304, even though the parallel language for the House of Representatives in section 606(b) (see infra p. 334) explicitly mentions revisions of budget resolutions under section 304. Consequently, while violating the maximum deficit amount in this context used to violate the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, it no longer does.
Section 13208(a)(l) of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 amended section 904(c) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to consolidate in one place the list of points of order requiring 60 votes to waive. See infra p. 718. Congress intended the new section 904(c) to supersede section 271(b) of Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (see infra p. 671), but section 13208 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (see infra pp. 728-729) mistakenly failed to repeal section 271(b) of Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. While the new section 904(c) does not list section 304(b), section 271(b) continues to list section 304(b) among the points of order that it requires 60 Senators to waive. See infra p. 671. Thus, if the statute is to be taken al its face value, it requires 60 Senators to waive a point of order raised on the grounds that a revision of a budget resolution uses two sets of economic assumptions, even though such a sin may be waived by a majority if the Senate commits it on the first budget resolution that the Senate considers for a fiscal year.
334. See supra pp. 81-82.
335. An amendment is subject to points of order under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 even if the Senate has specified by unanimous consent that the amendment is one of the amendments in order and the yeas and nays have been ordered. Cf. supra note 295 (regarding section 303(a)).
336. See supra pp. 81-82.
337. Congressional Budget Act of 1974 prohibitions are not self-enforcing and require points of order from the Floor for their enforcement. Cf. supra note 293 (regarding section 303(a)).
[End of page 119]
Counsel Notes
SECTION 304, in Current Law
Section 304, as in the current Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 97-344).
Subsection (b) Repeal
Subsection (b) was repealed by section 10108 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (105-33). The explanatory statement in the conference report included the following:
conference agreement (section 10108)
The Conference agreement repeals subsection (b) of section 304. Subsection 304(a) provides the authority for Congress to revise a budget resolution at any time. Subsection (b) provides that section 301(g), regarding economic assumptions, applies to revisions to budget resolutions. This subsection is not needed and raises an ambiguity with respect to whether other provisions of the Budget Act apply to revisions of a budget resolution.
By repealing subsection 304(b), the conferees intend that all provisions of the Budget Act apply to revised budget resolutions unless there is a specific exception made for a revision to a budget resolution, such as section 305(b) which provides for only 10 hours of debate on a revision to a budget resolution.
Joint Explanatory Statement on the Committee of Conference on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997; (Conference Report), Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, 105th Congress, 1st Session, Washington D.C. 1997.
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