Emergency Spending: Statutory and Congressional Rules

Publication Date: July 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

Under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA), there are statutory limits (caps) on the level of federal discretionary spending, enforced by across-the-board spending cuts, known as a sequester. If, however, spending is designated as emergency by both the President and Congress, it will not trigger a sequester, because the caps are adjusted automatically by an amount equal to the emergency spending. Since the BEA was first enacted in 1990, both the House and Senate have supplemented its provisions with additional limitations in their respective rules concerning the use of emergency designations. This report will be updated to reflect any changes in the rules concerning the use of emergency designations.