Table of Contents

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985

Section 212

Title II—Deficit Reduction Procedures 

PART A—CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS

SUBPART II—AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IV OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT OF 1974

Sec. 212. Credit authority.

Section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows:

“LEGISLATION PROVIDING NEW CREDIT AUTHORITY

“Sec. 402. (a) Control on Legislation Providing New Credit Authority.—It shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, resolution, or conference report, as reported to its House, or any amendment which provides new credit authority described in subsection (b)(1), unless that bill, resolution, conference report, or amendment also provides that such new credit authority is to be effective for any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts.

“(b) Definition.—For purposes of this Act, the term ‘new credit authority’ means credit authority (as defined in section 3(10) of this Act) not provided by law on the effective date of this section, including any increase in or addition to credit authority provided by law on such date.”.

Previous: Section 211 (BBEDCA)	Next: Section 213 (BBEDCA)

Counsel Notes

This section (Section 212 BBEDCA)) amended section 402 (CBA), as enacted, of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 in its entirety. The section was later repealed and combined with section 401 (CBA) by of section 10116 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33). Prior to the amendment set forth here (by section 212 (BBEDCA)), section 402 (CBA, as enacted) set forth a point of order in both House and Senate against the consideration of legislation authorizing spending unless it was reported before May 15 of the year before the fiscal year in which the spending was to first take effect.

As newly set forth by section 212, section 402 (CBA) includes a definition of “new credit authority”. It created a distinction between “new credit authority” and “credit authority”. The term “credit authority” is defined in section 3(10) (CBA).

Summary of Amendment to Section 402 by Congressional Research Service

The repeal of section 402, as amended by section 212 (BBEDCA) was summarized by CRS as follows:

Sections 401 and 402 of the CBA established controls over “backdoor spending.” Specifically, the sections prohibit the consideration of legislation providing new spending authority or new credit authority unless such authority is made effective only to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in annual appropriations acts. Section 10116(c) of the [BEA 1997] updates and consolidates these controls. It merges the two sections together into a new Section 401; Section 402 is repealed and subsequent sections are renumbered accordingly.

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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY NOTES

Public Laws

Pub. L. 99–177, title II, §212, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1056 (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985). 

Amendments

Section 402 (CBA), as amended by section 212 (BBEDCA) was repealed by section 10116 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997 with parts of the section merged into a newly amended section 401 (CBA).

Previous: Section 211 (BBEDCA)	Next: Section 213 (BBEDCA)

 

[BCR § 200.212]