Spending Safeguard Act
Latest action · Sep 28, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 28, 2026
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Spending Safeguard Act
This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish spending limits for certain direct spending programs that (1) are enacted or reauthorized after the enactment of this bill, and (2) do not have a specific level of authorized spending expressed as a dollar amount.
The spending limits must be equal to (1) 120% of the cost of the program for defense, health, income security, or veterans benefits and services programs; and (2) 110% of the cost for other programs. The bill excludes Medicare and Social Security from the spending limits.
OMB must maintain a publicly available scorecard that displays the spending level for any program that is subject to the limits. OMB and the President must submit specified reports to Congress comparing current spending to the limits.
The bill prohibits obligations for programs that have reached the applicable spending limit. Agencies implementing programs listed on OMB's scorecard must ensure that any contract, offer of benefits, or other material provided to program participants specifies that the program is subject to a spending limit that may impact future availability of funds to pay benefits.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Budget Committee | Referred Sep 28, 2026 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 28, 2026Introduced in House
- Sep 28, 2026Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 153, September 28, 2026, page H6011.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5591 | Spending Safeguard Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Sep 20, 2023 |
| HR 6301 | Spending Safeguard Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Dec 16, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish a direct spending safeguard limitation on any direct spending program without a specific level of authorized spending, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Spending Safeguard Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Economics and Public Finance.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 28, 2026Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
