Spending Control Act of 2004
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 255.
Spending Control Act of 2004 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to establish for FY 2005 through 2009 unspecified discretionary spending limits (spending caps) for the general purpose discretionary category in new budget authority and outlays.
Provides that, in any of such fiscal years, discretionary advance appropriations provided in appropriation Acts in excess of an unspecified amount shall be counted against the discretionary spending limits for the fiscal year for which the appropriation Act containing the advance appropriation is enacted.
Extends PAY-AS-YOU-GO requirements through FY 2009 to provide for an offsetting sequestration for direct spending (currently, direct spending and receipts) legislation that is enacted before October 1, 2009, that causes a net increase in direct spending (currently, net deficit increase).
Modifies the formula used to calculate the amount of direct spending (currently, deficit) increase to exclude receipts.
Provides that, if supplemental appropriations for discretionary accounts are enacted for contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism that the President designates and Congress so designates in statute, the adjustment shall be the total of such appropriations in discretionary accounts so designated and the outlays flowing in all fiscal years from them.
States that the general purpose discretionary category shall consist of accounts designated in the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying the conference report on this Act.
Makes revisions to the baseline calculation for discretionary appropriations to prohibit the assumption beyond the fiscal year for which they have been enacted of any new budget resources designated by the President and by Congress in statute for emergency appropriations or for supplemental appropriations for contingency operations related to global war on terrorism.
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cost estimates on direct spending or receipts legislation to exclude any amount resulting from extending provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 or in the Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 relating to certain individual tax rate reductions, tax benefits to children, and marriage penalty relief.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on March 19, 2004. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 19, 2004: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 255.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JIM NUSSLE (R-IA) introduced it on March 16, 2004. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 16, 2004, 8213 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8210 days ago, on March 19, 2004.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers