Budget Enforcement Act of 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations

Title II: Emergency Spending Reforms

Title III: Clarifying Changes to Pay-As-You-Go

Title IV: Reform of the Senate's Consideration of

Appropriations Bills, Budget Resolutions, and

Reconciliation Bills

Title V: Budget Act Amendments Regarding the Senate's

Consideration of Budget Resolution and Reconciliation

Bills

Budget Enforcement Act of 1999 - Title I: Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations - Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Sets forth a special timetable for any first session that begins in any year immediately following a leap year and during which the term of a President begins (except one who starts a second successive term).

Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes certain deadlines to conform to the biennial scheme. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to specified deadlines.

(Sec. 104) Sets forth revised pay-as-you-go provisions for the Senate to conform with the biennial framework.

(Sec. 105) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework.

(Sec. 106) Requires all Acts making regular appropriations for the support of the Government to be enacted for a biennium and to specify the amount of appropriations provided for each fiscal year in that period.

(Sec. 107) Amends the CBA to provide that it shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider: (1) any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that authorizes appropriations for a period of less than two fiscal years, unless the program, project, or activity for which the appropriations are authorized will require no further appropriations and will be completed or terminated after the appropriations have been expended; and (2) in any odd-numbered year, any authorization or revenue bill or joint resolution until Congress completes action on the biennial budget resolution, all regular biennial appropriations bills, and all reconciliation bills. Provides that, in the Senate, such point of order shall not apply to: (1) any measure that is privileged for consideration pursuant to a rule or statute; (2) any matter considered in Executive Session; or (3) an appropriations measure or reconciliation bill.

(Sec. 108) Changes to a biennial basis specified requirements for certain Government strategic and performance plans, performance reports in budget submissions, and program performance reports. Requires congressional committee reviews of such plans and reports.

(Sec. 109) Provides that it shall not be in order in the House or the Senate in any odd-numbered year to consider any regular bill providing new budget authority or a limitation on obligations under the jurisdiction of any Appropriations subcommittee for only the first fiscal year of a biennium unless the program, project, or activity for which such authority or limitation is provided will require no additional authority beyond one year and will be completed or terminated after the amount provided has been expended.

(Sec. 110) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to the Budget Committees on the impact and feasibility of changing the definition of a fiscal year and the budget process based on that definition to a two-year fiscal period with a biennial budget process based on the two-year period.

Title II: Emergency Spending Reforms - Amends the CBA to require the President, in designating a provision of legislation as an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), to submit to the Congress an analysis of whether a proposed emergency requirement meets criteria specified under this title. Requires the committee report accompanying such legislation to make such analysis as well.

Provides that a proposed expenditure or tax change is an emergency requirement if it is: (1) necessary, essential, or vital; (2) sudden, quickly coming into being, and not building up over time; (3) an urgent, pressing, and compelling need requiring immediate action; (4) unforeseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated; and (5) not permanent, temporary in nature. Requires the President or the committee report to justify why a proposed requirement is an emergency if it fails to meet such criteria.

Strikes: (1) emergency requirements in legislation under consideration in the Senate when a point of order is sustained against such requirements; and (2) non-emergency provisions in emergency supplemental appropriations legislation when a point of order is so sustained.

Title III: Clarifying Changes to Pay-As-You-Go - Amends H. Con. Res. 67 (104th Congress) to apply a point of order in the Senate against consideration of direct spending or revenue legislation that would increase or cause an on-budget deficit (currently, that would increase the deficit) for specified time periods.

(Sec. 302) Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to make conforming amendments to pay-as-you-go provisions to assure that legislation increasing, or causing, an on-budget deficit will trigger sequestration.

Adds the estimate of the on-budget surplus for the budget year in the calculation of the deficit increase or decrease.

(Sec. 303) Amends the CBA to consider to be extraneous matter in a reconciliation measure provisions that would increase net outlays or decrease revenues and cause an on-budget deficit in a fiscal year after the years covered by such measure, when taken with other provisions in the bill.

Title IV: Reform of the Senate's Consideration of Appropriations Bills, Budget Resolutions, and Reconciliation Bills - Government Shutdown Prevention Act - Amends Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for continuing appropriations in the absence of regular appropriations. Sunsets this title after FY 2001.

Title V: Budget Act Amendments Regarding the Senate's Consideration of Budget Resolution and Reconciliation Bills - Amends the CBA to prohibit the budget resolution from including precatory language.

Revises provisions regarding Senate procedure for consideration of the budget resolution. Provides that it shall not be in order in the Senate to proceed to consideration of the budget resolution unless the resolution's text has been available to Members for at least one calendar day prior to consideration. Decreases the time for debate in the Senate on the resolution and amendments. Sets forth new provisions regarding the disposition and filing of amendments and other matters after a period of debate, limits on second-degree amendments, debate on motions to recommit, and disposition of conference reports.

(Sec. 502) Defines "major functional category" as the allocation of budget authority and outlays separated into the following subtotals: (1) defense discretionary; (2) nondefense discretionary; (3) direct spending; and (4) other subsets of discretionary and direct spending, as necessary.

(Sec. 503) Changes the pay rates for the Director and Deputy Director of the Congressional Budget Office.