Order Code 98-512 GOV
Updated March 5, 2001
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Formulation and Content of
the Budget Resolution
Bill Heniff Jr.
Consultant in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344), as
amended, established the concurrent budget resolution as the centerpiece of the
congressional budget process. The annual budget resolution is an agreement between the
House and Senate on a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year and at least the following
four fiscal years. As a concurrent resolution, it is not sent to the President for his signature
and thus does not become law. The budget resolution, however, provides the framework
for subsequent legislative action on the annual appropriations bills, revenue measures,
debt-limit legislation, reconciliation legislation (if required), and any other budgetary
legislation. Consequently, the President may be drawn into negotiations with Congress
on the budget resolution.
Formulation of the Budget Resolution
The House and Senate Budget Committees are responsible for developing and
reporting the budget resolution. In formulating the budget resolution, the Budget
Committees hold hearings and receive testimony from Members of Congress and
representatives from federal departments and agencies, the general public, and national
organizations. Three regular hearings include separate testimony from the director of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the director of the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), and the chair of the Federal Reserve Board. The OMB director provides
an explanation of the President's budget submission; the CBO director presents an analysis
of the President's budget proposals and independent baseline budget projections; and the
Federal Reserve chair provides an assessment of the state of the national economy.
Another source of input comes from the "views and estimates" of congressional
committees with jurisdiction over spending and revenues. Within six weeks after the
President's budget submission, House and Senate committees are required to submit
"views and estimates" of budget matters under their jurisdiction to their respective Budget
Committees (Section 301(d) of the CBA). These views and estimates, frequently
submitted in the form of a letter to the chair and ranking member of the budget committee,
typically include comments on the President's budget proposals and estimates of the
budgetary impact of any legislation likely to be considered during the current session of
Congress. The budget committees are not bound by these recommendations. The views
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

---

CRS-2
and estimates often are printed in the committee report accompanying the budget
resolution or compiled as a separate committee print.
Content of the Budget Resolution
Section 301(a) of the 1974 CBA, as amended, requires that the budget resolution
include the following matters for the upcoming fiscal year and at least the ensuing four
fiscal years:
! aggregate levels of new budget authority, outlays, the budget surplus or
deficit, and the public debt;
! aggregate level of federal revenues and the amount, if any, by which the
aggregate level of federal revenues should be increased or decreased by
legislative action;
! amount of new budget authority, outlays, and credit levels for each of the
major functional categories; and
! for purposes of Senate enforcement rules, Social Security outlays and
revenues (although these amounts are not included in the budget surplus
or deficit totals due to their off-budget status).
In addition, Section 301(b) of the CBA lists several other matters that may be
included in the budget resolution. The most important of these optional matters is the
inclusion of reconciliation directives. These instructions direct one or more committees
to report legislation containing recommended changes to substantive law to meet the levels
of spending, revenues, and the public debt limit set forth in the budget resolution.
Section 301(e) of the 1974 CBA, as amended most recently by the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997 (Title X of P.L. 105-33), requires that the report accompanying the budget
resolution include the following information:
! a comparison of total new budget authority, total outlays, total revenues,
and the surplus or deficit for each fiscal year set forth in the budget
resolution with those requested in the budget submitted by the President;
! the estimated levels of total new budget authority and total outlays for
each major functional category, divided between discretionary and
mandatory amounts;
! the economic assumptions and objectives that underlie the matters set
forth in the budget resolution and any alternative assumptions and
objectives considered;
! information, data, and comparisons indicating the manner in which, and
the basis on which, the committee determined each of the matters set
forth in the resolution;
! the estimated levels of tax expenditures by major items and functional
categories for the President's budget and in the budget resolution; and
! the Section 302(a) allocations.

---