§ 907. — The baseline.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 2USC907]
TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 20--EMERGENCY POWERS TO ELIMINATE BUDGET DEFICITS
SUBCHAPTER I--ELIMINATION OF DEFICITS IN EXCESS OF MAXIMUM DEFICIT
AMOUNT
Sec. 907. The baseline
(a) In general
For any budget year, the baseline refers to a projection of current-
year levels of new budget authority, outlays, revenues, and the surplus
or deficit into the budget year and the outyears based on laws enacted
through the applicable date.
(b) Direct spending and receipts
For the budget year and each outyear, the baseline shall be
calculated using the following assumptions:
(1) In general
Laws providing or creating direct spending and receipts are
assumed to operate in the manner specified in those laws for each
such year and funding for entitlement authority is assumed to be
adequate to make all payments required by those laws.
(2) Exceptions
(A)(i) No program established by a law enacted on or before
August 5, 1997, with estimated current year outlays greater than
$50,000,000 shall be assumed to expire in the budget year or the
outyears. The scoring of new programs with estimated outlays greater
than $50,000,000 a year shall be based on scoring by the Committees
on Budget or OMB, as applicable. OMB, CBO, and the Budget Committees
shall consult on the scoring of such programs where there are
differenes \1\ between CBO and OMB.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``differences''.
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(ii) On the expiration of the suspension of a provision of law
that is suspended under section 7301 of title 7 and that authorizes
a program with estimated fiscal year outlays that are greater than
$50,000,000, for purposes of clause (i), the program shall be
assumed to continue to operate in the same manner as the program
operated immediately before the expiration of the suspension.
(B) The increase for veterans' compensation for a fiscal year is
assumed to be the same as that required by law for veterans'
pensions unless otherwise provided by law enacted in that session.
(C) Excise taxes dedicated to a trust fund, if expiring, are
assumed to be extended at current rates.
(D) If any law expires before the budget year or any outyear,
then any program with estimated current year outlays greater than
$50,000,000 that operates under that law shall be assumed to
continue to operate under that law as in effect immediately before
its expiration.
(3) Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipts and
disbursements of the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund shall be included
in all calculations required by this Act.
(c) Discretionary appropriations
For the budget year and each outyear, the baseline shall be
calculated using the following assumptions regarding all amounts other
than those covered by subsection (b) of this section:
(1) Inflation of current-year appropriations
Budgetary resources other than unobligated balances shall be at
the level provided for the budget year in full-year appropriation
Acts. If for any account a full-year appropriation has not yet been
enacted, budgetary resources other than unobligated balances shall
be at the level available in the current year, adjusted sequentially
and cumulatively for expiring housing contracts as specified in
paragraph (2), for social insurance administrative expenses as
specified in paragraph (3), to offset pay absorption and for pay
annualization as specified in paragraph (4), for inflation as
specified in paragraph (5), and to account for changes required by
law in the level of agency payments for personnel benefits other
than pay.
(2) Expiring housing contracts
New budget authority to renew expiring multiyear subsidized
housing contracts shall be adjusted to reflect the difference in the
number of such contracts that are scheduled to expire in that fiscal
year and the number expiring in the current year, with the per-
contract renewal cost equal to the average current-year cost of
renewal contracts.
(3) Social insurance administrative expenses
Budgetary resources for the administrative expenses of the
following trust funds shall be adjusted by the percentage change in
the beneficiary population from the current year to that fiscal
year: the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Supplementary
Medical Insurance Trust Fund, the Unemployment Trust Fund, and the
railroad retirement account.
(4) Pay annualization; offset to pay absorption
Current-year new budget authority for Federal employees shall be
adjusted to reflect the full 12-month costs (without absorption) of
any pay adjustment that occurred in that fiscal year.
(5) Inflators
The inflator used in paragraph (1) to adjust budgetary resources
relating to personnel shall be the percent by which the average of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (wages and
salaries, private industry workers) for that fiscal year differs
from such index for the current year. The inflator used in paragraph
(1) to adjust all other budgetary resources shall be the percent by
which the average of the estimated gross domestic product chain-type
price index for that fiscal year differs from the average of such
estimated index for the current year.
(6) Current-year appropriations
If, for any account, a continuing appropriation is in effect for
less than the entire current year, then the current-year amount
shall be assumed to equal the amount that would be available if that
continuing appropriation covered the entire fiscal year. If law
permits the transfer of budget authority among budget accounts in
the current year, the current-year level for an account shall
reflect transfers accomplished by the submission of, or assumed for
the current year in, the President's original budget for the budget
year.
(d) Up-to-date concepts
In deriving the baseline for any budget year or outyear, current-
year amounts shall be calculated using the concepts and definitions that
are required for that budget year.
(e) Asset sales
Amounts realized from the sale of an asset shall not be included in
estimates under section 901, 902, or 903 of this title if that sale
would result in a financial cost to the Federal Government as determined
pursuant to scorekeeping guidelines.
(Pub. L. 99-177, title II, Sec. 257, formerly Secs. 251(a)(6)(I), 257,
Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1092; Pub. L. 100-119, title I, Secs. 102(a),
(b)(4)-(8), 104(c)(2), 106(b), Sept. 29, 1987, 101 Stat. 754, 773, 774,
777, 780; renumbered Sec. 257 and amended Pub. L. 101-508, title XIII,
Sec. 13101(b), (e)(1), (2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388-589, 1388-591,
1388-593; Pub. L. 105-33, title X, Sec. 10209(a), Aug. 5, 1997, 111
Stat. 710.)
Termination of Section
For termination of section by section 275(b) of Pub. L. 99-177,
as amended, see Effective and Termination Dates note set out under
section 900 of this title.
References in Text
This Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), means Pub. L. 99-177, Dec.
12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1037, as amended, which enacted this chapter and
sections 654 to 656 of this title, amended sections 602, 622, 631 to
642, and 651 to 653 of this title, sections 1104 to 1106, 1109, and 3101
of Title 31, Money and Finance, and section 911 of Title 42, The Public
Health and Welfare, repealed section 661 of this title, enacted
provisions set out as notes under section 900 of this title and section
911 of Title 42, and amended provisions set out as a note under section
621 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code,
see Tables.
Codification
Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 13101(b), redesignated former par. (12) of
this section as section 250(c)(21) (now 250(c)(19)) of Pub. L. 99-177,
which is classified to section 900(c)(19) of this title.
Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 13101(e)(2), transferred section 251(a)(6)(I)
of Pub. L. 99-177, which was classified to section 901(a)(6)(I) of this
title, to subsec. (e) of this section.
Amendments
1997--Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 10209(a)(1), amended
subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows:
``No program with estimated current-year outlays greater than $50
million shall be assumed to expire in the budget year or outyears.''
Subsec. (b)(2)(D). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 10209(a)(2), added subpar.
(D).
Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 10209(a)(3), substituted
``domestic product chain-type price index'' for ``national product
fixed-weight price index''.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-33, Sec. 10209(a)(4), added subsec. (e) and
struck out former subsec. (e) which read as follows: ``The sale of an
asset or prepayment of a loan shall not alter the deficit or produce any
net deficit reduction in the budget baseline, except that the budget
baseline estimate shall include asset sales mandated by law before
September 18, 1987, and routine, ongoing asset sales and loan
prepayments at levels consistent with agency operations in fiscal year
1986;''.
1990--Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 13101(e)(1), amended section generally,
substituting provisions relating to baseline for provisions relating to
definitions.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 13101(e)(2), redesignated section
901(a)(6)(I) of this title as subsec. (e) of this section, and
substituted ``The'' for ``assuming, for purposes of this paragraph and
subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph (3), that the''.
1987--Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(a), amended section 901 of this
title generally, adding subsec. (a)(6)(I). See 1990 Amendment note
above.
Par. (1). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 104(c)(2), struck out provisions of
former subpar. (A) that ``automatic spending increase'' meant increases
in budget outlays due to changes in indexes in the following Federal
programs:
``Black lung benefits (20-8144-0-7-601);
``Central Intelligence Agency retirement and disability system
fund (56-3400-0-1-054);
``Civil service retirement and disability fund (24-8135-0-7-
602);
``Comptrollers general retirement system (05-0107-0-1-801);
``Foreign service retirement and disability fund (19-8186-0-7-
602);
``Judicial survivors' annuities fund (10-8110-0-7-602);
``Longshoremen's and harborworkers' compensation benefits (16-
9971-0-7-601);
``Military retirement fund (97-8097-0-7-602);
``National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration retirement
(13-1450-0-1-306);
``Pensions for former Presidents (47-0105-0-1-802);
``Railroad retirement tier II (60-8011-0-7-601);
``Retired pay, Coast Guard (69-0241-0-1-403);
``Retirement pay and medical benefits for commissioned officers,
Public Health Service (75-0379-0-1-551);
``Special benefits, Federal Employees' Compensation Act (16-
1521-0-1-600);
``Special benefits for disabled coal miners (75-0409-0-1-601);
and
``Tax Court judges survivors annuity fund (23-8115-0-7-602).''
Par. (7). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(b)(4), amended par. (7)
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (7) read as follows: ``The terms
`sequester' and `sequestration' (subject to section 902(a)(4) of this
title) refer to or mean the cancellation of new budget authority,
unobligated balances, obligated balances, new loan guarantee
commitments, new direct loan obligations, and spending authority as
defined in section 651(c)(2) of this title, and the reduction of
obligation limitations.''
Par. (9). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(b)(5), added par. (9).
Par. (10). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 106(b), added par. (10).
Par. (11). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(b)(6), added par. (11).
Par. (12). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(b)(7), added par. (12).
Pars. (13), (14). Pub. L. 100-119, Sec. 102(b)(8), added pars. (13)
and (14).
Definition of Terms Used in Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985
Pub. L. 101-163, title III, Sec. 315, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1066,
provided that: ``Effective in the case of this Act and any subsequent
Act making appropriations for the Legislative Branch, for purposes of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public
Law 99-177), as amended [see Short Title note set out under section 900
of this title], or any other Act which requires a uniform percentage
reduction in accounts in this Act and any subsequent Act making
appropriations for the Legislative Branch, the accounts under the
general heading `Senate', and the accounts under the general heading
`House of Representatives', shall each be considered to be one
appropriation account and one `program, project, and activity'.''
Pub. L. 100-202, Sec. 101(i) [title III, Sec. 306], Dec. 22, 1987,
101 Stat. 1329-290, 1329-309, provided that: ``Hereafter, for purposes
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public
Law 99-177), as amended [see Short Title note set out under section 900
of this title], the term `program, project, and activity' shall be
synonymous with each appropriation account in this Act [see Tables for
classification], except that the accounts under the general heading
`House of Representatives' shall be considered one appropriation account
and one `program, project, and activity', and the accounts under the
general heading `Senate' shall be considered one appropriation account
and one `program, project, and activity'.''
Cost-of-Living Adjustments in Certain Federal Benefits
Pub. L. 99-509, title VII, Sec. 7001, Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1948,
provided that:
``(a) In General.--Benefits which are payable in calendar year 1987,
1988, 1989, 1990, or 1991, under programs listed in section 257(1)(A) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public
Law 99-177), [2 U.S.C. 907(1)(A)], including any cost-of-living
adjustment in such benefits, shall not be subject to modification,
suspension, or reduction in such calendar year pursuant to a
Presidential order issued under such Act [see Short Title note set out
under 2 U.S.C. 900].
``(b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `cost-of-
living adjustment' means any increase or change in the amount of a
benefit or in standards relating to such benefit under any provision of
Federal law which requires such increase or change as a result of any
change in the Consumer Price Index (or any component thereof) or any
other index which measures costs, prices, or wages.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 602, 691e, 900 of this
title; title 7 section 7251; title 15 sections 77f, 78ee; title 31
section 1105; title 38 section 1729A; title 42 section 603.
