On February 12, 2010, President Barack Obama signed H.J.Res. 45 into law, as P.L. 111-139 . In addition to an increase in the statutory limit on the public debt to $14.294 trillion, the act contains two titles dealing with budgetary matters. Title I, referred to as the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, establishes a new budget enforcement mechanism generally requiring that direct spending and revenue legislation enacted into law not increase the deficit. Title II, which contains only a single section, pertains to routine investigations by the Comptroller General aimed at eliminating duplicative and wasteful spending. This report provides a summary and legislative history of the P.L. 111-139 , focusing on the features of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010. Overview

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (Statutory PAYGO Act) establishes a process intended, as Section 2 of the act states, "to enforce a rule of budget neutrality on new revenue and direct spending legislation." The budgetary effects of revenue and direct spending provisions enacted into law, including both costs and savings, are recorded by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on two PAYGO scorecards covering rolling five-year and 10-year periods (i.e., in each new session, the periods covered by the scorecards roll forward one fiscal year). The budgetary effects of PAYGO measures are determined by statements inserted into the Congressional Record by the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees and referenced in the measures. As a general matter, the statements are expected to reflect cost estimates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Shortly after a congressional session ends, OMB finalizes the two PAYGO scorecards and determines whether a violation of the PAYGO requirement has occurred (i.e., if a debit has been recorded for the budget year on either scorecard). If so, the President issues a sequestration order that implements largely across-the-board cuts in nonexempt direct spending programs sufficient to remedy the violation by eliminating the debit. Many direct spending programs and activities are exempt from sequestration. If no PAYGO violation is found, no further action occurs and the process is repeated during the next session. The new statutory PAYGO process was created on a permanent basis; there are no expiration dates in the act. The process became effective upon enactment. As a budget enforcement tool, the new statutory PAYGO process is aimed at preventing, or at least discouraging, net deficit increases arising from the enactment of direct spending and revenue legislation. Any costs designated as emergencies are excluded from the scorecards, and significant costs associated with four specified categories of legislation may be excluded as well. Finally, debt service costs are excluded as well. The statutory PAYGO process does not address deficit increases, stemming from changes in direct spending or revenue levels, that are projected to occur under existing law. Other budget enforcement procedures, such as the reconciliation process under the Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974, may be used to reduce deficit levels projected under existing law. Further, the statutory PAYGO process does not apply to discretionary spending, which is provided in annual appropriations acts. In recording the budgetary effects of a PAYGO act on the scorecards, OMB must adhere to the following rules:
Look Back —the budgetary effects for the current year of a PAYGO measure enacted during a session are combined with the budgetary effects for the budget year, thereby closing a potential enforcement loophole (Section 4(e)); Averaging —for the 5-Year Scorecard, an average is derived for the cumulative budgetary effects of a PAYGO measure over the five fiscal years (with the budgetary effects for the current year added to the effects for the budget year), and entered for each of the five years on the scorecard; the same process is followed for the 10-Year Scorecard with regard to the cumulative budgetary effects of the measure over ten years, plus the current year (Section 4(f)); Emergency Legislation —the amounts of new budget authority, outlays, or revenue that result from a provision designated as an emergency in a PAYGO measure are not included in the estimates made by CBO or OMB of the measure's budgetary effects, and therefore are not recorded on the PAYGO scorecards (Section 4(g)); and CLASS Act Savings —the scorecards must exclude the net savings from legislation titled the "Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act," which establishes a Federal insurance program for long-term care, if enacted or subsequently amended after enactment of the Statutory PAYGO Act (Section 4(d)(6)).
On February 12, 2010, President Barack Obama signed H.J.Res. 45 into law, as P.L. 111-139. In addition to an increase in the statutory limit on the public debt to $14.294 trillion, the act contains two titles dealing with budgetary matters. Title I, referred to as the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, establishes a new budget enforcement mechanism generally requiring that direct spending and revenue legislation enacted into law not increase the deficit. Title II, which contains only a single section, pertains to routine investigations by the Comptroller General aimed at eliminating duplicative and wasteful spending. This report provides a summary and legislative history of P.L. 111-139, focusing on the features of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (Statutory PAYGO Act) establishes a process intended, as Section 2 of the act states, "to enforce a rule of budget neutrality on new revenue and direct spending legislation." The budgetary effects of revenue and direct spending provisions enacted into law, including both costs and savings, are recorded by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on two PAYGO scorecards covering rolling five-year and 10-year periods (i.e., in each new session, the periods covered by the scorecards roll forward one fiscal year). The budgetary effects of PAYGO measures are determined by statements inserted into the Congressional Record by the chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees and referenced in the measures. As a general matter, the statements are expected to reflect cost estimates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). If this procedure is not followed for a PAYGO measure, then the budgetary effects of the measure are determined by OMB.
Shortly after a congressional session ends, OMB finalizes the two PAYGO scorecards and determines whether a violation of the PAYGO requirement has occurred (i.e., if a debit has been recorded for the budget year on either scorecard). If so, the President issues a sequestration order that implements largely across-the-board cuts in nonexempt direct spending programs sufficient to remedy the violation by eliminating the debit. Many direct spending programs and activities are exempt from sequestration. If no PAYGO violation is found, no further action occurs and the process is repeated during the next session.
The new statutory PAYGO process was created on a permanent basis; there are no expiration dates in the act. The process became effective upon enactment.
As a budget enforcement tool, the new statutory PAYGO process is aimed at preventing, or at least discouraging, net deficit increases arising from the enactment of direct spending and revenue legislation. Any costs designated as emergencies are excluded from the scorecards, and significant costs associated with four specified categories of legislation may be excluded as well. In addition, significant savings stemming from the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, establishing an insurance program for long-term care, are excluded from the scorecards. Finally, debt service costs are excluded as well.
The statutory PAYGO process does not address deficit increases, stemming from changes in direct spending or revenue levels, that are projected to occur under existing law. Other budget enforcement procedures, such as the reconciliation process under the Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974, may be used to reduce deficit levels projected under existing law. Further, the statutory PAYGO process does not apply to discretionary spending, which is provided in annual appropriations acts.