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Office (CBO) were required to report to the
Comptroller General regarding their recommendations for how much must be cut. The Comptroller General then evaluated these reports, made his own conclusion, and gave a recommendation to the President, who was then required to issue an order effecting the reductions recommended by the Comptroller General unless Congress made the cuts in other ways within a specified amount of time.
556: (1986)) as an unconstitutional usurpation of executive power by Congress because the Comptroller General's function under the Act is the "very essence" of execution of the laws, which is beyond the power of a legislative body. It was noted: "Once Congress passes legislation, it can influence only its execution by passing new laws or through impeachment."
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introduced the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act. The Senate passed the bill with two amendments by a vote of 36–35, and the House approved the Senate's first amendment by voice vote but rejected the second amendment. The Senate rescinded that amendment by voice vote and
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The
Comptroller General is nominated by the President from a list of three people recommended by the presiding officers of the House and Senate. He is removable only by impeachment or a joint resolution of Congress, which requires majority votes in both houses and is subject to a Presidential veto.
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increasing the budget amount, an across-the-board spending cut in discretionary expenditure is automatically triggered in these categories, affecting all departments and programs by an equal percentage. The amount exceeding the limit is held back by the
Treasury and not transferred to the agencies
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deficit. This deficit is the amount by which expenditures by the federal government exceed its revenues each year and was at the time the largest in history in dollar terms. The Acts provided for automatic spending cuts ("cancellation of budgetary resources", called "sequestration") if the total
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Under the 1985 Act, allowable deficit levels were calculated in consideration of the eventual elimination of the federal deficit. If the budget exceeded the allowable deficit, across-the-board cuts were required. Directors of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget
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discretionary appropriations in various categories exceed in a fiscal year the budget spending thresholds. That is, if
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After enactment, these Acts were often referred to as "Gramm-Rudman-Hollings I" and Gramm-Rudman-Hollings II) after U.S. Senators
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Congress enacted a reworked version of the law in the 1987 Act. Gramm–Rudman failed, however, to prevent large budget deficits.
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Balanced budgets did not actually emerge until the late 1990s when budget surpluses (not accounting for liabilities to the
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Congress can give a number of reasons for this removal, including "inefficiency," "neglect of duty," or "malfeasance".
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The House passed the 1985 bill by a vote of 271–154 and the Senate by 61–31, and
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A joint resolution increasing the statutory limit on the public debt.
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United States federal law concerning austerity and sequestration
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United States federal government administration legislation
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Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
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Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
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Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
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Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985
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18:Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act
830:Budget Process Law Annotated: 1993 Edition
361:Reported by the joint conference committee
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
955:Government finances in the United States
570:system, which was in effect until 2002.
782:"H.J.RES.324 All Congressional Actions"
708:"A Glossary of Political Economy Terms"
617:, title II, December 12, 1985, 99
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875:. December 10, 1985.
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483:budget sequestration
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858:(W. S. Hein, 1986).
850:. 22 November 2016.
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495:appropriation bills
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298:Phil Gramm
290:Introduced
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