A bill to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to limit the levels of total budget outlays under the congressional budget process.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit total budget outlays for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1980 from exceeding the total budget outlays for the preceding fiscal year by a greater percentage than the percentage increase in the gross national product in the preceding calendar year. Reduces further the permissible total budget outlays by percentages based upon the inflation rate and Federal grants to State and local governments. Permits: (1) an increase in the permissible total budget outlays if both Houses of Congress agree by a three-fourths vote; and (2) emergency outlays to be authorized if the President has declared an emergency and both Houses agree by a two-thirds vote. Prohibits requiring State or local governments to perform additional functions without compensation for necessary costs incurred in connection with such functions. Requires such compensation to have been authorized and included as a part of the permissible total budget outlays. Requires concurrent resolutions on the budget to include the estimated amount of grants to State and local governments, in the aggregate and as a fraction of total budget outlays, and any changes. Sets forth restrictions on the consideration of concurrent resolutions on the budget which violate these provisions. Amends the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, to require the Budget to be prepared in compliance with this Act. Directs the President to take necessary action to assure continuing compliance with this Act.
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 24, 1980. 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 24, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
ED JENKINS (D-GA) introduced it on April 24, 1980, and 47 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 11 Democrats, 36 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 24, 1980, 16940 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16940 days ago, on April 24, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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