(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Highlights:
This concurrent resolution establishes the FY2018 congressional budget resolution, which provides a framework for congressional consideration of legislation addressing revenues, spending, and other budget-related issues. The budget resolution is a nonbinding framework used by Congress and cannot be signed into law or vetoed by the President.
The resolution establishes budget enforcement procedures by setting forth rules for applying budget points of order to various legislative proposals.
It also includes reconciliation instructions directing various congressional committees to submit legislation to the congressional budget committees that meets specified requirements regarding the effect on the deficit. Reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.
The resolution also includes reserve funds that provide the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee with flexibility in applying budget enforcement rules to legislation that meets specified criteria.
Full Summary:
Establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2018 and sets forth budgetary levels for FY2019-FY2027.
TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS
Subtitle A--Budgetary Levels in Both Houses
(Sec. 1101) Recommends levels and amounts for FY2018-FY2027 for:
(Sec. 1102) Recommends levels of new budget authority and outlays for FY2018-FY2027 for each major functional category, including:
Subtitle B--Levels and Amounts in the Senate
(Sec. 1201) Recommends Senate levels for FY2018-FY2027 for Social Security revenues, outlays, and administrative expenses.
(Sec. 1202) Recommends Senate levels of new budget authority and outlays for FY2018-FY2027 for U.S. Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses.
TITLE II--RECONCILIATION
(Title II includes reconciliation instructions directing congressional committees to submit legislation to the budget committees. Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.)
(Sec. 2001) Includes reconciliation instructions directing: (1) the Senate Finance Committee to report changes in laws within its jurisdiction that increase the deficit by no more than $1.5 trillion over FY2018-FY2027, and (2) the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to report changes in laws within its jurisdiction that reduce the deficit by at least $1 billion over FY2018-FY2027.
Requires the committees to submit the recommendations to the Senate Budget Committee by November 13, 2017.
(Sec. 2002) Includes reconciliation instructions directing: (1) the House Ways and Means Committee to submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction that increase the deficit by no more than $1.5 trillion over FY2018-FY2027, and (2) the House Natural Resources Committee to submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction that reduce the deficit by at least $1 billion over FY2018-FY2027.
Requires the committees to submit the recommendations to the House Budget Committee by November 13, 2017.
TITLE III--RESERVE FUNDS
Establishes reserve funds that provide the Senate Budget Committee Chairman with flexibility in applying budget enforcement rules to legislation that meets specified criteria.
(Under the reserve funds, the chairman may revise committee allocations, aggregates and other appropriate levels in this resolution, and the pay-as-you-go [PAYGO] ledger. Deficit-neutral reserve funds generally apply to legislation that: (1) addresses specified policy issues, and (2) does not increase the deficit over a specified time period or periods. The resolution also includes two reserve funds that do not include a requirement regarding the effect on the deficit.)
(Sec. 3001) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to repealing or replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
(Sec. 3002) Establishes a revenue-neutral reserve fund for legislation that: (1) reforms the Internal Revenue Code, (2) is revenue neutral, and (3) would not increase the deficit over the FY2018-FY2017 period.
(Sec. 3003) Establishes a reserve fund for legislation considered pursuant to the reconciliation instructions included in section 2001 of this resolution.
Specifies that legislation for which the chairman has exercised authority pursuant to this section is exempt from the point of order against legislation increasing the short-term deficit. (The point of order prohibits the Senate from considering legislation that would cause a net increase in the deficit in excess of $10 billion in any fiscal year provided for in the most recently adopted budget resolution unless it is fully offset over the period of all fiscal years provided for in the most recently adopted budget resolution.)
(Sec. 3004) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to an extension of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
(Sec. 3005) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to:
(Sec. 3006) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to:
(Sec. 3007) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to the American banking system.
(Sec. 3008) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to:
(Sec. 3009) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to:
(Sec. 3010) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to improving the delivery of benefits and services to veterans and service members.
(Sec. 3011) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to:
(Sec. 3012) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to: securing the U.S. border, ending human trafficking, or stopping the transportation of narcotics into the United States.
(Sec. 3013) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to: reducing costs to businesses and individuals stemming from federal regulations, increasing commerce and economic growth, or enhancing job creation.
(Sec. 3014) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to modifying statutory budget controls.
(Sec. 3015) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to the prevention of taxpayer bailouts of pension plans.
(Sec. 3016) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to implementing work requirements in all means-tested federal welfare programs.
(Sec. 3017) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to protecting the Medicare program, which may include repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board.
(Sec. 3018) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to making the cost of child and dependent care more affordable and useful for American families.
(Sec. 3019) Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation relating to worker training programs.
(Sec. 3020) Establishes a reserve fund for legislation relating to providing disaster funds for relief and recovery to areas devastated by hurricanes and flooding in 2017.
TITLE IV--BUDGET PROCESS
Subtitle A--Budget Enforcement
(Sec. 4101) Updates the existing point of order against advanced appropriations to conform to the new budget window. (Under the resolution, an advanced appropriation is any new budget authority provided in appropriations legislation for FY2018 that first becomes available after FY2018, or any new budget authority provided in appropriations legislation for FY2019 that first becomes available after FY2019. The point of order limits advanced appropriations to specified accounts and prohibits total advanced appropriations from exceeding $28.852 billion in new budget authority in each year).
(Sec. 4102) Extends the point of order restricting the inclusion of certain changes in mandatory programs (CHIMPS) to appropriations legislation for FY2018-FY2020. Limits CHIMPS that reduce budget authority in the budget year but do not decrease outlays over the period of the total of the current year, budget year, and all fiscal years covered under the most recently adopted budget resolution. Limit CHIMPS to: $17 billion for FY2018, $15 billion for FY2019, and $15 billion for FY2020.
(Sec. 4103) Establishes a point of order against appropriations legislation that includes CHIMPS that would cause the absolute value of the total budget authority of all CHIMPs affecting the Crime Victims Fund for FY2018 to exceed $11.224 billion.
(Sec. 4104) Establishes a point of order against a provision designating FY2018 funds as for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).
(Sec. 4105) Establishes a point of order against amendments to reconciliation bills considered pursuant to section 2001 if the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is unable to determine the effect that the amendment or motion would have on budget authority, outlays, direct spending, entitlement authority, revenues, deficits, or surpluses.
(Sec. 4106) Repeals the existing Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) point of order that prohibits the consideration of legislation that would cause or increase an on-budget deficit over specified six- and eleven-year time periods.
Replaces the point of order with a new PAYGO point of order that continues the six-year and eleven-year time periods and adds two additional time periods during which the legislation may not cause or increase an on-budget deficit: (1) the current year, and (2) the budget year.
(Sec. 4107) Directs the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation to provide estimates of the macroeconomic effects of major legislation. (These estimates are frequently referred to as dynamic scoring and include estimates of the budgetary effects from changes in economic output, employment, capital stock, interest rates, and other macroeconomic variables resulting from the legislation.)
Requires the estimates, to the extent practicable, to include the distributional effects across income categories resulting from major legislation.
(Sec. 4108) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to adjust the committee allocations, aggregates, allocations, levels, and limits contained this resolution if a measure becomes law that amends the discretionary spending limits established under Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to increase the limit for the revised security category for FY2018 to $640 billion.(Sec. 4109) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to adjust: (1) discretionary spending limits established under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985; and (2) committee allocations, budgetary aggregates, allocations, and levels included in this resolution for legislation that provides wildfire suppression funding.
(Sec. 4110) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to reduce committee allocations if legislation decreases direct spending for any fiscal year and authorizes appropriations for the same purpose.
(Sec. 4111) Repeals points of order: (1) against voting on passage of legislation unless the CBO cost estimate was available on CBO's website at least 28 hours before the vote, and (2) protecting savings in reconciliation legislation from amendments that increase the deficit.
(Sec. 4112) Makes technical corrections to provisions regarding the designation of emergency spending.
(Sec. 4113) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to file in the Congressional Record committee allocations enforcing this resolution if the resolution passes both the House and Senate in identical form, a conference committee is not convened, and a joint explanatory statement is not produced.
Subtitle B--Other Provisions
(Sec. 4201) Directs Senate committees to review programs and tax expenditures within their jurisdiction to identify waste, fraud, abuse, or duplication and increase the use of performance data to inform committee work.
(Sec. 4202) Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on the budget resolution to include amounts for the discretionary administrative expenses of the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service in the allocations to the appropriations committees.
(Sec. 4203) Sets forth procedures for adjustments of the allocations and aggregates included in the budget resolution.
(Sec. 4204) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to adjust levels and allocations in this budget resolution to reflect changes in concepts and definitions.
(Sec. 4205) Permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to make adjustments to the levels and allocations included in this resolution to reflect legislation that was enacted before this resolution was agreed to by Congress and was not incorporated in the June 2017 update to CBO's baseline.
(Sec. 4206) Declares that the provisions in this title are promulgated under the Senate's rulemaking power and will be considered part of the rules of the Senate.