2 USC 902 – Enforcing pay-as-you-go
(a) Purpose
The purpose of this section is to assure that any legislation enacted before October 1, 2002, affecting direct spending or receipts that increases the deficit will trigger an offsetting sequestration.
(b) Sequestration
(1) Timing
Not later than 15 calendar days after the date Congress adjourns to end a session and on the same day as a sequestration (if any) under section 901 or 903 of this title, there shall be a sequestration to offset the amount of any net deficit increase caused by all direct spending and receipts legislation enacted before October 1, 2002, as calculated under paragraph (2).
(2) Calculation of deficit increase
OMB shall calculate the amount of deficit increase or decrease by adding—
(A) all OMB estimates for the budget year of direct spending and receipts legislation transmitted under subsection (d);
(B) the estimated amount of savings in direct spending programs applicable to the budget year resulting from the prior year’s sequestration under this section or section 903 of this title, if any, as published in OMB’s final sequestration report for that prior year; and
(C) any net deficit increase or decrease in the current year resulting from all OMB estimates for the current year of direct spending and receipts legislation transmitted under subsection (d) that were not reflected in the final OMB sequestration report for the current year.
(c) Eliminating a deficit increase
Terms Used In 2 USC 902
- account: means an item for which appropriations are made in any appropriation Act and, for items not provided for in appropriation Acts, such term means an item for which there is a designated budget account identification code number in the President's budget. See 2 USC 900
- Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
- budget year: means , with respect to a session of Congress, the fiscal year of the Government that starts on October 1 of the calendar year in which that session begins. See 2 USC 900
- CBO: means the Director of the Congressional Budget Office. See 2 USC 900
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- current: means , with respect to OMB estimates included with a budget submission under section 1105(a) of title 31, the estimates consistent with the economic and technical assumptions underlying that budget and with respect to estimates made after that budget submission that are not included with it, estimates consistent with the economic and technical assumptions underlying the most recently submitted President's budget. See 2 USC 900
- current year: means , with respect to a budget year, the fiscal year that immediately precedes that budget year. See 2 USC 900
- deposit insurance: refers to the expenses of the Federal deposit insurance agencies, and other Federal agencies supervising insured depository institutions, resulting from full funding of, and continuation of, the deposit insurance guarantee commitment in effect under current estimates. See 2 USC 900
- direct spending: means &mdash. See 2 USC 900
- emergency: means a situation that&mdash. See 2 USC 900
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- OMB: means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. See 2 USC 900
- Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
- outyear: means a fiscal year one or more years after the budget year. See 2 USC 900
- sequestration: refer to or mean the cancellation of budgetary resources provided by discretionary appropriations or direct spending law. See 2 USC 900
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(1) The amount required to be sequestered in a fiscal year under subsection (b) shall be obtained from non-exempt direct spending accounts from actions taken in the following order:
(A) First
All reductions in automatic spending increases specified in section 906(a) 1 of this title shall be made.
(B) Second
If additional reductions in direct spending accounts are required to be made, the maximum reductions permissible under sections 906(b) of this title (guaranteed and direct student loans) and 906(c) 1 of this title (foster care and adoption assistance) shall be made.
(C) Third
(i) If additional reductions in direct spending accounts are required to be made, each remaining non-exempt direct spending account shall be reduced by the uniform percentage necessary to make the reductions in direct spending required by subsection (b); except that the medicare programs specified in section 906(d) of this title shall not be reduced by more than 4 percent and the uniform percentage applicable to all other direct spending programs under this paragraph shall be increased (if necessary) to a level sufficient to achieve the required reduction in direct spending.
(ii) For purposes of determining reductions under clause (i), outlay reductions (as a result of sequestration of Commodity Credit Corporation commodity price support contracts in the fiscal year of a sequestration) that would occur in the following fiscal year shall be credited as outlay reductions in the fiscal year of the sequestration.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, accounts shall be assumed to be at the level in the baseline.
(d) Estimates
(1) CBO estimates
As soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any direct spending or receipts legislation, CBO shall provide an estimate to OMB of that legislation.
(2) OMB estimates
Not later than 7 calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the date of enactment of any direct spending or receipts legislation, OMB shall transmit a report to the House of Representatives and to the Senate containing—
(A) the CBO estimate of that legislation;
(B) an OMB estimate of that legislation using current economic and technical assumptions; and
(C) an explanation of any difference between the 2 estimates.
(3) Significant differences
If during the preparation of the report under paragraph (2) OMB determines that there is a significant difference between the OMB and CBO estimates, OMB shall consult with the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding that difference and that consultation, to the extent practicable, shall include written communication to such committees that affords such committees the opportunity to comment before the issuance of that report.
(4) Scope of estimates
The estimates under this section shall include the amount of change in outlays or receipts for the current year (if applicable), the budget year, and each outyear excluding any amounts resulting from—
(A) full funding of, and continuation of, the deposit insurance guarantee commitment in effect under current estimates; and
(B) emergency provisions as designated under subsection (e).
(5) Scorekeeping guidelines
OMB and CBO, after consultation with each other and the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall—
(A) determine common scorekeeping guidelines; and
(B) in conformance with such guidelines, prepare estimates under this section.
(e) Emergency legislation
If a provision of direct spending or receipts legislation is enacted that the President designates as an emergency requirement and that the Congress so designates in statute, the amounts of new budget authority, outlays, and receipts in all fiscal years resulting from that provision shall be designated as an emergency requirement in the reports required under subsection (d). This subsection shall not apply to direct spending provisions to cover agricultural crop disaster assistance.