Honest Budget/Balanced Budget Act

Summary

Balanced Budget and Debt Reduction Act of 1989 - Title I: Operating Budget, Retirement Funds Budget, and Debt and Interest Budget - Amends Federal law to require that the budget the President submits to the Congress be a unified budget comprising an operating budget, a retirement funds budget, and a debt and interest budget, each presented separately. Directs the President to submit with this budget an account of inter-fund transfers between the operating budget and the debt and interest budget. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the congressional concurrent resolution on the budget to be formulated in terms of these three separate budgets. Title II: Balanced Operating Budgets - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a point of order in both the Senate and the House of Representatives against considering a budget resolution that includes an unbalanced operating budget. Makes it out of order in both Houses, after the completion of action on the budget resolution, to consider any legislation that would cause operating budget outlays to exceed revenues. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 to repeal all exceptions to the prohibition against counting the transfer of Federal actions from one fiscal year to another as reductions in the deficit for statutory purposes. Requires the President: (1) in preparing the budget, to use a baseline estimate made in accordance with a specified section of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); and (2) to present a balanced operating budget. Title III: Trust Fund for the Reduction of the Public Debt - Expresses U.S. policy supporting amendment of the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a special debt retirement tax or taxes dedicated to reduction of the public debt; and (2) create a special trust fund to be used only for this purpose. Title IV: Mandated Reduction of the Public Debt - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to redefine "deficit" to exclude the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund from calculations. Revises maximum allowable deficit amounts with respect to FY 1989 and thereafter, calling for a surplus beginning in FY 1988 and continuing until the public debt is reduced to less than 20 percent of the Gross National Product. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require the congressional Budget Committees, whenever the fiscal year deficit excess exceeds $10,000,000,000, to report a concurrent resolution to their respective Houses directing specified committees to report changes in law within their jurisdictions sufficient to increase revenues by at least one-half of the reported excess. Title V: Investment of Excess Social Security Trust Funds in Loan Programs - Directs the General Accounting Office to study and report to specified congressional committees on the effectiveness of amending the Social Security Act to require that excess social security trust funds be invested in interest-bearing loans to help rebuild national facilities and improve national resources, such as education, housing, economic development, and public works. Title VI: Alternate-Year Reconciliation - Amends the timetable governing the congressional budget process to include expressly the significant dates associated with sequestration under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. Includes reconciliation as part of the budget process only in even-numbered years, unless the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determines in its initial report that deficit targets will not be attained. Moves from August to March a number of due dates for Congressional Budget Office and OMB reports.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

1. 25 January 1989

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred jointly to the Committees on Budget; Governmental Affairs pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, with instructions that if one committee reports, the other committee have thirty days of continuous session to report or be discharged.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 25 January 1989

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 26 October 1989

   Committee

   Committees on Budget; Governmental Affairs. Joint hearings held.

   Source: Committee

4. 25 July 1990

   Reported

   Committee on Budget. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

   Source: Committee

5. 4 August 1990

   Reported

   Committee on Budget. Reported to Senate by Senator Sasser with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 101-427. Additional and minority views filed.

   Source: Committee

6. 4 August 1990

   Reported

   Committee on Budget. Reported to Senate by Senator Sasser with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 101-427. Additional and minority views filed.

   Source: Committee

7. 10 September 1990

   Calendars

   Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 810.

   Source: Calendars

8. 10 September 1990

   Discharge

   Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs discharged. Pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977.

   Source: Discharge

9. 10 September 1990

   Committee

   Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs discharged. Pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977.

   Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in Senate · undated · Official file
• Placed on Calendar Senate · undated · Official file
• Reported to Senate · undated · Official file
• Reported to Senate · undated · Official file

Documents

6 official files

• Reported to Senate (text)

  Reported to Senate · EN

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Reported to Senate (text)

  Reported to Senate · EN

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Placed on Calendar Senate (text)

  Placed on Calendar Senate · EN

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Reported to Senate with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 4 August 1990

  Open at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 25 January 1989

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Sanford, Terry [D-NC] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Robb, Charles S. [D-VA] · D · Cosponsor
• Rep. Simon, Paul [D-IL-24] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Bryan, Richard H. [D-NV] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Ford, Wendell H. [D-KY] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Moynihan, Daniel Patrick [D-NY] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Exon, J. James [D-NE] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Conrad, Kent [D-ND] · D · Cosponsor
• Rep. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT-2] · D · Cosponsor
• Rep. Adams, Brock [D-WA-7] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Cranston, Alan [D-CA] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Fowler, Wyche, Jr. [D-GA] · D · Cosponsor
• Sen. Riegle, Donald W., Jr. [D-MI] · D · Cosponsor
• · ssga00 · Standing
• · ssbu00 · Standing

Related records

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