Baseline Reform Act of 2015

Baseline Reform Act of 2015

This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to change the assumptions used in calculating the baseline for discretionary spending and to require budget estimates to be compared with the levels from the prior year.

The baseline is a projection of federal spending and receipts during the fiscal year under current law. This bill changes the assumptions used for the discretionary spending baseline to eliminate adjustments required under current law for inflation, expiring housing contracts, social insurance administrative expenses, pay adjustments, and changes to other personnel benefits. The bill prohibits adjustments for inflation or any other factor.

The President's budget must include: (1) comparisons of the proposed budgetary levels with the prior year's levels, (2) the sources of growth in direct spending under current law and as proposed in the budget, and (3) estimates of discretionary spending for current programs that assume compliance with discretionary spending limits under current law.

The congressional budget committees must use budgetary levels from the prior fiscal year as the basis for deliberations in developing the congressional budget resolution and include comparisons with the prior fiscal year in the report accompanying the resolution.

The Congressional Budget Office must include additional details in required reports to Congress, including comparisons to the prior year and the sources of growth in spending.