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1 1 (January 23, 2004)

handle is hein.crs/crsaanr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code 97-930 GOV Updated January 23, 2004 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web The Budget Enforcement Act of 1997: A Fact Sheet Robert Keith Specialist in American National Government Government Division Summary President Clinton signed two reconciliation acts into law in August 1997 as part of a plan to balance the budget by FY2002. To ensure compliance with this goal, enforcement procedures were included in one of the acts in a title referred to separately as the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1997. The BEA of 1997 extended procedures under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990 through FY2002, when they were allowed to expire.' Although the federal budget was in surplus for FY1998-2001, a $158 billion deficit was recorded for FY2002. Background The BEA of 1990 established discretionary spending limits and a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement as an amendment to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The two mechanisms relied upon sequestration, first established by the 1985 act, for enforcement. Sequestration involved automatic, across-the-board spending reductions, triggered generally after the close of a congressional session by a report issued by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The BEA of 1990 also made extensive modifications in the congressional budget process under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, including temporary changes in process contained in a new Title VI. Among the changes made by the act, the coverage of budget resolutions was extended from three fiscal years to five fiscal years. The procedures established by the BEA of 1990 were meant to guarantee compliance with the five-year (FY1991-1995) deficit-reduction policies contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. Many of the changes, set to expire in FY1995, were extended through FY1998 by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The Congressional Research Service +** The Library of Congress 1 For a more detailed discussion of the BEA of 1997, see Budget Enforcement Act of 1997. Summary and Legislative History, by Robert Keith, CRS Report 97-931 GOV.