See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: Budget Control Act of 2011
Vote Smart's Synopsis:
Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that raises the national debt limit and establishes discretionary spending limits.
Highlights:
- Increases the debt limit as follows, provided that the President has submitted a written certification to Congress no later than December 31, 2011, stating that the national debt is within $100 billion of the debt limit and further borrowing is required to meet existing commitments (Sec. 301):
- To $14.69 trillion from $14.29 trillion upon the President's submission of written certification; and -To $15.19 trillion from $14.69 trillion, if Congress does not enact a joint resolution disapproving of the President's authority to increase the debt limit within 50 calendar days of the President's submission of written certification.
- Requires the Office of Management and Budget to reduce spending by $400 billion if a joint resolution disapproving of the President's authority to increase the debt limit becomes law (Sec. 301).
- Requires both houses of Congress to vote on a joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and specifies that this vote must occur between September 30, 2011, and December 31, 2011 (Sec. 201).
- Establishes a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the goal of which is to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the period of fiscal years 2012 to 2021 (Sec. 401).
- Increases the debt limit by one of the following additional amounts, if the limit has already been raised to $15.19 trillion, the President submits a second written certification to Congress stating that the national debt is within $100 billion of the new debt limit of $15.19 trillion and that further borrowing is required to meet existing commitments, and Congress does not enact a joint resolution disapproving of the President's authority to increase the debt limit within 15 calendar days of the President's submission of the second written certification (Sec. 301):
- $1.2 trillion;
- $1.5 trillion, if a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been submitted to the States for ratification; or
- If legislation proposed by the Committee on Deficit Reduction that would reduce the deficit by more than $1.2 trillion is enacted, an amount equal to the amount of the deficit reduction but not more than $1.5 trillion.
- Limits discretionary spending to the following amounts for the following fiscal years, if legislation proposed by the Committee on Deficit Reduction achieving more than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012 (Secs. 101 & 302):
- $684 billion in discretionary security spending and $359 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2012;
- $686 billion in discretionary security spending and $361 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2013;
- $1.07 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2014;
- $1.09 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2015;
- $1.11 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2016;
- $1.13 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2017;
- $1.16 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2018;
- $1.18 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2019;
- $1.21 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2020; and
- $1.23 trillion in total discretionary spending for fiscal year 2021.
- Limits discretionary spending to the following amounts for the following fiscal years, if legislation proposed by the Committee on Deficit Reduction achieving more than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction is not enacted by January 15, 2012 (Sec. 302):
- $546 billion in discretionary security spending and $501 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2013;
- $556 billion in discretionary security spending and $510 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2014;
- $566 billion in discretionary security spending and $520 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2015;
- $577 billion in discretionary security spending and $530 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2016;
- $590 billion in discretionary security spending and $541 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2017;
- $603 billion in discretionary security spending and $553 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2018;
- $616 billion in discretionary security spending and $566 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2019;
- $630 billion in discretionary security spending and $578 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2020; and
- $644 billion in discretionary security spending and $590 billion in discretionary non-security spending for fiscal year 2021.
- Prohibits Congress from considering any bill, amendment, or joint resolution that would cause the discretionary spending limits to be exceeded (Sec. 105).
- Requires the Office of Management and Budget to reduce as follows discretionary appropriations and direct spending for fiscal years 2013 through 2021 according to a formula based on the total amount of deficit reduction achieved, unless legislation proposed by the Committee on Deficit Reduction achieving more than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012 (Sec. 302):
- Half of the reduction is to be to defense spending; and
- Half of the reduction is to be to nondefense spending, except that if Medicare programs would be reduced by more than 2 percent in a fiscal year, the Medicare reduction is to be limited to 2 percent and all other nondefense spending reductions are to be increased at equal rates in order to maintain the total reduction required.