Implementation of Simpson-Bowles Spending Reductions Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on oversightCongress's review of how the executive branch carries out the laws it passed: hearings, document demands, investigations, and the spending power behind them.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) and Government Reform, House Administration, Rules, and 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.
Implementation of Simpson-Bowles Spending Reductions Act of 2012 - Prohibits the total amount of appropriations to the White House for the Executive Office of the President, to the President, and to Congress for FY2012-FY2016 from exceeding 85% of the total amount of such appropriations for FY2011. Eliminates cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Members of Congress during FY2013-FY2015.
Amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 to extend through December 31, 2015, the freeze on any COLA to the pay of certain federal civilian employees (thus extending such freeze from two to five calendar years).
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) take appropriate measures to ensure that the total number of federal employees, beginning in FY2015, does not exceed 90% of the total number of federal employees on September 30, 2011; (2) continuously monitor all agencies, make a determination on whether the total number of federal employees in any quarter of a fiscal year exceeds the maximum number allowed by this Act, and notify the President and Congress if the number exceeds the maximum; and (3) ensure that there is no increase in the procurement of service contracts due to this Act unless a cost comparison demonstrates that such contracts would be financially advantageous to the federal government. Allows the President to waive the workforce limitations imposed by this Act in specified circumstances.
Requires OMB to: (1) take appropriate measures through FY2014 to ensure that agencies shall appoint no more than one employee for every three employees retiring or otherwise separating from government service; (2) coordinate with federal departments and independent agencies to take certain steps to limit government printing costs; and (3) dispose of a quantity of real property worth at least $100 million altogether (with specified exceptions) that is not being used, and that will not be used, to meet the needs of the federal government for FY2011-FY2015.
Prohibits the total amount of funds appropriated for travel expenses for each agency for each of FY2012-FY2016 from exceeding 80% of the total amount of funds appropriated for FY2011. Reduces the amount available to the General Services Administration (GSA) for FY2012 and succeeding fiscal years for acquiring new vehicles for the federal fleet to 80% of the amount available for FY2010 for such purpose.
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 September 20, 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 September 20, 2012: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, House Administration, Rules, and 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?
Dennis Ross (R-FL) introduced it on September 20, 2012. 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 September 20, 2012, 5103 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5103 days ago, on September 20, 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