Cyclopedia of Congressional Budget Law

Cut-As-You-Go (Cutgo)

Summary

The term Cutgo is a colloquial reference to the “Cut-As-You-Go” point of order, now repealed. When in effect, it was set forth as clause 10 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. It took the form of a point of order against bills, joint resolutions and amendments that would have caused an increase in direct spending in two multi-year periods. Those periods were defined in its text by referring  back to the statutory definition included in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 for “budget year“. Since that definition starts the budget year on the fiscal year beginning on October 1 following the date a session of Congress first meets, usually January 3 of a calendar year. This means that between October 1 of a year and the date on which Congress first meets, the “current year” is in the past, and it becomes a five-year and ten-year period. For part of the year after Congress first meets and October 1, the current year is in the present, and hence Cutgo is tested for six-year and eleven-year periods. This is also true for the “House Paygo Point of Order” which both preceded and succeeded it.  

See §14. Cut-As-You-Go in the Budget Counsel Reference Directory.

 

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