Cyclopedia
Section 302(a)
Congressional Budget Act of 1974
Summary
Section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is of central importance in structure of an annual concurrent resolution on the budget, primarily because it provides “allocations” to each Congressional committee having authority over some form of spending or receipts. A 302(a) allocation refers to the subsection of that section that provides an amount of budget authority and outlays to each spending committee of Congress. The allocation applies to the fiscal year for which the budget resolution has been adopted and for the period of years covered by that budget resolution (the “budget window”). The allocation for an authorizing committee (all spending committees other than the Committees on Appropriations) includes all “baseline” amounts — that is amounts that are projected to be spent under current law without change. The amount of change, whether increase or decrease, is added to that amount to sum to the allocation for the committee. A committee may not recommend the passage of legislation which would have the effect of causing budget authority (or outlays in the Senate) to be exceeded.
The “allocation” is distinct from a “suballocation”, which is the amount of budget authority and outlays provided to Appropriations Subcommittees under section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. See section 302(b) suballocations for more information.
Section 302 is classified to the U.S. Code at 2 U.S.C. 633.
Deschler’s Precedents: Chapter 41 (Budget Process)
§ 11. Section 302
As noted in Sections 4 and 5, the concurrent resolution on the budget serves as a guide or blueprint for Congress in making spending decisions throughout the appropriations process. An important part of that framework is the division of the recommended totals for new budget authority and outlays into separate portions assigned to the various committees of Congress. Pursuant to section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act,[1] the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on the budget must include ‘‘allocations’’ of total new budget authority and total outlays to each House committee with jurisdiction over legislation providing or creating such amounts. As described below, points of order can be raised to keep spending within the limits of these section 302(a) allocations.
As originally written, the Congressional Budget Act mandated that each committee given a section 302(a) allocation of spending authority further subdivide that allocation among its various subcommittees (or programs). Pursuant to the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997,[2] however, this requirement was dropped for all committees except for the Committee on Appropriations, which is still required to subdivide its section 302(a) allocation among its subcommittees. The Committee on Appropriations files a report with the House to indicate how the committee has divided its section 302(a) allocation among its subcommittees,[3] and supplemental reports may revise such subcommittee allocations.[4] This requirement is found in section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, and these suballocations are sometimes referred to as section 302(b) allocations to distinguish them from allocations made under section 302(a).
Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives, Volume 18, Chapter 41, §11, p. 134-225.
[Notes]
[1] 2 USC § 633(a).
[2] Pub. L. No. 105–33.
[3] For an example of the filing of such a report, see 136 Cong. Rec. 14612, 101st Cong. 2d Sess., June 19, 1990.
[4] 143 Cong. Rec. 12009, 105th Cong. 1st Sess., June 24, 1997.
References
CRS – Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process (97-865) October 20, 2015
CRS – Allocations and Subdivisions in the Congressional Budget Process (RS20144) November 29, 2010
Deschler’s Precedents – Chapter 41: § 11. Section 302
GAO Glossary of Terms and Definition (September 2005)
302 (a) Allocation
See under Committee Allocation.
[PAGE 95]
Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
Sec.302. (a) Committee Spending Allocations.—
(1) Allocations among committees.—The joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a concurrent resolution on the budget shall include an allocation, consistent with the resolution recommended in the conference report, of the levels for the first fiscal year of the resolution, for at least each of the ensuing 4 fiscal years, and a total for that period of fiscal years (except in the case of the Committee on Appropriations only for the fiscal year of that resolution) of—
(A) total new budget authority; and
(B) total outlays;
among each committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate that has jurisdiction over legislation providing or creating such amounts.
(2) No double counting.—In the House of Representatives, any item allocated to one committee may not be allocated to another committee.
(3) Further division of amounts.—
(A) In the senate.—In the Senate, the amount allocated to the Committee on Appropriations shall be further divided among the categories specified in section 250(c)(4) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and shall not exceed the limits for each category set forth in section 251(c) of that Act.
(B) In the house.—In the House of Representatives, the amounts allocated to each committee for each fiscal year, other than the Committee on Appropriations, shall be further divided between amounts provided or required by law on the date of filing of that conference report and amounts not so provided or required. The amounts allocated to the Committee on Appropriations shall be further divided—
(i) between discretionary and mandatory amounts or programs, as appropriate; and
(ii) consistent with the categories specified in section 250(c)(4) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
(4) Amounts not allocated.—In the House of Representatives or the Senate, if a committee receives no allocation of new budget authority or outlays, that committee shall be deemed to have received an allocation equal to zero for new budget authority or outlays.
(5) Adjusting allocation of discretionary spending in the house of representatives.—
(A) If a concurrent resolution on the budget is not adopted by April 15, the chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives shall submit to the House, as soon as practicable, an allocation under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Appropriations consistent with the discretionary spending levels in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget for the appropriate fiscal year covered by that resolution.[1]
(B) As soon as practicable after an allocation under paragraph (1) is submitted under this section, the Committee on Appropriations shall make suballocations and report those suballocations to the House of Representatives.
Counsel Notes
Endnotes
[1] If a budget resolution is not adopted by the April 15 deadline, this subparagraph requires an interim allocation to be transmitted by the House Budget Chairman to the House Appropriations Committee that is at the level (“consistent with”) of the second year of the previous budget resolution. After discussions between the House Budget Counsel and the House Parliamentarians, an agreement was reached that while the transmittal must occur, this interim allocation is unenforceable. Under the terms of section 302(f), the point of order under that subsection is only activated for a fiscal year upon the adoption of a final budget resolution, which under this subparagraph, by definition, has not occurred.
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