Summary of Changes to H.R. 853, as Introduced,
Made by the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
Offered by Representative Goss
Prepared by Rules Committee Majority Staff
In addition to various technical and conforming changes throughout the bill, the highlights of the substitute amendment's major changes are as follows:
Title I: Budget With the Force of Law:
- Amends the Congressional Budget Act to highlight the specific changes being made in the nature of the budget resolution rather than restating large sections of current law.
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Adds interest as a discrete category to the list of spending categories provided for in the budget resolution.
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Drops the definition of a Presidential veto for Congressional purposes due to the existence of House and Senate precedents related to the definition of a Presidential veto.
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Changes the three-day referral limit to a five-day referral limit of a concurrent resolution on the budget to the Budget Committee under the expedited procedures given such a budget resolution in the event that the original joint resolution on the budget is vetoed.
Title II: Reserve Fund for Emergencies
- Consolidates the two distinct emergency reserve funds into one reserve fund for both direct and discretionary emergency spending.
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Strikes the sections establishing procedures for considering emergency spending that is in excess of the emergency reserve fund.
Title VI: Baseline, Byrd Rule, Lock-box, and Automatic Continuing Resolution
- Excludes one-time spending items from the calculation of spending levels, such as those designated as an emergency under current law, in the levels of spending under the continuing resolution.
Title VII: Budgeting in an Era of Surpluses
- Modifies the method by which the on-budget surplus is calculated by changing the assumptions used to project discretionary spending levels.
