Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
Content and Consideration of the Budget
December 15, 2022
Resolution: In Brief
Sarah B. Solomon
The concurrent resolution on the budget was established in the Congressional Budget Act of
Analyst on Congress and
1974 (Budget Act) to provide Congress with a means for adopting a fiscal framework for the
the Legislative Process
federal government on an annual basis. Statutorily, the budget resolution must include at least
five fiscal years, but in recent practice it often includes up to 10. By allowing the chambers to
adopt broad budgetary goals and priorities, the budget resolution may facilitate subsequent
agreement on budgetary legislation.
A budget resolution must include budget aggregates and corresponding allocation among functional categories. The report
accompanying the budget resolution must also contain certain provisions that specify information, data, and assumptions
underlying the budget resolution as well as estimates and allocations for future spending. Points of order set forth in the
Budget Act can be used to enforce these requirements.
In addition to required content, a budget resolution may include several categories of optional provisions. The Budget Act
explicitly provides for reconciliation directives and reserve funds, both of which are commonly included in budget
resolutions. The Budget Act’s “elastic clause” allows for additional optional provisions such as budget points of order.
In practice, reconciliation directives are one of the most important features of the budget resolution, as they provide the only
means for Congress to trigger the reconciliation process. Reconciliation directives are intended to help Congress achieve the
budgetary goals set forth in the budget resolution by instructing committees to change existing law such that revenues,
spending, and the debt limit align with the revenue floors and spending ceilings set in the budget resolution.
The Budget Act, as interpreted and applied by the House and Senate, provides for a distinct set of procedures for
consideration and debate on the budget resolution. Generally, these rules expedite the process for considering and approving
the budget resolution.
Although the budget resolution does not become law, the House and Senate must still approve the budget resolution in
precisely the same form in order for it to take effect. If agreed to by both chambers in an identical form, the budgetary
parameters specified in the budget resolution become enforceable through points of order.
In the absence of a budget resolution, the House and Senate may use any of a variety of means to establish enforceable
budget levels. These alternatives are collectively referred to as “deeming resolutions” because they are deemed to serve in
place of an annual budget resolution for establishing enforceable budget levels. A deeming resolution, however, may not be
used as a trigger for reconciliation legislation.
Congressional Research Service
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Contents
The Purpose of the Budget Resolution ............................................................................................ 1
Structure and Content of the Budget Resolution ............................................................................. 1
Required Provisions .................................................................................................................. 1
Budget Aggregates .............................................................................................................. 2
Functional Categories ......................................................................................................... 3
Accompanying Report ........................................................................................................ 3
Optional Provisions ................................................................................................................... 3
Reconciliation Directives .................................................................................................... 3
Reserve Funds ..................................................................................................................... 5
Budget Points of Order ....................................................................................................... 6
Floor Action: Consideration of the Budget Resolution ................................................................... 6
Initial Consideration in the Senate ............................................................................................ 7
Initial Consideration in the House ............................................................................................. 7
Resolving Differences Between the Chambers ......................................................................... 8
Figures
Figure 1. Example of Aggregate Levels in the Budget Resolution ................................................. 2
Figure 2. Reconciliation Directives to House Committees ............................................................. 4
Figure 3. Nonbinding Policy Assumptions in an Accompanying Report ........................................ 5
Contacts
Author Information .......................................................................................................................... 9
Congressional Research Service
Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
The Purpose of the Budget Resolution
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Budget Act) established a concurrent resolution on the
budget as a means of adopting and enforcing a fiscal framework for the federal budget for each
fiscal year. Previously, Congress lacked a legislative vehicle that allowed votes on budget totals,
which could set budgetary policies and priorities as a whole rather than as separate measures.
As a concurrent resolution, the budget resolution does not require the President’s signature or
become law. Instead, it is adopted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the two chambers
acting together. It is considered to function as part of the rules of each chamber in order to
regulate their internal proceedings. If agreed to by both chambers in an identical form, the
budgetary parameters specified in the budget resolution become enforceable through points of
order.
The Budget Act also provides for the reconciliation process, an expedited procedure for the
consideration of legislation to implement certain fiscal policies agreed to as part of the budget
resolution. The reconciliation process may be triggered only if specific instructions are adopted in
a budget resolution.1 Since FY2000, one Congress—the 110th Congress—adopted a budget
resolution that did not include reconciliation instructions (S.Con.Res. 70).
By creating consensus between the chambers with respect to broad budgetary goals and priorities,
the budget resolution may ease subsequent agreement on budgetary legislation. However,
Congress may enact budgetary legislation even in the absence of a budget resolution. Since
FY1999, the first year since the adoption of the Budget Act for which no budget resolution was
passed, Congress did not adopt a budget resolution for 11 of 25 fiscal years.
In the absence of a budget resolution, the House and Senate may use any of a variety of means to
establish enforceable budget levels. These alternatives are collectively referred to as “deeming
resolutions” because they are deemed to serve in place of an annual budget resolution for
establishing enforceable budget levels.2 A deeming resolution, however, may not be used as a
trigger for reconciliation legislation.
Structure and Content of the Budget Resolution
The Budget Act requires that every budget resolution contain several types of provisions,
including budget aggregates and allocation of new budget authority among functional categories.
In addition, the Budget Committee must publish an accompanying report that must include
additional required content.
Congress may also choose to include various categories of optional provisions in the budget
resolution. The Budget Act identifies several optional categories, such as reconciliation directives
and reserve funds.
Required Provisions
The Budget Act requires that several types of provisions be included in the budget resolution or
its accompanying report. The Budget Act also establishes points of order, which Members can use
1 For more on the reconciliation process, see CRS Report R44058, The Budget Reconciliation Process: Stages of
Consideration.
2 For more on deeming resolutions, see CRS Report R44296, Deeming Resolutions: Budget Enforcement in the
Absence of a Budget Resolution.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
to enforce these requirements. In the absence of these required provisions, a measure cannot
qualify for privileged consideration in the Senate as a budget resolution.
Budget Aggregates
Section 301(a) of the Budget Act requires that the budget resolution contain four budget
aggregates for the upcoming fiscal year (the “budget year”) and at least four subsequent years
(“outyears”).3 These aggregates are to include
total new budget authority and outlays,
total revenue and the amount by which the total should be changed,
the budget surplus or deficit, and
the public debt.
While the Budget Act requires Congress to provide budget aggregates for at least five years,
recent budget resolutions have often included up to 10 fiscal years (for example, see the excerpt
from S.Con.Res. 14 from the 117th Congress in Figure 1).
Figure 1. Example of Aggregate Levels in the Budget Resolution
S.Con.Res. 14 (FY2022)
Section 311(a) of the Budget Act provides for enforcement of budget aggregates by establishing a
point of order for legislation that violates the new budget authority and outlays ceiling or the
revenue floor. In the House, however, a measure that would not cause the relevant committee
allocation to be exceeded is exempt from this point of order under Section 311(c) of the Budget
Act.
3 Calculation of these aggregates excludes the outlays and receipts for the Social Security trust funds and spending for
the Postal Service Fund, which are mandated by law to be off-budget. For purposes of Senate enforcement, however,
Section 301(a) requires that outlays and revenues for Social Security be presented separately in the budget resolution.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
Functional Categories
Section 301(a)(4) of the Budget Act requires that the aggregates for new budget authority and
outlays be divided among 20 major functional categories. These categories classify federal
budgetary activities representing the major functions of the federal government without regard to
agency. Taken together, they provide a broad statement of the federal government’s budget
priorities. These amounts, however, are not enforceable by points of order.
Section 301(e)(2) of the Budget Act requires the report that accompanies a budget resolution
(described below) to include allocations corresponding to functional categories for committees
with jurisdiction over spending legislation (as described in Section 302(a)). Once these committee
allocations are made, they are enforceable through points of order under Section 302(f).
Accompanying Report
Section 301(e)(2) of the Budget Act requires that the report accompanying the budget resolution
include
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 the
amounts requested in the budget submitted by the President;
the estimated levels of total new budget authority and total outlays, divided
between discretionary and mandatory amounts, for each major functional
category;
the economic assumptions that underlie the matters set forth in the budget
resolution and any alternative assumptions and objectives the Budget Committee
considered;
information, data, and comparisons indicating the manner in which, and the basis
on which, the Budget 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 committee spending allocations (as described in Section 302(a) of the Budget
Act).
Optional Provisions
The Budget Act allows the inclusion of provisions in addition to those required to be in a budget
resolution. The Budget Act explicitly provides for two of the most common optional provisions:
reconciliation directives and reserve funds. The Budget Act also allows budget resolutions to
include “such other matters, and require such other procedures, relating to the budget, as may be
appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.” For example, a budget resolution may include
provisions that establish points of order applicable to the consideration of other budgetary
matters.
Reconciliation Directives
In practice, one of the most important functions of the budget resolution is to trigger the
reconciliation process. Reconciliation directives (also called reconciliation instructions) initiate
reconciliation legislation by directing specified committees to change existing law such that
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
revenues, spending, and the debt limit align with the revenue floors and spending ceilings set in
the budget resolution.4
A budget resolution provides the only means by which the reconciliation directives can be
adopted and the reconciliation process can be triggered. Consequently, if Congress intends to use
the reconciliation process to achieve its budgetary goals, reconciliation directives must be
included in a budget resolution (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Reconciliation Directives to House Committees
S.Con.Res. 13 (FY2010)
Reconciliation directives are intended to help Congress achieve the budgetary goals set forth in
the budget resolution. They also identify the committee(s) that should report reconciliation
legislation, the date by which they should report, the dollar amount of budgetary change to be
achieved in the reconciliation legislation, and the time period over which the impact of the
budgetary change should be measured.
The committees named by the reconciliation directives retain their jurisdiction over any
legislative language concerning spending or revenue. Nonetheless, the budget resolution, or the
report that accompanies it, may include nonbinding policy assumptions for committees to achieve
the targets laid out in the budget resolution. For example, the Senate Budget Committee print
accompanying the budget resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14) includes reconciliation
directives prefaced by the following text:
Please note: the list of items below is not final and not exclusive. This document is meant
to provide a detailed understanding to Senators of what the resolution is designed to fund
and it may be modified over the course of the bill drafting process and scoring process.
4 For more information, see CRS Report R41186, Reconciliation Directives: Components and Enforcement.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
The provisions that follow outline policy proposals developed by the Budget Committee chairs
using the following form:
Figure 3. Nonbinding Policy Assumptions in an Accompanying Report
S.Con.Res. 14 (FY2022)
Reserve Funds
Reserve funds are provisions in a budget resolution that authorize the chair of the Budget
Committee to revise committee allocations, budget aggregates, or other budget levels for
specified policies or legislation to be considered after the adoption of the budget resolution.5
Reserve funds do not provide funding. Rather, they accord Budget Committee chairs the authority
to alter previously agreed upon budgetary levels at their discretion in order to accommodate
certain policies or legislation. A reserve fund provision may therefore change the initial levels
provided in the resolution, allowing certain policies to be considered on the House or Senate floor
without triggering a point of order for violating levels set in the budget resolution. The authority
granted by a reserve fund may be exercised only under the circumstances specified in the reserve
fund and within any specified budgetary limits.
An example of a reserve fund and the subsequent adjustment made by a Budget Committee chair
is Section 4009 of the budget resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14):
SEC.
4009.
ADJUSTMENT
FOR
BIPARTISAN
INFRASTRUCTURE
LEGISLATION IN THE SENATE.
(a) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the Senate, upon the enactment of an infrastructure bill or joint
resolution, including legislation implementing a bipartisan infrastructure agreement, the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may make adjustments to the
levels and allocations in this resolution to reflect changes resulting from the enactment of
such bill or joint resolution.
The chair of the Senate Budget Committee subsequently made a statement on the Senate floor to
revise the requisite budget levels to accommodate new legislation:
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, S.Con.Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget
resolution, included authority in section 4009 to allow the chairman of the Committee on
the Budget to adjust budget aggregates and committee allocations after the enactment of
bipartisan infrastructure legislation…. H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act was enacted on November 15, 2021, meets the conditions of being bipartisan
5 For additional information on reserve fund provisions in the budget resolution see CRS Report R47277, Reserve
Funds in the Congressional Budget Process: Frequently Asked Questions.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
infrastructure legislation. As a result, I am revising the budget spending aggregates and the
allocation to the Committee on Appropriations by $3,230 million in outlays resulting from
the increase in contract authority included in that bill.6
Budget Points of Order
The enforcement of budgetary parameters, including those adopted as a part of budget
procedures, often relies on points of order.7 Points of order are prohibitions against certain types
of legislation or congressional action that violate chamber rules or statutory requirements. A
Member must raise a point of order on the floor in order to enforce these prohibitions, as they are
not self-enforcing.
The House and Senate may create, modify, or repeal their rules, including those that govern
consideration of budgetary legislation. The budget resolution can include language that impacts
the consideration of other budgetary matters.
Below is an example of a point of order against “advance appropriations” from the budget
resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14):8
SEC. 4002. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS IN
THE SENATE.
IN GENERAL.—
(1) POINT OF ORDER.—Except as provided in subsection (b), it shall not be in order
in the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment
between the Houses, or conference report that would provide an advance appropriation
for a discretionary account.
(2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term “advance appropriation” means any new
budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for fiscal
year 2022 that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2022, or any new budget
authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for fiscal year
2023, that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2023.
Floor Action: Consideration of the Budget
Resolution
Title III of the Budget Act, as interpreted and applied by the House and Senate, provides for a
distinct set of procedures for consideration and debate on the budget resolution in addition to
general chamber rules and practices governing floor action on legislation.9
6 Sen. Bernie Sanders, “Budgetary Revisions,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 168
(February 8, 2022), p. S570.
7 For more information on budget points of order, including those established in the Budget Act and several budget
resolutions, see CRS Report 97-865, Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process.
8 Since FY2001, it has become standard to limit “advanced appropriations,” or discretionary budget authority available
for one or more fiscal years.
9 For more information on consideration and amending of budget resolutions, see CRS Report RL30297, Congressional
Budget Resolutions: Historical Information.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
Initial Consideration in the Senate
Senate precedent has established that consideration of a budget resolution is privileged. This
means that a motion to proceed to its consideration is not debatable (and therefore does not
require 60 votes to invoke cloture), and the resolution does not have to lie over a day before being
called up on the floor. Once a budget resolution has been placed on the Calendar of Business
(either because the Senate Budget Committee has reported it or because the committee has been
discharged from its consideration), a Senator may make a non-debatable motion to proceed to its
consideration.10
During consideration on the Senate floor, Section 305 of the Budget Act provides that debate and
any amendments, debatable motions, or appeals are subject to strict rules governing the duration
of debate:
Total debate, including amendments and debatable motions and appeals, is
limited to 50 hours, equally divided and controlled between the majority and
minority leaders or their designees (normally the chair and ranking member of
the Budget Committee). The Budget Act allows up to four hours of this time to
be designated for debate on economic goals and policies, although the Senate
typically does not do so.
Debate on any amendment to the resolution may not exceed two hours, equally
divided and controlled.
Debate on any amendment to an amendment, debatable motion, or appeal may
not exceed one hour, equally divided and controlled.
Motions to further limit debate are not debatable.
After the 50 hours of debate has expired, Senators may continue to consider the budget
resolution—including additional amendments, motions, and appeals—but without further debate,
unless provided by unanimous consent. This period is often referred to as a “vote-a-rama” due to
the high volume of votes taken in rapid succession.
Taken altogether, these limits on debate time effectively preclude the need to invoke cloture in
order to reach a final vote.
Although there are no limits on the number of amendments that the Senate may consider or adopt,
all amendments offered to a budget resolution in the Senate must be germane, meaning they must
pertain to budgetary matters.
Initial Consideration in the House
In the House, consideration of budget resolutions is governed by resolutions reported from the
House Rules Committee. These resolutions, also known as special rules, customize floor
proceedings by setting limits on debate and amending.
Special rules often set time limits on the length of floor consideration. Since FY2000, time
allocated for general debate has ranged from two to six hours with an average of four hours.
Special rules may also specify time for the consideration of any amendments made in order.
10 For more information on the Senate discharge process for the budget resolution, see CRS Report R40665,
Congressional Budget Resolutions: Consideration and Amending in the Senate.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
In addition to debate on the budget resolution itself, the Full Employment and Balanced Growth
Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-523) provides for up to four hours of debate on “economic goals and
policies.”11 In practice, the House generally allocates one hour for this specialized debate time.
In recent practice, special rules typically allow 40 minutes of debate, equally divided between the
majority and minority, for each amendment made in order. The practice of the House has been to
limit amendments to those in the nature of a substitute for the entire budget. Since FY2000, the
number of amendments in the nature of a substitute made in order and considered has ranged
from zero to six with an average of four. During the same time span, the only one adopted was a
substitute offered by the Budget Committee chair in 2015.12
Resolving Differences Between the Chambers
The House and Senate usually adopt different initial versions of a budget resolution, and they
must resolve their differences using a conference committee or come to agreement through an
exchange of amendments.13 The Budget Act establishes special procedures for these final stages
of consideration that generally serve to expedite the process.
In the House, conference reports and amendments between the houses on the budget resolution
are considered under the terms of a rule developed by the Rules Committee. The Budget Act
provides special procedures for the consideration of a conference report in the House, including
that debate on the report may not exceed five hours, equally divided between the majority and
minority. The Budget Act also precludes other motions that would otherwise be in order in some
circumstances, including a motion to recommit the matter back to conference and a motion to
reconsider the vote on the conference report. In practice, the special rule for the consideration of a
conference report for a budget resolution in the House typically provides that debate be limited to
one hour and that all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration be
waived.
In the Senate, the Budget Act limits debate on the conference report and on any message between
the houses to 10 hours, equally divided between the majority and minority. Debate on any
debatable motions or appeals is limited to one hour. This debate limit applies to the Senate floor
action necessary to arrange for a conference with the House. It also applies to consideration of
any compromise text of a budget resolution whether in the form of a conference report or an
amendment between the houses. As a result, the Senate may reach a final vote without needing to
invoke cloture, allowing for consideration of a budget resolution to be completed with the support
of a simple majority.
Since 2010, the House and Senate held a conference committee for two of the three budget
resolutions that reached the stage of resolving differences (FY2014 and FY2016).14 The
remaining resolution was resolved by an exchange of amendments between the houses (FY2018).
Three other budget resolutions agreed to in that time period did not reach the stage of resolving
differences, but rather the House passed a Senate version of the resolution without objection
(FY2017, FY2021, and FY2022).
11 The Senate may also designate up to four hours for debate on economic goals and policies, but it tends not to use this
prerogative.
12 See consideration of H.Con.Res. 27 (114th Congress).
13 For more information on resolving differences, see CRS Report 98-696, Resolving Legislative Differences in
Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses.
14 During consideration of the budget resolution for FY2014 (S.Con.Res. 8), a conference was held, but no further
action was taken on the resolution.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
Author Information
Sarah B. Solomon
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
R47336 · VERSION 1 · NEW
9
December 15, 2022
Resolution: In Brief
Sarah B. Solomon
The concurrent resolution on the budget was established in the Congressional Budget Act of
Analyst on Congress and
1974 (Budget Act) to provide Congress with a means for adopting a fiscal framework for the
the Legislative Process
federal government on an annual basis. Statutorily, the budget resolution must include at least
five fiscal years, but in recent practice it often includes up to 10. By allowing the chambers to
adopt broad budgetary goals and priorities, the budget resolution may facilitate subsequent
agreement on budgetary legislation.
A budget resolution must include budget aggregates and corresponding allocation among functional categories. The report
accompanying the budget resolution must also contain certain provisions that specify information, data, and assumptions
underlying the budget resolution as well as estimates and allocations for future spending. Points of order set forth in the
Budget Act can be used to enforce these requirements.
In addition to required content, a budget resolution may include several categories of optional provisions. The Budget Act
explicitly provides for reconciliation directives and reserve funds, both of which are commonly included in budget
resolutions. The Budget Act’s “elastic clause” allows for additional optional provisions such as budget points of order.
In practice, reconciliation directives are one of the most important features of the budget resolution, as they provide the only
means for Congress to trigger the reconciliation process. Reconciliation directives are intended to help Congress achieve the
budgetary goals set forth in the budget resolution by instructing committees to change existing law such that revenues,
spending, and the debt limit align with the revenue floors and spending ceilings set in the budget resolution.
The Budget Act, as interpreted and applied by the House and Senate, provides for a distinct set of procedures for
consideration and debate on the budget resolution. Generally, these rules expedite the process for considering and approving
the budget resolution.
Although the budget resolution does not become law, the House and Senate must still approve the budget resolution in
precisely the same form in order for it to take effect. If agreed to by both chambers in an identical form, the budgetary
parameters specified in the budget resolution become enforceable through points of order.
In the absence of a budget resolution, the House and Senate may use any of a variety of means to establish enforceable
budget levels. These alternatives are collectively referred to as “deeming resolutions” because they are deemed to serve in
place of an annual budget resolution for establishing enforceable budget levels. A deeming resolution, however, may not be
used as a trigger for reconciliation legislation.
Congressional Research Service
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Contents
The Purpose of the Budget Resolution ............................................................................................ 1
Structure and Content of the Budget Resolution ............................................................................. 1
Required Provisions .................................................................................................................. 1
Budget Aggregates .............................................................................................................. 2
Functional Categories ......................................................................................................... 3
Accompanying Report ........................................................................................................ 3
Optional Provisions ................................................................................................................... 3
Reconciliation Directives .................................................................................................... 3
Reserve Funds ..................................................................................................................... 5
Budget Points of Order ....................................................................................................... 6
Floor Action: Consideration of the Budget Resolution ................................................................... 6
Initial Consideration in the Senate ............................................................................................ 7
Initial Consideration in the House ............................................................................................. 7
Resolving Differences Between the Chambers ......................................................................... 8
Figures
Figure 1. Example of Aggregate Levels in the Budget Resolution ................................................. 2
Figure 2. Reconciliation Directives to House Committees ............................................................. 4
Figure 3. Nonbinding Policy Assumptions in an Accompanying Report ........................................ 5
Contacts
Author Information .......................................................................................................................... 9
Congressional Research Service
Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
The Purpose of the Budget Resolution
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Budget Act) established a concurrent resolution on the
budget as a means of adopting and enforcing a fiscal framework for the federal budget for each
fiscal year. Previously, Congress lacked a legislative vehicle that allowed votes on budget totals,
which could set budgetary policies and priorities as a whole rather than as separate measures.
As a concurrent resolution, the budget resolution does not require the President’s signature or
become law. Instead, it is adopted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the two chambers
acting together. It is considered to function as part of the rules of each chamber in order to
regulate their internal proceedings. If agreed to by both chambers in an identical form, the
budgetary parameters specified in the budget resolution become enforceable through points of
order.
The Budget Act also provides for the reconciliation process, an expedited procedure for the
consideration of legislation to implement certain fiscal policies agreed to as part of the budget
resolution. The reconciliation process may be triggered only if specific instructions are adopted in
a budget resolution.1 Since FY2000, one Congress—the 110th Congress—adopted a budget
resolution that did not include reconciliation instructions (S.Con.Res. 70).
By creating consensus between the chambers with respect to broad budgetary goals and priorities,
the budget resolution may ease subsequent agreement on budgetary legislation. However,
Congress may enact budgetary legislation even in the absence of a budget resolution. Since
FY1999, the first year since the adoption of the Budget Act for which no budget resolution was
passed, Congress did not adopt a budget resolution for 11 of 25 fiscal years.
In the absence of a budget resolution, the House and Senate may use any of a variety of means to
establish enforceable budget levels. These alternatives are collectively referred to as “deeming
resolutions” because they are deemed to serve in place of an annual budget resolution for
establishing enforceable budget levels.2 A deeming resolution, however, may not be used as a
trigger for reconciliation legislation.
Structure and Content of the Budget Resolution
The Budget Act requires that every budget resolution contain several types of provisions,
including budget aggregates and allocation of new budget authority among functional categories.
In addition, the Budget Committee must publish an accompanying report that must include
additional required content.
Congress may also choose to include various categories of optional provisions in the budget
resolution. The Budget Act identifies several optional categories, such as reconciliation directives
and reserve funds.
Required Provisions
The Budget Act requires that several types of provisions be included in the budget resolution or
its accompanying report. The Budget Act also establishes points of order, which Members can use
1 For more on the reconciliation process, see CRS Report R44058, The Budget Reconciliation Process: Stages of
Consideration.
2 For more on deeming resolutions, see CRS Report R44296, Deeming Resolutions: Budget Enforcement in the
Absence of a Budget Resolution.
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
to enforce these requirements. In the absence of these required provisions, a measure cannot
qualify for privileged consideration in the Senate as a budget resolution.
Budget Aggregates
Section 301(a) of the Budget Act requires that the budget resolution contain four budget
aggregates for the upcoming fiscal year (the “budget year”) and at least four subsequent years
(“outyears”).3 These aggregates are to include
total new budget authority and outlays,
total revenue and the amount by which the total should be changed,
the budget surplus or deficit, and
the public debt.
While the Budget Act requires Congress to provide budget aggregates for at least five years,
recent budget resolutions have often included up to 10 fiscal years (for example, see the excerpt
from S.Con.Res. 14 from the 117th Congress in Figure 1).
Figure 1. Example of Aggregate Levels in the Budget Resolution
S.Con.Res. 14 (FY2022)
Section 311(a) of the Budget Act provides for enforcement of budget aggregates by establishing a
point of order for legislation that violates the new budget authority and outlays ceiling or the
revenue floor. In the House, however, a measure that would not cause the relevant committee
allocation to be exceeded is exempt from this point of order under Section 311(c) of the Budget
Act.
3 Calculation of these aggregates excludes the outlays and receipts for the Social Security trust funds and spending for
the Postal Service Fund, which are mandated by law to be off-budget. For purposes of Senate enforcement, however,
Section 301(a) requires that outlays and revenues for Social Security be presented separately in the budget resolution.
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Functional Categories
Section 301(a)(4) of the Budget Act requires that the aggregates for new budget authority and
outlays be divided among 20 major functional categories. These categories classify federal
budgetary activities representing the major functions of the federal government without regard to
agency. Taken together, they provide a broad statement of the federal government’s budget
priorities. These amounts, however, are not enforceable by points of order.
Section 301(e)(2) of the Budget Act requires the report that accompanies a budget resolution
(described below) to include allocations corresponding to functional categories for committees
with jurisdiction over spending legislation (as described in Section 302(a)). Once these committee
allocations are made, they are enforceable through points of order under Section 302(f).
Accompanying Report
Section 301(e)(2) of the Budget Act requires that the report accompanying the budget resolution
include
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 the
amounts requested in the budget submitted by the President;
the estimated levels of total new budget authority and total outlays, divided
between discretionary and mandatory amounts, for each major functional
category;
the economic assumptions that underlie the matters set forth in the budget
resolution and any alternative assumptions and objectives the Budget Committee
considered;
information, data, and comparisons indicating the manner in which, and the basis
on which, the Budget 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 committee spending allocations (as described in Section 302(a) of the Budget
Act).
Optional Provisions
The Budget Act allows the inclusion of provisions in addition to those required to be in a budget
resolution. The Budget Act explicitly provides for two of the most common optional provisions:
reconciliation directives and reserve funds. The Budget Act also allows budget resolutions to
include “such other matters, and require such other procedures, relating to the budget, as may be
appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.” For example, a budget resolution may include
provisions that establish points of order applicable to the consideration of other budgetary
matters.
Reconciliation Directives
In practice, one of the most important functions of the budget resolution is to trigger the
reconciliation process. Reconciliation directives (also called reconciliation instructions) initiate
reconciliation legislation by directing specified committees to change existing law such that
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Content and Consideration of the Budget Resolution: In Brief
revenues, spending, and the debt limit align with the revenue floors and spending ceilings set in
the budget resolution.4
A budget resolution provides the only means by which the reconciliation directives can be
adopted and the reconciliation process can be triggered. Consequently, if Congress intends to use
the reconciliation process to achieve its budgetary goals, reconciliation directives must be
included in a budget resolution (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Reconciliation Directives to House Committees
S.Con.Res. 13 (FY2010)
Reconciliation directives are intended to help Congress achieve the budgetary goals set forth in
the budget resolution. They also identify the committee(s) that should report reconciliation
legislation, the date by which they should report, the dollar amount of budgetary change to be
achieved in the reconciliation legislation, and the time period over which the impact of the
budgetary change should be measured.
The committees named by the reconciliation directives retain their jurisdiction over any
legislative language concerning spending or revenue. Nonetheless, the budget resolution, or the
report that accompanies it, may include nonbinding policy assumptions for committees to achieve
the targets laid out in the budget resolution. For example, the Senate Budget Committee print
accompanying the budget resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14) includes reconciliation
directives prefaced by the following text:
Please note: the list of items below is not final and not exclusive. This document is meant
to provide a detailed understanding to Senators of what the resolution is designed to fund
and it may be modified over the course of the bill drafting process and scoring process.
4 For more information, see CRS Report R41186, Reconciliation Directives: Components and Enforcement.
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The provisions that follow outline policy proposals developed by the Budget Committee chairs
using the following form:
Figure 3. Nonbinding Policy Assumptions in an Accompanying Report
S.Con.Res. 14 (FY2022)
Reserve Funds
Reserve funds are provisions in a budget resolution that authorize the chair of the Budget
Committee to revise committee allocations, budget aggregates, or other budget levels for
specified policies or legislation to be considered after the adoption of the budget resolution.5
Reserve funds do not provide funding. Rather, they accord Budget Committee chairs the authority
to alter previously agreed upon budgetary levels at their discretion in order to accommodate
certain policies or legislation. A reserve fund provision may therefore change the initial levels
provided in the resolution, allowing certain policies to be considered on the House or Senate floor
without triggering a point of order for violating levels set in the budget resolution. The authority
granted by a reserve fund may be exercised only under the circumstances specified in the reserve
fund and within any specified budgetary limits.
An example of a reserve fund and the subsequent adjustment made by a Budget Committee chair
is Section 4009 of the budget resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14):
SEC.
4009.
ADJUSTMENT
FOR
BIPARTISAN
INFRASTRUCTURE
LEGISLATION IN THE SENATE.
(a) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the Senate, upon the enactment of an infrastructure bill or joint
resolution, including legislation implementing a bipartisan infrastructure agreement, the
Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may make adjustments to the
levels and allocations in this resolution to reflect changes resulting from the enactment of
such bill or joint resolution.
The chair of the Senate Budget Committee subsequently made a statement on the Senate floor to
revise the requisite budget levels to accommodate new legislation:
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, S.Con.Res. 14, the fiscal year 2022 congressional budget
resolution, included authority in section 4009 to allow the chairman of the Committee on
the Budget to adjust budget aggregates and committee allocations after the enactment of
bipartisan infrastructure legislation…. H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act was enacted on November 15, 2021, meets the conditions of being bipartisan
5 For additional information on reserve fund provisions in the budget resolution see CRS Report R47277, Reserve
Funds in the Congressional Budget Process: Frequently Asked Questions.
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infrastructure legislation. As a result, I am revising the budget spending aggregates and the
allocation to the Committee on Appropriations by $3,230 million in outlays resulting from
the increase in contract authority included in that bill.6
Budget Points of Order
The enforcement of budgetary parameters, including those adopted as a part of budget
procedures, often relies on points of order.7 Points of order are prohibitions against certain types
of legislation or congressional action that violate chamber rules or statutory requirements. A
Member must raise a point of order on the floor in order to enforce these prohibitions, as they are
not self-enforcing.
The House and Senate may create, modify, or repeal their rules, including those that govern
consideration of budgetary legislation. The budget resolution can include language that impacts
the consideration of other budgetary matters.
Below is an example of a point of order against “advance appropriations” from the budget
resolution for FY2022 (S.Con.Res. 14):8
SEC. 4002. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS IN
THE SENATE.
IN GENERAL.—
(1) POINT OF ORDER.—Except as provided in subsection (b), it shall not be in order
in the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment
between the Houses, or conference report that would provide an advance appropriation
for a discretionary account.
(2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term “advance appropriation” means any new
budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for fiscal
year 2022 that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2022, or any new budget
authority provided in a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for fiscal year
2023, that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2023.
Floor Action: Consideration of the Budget
Resolution
Title III of the Budget Act, as interpreted and applied by the House and Senate, provides for a
distinct set of procedures for consideration and debate on the budget resolution in addition to
general chamber rules and practices governing floor action on legislation.9
6 Sen. Bernie Sanders, “Budgetary Revisions,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 168
(February 8, 2022), p. S570.
7 For more information on budget points of order, including those established in the Budget Act and several budget
resolutions, see CRS Report 97-865, Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process.
8 Since FY2001, it has become standard to limit “advanced appropriations,” or discretionary budget authority available
for one or more fiscal years.
9 For more information on consideration and amending of budget resolutions, see CRS Report RL30297, Congressional
Budget Resolutions: Historical Information.
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Initial Consideration in the Senate
Senate precedent has established that consideration of a budget resolution is privileged. This
means that a motion to proceed to its consideration is not debatable (and therefore does not
require 60 votes to invoke cloture), and the resolution does not have to lie over a day before being
called up on the floor. Once a budget resolution has been placed on the Calendar of Business
(either because the Senate Budget Committee has reported it or because the committee has been
discharged from its consideration), a Senator may make a non-debatable motion to proceed to its
consideration.10
During consideration on the Senate floor, Section 305 of the Budget Act provides that debate and
any amendments, debatable motions, or appeals are subject to strict rules governing the duration
of debate:
Total debate, including amendments and debatable motions and appeals, is
limited to 50 hours, equally divided and controlled between the majority and
minority leaders or their designees (normally the chair and ranking member of
the Budget Committee). The Budget Act allows up to four hours of this time to
be designated for debate on economic goals and policies, although the Senate
typically does not do so.
Debate on any amendment to the resolution may not exceed two hours, equally
divided and controlled.
Debate on any amendment to an amendment, debatable motion, or appeal may
not exceed one hour, equally divided and controlled.
Motions to further limit debate are not debatable.
After the 50 hours of debate has expired, Senators may continue to consider the budget
resolution—including additional amendments, motions, and appeals—but without further debate,
unless provided by unanimous consent. This period is often referred to as a “vote-a-rama” due to
the high volume of votes taken in rapid succession.
Taken altogether, these limits on debate time effectively preclude the need to invoke cloture in
order to reach a final vote.
Although there are no limits on the number of amendments that the Senate may consider or adopt,
all amendments offered to a budget resolution in the Senate must be germane, meaning they must
pertain to budgetary matters.
Initial Consideration in the House
In the House, consideration of budget resolutions is governed by resolutions reported from the
House Rules Committee. These resolutions, also known as special rules, customize floor
proceedings by setting limits on debate and amending.
Special rules often set time limits on the length of floor consideration. Since FY2000, time
allocated for general debate has ranged from two to six hours with an average of four hours.
Special rules may also specify time for the consideration of any amendments made in order.
10 For more information on the Senate discharge process for the budget resolution, see CRS Report R40665,
Congressional Budget Resolutions: Consideration and Amending in the Senate.
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In addition to debate on the budget resolution itself, the Full Employment and Balanced Growth
Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-523) provides for up to four hours of debate on “economic goals and
policies.”11 In practice, the House generally allocates one hour for this specialized debate time.
In recent practice, special rules typically allow 40 minutes of debate, equally divided between the
majority and minority, for each amendment made in order. The practice of the House has been to
limit amendments to those in the nature of a substitute for the entire budget. Since FY2000, the
number of amendments in the nature of a substitute made in order and considered has ranged
from zero to six with an average of four. During the same time span, the only one adopted was a
substitute offered by the Budget Committee chair in 2015.12
Resolving Differences Between the Chambers
The House and Senate usually adopt different initial versions of a budget resolution, and they
must resolve their differences using a conference committee or come to agreement through an
exchange of amendments.13 The Budget Act establishes special procedures for these final stages
of consideration that generally serve to expedite the process.
In the House, conference reports and amendments between the houses on the budget resolution
are considered under the terms of a rule developed by the Rules Committee. The Budget Act
provides special procedures for the consideration of a conference report in the House, including
that debate on the report may not exceed five hours, equally divided between the majority and
minority. The Budget Act also precludes other motions that would otherwise be in order in some
circumstances, including a motion to recommit the matter back to conference and a motion to
reconsider the vote on the conference report. In practice, the special rule for the consideration of a
conference report for a budget resolution in the House typically provides that debate be limited to
one hour and that all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration be
waived.
In the Senate, the Budget Act limits debate on the conference report and on any message between
the houses to 10 hours, equally divided between the majority and minority. Debate on any
debatable motions or appeals is limited to one hour. This debate limit applies to the Senate floor
action necessary to arrange for a conference with the House. It also applies to consideration of
any compromise text of a budget resolution whether in the form of a conference report or an
amendment between the houses. As a result, the Senate may reach a final vote without needing to
invoke cloture, allowing for consideration of a budget resolution to be completed with the support
of a simple majority.
Since 2010, the House and Senate held a conference committee for two of the three budget
resolutions that reached the stage of resolving differences (FY2014 and FY2016).14 The
remaining resolution was resolved by an exchange of amendments between the houses (FY2018).
Three other budget resolutions agreed to in that time period did not reach the stage of resolving
differences, but rather the House passed a Senate version of the resolution without objection
(FY2017, FY2021, and FY2022).
11 The Senate may also designate up to four hours for debate on economic goals and policies, but it tends not to use this
prerogative.
12 See consideration of H.Con.Res. 27 (114th Congress).
13 For more information on resolving differences, see CRS Report 98-696, Resolving Legislative Differences in
Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses.
14 During consideration of the budget resolution for FY2014 (S.Con.Res. 8), a conference was held, but no further
action was taken on the resolution.
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Author Information
Sarah B. Solomon
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
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under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
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