Congressional Budget Actions in 2004

Congressional Budget Actions in 2004

Order Code RL32246
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Congressional Budget Actions in 2004
Updated December 27, 2004
Bill Heniff Jr.
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service { The Library of Congress

Congressional Budget Actions in 2004
Summary
During 2004, Congress considered many different budgetary measures. Most
of them pertained to fiscal year (FY) 2005 and beyond, but some made adjustments
to the budget for FY2004. This report describes House and Senate actions on major
budgetary legislation within the framework of the congressional budget process and
other procedural requirements.
Congress began 2004 with unfinished budgetary matters left over from the
previous year. At the start of 2004, only six of the 13 FY2004 regular appropriations
acts had been enacted. The federal agencies and programs funded in the seven
remaining regular appropriations acts were provided temporary appropriations by
successive continuing resolutions. On January 23, 2004, President George W. Bush
signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (P.L. 108-199), which
contains the seven remaining regular appropriations acts, thereby bringing action on
the FY2004 regular appropriations acts to a close.
Congress typically begins its annual budget process once the President submits
his budget for the upcoming fiscal year. President Bush submitted his FY2005
budget to Congress on February 2, 2004.
The congressional budget process is centered around the adoption of an annual
concurrent resolution on the budget. The budget resolution sets forth aggregate
spending and revenue levels, and spending levels by major functional area, for at
least five fiscal years. Budget resolution policies are implemented through the
enactment of reconciliation bills, revenue and debt-limit legislation, and
appropriations and other spending measures, and enforced by points of order that may
be raised when legislation is pending on the House and Senate floor.
The Senate agreed to its version of the FY2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res.
95) by a 51-45 vote on March 11; the House agreed to its version (H.Con.Res. 393)
by a 215-212 vote on March 25. The House agreed to the conference report to the
FY2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 108-498) by a 216-213 vote on
May 19. The Senate, however, did not consider the conference report. In the absence
of an agreement on the FY2005 budget resolution, the House and Senate separately
adopted so-called “deeming resolution” provisions for budget enforcement purposes.
When FY2005 began on October 1, the House had passed 10, and the Senate
had passed one, of the 13 regular appropriations acts for FY2005; only one had been
signed into law. After October 1, Congress and President Bush completed action on
three additional regular appropriations acts for FY2005 individually. The remaining
nine of the 13 regular appropriations acts were incorporated into a single omnibus
appropriations act, H.R. 4818. On November 20, the House and Senate agreed to the
conference report to H.R. 4818, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.Rept.
108-792). On December 8, President Bush signed H.R. 4818 into law (P.L. 108-
447), thereby bringing action on the FY2005 regular appropriations acts to a close.
This report will no longer be updated.

Contents
Concluding Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Overview of the Congressional Budget Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Budget Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Reconciliation Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Revenue and Debt-Limit Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Revenue Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Debt-Limit Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Appropriations and Other Spending Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Discretionary Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Mandatory Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Budget Enforcement and Sequestration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
For Additional Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Congressional Hearings, Reports, and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
List of Figures
Figure 1. Actual FY2003 Revenues by Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 2. Actual FY2003 Outlays by Major Spending Category . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
List of Tables
Table 1. The Congressional Budget Process Timetable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Mapping Spending and Revenue Legislation through the
Congressional Budget Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Table 3. Budget Baselines, FY2004-FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 4. Timetable for Sequestration Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Congressional Budget Actions in 2004
Concluding Actions
Congress adjourned sine die on December 8, 2004. Prior to adjourning,
Congress completed action on the regular appropriations acts for FY2005 by
incorporating the nine regular appropriations acts not yet enacted individually into
a single omnibus appropriations act, H.R. 4818 (originally the Foreign Operations
Appropriations Act, 2005). On November 20, the House and Senate agreed to the
conference report to H.R. 4818, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.Rept.
108-792). On December 8, President Bush signed H.R. 4818 into law (P.L. 108-
447), thereby bringing action on the FY2005 regular appropriations acts to a close.
Introduction
During the second session of the 108th Congress, the House and Senate
considered many different budgetary measures. Most of them pertained to FY2005
(referred to as the “budget year”) and beyond. In addition, some made adjustments
to the budget for FY2004 (referred to as the “current year”). This report describes
House and Senate action on major budgetary legislation within the framework of the
congressional budget process and other procedural requirements.1
Within this procedural framework, Congress considered various budget-related
legislation in the context of an unfavorable budget outlook. At the beginning of the
year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) projected annual deficits in the unified budget (i.e., including federal
funds and trust funds), under existing law without any legislative changes, in each of
the next several fiscal years.2 For example, OMB projected a $527 billion unified
budget deficit for FY2004, with deficits continuing but declining through FY2009.
Similarly, CBO projected a $477 billion unified budget deficit for FY2004, with a
surplus not returning until FY2014. In July and September of 2004, OMB and CBO
updated their deficit estimates, revising their unified budget deficit projections for
FY2004 to $444 billion and $422 billion, respectively.3 While OMB and CBO
1 For information on budget actions during the first session of the 108th Congress, see CRS
Report RL31754, Congressional Budget Actions in 2003, by Bill Heniff Jr.
2 See OMB, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005 (Washington: GPO, 2004),
table S-14, p. 388; and CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2005-2014,
Jan. 2004, table 1.1, p. 1.
3 See OMB, Mid-Session Review, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005
(Washington: GPO, 2004), table 12, p. 49; and CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook:
(continued...)

CRS-2
reduced their deficit estimates for FY2004, both continued to project deficits in each
of the next several years, as they had earlier in the year.
Overview of the Congressional Budget Process
The congressional budget process consists of the consideration and adoption of
spending, revenue, and debt-limit legislation within the framework of an annual
concurrent resolution on the budget.
Congress begins its budget process once the President submits his budget. The
President is required by law to submit a comprehensive federal budget no later than
the first Monday in February (31 U.S.C. 1105). The President’s budget includes
estimates of direct spending and revenues under existing laws, as well as requests for
discretionary spending (i.e., funds controlled through the appropriations process) for
the upcoming fiscal year. In addition, the President frequently proposes new
initiatives in his budget submission to Congress. Although Congress is not bound
by the President’s budget, congressional action on spending and revenue legislation
often is influenced by his recommendations, as well as subsequent budgetary
activities by the President during the year. OMB assists the President in formulating
and coordinating his budget policies and activities.
On February 2, 2004, President Bush submitted his FY2005 budget to Congress.
As is the usual practice, the President’s budget was submitted as a multi-volume set
consisting of a main document that includes the President’s budget message and
information on his 2005 proposals (Budget) and supplementary documents that
provide special budgetary analyses (Analytical Perspectives), historical budget
information (Historical Tables), and detailed account and program level information
(Appendix), among other things.4 The President may revise his budget request any
time during the year; revisions requested before Congress has acted on the initial
request are submitted as budget amendments. After submitting his FY2005 budget
in February, President Bush submitted to Congress eight budget amendments,
modifying his initial FY2005 budget request, including a request for an additional
$25 billion for the Department of Defense to support operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, which drew considerable attention. In addition, the President also may
request supplemental appropriations for the current fiscal year for unanticipated
3 (...continued)
An Update, Sept. 2004, summary table 1, p. x. On October 14, 2004, the OMB director,
along with the Treasury secretary, announced that the actual unified budget deficit for
FY2004, which ended on September 30, was $413 billion. See their joint statement at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pdf/YearEnd2004.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004.
For further information on the budget projections for FY2005 and beyond, see CRS Report
RL32264, The Budget for Fiscal Year 2005, by Philip D. Winters.
4 These documents are available at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/].

CRS-3
needs; President Bush submitted six requests for supplemental appropriations,
predominately for hurricane-related disaster relief.5
On July 30, 2004, President Bush submitted his Mid-Session Review of the
budget to Congress. This report contains revised estimates of the budget
deficit/surplus, receipts, outlays, and budget authority for FY2004 through FY2009,
reflecting changed economic conditions and assumptions and congressional actions.6
The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344, 88
Stat. 297-332) established the congressional budget process, including a timetable for
congressional action on budget legislation (see Table 1). The process is centered
around the adoption of an annual concurrent resolution on the budget. The budget
resolution sets forth aggregate spending and revenue levels, and spending levels by
major functional area, for at least five fiscal years. Because the budget resolution is
a concurrent resolution, it is not presented to the President for his signature and thus
does not become law. Instead, it is an agreement between the House and Senate on
a congressional budget plan, providing a framework for subsequent legislative action
on the budget during each congressional session.
Table 1. The Congressional Budget Process Timetable
Date
Action
First Monday in February
President submits budget to Congress.
February 15
Congressional Budget Office submits economic and
budget outlook report to Budget Committees.
Six weeks after President
Committees submit views and estimates to Budget
submits budget
Committees.
April 1
Senate Budget Committee reports budget resolution.
April 15
Congress completes action on budget resolution.
May 15
Annual appropriations bills may be considered in the
House, even if action on budget resolution has not been
completed.
June 10
House Appropriations Committee reports last annual
appropriations bill.
June 15
House completes action on reconciliation legislation (if
required by budget resolution).
June 30
House completes action on annual appropriations bills.
5 The President’s FY2005 budget amendments and supplemental requests are available
online at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments.htm].
6 The document is available at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/]. For
background information on the Mid-Session Review, see CRS Report RL32509, The
Mid-Session Review of the President’s Budget: Timing Issues, by Robert Keith.

CRS-4
Date
Action
July 15
President submits mid-session review of his budget to
Congress.
October 1
Fiscal year begins.
Source: Section 300 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended (P.L. 93-344, 2 U.S.C. 631).
Budget resolution policies are implemented through the enactment of revenue
and debt-limit legislation, appropriations and other spending measures, and, if
required by the budget resolution, one or more reconciliation bills (see Table 2).
Congress enforces budget resolution policies through points of order on the floor of
each chamber and the reconciliation process. For example, any legislation that would
cause the aggregate levels to be violated is prohibited from being considered.
Further, the total budget authority and outlays set forth in the budget resolution are
allocated among the House and Senate committees having jurisdiction over specific
spending legislation. Any legislation, or amendment, that would cause these
committee allocations to be exceeded is prohibited. Finally, the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees subdivide their allocations among their respective 13
subcommittees. A point of order may be raised against any appropriations act, or
amendment, that would cause one of these subdivisions to be exceeded.7 The budget
resolution also contains spending levels by functional categories (e.g., national
defense), but these are not enforceable. Congress also may use reconciliation
legislation (discussed further below) to enforce the direct spending, revenue, and
debt-limit provisions of a budget resolution.
In addition, the Senate is constrained by discretionary spending limits and a
“pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) requirement, which are enforced through points of order
while legislation is being considered on the Senate floor (explained further below).
The House does not provide for similar points of order.
For FY1991 through FY2002, Congress and the President also were constrained
by statutory limits on discretionary spending and a PAYGO requirement for direct
spending and revenue legislation.8 Unlike the enforcement procedures associated
with the budget resolution, which are employed while legislation is considered on the
floor of each chamber, the discretionary spending limits and PAYGO requirement
were enforced by a sequestration process, generally after legislative action for a
session of Congress ended. These budget enforcement mechanisms, however,
expired at the end of FY2002 (i.e., September 30, 2002).
7 For more detailed information on these points of order and their application, see CRS
Report 97-865, Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process, by James V. Saturno.
8 These constraints were first established by the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990
(Title XIII of P.L. 101-508, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 1388-
573-1388-630), which amended the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
of 1985 (Title II of P.L. 99-177, 99 Stat. 1038-1101).

CRS-5
During 2004, President Bush, among others, proposed setting new discretionary
spending limits and restoring a modified version of the PAYGO requirement.9 For
this reason, the last section of this report provides an overview of how those
procedures operated before they expired in 2002.
9 In his FY2005 budget, among other budget reform initiatives, President Bush proposed to
set discretionary spending limits for FY2005 through FY2009 and to restore the PAYGO
requirement for direct spending legislation only. See OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget
of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005, pp. 215-216. In addition, on March 19, 2004,
the House Budget Committee reported legislation (H.R. 3973, H.Rept. 108-442) establishing
new discretionary spending limits for FY2005 through FY2009 and restoring the PAYGO
requirement for direct spending legislation only. On June 25 (legislative day, June 24), the
House considered and rejected budget process legislation (H.R. 4663) by a 146-268 vote.
For the consideration on the House floor, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150
(June 24, 2004), pp. H4898-H4908, H4961-H5066.

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CRS-7
Budget Resolution
The Congressional Budget Act, as amended, establishes the concurrent
resolution on the budget as the centerpiece of the congressional budget process. The
budget resolution sets forth aggregate spending and revenue levels, and spending
levels by major functional area, for at least five fiscal years. Once adopted, it
provides the framework for subsequent action on budget-related legislation.
Following the submission of the President’s budget early in the year, Congress
begins formulating the budget resolution. The House and Senate Budget Committees
are responsible for developing and reporting the budget resolution. In formulating
it, 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. Two regular hearings include separate testimony
from the CBO director and the OMB director. On January 27, 2004, CBO Director
Douglas Holtz-Eakin presented CBO’s baseline budget projections for FY2005-
FY2014 during separate testimony to the House and Senate Budget Committees.10
On February 3 and 5, OMB Director Joshua B. Bolten provided an overview of
President Bush’s budget request before the House and Senate Budget Committees,
respectively.11
The congressional budget resolution, like the President’s budget, is based on
budget baselines (see Table 3). The budget baseline is a projection of federal
revenue, spending, and deficit or surplus levels based upon current policies, assuming
certain economic conditions. The President’s budget baseline, referred to as current
services estimates, is included in the budget documents submitted to Congress.12 The
President’s baseline usually differs from CBO’s baseline, referred to as baseline
budget projections, because of different economic and technical assumptions.
Baseline projections provide a benchmark for measuring the budgetary effects of
proposed policy changes. On January 26, 2004, CBO released its annual report on
budget baseline projections, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2005-
2014.13 On March 8, CBO released its revised budget baseline projections in its
10 Mr. Holtz-Eakin’s written testimony to the House Budget Committee is available at
[http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4988&sequence=0] and to the Senate Budget
Committee at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4987&sequence=0], visited on
December 27, 2004.
11 Mr. Bolton’s written testimony to the House Budget Committee is available from that
committee’s website, at [http://www.house.gov/budget/hearings/danielsstmnt020403.htm];
his written testimony to the Senate Budget Committee is available from its website at
[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/republican/hearingarchive/testimonies/2004/5feb2004te
stimony.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004.
12 See the summary table S-14 in the main Budget volume, p. 388, and chapter 24 of the
Analytical Perspectives volume, pp. 357-371, for detailed baseline estimates. OMB, Budget
of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005.
13 The report is available at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4985&sequence=0],
visited on December 27, 2004.

CRS-8
report An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2005.14
The report also contains estimates of the President’s proposals using CBO’s
economic and technical assumptions, and provides an analysis of the potential
macroeconomic effects of the President’s budgetary proposals.
Table 3. Budget Baselines, FY2004-FY2009
(in billions of dollars)
Total,
FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2005-
FY2009
Office of Management and Budget — July 2004
(current services estimates — without President Bush’s budget proposals)
Outlays
2,319
2,400
2,489
2,611
2,749
2,886
13,135
Revenues
1,875
2,108
2,255
2,394
2,546
2,683
11,986
Total Surplus/Deficit (-)
-444
-292
-234
-217
-204
-202
-1,149
On-budget
-599
-473
-431
-434
-440
-454
-2,232
Off-budgeta
155
181
198
217
237
252
1,085
(current services estimates — with President Bush’s budget proposals)
Outlays
2,319
2,423
2,500
2,623
2,762
2,895
13,203
Revenues
1,874
2,091
2,239
2,391
2,534
2,665
11,920
Total Surplus/Deficit (-)
-445
-331
-261
-233
-228
-229
-1,282
On-budget
-600
-512
-458
-450
-466
-481
-2,367
Off-budgeta
155
180
198
217
237
252
1,084
Congressional Budget Office — September 2004
(updated budget baseline projections)
Outlays
2,293
2,442
2,577
2,714
2,849
2,985
13,568
Revenues
1,871
2,094
2,279
2,406
2,531
2,673
11,983
Total Surplus/Deficit (-)
-422
-348
-298
-308
-318
-312
-1,584
On-budget
-574
-521
-491
-519
-546
-554
-2,631
Off-budgeta
153
173
193
211
228
242
1,047
Sources: Office of Management and Budget, Mid-Session Review, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2005 (Washington: GPO, 2004), pp. 42, 49; Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook:
An Update, Sept. 2004, p. x.
Note: Details may not add to totals due to rounding.
a. Off-budget surpluses comprise surpluses in the Social Security trust funds as well as the net cash flow of the Postal
Service.
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, each House and Senate committee is required to
submit views and estimates of budget matters under its jurisdiction to its respective
Budget Committee. These views and estimates, frequently submitted in the form of
a letter to the chair and ranking minority Member of the Budget Committee, typically
14 The report is available at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5151&sequence=0],
visited on December 27, 2004.

CRS-9
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 and estimates of Senate committees are printed in the committee print to
accompany the FY2005 budget resolution (S.Prt. 108-365, pp. 63-239); the views and
estimates of House committees are printed in a separate committee print (Serial no.
CP-3).
The budget resolution was designed to provide a framework for making budget
decisions, leaving specific program determinations to House and Senate
Appropriations Committees and other committees with spending and revenue
jurisdiction. In many instances, however, particular program changes are considered
when the budget resolution is formulated. Program assumptions sometimes are
referred to in the reports of the House and Senate Budget Committees and usually are
discussed during floor action. Although these program changes are not binding,
committees may be strongly influenced by the recommendations when formulating
appropriations bills, reconciliation measures, or other budgetary legislation.
The Senate Budget Committee marked up and voted to report the Senate version
of the FY2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95, S.Prt. 108-365) by a vote of 12-10
on March 4. During markup, the committee considered 26 amendments to the
chairman’s mark; eight amendments were adopted and 18 amendments were
rejected.15 The House Budget Committee marked up and voted to report the House
version of the FY2005 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 393, H.Rept. 108-441) by a
vote of 24-19 on March 17. During markup, the committee considered 33
amendments to the chairman’s mark; two amendments were adopted, 30 amendments
were rejected, and one amendment was withdrawn.16
The congressional budget process timetable sets April 15 as a target date for
final adoption of the budget resolution. The CBA prohibits the consideration of
spending, revenue, or debt-limit legislation for the upcoming year until the budget
resolution has been adopted, unless the rule is waived or set aside. The Senate and
House consider the budget resolution under procedures generally intended to expedite
final action.
The Senate considers the budget resolution under the procedures set forth in the
CBA, sometimes as modified by a unanimous consent agreement. Debate on the
initial consideration of the budget resolution, and all amendments, debatable motions,
and appeals, is limited to 50 hours. Amendments, motions, and appeals may be
considered beyond this time limit, but without debate. The Senate considered its
15 For a description of the amendments and the roll call votes, see U.S. Congress, Senate
Committee on the Budget, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget FY2005, committee print
to accompany S.Con.Res. 95, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Prt. 108-365, Mar. 2004 (Washington:
GPO, 2004), pp. 59-63.
16 For a description of the amendments and the roll call votes, see U.S. Congress, House
Committee on the Budget, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget — Fiscal Year 2005, report
to accompany H.Con.Res. 393, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 108-441, Mar. 19, 2004
(Washington: GPO, 2004), pp. 109-139.

CRS-10
version of the FY2005 budget resolution on March 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. During
consideration of S.Con.Res. 95, the Senate considered 64 amendments; 39
amendments were adopted, 19 amendments were rejected, four amendments were
withdrawn, and two amendments fell on points of order. On March 12 (legislative
day, March 11), the Senate agreed to S.Con.Res. 95, as amended, by a 51-45 vote.17
In the House, the budget resolution usually is considered under a special rule,
limiting the time of debate and allowing only a few amendments, as entire substitutes
to the concurrent resolution. On March 24, the House began consideration of
H.Con.Res. 393 under a unanimous consent agreement providing for six hours of
general debate.18 On March 25, the House considered H.Con.Res. 393 under a
structured rule (H.Res. 574, H.Rept. 108-446) reported by the House Rules
Committee. The special rule provided for further consideration of H.Con.Res. 393
and made in order only the four amendments in the nature of a substitute printed in
the House Rules Committee report. The House agreed to H.Res. 574 by voice vote
after agreeing to order the previous question by a vote of 222-201. During
consideration of the FY2005 budget resolution, the House rejected the four
amendments made in order by the special rule. The House subsequently agreed to
H.Con.Res. 393 by a 215-212 vote.19 On March 29, the House agreed to the Senate’s
budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95), with the text of the House-passed version
(H.Con.Res. 393) inserted as an amendment.20
The Senate and House convened a conference committee to resolve the
differences between the two versions of the FY2005 budget resolution. On May 19
(legislative day, May 18), 2004, the conference committee filed a conference report
(H.Rept. 108-498) on the FY2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95). The
conference report sets forth appropriate budget levels for FY2005 as follows:
$1,454.6 billion in revenues; $2,005.1 billion in budget authority; $1,996.0 billion
in outlays; and $541.4 billion in the on-budget deficit.21 On the same day (legislative
day, May 19), the House agreed to the conference report by a 216-213 vote.22 The
Senate, however, did not consider the conference report. Congress, therefore, did not
17 For the consideration and adoption of the Senate version of the FY2005 budget resolution,
see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Mar. 8-11, 2004), pp. S2256-S2294,
S2377-S2403, S2404-S2423, S2465-S2537, S2591-S2641, S2643-S2699.
18 For the unanimous consent agreement, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150
(Mar. 23, 2004), p. H1344. For the general debate on H.Con.Res. 393, see Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Mar. 24, 2004), pp. H1415-H1440, H1443-H1466.
19 For the consideration and adoption of H.Res. 574 and H.Con.Res. 393, see Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Mar. 25, 2004), pp. H1487-H1493, H1495-H1565.
20 See Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Mar. 29, 2004), p. H1611.
21 The totals in the budget resolution do not include the revenues and outlays of the Social
Security trust funds or the net cash flow of the U.S. Postal Service (i.e., the only off-budget
entities).
22 The conference report was considered under a special rule (H.Res. 649, H.Rept. 108-500),
which was agreed to by a 220-204 vote. For the consideration and adoption of H.Res. 649
and the conference report to S.Con.Res. 95, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol.
150 (May 19, 2004), pp. H3236-H3241, H3256-H3257, H3358-H3369.

CRS-11
complete action on a FY2005 budget resolution in 2004 — the third time Congress
did not complete action on a budget resolution since the creation of the congressional
budget process and the second time in the last three years.23
A major obstacle to reaching an agreement on the FY2005 budget resolution
reportedly was a provision in the Senate-passed version (Section 408 of S.Con.Res.
95) that would have required all tax cuts and mandatory spending increases be offset
by an equivalent tax increase, mandatory spending cut, or combination of the two (a
modified version of the existing pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, point of order in the
Senate); the requirement would have expired on September 30, 2009.24 The House-
passed version (H.Con.Res. 393), agreed to on March 25, included no such provision.
The conference report, as agreed to by the House but not considered by the Senate,
included a provision (Section 407 of S.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 108-498) similar to the
Senate version, but it exempted the reconciliation legislation provided for in the
budget resolution (Title II) and expired on April 15, 2005.
In the absence of an agreement on the FY2005 budget resolution, the House and
Senate separately adopted so-called “deeming resolution” provisions for budget
enforcement purposes.25 The House included a provision in the special rule (Section
2 of H.Res. 649) governing the consideration of the conference report to S.Con.Res.
95 “deeming” the conference report to have been agreed to by Congress.26 As a
result, the provisions of the conference report and the joint explanatory statement,
such as the committee spending allocations [the 302(a)s] and the subsequent
Appropriations Committee subdivisions [the 302(b)s], may be enforced in the House
under the procedures of the Congressional Budget Act. Subsequently, on June 24,
23 For historical information on budget resolutions, see CRS Report RL30297,
Congressional Budget Resolutions: Selected Statistics and Information Guide, by Bill
Heniff Jr.
24 For further information on the existing PAYGO point of order in the Senate, see CRS
Report RL31943, Budget Enforcement Procedures: Senate’s Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO)
Rule, by Bill Heniff Jr.
25 In years Congress is late in adopting, or does not adopt, a budget resolution, the House and
Senate independently may adopt a “deeming resolution” for the purpose of enforcing certain
budget levels. A deeming resolution, typically in the form of a simple resolution, specifies
certain budget levels normally contained in the budget resolution, including aggregate
spending and revenue levels, spending allocations to House and Senate committees,
spending allocations to the Appropriations Committees only, or a combination of these. In
some cases, an entire budget resolution, earlier adopted by one chamber, may be deemed to
have been passed. Under a deeming resolution, the enforcement procedures related to the
Congressional Budget Act, discussed later in this report, have the same force and effect as
if Congress had adopted a budget resolution. For further information on “deeming
resolutions,” see CRS Report RL31443, The “Deeming Resolution”: A Budget Enforcement
Tool, by Robert Keith.
26 The House agreed to H.Res. 649 (H.Rept. 108-500) by a 220-204 vote on May 19, 2004.
For the consideration and adoption of H.Res. 649, see Congressional Record, daily edition,
vol. 150 (May 19, 2004), pp. H3236-H3241, H3256-H3257.

CRS-12
2004, the House considered and rejected a resolution (H.Res. 685) revising the
FY2005 budget resolution, as it applies in the House, by a vote of 184-230.27
The Senate included a provision in the Defense Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.R.
4613, H.Rept. 108-622) setting forth the FY2005 spending allocations for the Senate
Appropriations Committee. President Bush signed the act into law (P.L. 108-287)
on August 5, 2004. Section 14007 of the act established new limits on the total
amounts, subject to certain adjustments and exemptions, for the FY2005 regular
appropriations acts: $821.4 billion in new budget authority and $905.3 billion in
outlays.28 Under the provisions of this section, these limits and the subsequent
subdivisions [302(b)s] reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee may be
enforced in the Senate under the procedures of the Congressional Budget Act. Senate
committees other than the Appropriations Committee, however, continued to be
limited by the spending allocations [302(a)s] associated with the FY2004 budget
resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 108-71).
Reconciliation Legislation
Congress may implement changes to existing law related to direct spending,
revenues, or the debt limit through the reconciliation process, under Section 310 of
the CBA. The reconciliation process has two stages. First, Congress includes
reconciliation instructions in a budget resolution directing one or more committees
to recommend changes in statute to achieve the levels of spending, revenues, and
debt limit agreed to in the budget resolution. Second, the legislative language
recommended by these committees is packaged “without any substantive revision”
into one or more reconciliation bills, as set forth in the budget resolution, by the
House and Senate Budget Committees. In some instances, a committee may be
required to report its legislative recommendations directly to its chamber.
Once reconciliation legislation is reported, it is considered under special
procedures. These special rules serve to limit what may be included in reconciliation
legislation, to prohibit certain amendments, and to encourage its completion in a
timely fashion. In the House, as with the budget resolution, reconciliation legislation
usually is considered under a special rule, establishing the time allotted for debate
and what amendments will be in order. In the Senate, debate on a budget
reconciliation bill, and on all amendments, debatable motions, and appeals, is limited
to not more than 20 hours. After the 20 hours of debate has been reached,
consideration of amendments, motions, and appeals may continue, but without
debate.
In both chambers, the CBA requires that amendments to reconciliation
legislation be deficit neutral and germane. Also, the CBA prohibits the consideration
27 For the consideration of H.Res. 685, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150
(June 24, 2004), pp. H4908-H4922.
28 The section also repealed the FY2005 discretionary spending limit contained in the
FY2004 budget resolution (Section 504 of H.Con.Res. 95).

CRS-13
of reconciliation legislation, or any amendment to a reconciliation bill,
recommending changes to the Social Security program. Finally, in the Senate,
Section 313 of the CBA, commonly referred to as the Byrd rule, prohibits extraneous
matter in a reconciliation bill.29
Both the Senate and House versions of the FY2005 budget resolution provided
for reconciliation legislation covering the period FY2005-FY2009. The Senate-
passed version, agreed to on March 12, 2004, provided for two reconciliation
measures: one to cut taxes by about $82.6 billion and the other to increase the
statutory debt limit by $644 billion. The House-passed version, agreed to on March
25, also provided for two reconciliation measures: one to cut taxes by about $137.9
billion and the other to cut mandatory spending by about $13.2 billion.
The conference report to the FY2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept.
108-498), which was filed on May 19 (legislative day, May 18), 2004, provided for
two reconciliation measures. The reconciliation directives required the Senate
Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to report no later
than September 30, 2004, legislation to reduce revenues by $22.9 billion and increase
outlays by $4.6 billion.30 The reconciliation directives also required the Senate
Finance Committee to report no later than September 10, 2004, legislation to increase
the statutory debt limit by $689.946 billion. As noted above, however, while the
House agreed to the conference report to the FY2005 budget resolution on May 19,
the Senate did not act on it. Reconciliation legislation can be triggered only by the
adoption of the conference report by both chambers; therefore, no reconciliation
legislation was considered in 2004.
Revenue and Debt-Limit Legislation
Congress may adopt individual revenue and debt-limit measures without
employing the optional reconciliation process as well.
Revenue Legislation. Revenue, as well as debt-limit, legislation is under the
jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance
Committee. Article I, Section 7, of the U.S. Constitution requires that revenue
legislation originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate has considerable
latitude to amend a revenue bill received from the House.
29 For detailed information on the Byrd rule, see CRS Report RL30862, Budget
Reconciliation Procedures: The Senate’s “Byrd Rule,” by Robert Keith.
30 While the reconciliation directives do not require any particular tax policy changes, the
joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference suggests that the total amount
of $27.5 billion would have accommodated a one-year extension of “the $1,000 child credit,
the marriage penalty relief, and the 10 percent marginal tax rate bracket.” See U.S.
Congress, Committee on Conference, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year
2005, conference report to accompany S.Con.Res. 95, 108th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 108-
498 (Washington: GPO, 2004), p. 88.

CRS-14
Most of the laws establishing the federal government’s revenue sources are
permanent and continue year after year without any additional legislative action (see
Figure 1).31 Congress, however, typically enacts revenue legislation, changing some
portion of the existing tax system or renewing expiring provisions, every year.
Revenue legislation may include changes to individual and corporate income taxes,
social insurance taxes, excise taxes, or tariffs and duties.
Figure 1. Actual FY2003 Revenues by Source
Revenue legislation is not considered automatically in the congressional budget
process on an annual basis. Frequently, however, the President proposes and
Congress considers changes in the rates of taxation or the distribution of the tax
burden. An initial step in the congressional budget process is the publication of
revenue estimates of the President’s budget by CBO. On March 8, CBO released its
report, An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2005,
which contains estimates of the President’s proposals using CBO’s economic and
technical assumptions and provides an analysis of the potential macroeconomic
effects of the President’s budgetary proposals.32 These revenue estimates usually
31 Chart created by CRS based on data from Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and
Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2005-2014, p. 131.
32 The report is available at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5151&sequence=0],
(continued...)

CRS-15
differ from the President’s, since they are based on different economic and technical
assumptions (e.g., growth of the economy and change in the inflation rate). Cost
estimates of any congressional revenue proposals are prepared by CBO, based on
revenue estimates made by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), and are
published in committee reports or in the Congressional Record, as well as available
on JCT’s website.33
The budget resolution includes baseline estimates of federal government
revenues based on the continuation of existing laws and any proposed policy
changes. The revenue levels in the budget resolution provide the framework for any
action on revenue measures during the session. A point of order may be raised
against the consideration of legislation that causes revenues to fall below the agreed
upon levels for the first fiscal year or the total for all fiscal years in the budget
resolution. This point of order may be set aside by unanimous consent, or waived by
a special rule in the House or by a three-fifths vote in the Senate.
A Senate PAYGO point of order, under Section 505 of the FY2004 budget
resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Congress), also may be raised against any revenue
legislation not assumed in the most recently adopted budget resolution that would
increase or cause an on-budget deficit for the first fiscal year, the period of the first
five fiscal years, or the following five fiscal years, covered by the most recently
adopted budget resolution.34 A motion to waive the point of order requires a three-
fifths vote (i.e., 60 Senators if there are no vacancies).
During the second session of the 108th Congress, Congress acted on several
revenue measures. The House, in April and May 2004, for example, adopted
separate legislation to permanently extend the marriage penalty relief (H.R. 4181),
to extend to 2005 the alternative minimum tax relief (H.R. 4227), to permanently
extend the 10% individual income tax rate bracket (H.R. 4275), and to increase the
child tax credit (H.R. 4359).35 Subsequently, on September 23, 2004, the House and
Senate agreed to the conference report (H.Rept. 108-696) to accompany H.R. 1308,
the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, by votes of 339-65 and 92-3,
32 (...continued)
visited on December 27, 2004.
33 [http://www.house.gov/jct/].
34 The joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference on the FY2004 budget
resolution indicates that the budget resolution assumed direct spending increases and
revenue reductions totaling $1,755.957 billion over the period FY2003-FY2013. See U.S.
Congress, Committee on Conference, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year
2004, conference report to accompany H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 108-71
(Washington: GPO, 2003), pp. 122-123.
35 The House adopted H.R. 4181 by a 323-95 vote on April 28, H.R. 4227 by a 333-89 vote
on May 5, H.R. 4275 by a 344-76 vote on May 13, and H.R. 4359 by a 271-139 vote on May
20. For the estimated budget effects of these measures, see the revenue estimates by the
Joint Committee on Taxation available at [http://www.house.gov/jct/x-31-04.pdf],
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-32-04.pdf], [http://www.house.gov/jct/x-34-04.pdf], and
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-37-04.pdf], respectively, visited on December 27, 2004.

CRS-16
respectively.36 President Bush signed H.R. 1308 into law (P.L. 108-311) on October
4. P.L. 108-311 extends several individual income tax provisions enacted in the
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and modified by the
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, establishes a uniform
definition of a qualifying child, and extends other provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code that are scheduled to expire or have already expired.37 The Congressional
Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that the legislation
would reduce revenues by $122 billion and increase outlays by $24 billion over the
10-year period covering FY2005-FY2014.38
Congress also acted on legislation primarily affecting business taxes. On May
11, 2004, the Senate adopted by a 92-5 vote S. 1637, the Jumpstart Our Business
Strength (JOBS) Act.39 On June 17, the House passed similar legislation, H.R. 4520,
the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, by a 251-178 vote.40 After resolving the
differences between their respective versions,41 the House and Senate agreed to the
conference report (H.Rept. 108-755) to accompany H.R. 4520 by votes of 280-141
36 In the House, the conference report was considered under a special rule (H.Res. 794,
H.Rept. 108-699), which was agreed to by a 235-167 vote. For the House consideration and
adoption of H.Res. 794 and the conference report to H.R. 1308, see Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 150 (Sept. 23, 2004), pp. H7514-H7540. For the Senate consideration and
adoption of the conference report to H.R. 1308, see Congressional Record, daily edition,
vol. 150 (Sept. 23, 2004), pp. S9560-S9580.
37 H.R. 1308, as originally adopted by the House on March 19, 2003, contained provisions
to end certain abusive tax practices and to provide tax relief and simplification (see the JCT
revenue estimate at [http://www.house.gov/jct/x-18-03.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004),
but subsequently was amended by the Senate (on June 5, 2003) and the House (on June 12,
2003) to include primarily child tax credit provisions (see the JCT revenue estimates online
at [http://www.house.gov/jct/x-58-03.pdf] and [http://www.house.gov/jct/x-61-03.pdf], both
visited on December 27, 2004).
38 CBO, Cost Estimate for H.R. 1308, Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, September
30, 2004, available at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5868&sequence=0], and
JCT, Estimated Revenue Effects of the Conference Agreement for H.R. 1308, the “Working
Families Tax Relief Act of 2004,” (JCX-60-04), Sept. 23, 2004, available at
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-60-04.pdf], both visited on December 27, 2004.
39 For an estimate of the revenue effects of S. 1637, see Joint Committee on Taxation,
Estimated Revenue Effects of S. 1637, the “Jumpstart Our Business Strength (‘JOBS’) Act,”
As Passed the Senate, (JCX-36-04), May 20, 2004, available at
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-36-04.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004.
40 For an estimate of the revenue effects of H.R. 4520, see Joint Committee on Taxation,
Estimated Revenue Effects of H.R. 4250, the “American Jobs Creation Act of 2004,” As
Passed the House of Representatives, (JCX-45-04), June 22, 2004, available at
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-45-04.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004.
41 For a comparison of the two versions, see CRS Report RL32444, Comparison of the
House and Senate ETI/Business Investment Bills (H.R. 4520 and S. 1637, 108th Congress),
by David L. Brumbaugh; and Joint Committee on Taxation, Comparison Of The Estimated
Budget Effects Of H.R. 4520, The “American Jobs Creation Act Of 2004,” As Passed By
The House Of Representatives, And H.R. 4520, The “Jumpstart Our Business Strength
(‘JOBS’) Act,” As Amended By The Senate, (JCX-53-04), July 23, 2004, available at
[http://www.house.gov/jct/x-53-04.pdf], visited on December 27, 2004.

CRS-17
on October 7 and 69-17 on October 11, respectively.42 President Bush signed H.R.
4520 into law (P.L. 108-357) on October 22. The Congressional Budget Office and
the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that the legislation would increase the
deficit by $5.7 billion in FY2005, by $8.8 billion over the five-year period covering
FY2005-FY2009, and by about $350 million over the 10-year period covering
FY2005-FY2014.43
Debt-Limit Legislation. The amount of money the federal government is
allowed to borrow generally is subject to a statutory limit (31 U.S.C. 3101). From
time to time, Congress adopts legislation to raise this limit.44
Federal debt consists of debt held by the public plus debt held by government
accounts. The debt held by the public represents the total net amount borrowed from
the public to cover all or most of the federal government’s budget deficits. By
contrast, the debt held by government accounts represents the total net amount of
federal debt issued to specialized federal accounts, primarily trust funds (e.g., Social
Security). Trust fund surpluses by law must be invested in special (non-negotiable)
federal government securities and thus are held in the form of federal debt. The
combination of both types of debt is subject to the statutory public debt limit.
Therefore, budget deficits or trust fund surpluses may contribute to the federal
government reaching the existing debt limit.
The annual congressional budget resolution specifies the appropriate level of the
public debt for each fiscal year covered by the resolution. Although the budget
resolution does not become law itself, the specified debt limits serve as a guide for
any necessary debt-limit legislation.
Congress may develop debt-limit legislation in any of three ways: (1) under
regular legislative procedures; (2) under House Rule XXVII; or (3) as part of
reconciliation legislation (as described above). The House Ways and Means
Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have jurisdiction over debt-limit
legislation.
42 In the House, the conference report was considered under a special rule (H.Res. 830,
H.Rept. 108-762), which was agreed to by voice vote. For the House consideration and
adoption of H.Res. 830 and the conference report to H.R. 4520, see Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 150 (Oct. 7, 2004), pp. H8704-H8726. For the Senate consideration and
adoption of the conference report to H.R. 4520, see Congressional Record, daily edition,
vol. 150 (Oct. 9, 10, and 11, 2004), pp. S10928-S10945, S11019-S11068, S11191-S11222.
During the consideration, the Senate voted to invoke cloture, thereby limiting debate on the
conference report to H.R. 4520, by a 66-14 vote on October 10.
43 CBO, Cost Estimate for H.R. 4520, American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, Revised November
9, 2004, available at [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=6007&sequence=0], visited on
December 27, 2004.
44 For further information on debt-limit legislation, see CRS Report RS21519, Legislative
Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview, by Robert Keith and Bill
Heniff Jr.; and CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: The Need for Increases, by Philip D.
Winters.

CRS-18
House Rule XXVII (commonly referred to as the Gephardt rule after its author,
Representative Richard Gephardt) provides that a joint resolution specifying the
amount of the debt limit contained in the budget resolution automatically is
engrossed and deemed to have passed the House by the same vote as the conference
report on the budget resolution, thereby avoiding a separate vote on the debt-limit
legislation. The Senate has no comparable automatic engrossment procedure; if it
chooses to consider a House-passed joint resolution, it does so under the regular
legislative process.
Prior to 2004, the last increase in the public debt limit originated under the
Gephardt rule and subsequently was enacted as an independent measure (H.J.Res. 51,
P.L. 108-24) in May 2003. In February 2004, the Administration indicated that it
expected the debt subject to the limit would reach the statutory ceiling before the end
of FY2004 (i.e., September 30, 2004).45 On October 14, 2004, Treasury Secretary
John W. Snow informed Congress that the Treasury effectively had reached the debt
ceiling, stating:
Given current projections, it is imperative that the Congress take action to
increase the debt-limit by mid-November, at which time all of our previously
used prudent and legal actions to avoid breaching the statutory debt limit will be
exhausted.46
Even though the House agreed to the conference report to the FY2005 budget
resolution, no legislation increasing the debt limit was engrossed automatically,
pursuant to the Gephardt rule, because the Senate did not agree to the conference
report. Consequently, on November 17, 2004, the Senate considered and adopted S.
2986, increasing the statutory public debt limit by $800 billion to $8.184 trillion, by
a 52-44 vote.47 The following day, the House considered and adopted S. 2986 by a
208-204 vote.48 President Bush signed the legislation into law (P.L. 108-415) on
November 19.
Appropriations and Other Spending Legislation
Federal spending is categorized into two different types: discretionary or
mandatory spending. Discretionary spending is controlled through the annual
45 OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2005, p. 234.
46 Letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, dated October 14, 2004, available at
[http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/frist.pdf]; also see a previous letter dated
August 2, 2004, available at [http://www.cq.com/flatfiles/editorialFiles/temporaryItems/
20040803-treasdebt.pdf], both visited on December 27, 2004.
47 For the Senate consideration and adoption of S. 2986, see Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 150 (Nov. 17, 2004), pp. S11398-S11418.
48 In the House, S. 2986 was considered under a special rule (H.Res. 856, H.Rept. 108-778),
which was agreed to by a 205-191 vote. For the House consideration and adoption of H.Res.
856 and S. 2986, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Nov. 18, 2004), pp.
H9966-H9987.

CRS-19
appropriations acts, while mandatory or direct spending (which consists mostly of
entitlement programs) is determined by existing law.
Actual FY2003 federal outlays totaled $2,158 billion (see Figure 2).49 Of this
total amount, $826 billion, or about 38.3%, was discretionary spending (exploded
slices in Figure 2), while $1,332 billion, or 61.7%, was mandatory spending.
As noted above, the total budget authority and outlays set forth in the budget
resolution are allocated among the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction
over specific spending legislation. These allocations, commonly referred to as 302(a)
allocations after the applicable section of the Congressional Budget Act, are specified
in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report to the budget
resolution. A point of order may be raised against any legislation that would cause
a committee’s spending allocation to be exceeded. The budget resolution typically
provides for periodic revisions of these allocations if certain conditions, specified in
reserve fund provisions, for instance, are met.
Figure 2. Actual FY2003 Revenues by Major Spending Category
49 Chart created by CRS based on data from CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook:
Fiscal Years 2005-2014, pp. 133, 135, 137. The chart excludes offsetting receipts, which
are treated as negative spending (i.e., they are deducted from spending in the budget totals);
offsetting receipts totaled $100.2 billion in FY2003. Percentages do not add to 100% due
to rounding.

CRS-20
Discretionary Spending. Discretionary spending is under the jurisdiction
of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Soon after the budget
resolution is adopted by Congress, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees
subdivide their spending allocations among their subcommittees and formally report
these suballocations to their respective chambers. These suballocations, referred to
as 302(b) allocations after the applicable section of the Congressional Budget Act,
represent the spending ceilings on the individual regular appropriations acts. During
the appropriations process, these suballocations usually are revised several times.
Until they were repealed upon the enactment of the Defense Appropriations Act,
2005 (see Section 14007 of P.L. 108-287), discretionary spending limits for FY2004
and FY2005 also could have been enforced in the Senate by a point of order.50
Congress passes three main types of appropriations measures. Regular
appropriations acts provide budget authority for the next fiscal year, beginning on
October 1. Each of the 13 subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees of the
House and Senate is responsible for one of the 13 regular appropriations acts.
Supplemental appropriations acts provide additional funding for unexpected needs
while the fiscal year is in progress. Continuing appropriations acts, commonly
referred to as continuing resolutions, provide stop-gap funding for agencies that have
not received regular appropriations by the start of the fiscal year.
The President’s budget includes recommendations for the agencies, programs,
and activities funded in the annual appropriations measures; account and program
level detail about these recommendations is included in the Appendix volume of the
President’s budget documents. In addition, agencies submit justification materials
to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The budget justifications
provide more detailed information about an agency’s program activities than is
contained in the President’s budget documents and are used in support of agency
testimony during appropriations subcommittee hearings on the President’s budget
request.
The House and Senate appropriations subcommittees begin holding extensive
hearings on appropriations requests shortly after the President’s budget is submitted.
By custom, appropriations measures originate in the House. In recent years, the
Senate Appropriations Committee has adopted and reported original Senate
appropriations measures, allowing the Senate to consider appropriations measures
without having to wait for the House to adopt its version. Under this practice, the
Senate version is considered and amended on the floor, and then inserted into the
House-adopted version, when available, as a substitute amendment, thereby retaining
the House-numbered bill for final action.
50 Section 504 of the FY2004 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Congress), created
discretionary spending limits for each fiscal year covering FY2003 through FY2005. These
discretionary spending limits could have been adjusted for transportation spending under
Section 411 of the budget resolution and for spending designated as an emergency
requirement under Section 502 of the budget resolution. See U.S. Congress, Committee on
Conference, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2004, conference report
to accompany H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 108-71 (Washington: GPO,
2003), p. 122.

CRS-21
In addition to the 13 regular appropriations acts, Congress typically acts on at
least one supplemental appropriations measure during a session. Congress also often
adopts one or more continuing resolutions each year because of recurring delays in
the appropriations process. For example, Congress passed five continuing
resolutions before completing action on the FY2004 regular appropriations acts.
Appropriations for FY2004. At the beginning of 2004, only six of the 13
FY2004 regular appropriations acts had been enacted. For agencies and programs
contained in the remaining seven regular appropriations acts, a continuing resolution
(H.J.Res. 79, P.L. 108-135) had been enacted to provide temporary appropriations
through January 31, 2004, to prevent any funding gap; four other continuing
resolutions had provided temporary appropriations from the start of the fiscal year on
October 1, 2003.51 To complete action on the remaining seven regular appropriations
acts, Congress incorporated them into one measure: the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2004 (H.R. 2673, H.Rept. 108-401).52 The House and Senate agreed to the
conference report to the act on December 8, 2003, and January 22, 2004,
respectively.53 On January 23, President Bush signed the measure into law (P.L. 108-
199), thereby bringing action on the FY2004 regular appropriations acts to a close.
Appropriations for FY2005. As noted above, in the absence of an
agreement on the FY2005 budget resolution, the House and Senate separately
adopted so-called “deeming resolution” provisions for budget enforcement purposes.
The House “deemed” the conference report to the budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95,
H.Rept. 108-498) to have been agreed to by Congress. Consequently, the spending
allocations [302(a)s] for the House Appropriations Committee are $821.9 billion in
budget authority and $905.7 billion in outlays for the FY2005 appropriations
measures.54 The Senate, in contrast, established spending allocations for the Senate
Appropriations Committee in the Defense Appropriations Act, 2005, which was
51 Congress and President Bush provided temporary funding through October 31 (H.J.Res.
69, P.L. 108-84), November 7 (H.J.Res. 75, P.L. 108-104), November 21 (H.J.Res. 76, P.L.
108-107), and January 31, 2004 (H.J.Res. 79, P.L. 108-135). Subsequently, Congress
passed and President Bush signed into law a fifth continuing resolution (H.J.Res. 82, P.L.
108-185), which made changes to the previous continuing resolution related to certain
spending accounts, but did not change its expiration date (i.e., January 31, 2004).
52 For a guide to the contents of the act, see CRS Report RS21684, FY2004 Consolidated
Appropriations Act: Reference Guide, by Robert Keith.
53 On December 9, 2003, a unanimous consent request was made that the Senate agree to the
conference report to H.R. 2673, but an objection was raised. See Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 149 (Dec. 9, 2003), pp. S16082-S16083. Subsequently, a motion to
invoke cloture on the conference report was initially rejected on January 20, but then, on
reconsideration, was agreed to on January 22, leading to a vote on the measure. See
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Jan. 20, 2004), pp. S20-S21, and
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Jan. 22, 2004), p. S156.
54 The initial spending allocations for the House Appropriations Committee ($814.3 billion
in budget authority and $890.8 billion in outlays) were revised on June 15, 2004, by House
Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, under the authority of Sections 312 and 313 of the
FY2005 budget resolution. See Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (June 15,
2004), p. H4146.

CRS-22
signed into law (P.L. 108-287) on August 5, 2004. Under Section 14007 of the act,
the spending allocations [302(a)s] for the Senate Appropriations Committee, subject
to certain adjustments, are $821.4 billion in budget authority and $905.3 billion in
outlays for the FY2005 appropriations measures.55 Subsequently, these spending
allocations were adjusted to levels effectively consistent to those allocated to the
House Appropriations Committee.56 The allocations to the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees were consistent with the total FY2005 discretionary
spending amount supported by the Administration.57
On June 15, 2004, the House Appropriations Committee reported its initial
subcommittee spending allocations (H.Rept. 108-543) and revised these
suballocations once (H.Rept. 108-633). On September 8, the Senate Appropriations
Committee reported its initial subcommittee spending allocations (S.Rept. 108-336)
and revised these suballocations four times (S.Rept. 108-337; S.Rept. 108-338;
S.Rept. 108-356; and S.Rept. 108-398). As mentioned above, these suballocations
serve as spending ceilings for the 13 individual regular appropriations measures and
are enforced by points of order on the floor of each chamber.
The House and Senate began consideration of the regular appropriations bills
for FY2005 during the week of June 14 and June 21, respectively. When FY2005
began on October 1, the House had passed 10, and the Senate had passed one, of the
13 regular appropriations acts for FY2005; only one (the Defense Appropriations
Act, 2005) had been signed into law by President Bush.58 Consequently, Congress
passed and President Bush signed into law a continuing resolution (H.J.Res. 107, P.L.
108-309) to provide temporary appropriations through November 20, 2004, for
agencies and programs funded in the remaining regular appropriations acts not yet
55 In addition to setting FY2005 spending allocations for the Senate Appropriations
Committee, Section 14007 of the Defense Appropriations Act, 2005, also repealed the
FY2005 discretionary spending limit contained in the FY2004 budget resolution (Section
504 of H.Con.Res. 95). Without these provisions, and without agreement on a FY2005
budget resolution, the Senate Appropriations Committee would have been bound by the
discretionary spending limits included in the FY2004 budget resolution (Section 504 of
H.Con.Res. 95). These limits, as subsequently modified, capped the total amount of
discretionary spending provided in the FY2005 appropriations measures at $814.3 billion
in budget authority and $858.4 billion in outlays.
56 The initial spending allocations to the Senate Appropriations Committee were revised to
$821.9 billion in budget authority and $905.6 billion in outlays on September 20, 2004, by
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles, under the authority of Section
14007(b)(2) of P.L. 108-287. See Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Sept. 20,
2004), p. S9380.
57 See, for example, the letter from OMB Director Joshua B. Bolten to congressional
a p p r o p r i a t o r s , d a t e d N o v e m b e r 1 7 , 2 0 0 4 , a v a i l a b l e a t
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/fy2004/omni_ltr_111704.pdf], visited on
December 27, 2004, or the Statements of Administration Policy for any of the FY2005
r e g u l a r a p p r o p r i a t i o n s a c t s , a v a i l a b l e a t
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/108-2/index-date.html].
58 For the up-to-date status of and further information on the FY2005 appropriations bills,
see [http://www.crs.gov/products/appropriations/apppage.shtml], the CRS Appropriations
website.

CRS-23
enacted. Subsequently, Congress and President Bush extended the temporary
funding through December 3 (H.J.Res. 114, P.L. 108-416) and December 8 (H.J.Res.
115, P.L. 108-434).
After the start of FY2005 on October 1, Congress and President Bush completed
action on three additional regular appropriations acts for FY2005 individually. To
complete action on the remaining nine of the 13 regular appropriations acts, Congress
incorporated them into a single omnibus appropriations act, H.R. 4818 (originally the
Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, 2005). On November 20, the House and
Senate agreed to the conference report to H.R. 4818, Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2005 (H.Rept. 108-792).59 On December 8, President Bush signed H.R. 4818
into law (P.L. 108-447), thereby bringing action on the FY2005 regular
appropriations acts to a close.
Supplemental Appropriations. In addition to the regular appropriations
measures, Congress acted on several requests for supplemental appropriations. In
2004, President Bush submitted five requests for supplemental appropriations,
predominately for hurricane-related disaster relief.60 In response to these requests,
Congress passed two measures providing supplemental appropriations. First, on
September 7, the House and Senate passed H.R. 5005, the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, which provides $2 billion for FY2004 by
voice vote and unanimous consent, respectively. On September 8, President Bush
signed H.R. 5005 into law (P.L. 108-303).
Second, on October 6, the House passed H.R. 5212, Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for Hurricane Disasters Assistance Act, 2005, by a 412-0 vote. The
Senate, however, did not consider H.R. 5212. Instead, Congress added the
59 In the House, the conference report to H.R. 4818 was considered under a special rule
(H.Res. 866, H.Rept. 108-794), which was agreed to by a 233-158 vote. For the House
consideration and adoption of H.Res. 866 and the conference report to H.R. 4818, see
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Nov. 20, 2004), pp. H10087-H10209. On
November 20, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to not send H.R. 4818 to President
Bush until the House adopted H.Con.Res. 528, as amended. See Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 150 (Nov. 20, 2004), p. S11740. H.Con.Res. 528, as initially adopted by
the House, made technical corrections to the enrollment of H.R. 4818, including changing
the across-the-board reduction percentage from 0.83% to 0.80%. The Senate, however,
amended the measure to also strike a controversial provision relating to appropriations
committee access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and tax returns. For further
information on this matter, see (1) Dan Morgan and Helen Dewar, “Spending Bill Held Up
by Tax Provision,” Washington Post (Nov. 23, 2004), p. A01; and (2) Nancy Ognanovich,
“Dispute Over Riders Slows Enactment of $388 Billion, Nine-Bill Omnibus Package,”
BNA’s Daily Report for Executives (Nov. 23, 2004), p. A-42. For the Senate consideration
and adoption of the conference report to H.R. 4818, see Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 150 (Nov. 20, 2004, pp. S11740-S11767. The House, subsequently, adopted
H.Con.Res. 528, as amended, on December 6, clearing the act for the President. For a guide
to the contents of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, and further information on
its passage, see CRS Report RS21983, FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act: Reference
Guide, by Robert Keith.
6 0 The President’s supplemental requests are available online at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments.htm].

CRS-24
supplemental appropriations to the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2005
(H.R. 4837), during conference consideration. The House and Senate passed the
conference report (H.Rept. 108-773) to H.R. 4837 by a 374-0 vote on October 9 and
by voice vote on October 11, respectively. President Bush signed H.R. 4837 into law
(P.L. 108-324) on October 13. The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for
Hurricane Disasters Assistance Act, 2005 (Division B of P.L. 108-324) provides
about $14.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for FY2005.
In both cases, the supplemental appropriations were designated as emergency
requirements, pursuant to Section 402 of S.Con.Res. 95, the FY2005 budget
resolution, as made applicable to the House of Representatives by H.Res. 649 and
applicable to the Senate by Section 14007 of P.L. 108-287, and thereby exempt from
the spending constraints mentioned above.
Mandatory Spending. Mandatory spending is under the jurisdiction of the
various legislative committees of the House and Senate. Some entitlement programs,
such as Medicaid and certain veterans’ programs, are funded in annual appropriations
acts, but such spending is not considered discretionary and is not controlled through
the annual appropriations process.
In addition to the 302 process mentioned above, mandatory spending legislation
is limited by the Senate’s PAYGO requirement. A point of order, under Section 505
of the FY2004 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Congress), may be raised
against any mandatory spending legislation not assumed in the most recently adopted
budget resolution that would increase or cause an on-budget deficit for the first fiscal
year, the period of the first five fiscal years, or the following five fiscal years, covered
by the most recently adopted budget resolution.61 A motion to waive the point of
order requires a three-fifths vote (i.e., 60 Senators if there are no vacancies).
On several occasions in the past, Congress has included reserve funds in the
budget resolution to accommodate specific mandatory spending legislation. Under
the provisions of a reserve fund, the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget
Committees may revise the committee spending allocations and other budget
resolution levels if certain legislation is reported by the appropriate committee.
Without such an adjustment, mandatory spending legislation might be subject to
points of order if it were not assumed in the budget resolution spending amounts.
One major mandatory spending bill considered during 2004 was the six-year
renewal of the highway and transit program.62 On February 12, the Senate passed
61 The joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference on the FY2004 budget
resolution indicates that the budget resolution assumed direct spending increases and
revenue reductions totaling almost $1.8 trillion over the period FY2003-FY2013. See U.S.
Congress, Committee on Conference, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year
2004, conference report to accompany H.Con.Res. 95, 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 108-71
(Washington: GPO, 2003), pp. 122-123.
62 For further information on the legislation, see CRS Report RL32226, Highway and
Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress, by John
(continued...)

CRS-25
legislation (S. 1072) to authorize funds for federal aid for highways, highway safety
programs, and transit programs. During consideration of the legislation, the Senate
agreed to waive a point of order (under Section 302(f) of the CBA) against Senator
James Inhofe’s amendment in the nature of a substitute (S.Amdt. 2285) by a vote of
72-24; the point of order was raised because the legislation exceeded the spending
amounts for transportation programs provided in the FY2004 budget resolution
(H.Con.Res. 95).63
The House passed its version of the highway and transit program reauthorization
legislation (H.R. 3550) on April 2, 2004. Prior to the consideration of the legislation,
House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle adjusted the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee’s spending allocation pursuant to the contingency
procedure for this purpose set forth in the FY2004 budget resolution (Section 411 of
H.Con.Res. 95).64 With the adjustment, the legislation as considered by the House
complied with the spending amounts for the surface transportation reauthorization
legislation provided in the FY2004 budget resolution and therefore was not subject
to points of order under the Congressional Budget Act.
A conference committee was convened to resolve the differences between the
House and Senate versions of the legislation (H.R. 3550). However, the conferees
were unable to resolve those difference before Congress adjourned sine die. In
anticipation of that possibility, Congress adopted and President Bush signed
legislation (H.R. 5183, P.L. 108-310) extending the authorization for highway and
transit programs through May 31, 2005.
Budget Enforcement and Sequestration
Beginning in 1990, Congress and the President were constrained by statutory
limits on discretionary spending and a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement for
62 (...continued)
W. Fischer; and CRS Report RL31665, Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization, by
John W. Fischer.
63 The contract authority provided in the legislation for transportation programs is treated
as mandatory spending, while the resulting outlays are treated as discretionary spending.
Therefore, the contract authority amounts are subject to the 302(a) spending limits allocated
to the committees of jurisdiction by the FY2004 budget resolution. For more information
on the estimated cost of the legislation, see the Senate Budget Committee’s Budget Bulletin
of Feb. 10, 2004, available from the Senate Budget Committee’s website at
[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/republican/analysis/2004/bb01-2004.pdf], visited on
December 27, 2004. For the discussion on the Senate floor related to the point of order and
the motion to waive it, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (Feb. 12, 2004),
pp. S1206-S1219.
64 On Apr. 1, 2004, House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle increased the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s spending allocation by $3.777 billion in
additional budget authority for the period FY2004-FY2008. See Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 150 (Apr. 1, 2004), p. H2040.

CRS-26
direct spending and revenue legislation.65 Initially applicable through FY1995, they
were modified and extended in 1993 to apply through FY1997, and extended again
in 1997 to apply through FY2002. In each case, the budgetary controls were
designed to enforce five-year budget agreements between Congress and the President.
Without any legislative action by Congress and the President to extend the budget
enforcement mechanisms further, they expired at the end of FY2002 (i.e., September
30, 2002).
During 2004, President Bush, among others, proposed setting new discretionary
spending limits and restoring a modified version of the PAYGO requirement.66 For
this reason, an overview of how those procedures operated before they expired in
2002 is provided below.
Since 1990, the statutory limits had applied to different categories of
discretionary spending. During some periods, discretionary spending was combined
into a single category; at other times it was divided into two or more broad
categories, such as defense and nondefense spending. Currently, adjustable
discretionary spending limits still exist for highway and mass transit spending for
FY2003 and conservation spending (divided into six subcategories) through FY2006,
but the sequestration process to enforce them expired on September 30, 2002.
Under the PAYGO requirement, the net effect of new direct spending and
revenue legislation enacted for a fiscal year could not cause a positive balance on a
multiyear PAYGO “scorecard” (i.e., cause an increase in the on-budget deficit or a
reduction in the on-budget surplus). For each fiscal year, this scorecard maintained
the balances of the accumulated budgetary effects of laws enacted during the current
session and prior years. The PAYGO requirement applied to legislation enacted
through FY2002, but it covered the effects of such legislation through FY2006. The
PAYGO requirement effectively was terminated at the end of FY2002 as well (as
discussed below).
The discretionary spending limits and PAYGO requirement were enforced
primarily by sequestration, which involved automatic, largely across-the-board
spending cuts in non-exempt programs. Sequestration was triggered if the OMB
director estimated in the final sequestration report at the end of a session that one or
more of the discretionary spending limits would be exceeded or the PAYGO
65 The discretionary spending limits and the PAYGO requirement were first established by
the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990 (Title XIII of P.L. 101-508, Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 1388-573-1388-630), which amended the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Title II of P.L. 99-177, 99 Stat. 1038-
1101). The limits were extended in 1993 (Title XIV of P.L. 103-66, Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993, 107 Stat. 683-685) and in 1997 (Budget Enforcement Act of
1997, Title X of P.L. 105-33, Balanced Budget Act of 1997, 111 Stat. 677-712).
66 As noted above, on Mar. 19, 2004, the House Budget Committee reported legislation
(H.R. 3973, H.Rept. 108-442) establishing new discretionary spending limits for FY2005
through FY2009 and restoring the PAYGO requirement for direct spending only. On June
25 (legislative day, June 24), the House considered and rejected budget process legislation
(H.R. 4663) by a 146-268 vote. For the consideration on the House floor, see Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 150 (June 24, 2004), pp. H4898-H4908, H4961-H5066.

CRS-27
requirement would be violated. A within-session sequestration was possible if a
supplemental appropriations bill caused the spending levels of the current fiscal year
to exceed the statutory limit for a particular category.
As mentioned above, the Senate still enforces discretionary spending limits and
a PAYGO requirement similar to the expired statutory one, through points of order
while legislation is being considered on the Senate floor. (The House does not
provide for similar points of order.)
Table 4 shows the timetable for sequestration actions. As indicated, OMB and
CBO were required to publish preview and update sequestration reports to provide
Congress and the President with advance notice regarding the possibility of a
sequester. If one or both types of sequester (i.e., a discretionary spending limit
sequester or a PAYGO sequester) were anticipated, these reports could have afforded
Congress and the President enough warning to enact legislation to avert a sequester.
Only an OMB within-session or final sequestration report could have triggered a
sequester; the CBO sequestration reports were advisory only.
Table 4. Timetable for Sequestration Actions
Deadline
Action to be completed
Five days before the President
CBO sequestration preview report.
submits budget
Date of the President’s budget
OMB sequestration preview report (as part of the
submission
President’s budget).
August 10
Notification regarding military personnel.
August 15
CBO sequestration update report.
August 20
OMB sequestration update report.
10 days after end of session
CBO final sequestration report.
15 days after end of session
OMB final sequestration report; presidential sequestration
order.
Source: Section 254(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as
amended (P.L. 99-177, 2 U.S.C. 904).
At the end of the 107th Congress, Congress passed and President Bush signed
legislation (P.L. 107-312, 116 Stat. 2456) that removed the positive balances on the
PAYGO scorecard through FY2006, thereby preventing any future PAYGO
sequestration unless the budget enforcement mechanism is restored.67
Chronology
67 For further information on the recent removal of PAYGO balances, see CRS Report
RS21378, Termination of the “Pay-As-You-Go” (PAYGO) Requirement for FY2003 and
Later Years, by Robert Keith.

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November 20, 2004
House and Senate agreed to the conference report to
H.R. 4818, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005
(H.Rept. 108-792), by votes of 344-51 and 65-30,
respectively. The Consolidated Appropriation Act,
2005, contains nine of the 13 regular appropriations
acts that had not yet been enacted. President Bush
signed H.R. 4818 into law (P.L. 108-447) on December
8, thereby completing action on the 13 regular
appropriations acts for FY2005.
October 1, 2004
FY2005 began. As of October 1, only one of the 13
regular appropriations acts for FY2005 had been enacted.
Temporary appropriations for agencies and programs
funded in the remaining regular appropriations acts not
yet enacted were provided by a series of continuing
appropriations acts.
September 7, 2004
CBO released its annual update report on budget baseline
projections, The Budget and Economic Outlook: An
Update.
July 30, 2004
President Bush issued his Mid-Session Review of the
FY2005 budget to Congress.
May 19, 2004
House agreed to the conference report to the FY2005
budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 108-498) by a
216-213 vote.
March 25, 2004
House agreed to its version of the FY2005 budget
resolution (H.Con.Res. 393, H.Rept. 108-441) by 215-212
vote.
March 12, 2004
Senate agreed to its version of the FY2005 budget
(legislative day,
resolution (S.Con.Res. 95, S.Prt. 108-365) by 51-45 vote.
March 11)
March 8, 2004
CBO released its annual report on the President’s
budgetary proposals, An Analysis of the President’s
Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2005.
February 2, 2004
President Bush submitted his FY2005
budget
to
Congress.
January 26, 2004
CBO released its annual report on budget baseline
projections, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal
Years 2005-2014.
For Additional Reading
Congressional Hearings, Reports, and Documents

CRS-29
Congressional Budget Office. The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years
2005-2014. Washington: January 2004.
Congressional Budget Office. An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals
for Fiscal Year 2005. Washington: March 2004.
Congressional Budget Office. The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update.
Washington: September 2004.
U.S. Congress. House Committee on the Budget. Concurrent Resolution on the
Budget — Fiscal Year 2005. Report to accompany H.Con.Res. 393. 108th
Congress, 2nd session. H.Rept. 108-441. Washington: GPO, 2004.
U.S. Congress. Senate Committee on the Budget. Concurrent Resolution on the
Budget FY2005. Committee print to accompany S.Con.Res. 95. 108th
Congress, 2nd session. S.Prt. 108-365. Washington: GPO, 2004.
U.S. Congress. Committee on Conference. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for
Fiscal Year 2005. Conference report to accompany S.Con.Res. 95. 108th
Congress, 2nd session. H.Rept. 108-498. Washington: GPO, 2004.
CRS Products
CRS Report RL31754. Congressional Budget Actions in 2003, by Bill Heniff Jr.
CRS Report RL30297. Congressional Budget Resolutions: Selected Statistics and
Information Guide, by Bill Heniff Jr.
CRS Report 98-721. Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, by Robert Keith
and Allen Schick.
CRS Report 97-684. The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction,
by Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report RL30343. Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent
Practices, by Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report RL32264. The Budget for Fiscal Year 2005, by Philip D. Winters.