CAP Act of 2011
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S5078)
Commitment to American Prosperity Act of 2011 or CAP Act of 2011 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require: (1) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to estimate the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) outlay limit for the target fiscal year at the outset of the previous fiscal year, on April 30, on August 20, and 15 days after the conclusion of the fiscal year; (2) the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide advisory reports calculating the GDP outlay limit at identical times; and (3) a sequestration by OMB within 45 calendar days after the beginning of a fiscal year to eliminate the excess outlay amount.
Prescribes requirements for CBO and OMB advisory sequestration preview reports and an OMB final sequestration report, accompanied by a presidential order detailing the uniform spending reduction.
Requires the House and the Senate budget committees to report a resolution directing their committees to change the existing law to achieve the goals outlined in the OMB August 20 report if it projects a sequestration.
Allows total federal outlays to exceed the GDP outlay limit if during the fiscal year the excess amount is being paid to reduce the public debt or the public debt is zero.
States that if, after November 15, a bill resulting in outlays for the current fiscal year is enacted that causes excess outlays, the excess outlays for the next fiscal year shall be increased by the amount or amounts of that breach.
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in both chambers to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes any provision that would cause the most recently reported current GDP outlay limits in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to be exceeded. Prescribes procedures for waiver or suspension of this rule.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 1, 2011. 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 February 1, 2011: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5078)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
Bob Corker (R-TN) introduced it on February 1, 2011, and 15 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 12 Republicans, 1 independent.
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 February 1, 2011, 5747 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5747 days ago, on February 1, 2011.
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
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers