(a) Legislation providing new budget authority or providing increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures

(1) Whenever a committee of either House reports to its House a bill or joint resolution, or committee amendment thereto, providing new budget authority (other than continuing appropriations) or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures for a fiscal year (or fiscal years), the report accompanying that bill or joint resolution shall contain a statement, or the committee shall make available such a statement in the case of an approved committee amendment which is not reported to its House, prepared after consultation with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office—

(A) comparing the levels in such measure to the appropriate allocations in the reports submitted under section 633(b) of this title for the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year (or fiscal years);

(B) containing a projection by the Congressional Budget Office of how such measure will affect the levels of such budget authority, budget outlays, revenues, or tax expenditures under existing law for such fiscal year (or fiscal years) and each of the four ensuing fiscal years, if timely submitted before such report is filed; and

(C) containing an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the level of new budget authority for assistance to State and local governments provided by such measure, if timely submitted before such report is filed.


Terms Used In 2 USC 639

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
  • Committee amendment: An amendment recommended by a committee in reporting a bill or other measure.
  • Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
  • Conferees: Legislators appointed to serve on conference committees. They are also called "managers." Conferees are usually appointed from the committee or committees that reported the legislation; they are expected to try and uphold their chamber's position on measures when they negotiate with conferees from the other chamber.
  • Conference report: The compromise product negotiated by the conference committee. The "conference report" is submitted to each chamber for its consideration, such as approval or disapproval.
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
  • Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

(2) Whenever a conference report is filed in either House and such conference report or any amendment reported in disagreement or any amendment contained in the joint statement of managers to be proposed by the conferees in the case of technical disagreement on such bill or joint resolution provides new budget authority (other than continuing appropriations) or provides an increase or decrease in revenues for a fiscal year (or fiscal years), the statement of managers accompanying such conference report shall contain the information described in paragraph (1), if available on a timely basis. If such information is not available when the conference report is filed, the committee shall make such information available to Members as soon as practicable prior to the consideration of such conference report.

(3) CBO paygo estimates.—

(A) The Chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the House and Senate, as applicable, shall request from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office an estimate of the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation.

(B) Estimates shall be prepared using baseline estimates supplied by the Congressional Budget Office, consistent with section 907 of this title.

(C) The Director shall not count timing shifts, as that term is defined at section 932(8) of this title, in estimates of the budgetary effects of PAYGO Legislation.

(b) Up-to-date tabulations of Congressional budget action

(1) The Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall issue to the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate reports on at least a monthly basis detailing and tabulating the progress of congressional action on bills and joint resolutions providing new budget authority or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures for each fiscal year covered by a concurrent resolution on the budget. Such reports shall include but are not limited to an up-to-date tabulation comparing the appropriate aggregate and functional levels (including outlays) included in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget with the levels provided in bills and joint resolutions reported by committees or adopted by either House or by the Congress, and with the levels provided by law for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year covered by the appropriate concurrent resolution.

(2) The Committee on the Budget of each House shall make available to Members of its House summary budget scorekeeping reports. Such reports—

(A) shall be made available on at least a monthly basis, but in any case frequently enough to provide Members of each House an accurate representation of the current status of congressional consideration of the budget;

(B) shall include, but are not limited to, summaries of tabulations provided under subsection (b)(1); and

(C) shall be based on information provided under subsection (b)(1) without substantive revision.


The chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives shall submit such reports to the Speaker.

(c) Five-year projection of Congressional budget action

As soon as practicable after the beginning of each fiscal year, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall issue a report projecting for the period of 5 fiscal years beginning with such fiscal year—

(1) total new budget authority and total budget outlays for each fiscal year in such period;

(2) revenues to be received and the major sources thereof, and the surplus or deficit, if any, for each fiscal year in such period;

(3) tax expenditures for each fiscal year in such period; and

(4) entitlement authority for each fiscal year in such period.

(d) Scorekeeping guidelines

Estimates under this section shall be provided in accordance with the scorekeeping guidelines determined under section 902(d)(5) of this title.

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