Sec. 502. Policy statement on budget process reform
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/bill/115/hconres/71/rh/section-502·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that the House should enact legislation that reforms the congressional budget process to— reassert congressional control over the budget process by reorienting the Views and Estimates that committees submit to the Committee on the Budget, as required under 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, to emphasize congressional rather than executive branch priorities; strengthen enforcement of budgetary rules and requirements by— enabling Members of the House of Representatives to enforce budget requirements in a manner that does not jeopardize the ability of the majority to work its will on legislation; and permitting members of Congress to determine whether emergency-designated appropriations are for unanticipated situations that pose a threat to life, property, or national security; increase control over the costs of Federal activities by— incorporating debt service costs into cost estimates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office; establishing a process for setting limits on the amount of debt incurred by the Federal Government from the private sector as a share of the economy that requires congressional action if such limits deviate from those previously determined by Congress and the President; transitioning to fair-value accounting; budgeting for Federal insurance programs on an accrual basis; and developing and implementing a regulatory budget as provided in section 503; achieve greater control over mandatory spending by reforming reconciliation procedures and requirements to ensure they are transparent, objectively applied, and maximize opportunities for deficit reduction; increase the efficiency of the congressional budget process by— realigning the budget cycle with the calendar year and the congressional calendar; simplifying the procedures by which the Committee on Appropriations adjusts its section 302(b) suballocations to ensure they are consistent with the Committee’s overall section 302(a) allocation; and increasing congressional accountability for budget decisions; improve the transparency of the Federal Government’s obligations by— modifying the content of the budget resolution to reflect the budgetary decisions that Congress actually makes and enforces; requiring the Comptroller General to periodically report to Congress on the consolidated financial report of the Federal Government; and restructuring the baseline, as set forth in section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, to treat mandatory spending and revenue on a comparable basis; and achieve control over long-term budget obligations by— establishing declining limits on the amount of debt incurred by the Federal Government from the private sector as a share of the economy that requires congressional action if such limits deviate from those previously determined by Congress and the President; and codifying limits on the amount legislation can increase the deficit beyond the ten fiscal-year period of the concurrent resolution on the budget.