Cyclopedia
Section 315
Congressional Budget Act of 1974
Summary
Section 315 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 applies in the House only. Since violations of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) lay against bills “as reported”, before this provision was enacted, even when the bill was amended prior to its consideration by the House, it was still noncompliant. This section allows a bill to be amended by a “self-executing rule” just before it is considered so that it is not necessary to waive the Budget Act.
From the joint statement of managers on the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33):
[Section 315] provides that it is not necessary to waive the Budget Act as part of a House resolution to consider legislation in which the resolution eliminates the source of the Budget Act violation. Most points of order under the Budget Act lie against consideration of the bill as originally reported by a committee. If the reported version of the bill violates the Budget Act, then the Chairman of the Budget Committee often arranges to have the violation corrected as part of a rule that effectively amends the version of the bill pending before the House. However, it is still necessary to waive the point of order because the point of order lies against the bill as reported. As modified, it will no longer be necessary to waive the point of order in order to consider a bill in which the rule eliminates the source of the violation.
[U.S. Congress, Joint Explanatory Statement on the Committee of Conference on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997; (H. Rept. 105-217), Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, 105th Congress, 1st Session, Washington D.C. 1997.]
The section has been amended once. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-67) added this sentence to the end: “In the case of a reported bill or joint resolution considered pursuant to a special order of business, a point of order under section 303 of this title shall be determined on the basis of the text made in order as an original bill or joint resolution for the purpose of amendment or to the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage, as the case may be.”
Section 315 is classified to the U.S. Code at 2 U.S.C. 645a.
Deschler’s Precedents: Chapter 41 (Budget Process)
§ 15. Section 315
Section 315 of the Congressional Budget Act,[1] added by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997,[2] provides that self-executed amendments or amendments made in order as original text by a special order are considered ‘‘as reported’’ for purposes of titles III and IV of the Budget Act. Special orders utilizing these types of amendments often do so for the purpose of ‘‘curing’’ parliamentary violations (under the Congressional Budget Act or otherwise) contained in the underlying legislation. Before the advent of section 315, such curative amendments would not have qualified under the Congressional Budget Act as having been ‘‘reported’’ from committee.[3] Thus, the legislation would still have required a waiver of Budget Act points of order despite the clear intention to remove any Budget Act violations via the curative amendment.
Relatedly, the House has also adopted free-standing orders to apply Budget Act points of order to such ‘‘self-executed’’ amendments or amendments made in order as original text for purposes of amendment. In the 106th through the 112th Congresses, the House adopted a separate order on opening day[4] to evaluate section 303(a) points of order against reported bills or joint resolutions considered under a special order of business on the basis of either the text made in order as original text for purposes of amendment or the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage.
Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives, Volume 18, Chapter 41, §15, p. 245-246.
[Notes]
[1] 2 USC § 645a.
[2] Pub. L. No. 105–33 [Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (title X of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997)].
[3] See also Rule XXI clause 8 (rendering title III of the Congressional Budget Act applicable to unreported measures). House Rules and Manual § 1068c (2011).
[4] 157 Cong. Rec. H9 [Daily Ed.], 112th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 5, 2011 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(a)(2)); 155 Cong. Rec. H6, 111th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 6, 2009 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(a)(2)); 153 Cong. Rec. H19, 110th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 4, 2007 (H. Res. 6, sec. 511(a)(2)); 151 Cong. Rec. H7, 109th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 4, 2005 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(a)(2)); 149 Cong. Rec. 10, 108th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 7, 2003 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(a)(2)); 147 Cong. Rec. H6, 107th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 2001 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(b)(2)); 145 Cong. Rec. H6, 106th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 6, 1999 (H. Res. 5, sec. 2(a)(3)). See § 9, supra.
See current Section 315 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
Section 315 (CBA), as Enacted by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33):
Sec. 315. For purposes of a reported bill or joint resolution considered in the House of Representatives pursuant to a special order of business, the term “as reported” in this title or title IV shall be considered to refer to the text made in order as an original bill or joint resolution for the purpose of amendment or to the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage, as the case may be.
Section 315 (CBA) was enacted by the following section of the BEA 1997:
Sec. 10115. Effect of adoption of a special order of business in the House of Representatives
Statutory Text
Text from Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
effect of adoption of a special order of business in the house of representatives
Sec. 315. For purposes of a reported bill or joint resolution considered in the House of Representatives pursuant to a special order of business, the term ‘‘as reported’’ in this title or title IV shall be considered to refer to the text made in order as an original bill or joint resolution for the purpose of amendment or to the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage, as the case may be. In the case of a reported bill or joint resolution considered pursuant to a special order of business, a point of order under section 303 shall be determined on the basis of the text made in order as an original bill or joint resolution for the purpose of amendment or to the text on which the previous question is ordered directly to passage, as the case may be.”
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