Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

July 11, 2022 R47175

Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023
July 11, 2022
Deeming Resolution
Megan S. Lynch
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 directs Congress to adopt a budget resolution each spring,
Specialist on Congress and
providing an agreement between the House and Senate on a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal
the Legislative Process
year (and at least four additional years). The annual budget resolution includes certain spending

and revenue levels that become enforceable through points of order once both chambers have
adopted the resolution.

Congress does not always adopt a budget resolution, however, and this may complicate the development and consideration of
budgetary legislation. Congress has, therefore, developed an alternative legislative tool, typically referred to as a “deeming
resolution” because it is deemed to serve in place of an annual budget resolution for the purposes of establishing enforceable
budgetary levels.
On June 8, 2022, the House of Representatives adopted H.Res. 1151, a deeming resolution for FY2023. H.Res. 1151
provided a committee spending allocation (302(a) allocation) to the House Appropriations Committee ($1.603 trillion). It
also directed the chair of the House Budget Committee to subsequently file a statement in the Congressional Record that
includes committee spending allocations for all other committees, as well as aggregate spending and revenue levels. (Those
levels were filed on June 21, 2022.) H.Res. 1151 specified that the levels filed in the Congressional Record be consistent
with the “most recent baseline of the Congressional Budget Office,” meaning that the committee spending allocations (other
than for the Appropriations Committee) and the aggregate spending and revenue levels have been set at the levels currently
projected under current law.
In addition to providing enforceable budgetary levels within the House, H.Res. 1151 grants authority to the chair of the
House Budget Committee to “adjust” the budgetary levels provided under the deeming resolution in the future under
specified circumstances. In addition, the resolution states that provisions designated as “emergency” shall be effectively
exempt from House budgetary rules and specifies that certain accounts may receive advance appropriations for FY2024 and
FY2025.

Congressional Research Service

Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

Introduction
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) directs Congress to adopt a budget resolution each
spring, providing an agreement between the House and Senate on a budget plan for the upcoming
fiscal year (and at least four additional years).1 The budget resolution does not become law;
therefore, no money is spent or collected as a result of its adoption. Instead, the budget resolution
includes certain spending and revenue levels that become enforceable through points of order
once both chambers have adopted the resolution.2 The budget resolution may also trigger the
budget reconciliation process,3 which provides fast-track procedures in the Senate for certain
mandatory spending, tax, and debt limit legislation.
While the CBA directs Congress to adopt a budget resolution each year, Congress does not
always do so (either because the chambers do not develop a budget resolution or because the
chambers are unable to reach agreement on a resolution). In the past 20 fiscal years (FY2003-
FY2022), there were 11 for which Congress did not adopt a budget resolution.
When Congress does not adopt a budget resolution, the development and consideration of
budgetary legislation for the upcoming fiscal year may become more complicated. For example,
without a budget resolution, committees are not given a committee spending allocation reflecting
a limit on spending within that committee’s jurisdiction (i.e., a 302(a) allocation). Lacking such
allocations, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees cannot make the required sub-
allocations, which act as formal limits on individual appropriations bills. This may hinder the
development and consideration of annual appropriations measures that fund discretionary
spending programs.
In the absence of agreement on a budget resolution, Congress has developed alternative
legislative tools to serve as a substitute for a budget resolution. These substitutes are typically
referred to as “deeming resolutions,” because they are deemed to serve in place of an annual
budget resolution for the purposes of establishing enforceable budgetary levels.4 A deeming
resolution may not be used to trigger the budget reconciliation process, but the adoption of a
deeming resolution does not preclude Congress from subsequently agreeing to a budget
resolution. The House has adopted a deeming resolution (in varying forms) in each of the 11
fiscal years for which Congress did not adopt a budget resolution between FY2003-FY2022.5

1 Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344, as amended; 2 U.S.C. §§601-688.
2 For example, in the House, the CBA prohibits consideration of legislation that would cause new budget authority or
outlays for the first fiscal year in the budget resolution to be exceeded (§§311(a)(2) and 311(a)(1)). It also prohibits
consideration in the House and Senate of legislation that would cause revenues to fall below the levels set forth in the
budget resolution for the first fiscal year or for the total of all fiscal years covered in the budget resolution (§§311(a)(1)
and 311(a)(2)). Points of order are not self-enforcing, meaning that if no Member raises a point of order, a chamber
may consider and pass legislation that would violate levels established in the budget resolution. In addition, either
chamber may waive the point of order—in the House by a simple majority of Members and in the Senate by three-fifths
of all Senators.
3 For more information on the budget reconciliation process, see CRS Report R44058, The Budget Reconciliation
Process: Stages of Consideration, by Megan S. Lynch and James V. Saturno.
4 See CRS Report R44296, Deeming Resolutions: Budget Enforcement in the Absence of a Budget Resolution, by
Megan S. Lynch.
5 Ibid.
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

The FY2023 House Deeming Resolution
On June 7, 2022, the House Rules Committee reported H.Res. 1153, which stated that upon
adoption, a deeming resolution for FY2023, H.Res. 1151, would automatically be adopted.
H.Res. 1153 was subsequently adopted on June 8, 2022, by a vote of 218-205. The limits
provided under H.Res. 1151 are enforceable only in the House and have no procedural effect in
the Senate (which has not yet acted on a deeming resolution). Adoption of H.Res. 1151 does not
preclude Congress from subsequently agreeing to a budget resolution.
Budgetary Levels
H.Res. 1151, the House deeming resolution, provided a 302(a) allocation to the House
Appropriations Committee ($1.603 trillion). It also directed the chair of the House Budget
Committee to subsequently include in the Congressional Record committee spending allocations
for all other committees, as well as aggregate spending and revenue levels. H.Res. 1151 specified
that the levels filed in the Congressional Record be consistent with the “most recent baseline of
the Congressional Budget Office.” This means that the committee spending allocations (other
than for the Appropriations Committee) and the aggregate spending and revenue levels have been
set as the levels projected under current law, essentially stating that levels of mandatory spending
and revenue should remain unchanged except to the extent that is already provided for under
current law. Pursuant to H.Res. 1151, on June 21, 2022, such budgetary material was filed in the
Congressional Record by the chair of the House Budget Committee, Representative John
Yarmuth.6 Budgetary levels filed pursuant to H.Res. 1151 are shown below.
Table 1. Budget Aggregate Totals
On-Budget Amounts
Appropriate Level
2023
2023-2032
Budget Authority
$4,528,253,000,000
n/a
Outlays
$4,688,647,000,000
n/a
Revenues
$3,753,670,000,000
$42,984,390,000,000
Source: Rep. John Yarmuth, “Publication of Budgetary Material,” Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 168
(June 21, 2022), p. H5731-H5732.
Notes: Levels filed pursuant to H.Res. 1151. Levels may be adjusted in the future pursuant to H.Res. 1151.
Table 2. Allocation of Spending Authority to the House Committee on
Appropriations
Appropriate Level
2023
Base Discretionary Budget Authority
$1,602,901,000,000
Base Discretionary Outlays
$1,756,809,000,000
Current Law Mandatory Budget Authority
$1,496,383,000,000
Current Law Mandatory Outlays
$1,485,023,000,000

6 Rep. John Yarmuth, “Publication of Budgetary Material,” Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 168 (June 21,
2022), p. H5731-H5732.
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

Source: Rep. John Yarmuth, “Publication of Budgetary Material,” Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 168
(June 21, 2022), p. H5731-H5732.
Notes: Levels filed pursuant to H.Res. 1151. Levels may be adjusted in the future, pursuant to H.Res. 1151.
Table 3. Allocations of Spending Authority to House Committees Other Than
Appropriations
House Committee
Total: 2023
Total: 2023-2032
Agriculture
Budget Authority: $12,292,000,000
Budget Authority: $1,103,566,000,000
Outlays: $15,405,000,000
Outlays: $1,115,310,000,000
Armed Services
Budget Authority: $206,134,000,000
Budget Authority: $1,632,601,000,000
Outlays: $205,869,000,000
Outlays: $1,625,236,000,000
Education and Labor
Budget Authority: $31,708,000,000
Budget Authority: $186,715,000,000
Outlays: $85,991,000,000
Outlays: $270,707,000,000
Energy and Commerce
Budget Authority: $681,746,000,000
Budget Authority: $9,416,220,000,000
Outlays: $688,948,000,000
Outlays: $9,459,559,000,000
Financial Services
Budget Authority: $20,545,000,000
Budget Authority: $235,635,000,000
Outlays: $12,282,000,000
Outlays: $11,780,000,000
Foreign Affairs
Budget Authority: $43,541,000,000
Budget Authority: $436,607,000,000
Outlays: $43,113,000,000
Outlays: $436,433,000,000
Homeland Security
Budget Authority: $2,438,000,000
Budget Authority: $27,304,000,000
Outlays: $2,886,000,0000
Outlays: $29,562,000,000
House Administration
Budget Authority: $15,000,000
Budget Authority: $119,000,000
Outlays: $-8,000,000
Outlays: $-73,000,000
Judiciary
Budget Authority: $14,926,000 000
Budget Authority: $149,205,000,000
Outlays: $16,250,000,000
Outlays: $150,914,000,000
Natural Resources
Budget Authority: $10,081,000,000
Budget Authority: $85,787,000,000
Outlays: $10,357,000,000
Outlays: $92,609,000,000
Oversight and Reform
Budget Authority: $147,324,000,000
Budget Authority: $1,645,768,000,000
Outlays: $158,086,000,000
Outlays: $1,643,623,000,000
Science, Space, and
Budget Authority: $160,000,000
Budget Authority: $1,591,000,000
Technology
Outlays: $399,000,000
Outlays: $1,927,000,000
Small Business
Budget Authority:—
Budget Authority:—
Outlays: $738,000,000
Outlays: $875,000,000
Transportation and
Budget Authority: $97,259,000,000
Budget Authority: $1,015,663,000,000
Infrastructure
Outlays: $24,703,000,000
Outlays: $ 221,848,000,000
Veterans’ Affairs
Budget Authority: $6,889,000,000
Budget Authority: $258,375,000,000
Outlays: $7,000,000,000
Outlays: $258,415,000,000
Ways and Means
Budget Authority: $1,355,643,000,000
Budget Authority: $19,185,077,000,000
Outlays: $1,358,523,000,000
Outlays: $19,191,184,000,000
Source: Rep. John Yarmuth, “Publication of Budgetary Material,” Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 168
(June 21, 2022), p. H5731-H5732.
Notes: Levels filed pursuant to H.Res. 1151. Levels may be adjusted in the future pursuant to H.Res. 1151.
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

Adjustments
The deeming resolution also includes several procedural provisions known as “adjustments” that
authorize the chair of the Budget Committee to “adjust” the budgetary levels provided under the
deeming resolution in the future. This authority may be exercised only under circumstances
specified in the provision and within any specified budgetary limits included in the provision. In
many cases, an adjustment provision would allow increases in the spending levels provided under
the resolution, thereby allowing the consideration of certain legislation without breaching these
limits. The deeming resolution specifies that any adjustments shall apply while the legislation is
being considered by the House, shall take effect upon the enactment of the legislation, and shall
be published in the Congressional Record as soon as practicable.7 H.Res. 1151 grants adjustment
authority to the chair of the House Budget Committee to revise the levels in the deeming
resolution (as shown above) to reflect the following:
 Changes resulting from CBO’s “updates to its baseline for fiscal years 2023
through 2032;”8
 Enactment of legislation providing for “a change in concepts or definitions;”9
 Amounts provided in unspecified legislation, so long as such legislation would
not increase the projected net deficit for either of FY2023-FY2027 or FY2023-
FY2032;10
 Legislation providing appropriations for FY2023 that is designated as being for
disaster relief, up to a prescribed amount;11
 Legislation providing appropriations for FY2023 specified for wildfire
suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the
Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior in excess of $1.395
billion but not to exceed $2.55 billion;12

7 H.Res. 1151, §2.
8 H.Res. 1151, §1(c)(1).
9 H.Res. 1151, §1(c)(2). An example of a change in concepts and definitions might include a reclassification that shifts
programs between the mandatory and the discretionary categories. Other such adjustments have included accounting
changes made by the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 and changes in budgetary treatment and estimating
methodologies. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, FY1992, Budget
Enforcement Act Preview Report, February 4, 1991; Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States
Government, FY1993, Budget Enforcement Act Preview Report, January 29, 1992.
10 H.Res. 1151, §1(c)(3).
11 H.Res. 1151, Section 1(f) specifies that the adjustment amount for FY2023 “shall be the total of such appropriations
for fiscal year 2023 designated as being for disaster relief, but not to exceed the total of—(A) the average over the
previous 10 fiscal years (excluding the highest and lowest fiscal years) of the sum of the funding provided for disaster
relief (as that term is defined on the date immediately before March 23, 2018); (B) 5 percent of the total appropriations
provided in the previous 10 fiscal years, net of any rescissions of budget authority enacted in the same period, with
respect to amounts provided for major disasters declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and designated by the Congress as an emergency; and (C) the
cumulative net total of the unused carryover for fiscal year 2018 and all subsequent fiscal years, where the unused
carryover for each fiscal year is calculated as the sum of the amounts in subparagraphs (A) and (B) less the enacted
appropriations for that fiscal year that have been designated as being for disaster relief.”
12 H.Res. 1151, §1(g). While the provision itself does not reference $1.395 billion, it states that the term additional new
budget authority has the meaning “specified in subclause (I) … of section 251(b)(2)(F)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(F)(ii)(I) and (II)),” which is “the amount provided for a
fiscal year in an appropriation Act that is in excess of the average costs for wildfire suppression operations as reported
in the budget of the President submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31 for fiscal year 2015 and are specified to pay
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

 Legislation providing appropriations for FY2023 specified for the health care
fraud abuse control program at the Department of Health and Human Services in
excess of $323 million but not to exceed $576 million;13
 Legislation providing appropriations for FY2023 specified for continuing
disability reviews that is in excess of $288 million but not to exceed
$1.511billion;14
 Legislation providing appropriations for FY2023 specified for reemployment
services and eligibility assessments15 in excess of $117 million but not to exceed
$258 million.16
In addition to these adjustments, the deeming resolution also specifies that spending or revenue
provisions designated as “emergency” shall be effectively exempt from House budgetary rules.
More specifically, the deeming resolution states that the budgetary effects of any provision that
provides spending or reduces revenue and is designated as being an emergency requirement
should not count toward the legislation’s budgetary effect for the purposes of enforcing the
deeming resolution or any other budgetary rule in the House.17
Advance Appropriations
Budget resolutions typically include provisions that prohibit or limit advance appropriations.
Similarly, this deeming resolution specifies that advance appropriations are prohibited but with
certain exceptions (consistent with current budgeting practices). Advance appropriations are
generally defined as any new discretionary budget authority that will not be available for
obligation until a subsequent fiscal year.18

for the costs of wildfire suppression operations in an amount not to exceed the amount specified for that fiscal year in
clause (i).” This is the combination of $1,011,060 for the Forest Service and $383,657 for the Department of the
Interior for a total of $1,394,717,000. See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Fiscal Year 2015 Budget
Justification, March 2014, Table I, p. 259; and U.S. Department of the Interior, Wildland Fire Management, Budget
Justifications and Performance Information FY2015, p. 33.
13 H.Res. 1151, §1(h).
14 H.Res. 1151, §1(i). Specifically, the provision states that the adjustment applies to funding for “continuing disability
reviews under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.), for the cost associated
with conducting redeterminations of eligibility under title XVI of the Social Security Act, for the cost of co-operative
disability investigation units, and for the cost associated with the prosecution of fraud in the programs and operations of
the Social Security Administration by Special Assistant United States Attorneys, then the adjustment shall be the
additional new budget authority specified in such measure for such expenses for fiscal year 2023, but shall not exceed
$1,511,000,000.” The provision specifies that the term continuing disability reviews “means continuing disability
reviews under sections 221(i) and 1614(a)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 421(i), 1382c(a)(4)), including
work-related continuing disability reviews to determine whether earnings derived from services demonstrate an
individual’s ability to engage in substantial gainful activity;” the term redetermination “means redetermination of
eligibility under sections 1611(c)(1) and 1614(a)(3)(H) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(c)(1),
1382c(a)(3)(H));” and the term additional new budget authority “means the amount provided for FY2023, in excess of
$288,000,000, in a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report and specified to pay for the costs of
continuing disability reviews, redeterminations, co-operative disability investigation units, and fraud prosecutions
under the heading ‘Limitation on Administrative Expenses’ for the Social Security Administration.”
15 The provision specifies that such funding is provided through “grants to States under section 306 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 506) for claimants of regular compensation, as defined in such section, including those who are
profiled as most likely to exhaust their benefits.”
16 H.Res. 1151, §1(j).
17 H.Res. 1151, §1(e).
18 H.Res. 1151, §3. For more information on advance appropriations, see CRS Report R43482, Advance
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding: Concepts, Practice, and Budget Process Considerations, by
Jessica Tollestrup and Kate P. McClanahan.
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Setting Budgetary Levels: The House’s FY2023 Deeming Resolution

The deeming resolution provides exceptions to the prohibition on advance appropriations for
FY2024 for four accounts within the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies appropriations bill: Veterans Medical Services, Veterans Medical Support and
Compliance, Veterans Medical Facilities, and Veterans Medical Community Care. In addition, the
deeming resolution includes exceptions to the prohibition on advance appropriations for FY2024
for other accounts not to exceed $28.852 billion. Five of these accounts are in the Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill
(Employment and Training Administration; Education for the Disadvantaged; School
Improvement Programs; Career, Technical, and Adult Education; and Special Education), and two
are in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill (Tenant-based
Rental Assistance and Project-based Rental Assistance). Lastly, the deeming resolution provides
an exception to the prohibition on advance appropriations for FY2025 for the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting within the LHHS appropriations bill.

Author Information

Megan S. Lynch

Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

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