Congressional Accountability in Budgeting and Spending Act
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Congressional Accountability in Budgeting and Spending Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any legislation to extend the statutory debt limit unless: (1) for FY2013 the concurrent budget resolution has been agreed to and is in effect, providing for an allocation of new discretionary budget authority for FY2013 of no more than $1.027 trillion (excluding emergency spending and Overseas Contingency Operations); (2) for subsequent fiscal years a concurrent budget resolution has been agreed to and is in effect; (3) for any fiscal year before FY2013 the President's budget request proposes a balanced budget within 10 fiscal years in which total outlays do not exceed 21.7% of the prior year's estimated U.S. gross domestic product (GDP); (4) House and Senate Rules require two-thirds approval to increase federal income tax rates and prohibit consideration of any measure deeming that a budget resolution has been agreed to; (5) any raising of the debt limit is prohibited while the government is being funded by a continuing resolution; and (6) Congress has agreed to a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare for each major bill or resolution reported by any congressional committee a macroeconomic impact analysis of the costs of such legislation for: (1) the fiscal year in which the measure is to become effective, and (2) in each of the four following fiscal years. Permits waiver or suspension of this requirement only by a two-thirds vote in the House or the Senate.
Defines "major bill or resolution" as any bill or resolution whose budgetary effects, for any fiscal year in the period for which a CBO cost estimate is prepared, is estimated to be greater than .25% of the current projected U.S. GDP for that fiscal year.
Requires the analysis to describe: (1) the potential economic impact of the measure on major economic variables, including real GDP, business investment, the capital stock, employment, interest rates, and labor supply; and (2) the potential fiscal effects of the measure, including any estimates of revenue increases or decreases resulting from changes in GDP.
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 "Introduced in House" stage on April 26, 2012. 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 April 26, 2012: Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
John Sullivan (R-OK) introduced it on April 26, 2012, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Republicans.
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 April 26, 2012, 5250 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5250 days ago, on April 26, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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