BBEDCA (Contents)

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985

Section 251
[After BEA 1990 Amendment (Not Current Law)]

[Link to Current Law Section: Section 251. Enforcing Discretionary Spending Limits.]

Title II—Deficit Reduction Procedures 

PART C—EMERGENCY POWERS TO ELIMINATE DEFICITS IN EXCESS OF MAXIMUM DEFICIT AMOUNT

SEC. 251. ENFORCING DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS.

“(a) Fiscal Years 1991-1995 Enforcement.—

“(1) Sequestration.—Within 15 calendar days after Congress adjourns to end a session and on the same day as a sequestration (if any) under section 252 and section 253, there shall be a sequestration to eliminate a budget-year breach, if any, within any category.

“(2) Eliminating a breach.—Each non-exempt account within a category shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying the baseline level of sequestrable budgetary resources in that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary to eliminate a breach within that category; except that the health programs set forth in section 256(e) shall not be reduced by more than 2 percent and the uniform percent applicable to all other programs under this paragraph shall be increased (if necessary) to a level sufficient to eliminate that breach. If, within a category, the discretionary spending limits for both new budget authority and outlays are breached, the uniform percentage shall be calculated by—

“(A) first, calculating the uniform percentage necessary to eliminate the breach in new budget authority, and

“(B) second, if any breach in outlays remains, increasing the uniform percentage to a level sufficient to eliminate that breach.

“(3) Military personnel.—If the President uses the authority to exempt any military personnel from sequestration under section 255(h), each account within subfunctional category 051 (other than those military personnel accounts for which the authority provided under section 255(h) has been exercised) shall be further reduced by a dollar amount calculated by multiplying the enacted level of non-exempt budgetary resources in that account at that time by the uniform percentage necessary to offset the total dollar amount by which outlays are not reduced in military personnel accounts by reason of the use of such authority.

“(4) Part-year appropriations.—If, on the date specified in paragraph (1), there is in effect an Act making or continuing appropriations for part of a fiscal year for any budget account, then the dollar sequestration calculated for that account under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be subtracted from—

“(A) the annualized amount otherwise available by law in that account under that or a subsequent part-year appropriation; and

“(B) when a full-year appropriation for that account is enacted, from the amount otherwise provided by the full-year appropriation.

“(5) Look-back.—If, after June 30, an appropriation for the fiscal year in progress is enacted that causes a breach within a category for that year (after taking into account any sequestration of amounts within that category), the discretionary spending limits for that category for the next fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount or amounts of that breach.

“(6) Within-session sequestration.—If an appropriation for a fiscal year in progress is enacted (after Congress adjourns to end the session for that budget year and before July 1 of that fiscal year) that causes a breach within a category for that year (after taking into account any prior sequestration of amounts within that category), 15 days later there shall be a sequestration to eliminate that breach within that category following the procedures set forth in paragraphs (2) through (4).

“(7) OMB estimates.—As soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any discretionary appropriation, CBO, after consultation with the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall provide OMB with an estimate of the amount of discretionary new budget authority and outlays for the current year (if any) and the budget year provided by that legislation. Within 5 calendar days after the enactment of any discretionary appropriation, OMB shall transmit a report to the House of Representatives and to the Senate containing the CBO estimate of that legislation, an OMB estimate of the amount of discretionary new budget authority and outlays for the current year (if any) and the budget year provided by that legislation, and an explanation of any difference between the two estimates. For purposes of this paragraph, amounts provided by annual appropriations shall include any new budget authority and outlays for those years in account for which funding is provided in that legislation that result from previously enacted legislation. Those OMB estimates shall be made using current economic and technical assumptions. OMB shall use the OMB estimates transmitted to the Congress under this paragraph for the purposes of this subsection. OMB and CBO shall prepare estimates under this paragraph in conformance with scorekeeping guidelines determined after consultation among the House and Senate Committees on the Budget, CBO, and OMB.

“(b) Adjustments To Discretionary Spending Limits.—(1) When the President submits the budget under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for budget year 1992, 1993, 1994, or 1995 (except as otherwise indicated), OMB shall calculate (in the order set forth below), and the budget shall include, adjustments to discretionary spending limits (and those limits as cumulatively adjusted) for the budget year and each outyear through 1995 to reflect the following:

“(A) Changes in concepts and definitions.—The adjustments produced by the amendments made by title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 or by any other changes in concepts and definitions shall equal the baseline levels of new budget authority and outlays using up-to-date concepts and definitions minus those levels using the concepts and definitions in effect before such changes. Such other changes in concepts and definitions may only be made in consultation with the Committees on Appropriations, the Budget, Government Operations, and Governmental Affairs of the House of Representatives and Senate.

“(B) Changes in inflation.—(i) For a budget submitted for budget year 1992, 1993, 1994, or 1995, the adjustments produced by changes in inflation shall equal the levels of discretionary new budget authority and outlays in the baseline (calculated using current estimates) subtracted from those levels in that baseline recalculated with the baseline inflators for the budget year only, multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor computed under clause (ii).

“(ii) For a budget year the inflation adjustment factor shall equal the ratio between the level of year-over-year inflation measured for the fiscal year most recently completed and the applicable estimated level for that year set forth below:

For 1990, 1.041
For 1991, 1.052
For 1992, 1.041
For 1993, 1.033

Inflation shall be measured by the average of the estimated gross national product implicit price deflator index for a fiscal year divided by the average index for the prior fiscal year.

“(C) Credit reestimates.—For a budget submitted for fiscal year 1993 or 1994, the adjustments produced by reestimates to costs of Federal credit programs shall be, for any such program, a current estimate of new budget authority and outlays associated with a baseline projection of the prior year’s gross loan level for that program minus the baseline projection of the prior year’s new budget authority and associated outlays for that program.

“(2) When OMB submits a sequestration report under section 254(g) or (h) for fiscal year 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, or 1995 (except as otherwise indicated), OMB shall calculate (in the order set forth below), and the sequestration report, and subsequent budgets submitted by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, shall include, adjustments to discretionary spending limits (and those limits as adjusted) for the fiscal year and each succeeding year through 1995, as follows:

“(A) IRS funding.—To the extent that appropriations are enacted that provide additional new budget authority or result in additional outlays (as compared with the CBO baseline constructed in June 1990) for the Internal Revenue Service compliance initiative in any fiscal year, the adjustments for that year shall be those amounts, but shall not exceed the amounts set forth below—

“(i) for fiscal year 1991, $191,000,000 in new budget authority and $183,000,000 in outlays;

“(ii) for fiscal year 1992, $172,000,000 in new budget authority and $169,000,000 in outlays;

“(iii) for fiscal year 1993, $183,000,000 in new budget authority and $179,000,000 in outlays;

“(iv) for fiscal year 1994, $187,000,000 in new budget authority and $183,000,000 in outlays; and

“(v) for fiscal year 1995, $188,000,000 in new budget authority and $184,000,000 in outlays; and

the prior-year outlays resulting from these appropriations of budget authority.

“(B) Debt forgiveness.—If, in calendar year 1990 or 1991, an appropriation is enacted that forgives the Arab Republic of Egypt s foreign military sales indebtedness to the United States and any part of the Government of Poland’s indebtedness to the United States, the adjustment shall be the estimated costs (in new budget authority and outlays, in all years) of that forgiveness.

“(C) IMF funding.—If, in fiscal year 1991,1992,1993,1994, or 1995 an appropriation is enacted to provide to the International Monetary Fund the dollar equivalent, in terms of Special Drawing Rights, of the increase in the United States quota as part of the International Monetary Fund Ninth General Review of Quotas, the adjustment shall be the amount provided by that appropriation.

“(D) Emergency appropriations.—(i) If, for fiscal year 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, or 1995, appropriations for discretionary accounts are enacted that the President designates as emergency requirements and that the Congress so designates in statute, the adjustment shall be the total of such appropriations in discretionary accounts designated as emergency requirements and the outlays flowing in all years from such appropriations.

“(ii) The costs for operation Desert Shield are to be treated as emergency funding requirements not subject to the defense spending limits. Funding for Desert Shield will be provided through the normal legislative process. Desert Shield costs should be accommodated through Allied burden-sharing, subsequent appropriation Acts, and if the President so chooses, through offsets within other defense accounts. Emergency Desert Shield costs mean those incremental costs associated with the increase in operations in the Middle East and do not include costs that would be experienced by the Department of Defense as part of its normal operations absent Operation Desert Shield.

“(E) Special allowance for discretionary new budget authority.—(i) For each pf fiscal years 1992 and 1993, the adjustment for the domestic category in each year shall be an amount equal to 0.1 percent of the sum of the adjusted discretionary spending limits on new budget authority for all categories for fiscal years 1991, 1992, and 1993 (cumulatively), together with outlays associated therewith (calculated at the composite outlay rate for the domestic category);

“(ii) for each of fiscal years 1992 and 1993, the adjustment for the international category in each year shall be an amount equal to 0.079 percent of the sum of the adjusted discretionary spending limits on new budget authority for all categories for fiscal years 1991, 1992, and 1993 (cumulatively), together with outlays associated therewith (calculated at the composite outlay rate for the international category); and

“(iii) if, for fiscal years 1992 and 1993, the amount of new budget authority provided in appropriation Acts exceeds the discretionary spending limit on new budget authority for any category due to technical estimates made by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the adjustment is the amount of the excess, but not to exceed an amount (for 1992 and 1993 together) equal to 0.042 percent of the sum of the adjusted discretionary limits on new budget authority for all categories for fiscal years 1991,1992, and 1993 (cumulatively).

“(F) Special outlay allowance.—If in any fiscal year outlays for a category exceed the discretionary spending limit for that category but new budget authority does not exceed its limit for that category (after application of the first step of a sequestration described in subsection (a)(2), if necessary), the adjustment in outlays is the amount of the excess, but not to exceed $2,500,000,000 in the defense category, $1,500,000,000 in the international category, or $2,500,000,000 in the domestic category (as applicable) in fiscal year 1991,1992, or 1993, and not to exceed $6,500,000,000 in fiscal year 1994 or 1995 less any of the outlay adjustments made under subparagraph (E) for a category for a fiscal year.

[2 U.S.C. 901]

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[BCR § 202]