Budget Background

SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE POINTS OF ORDER

In the Senate, points of order are the mechanisms through which the Budget Committee enforces the spending and revenue levels established by the most recent Congressional budget or deeming resolution. The text of points of order can be found in several sources of budget law including the Congressional Budget Act, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, and prior budget resolutions.  In general, when legislation causes spending to rise or revenues to fall below the levels specified in the budget, a point of order lies.  Most points of order, if raised and sustained, can halt the consideration of legislation. Accordingly, a Member in support of the offending measure usually will move to waive the violation—a motion that requires the support of 51 or 60 Senators, depending on the point of order raised. If the motion to waive is unsuccessful, the legislation is withdrawn from consideration and must be fixed before it can be considered again.

SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE RULES

Due to the high volume and complexity of its work, the Senate divides its tasks among 20 committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees.  Although the Senate committee system is similar to that of the House of Representatives, it has its own guidelines, within which each committee adopts its own rules.

 

 

ADDITIONAL BUDGET RESOURCES

Introduction to the Federal Budget Process

Basic Federal Budget Terminology

Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process

2017 Enforcement Filing - Section 102 Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

Deeming Resolutions and Budget Enforcement in the Absence of a Budget Resolution