Revising the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2007, establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2008, and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2009 through 2012.
Key claim: The House FY2008 budget resolution would set Congress’s revenue, spending, deficit, and debt targets through FY2012 and create reserve funds so later bills on children’s health insurance, taxes, Medicare, agriculture, higher education, energy, and housing could move without breaking those targets.
Abstract
(HCONRES99 · 110th Congress) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.) Revises and replaces the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2007. Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2008, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2009-FY2012. Title I: Recommended Levels and Amounts - (Sec. 101) Recommends budgetary levels and amounts for FY2007-FY2012 for: (1) federal revenues; (2) new budget authority; (3) budget outlays; (4) deficits (on-budget); (5) debt subject to limit; and (6) debt held by the public. (Sec. 102) Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY2007-FY2012. Title II: Reserve Funds - Creates reserve funds, subject to specified conditions, for legislation concerning: (1) the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); (2) alternative minimum tax revision; (3) middle-income tax relief and economic equity; (4) agriculture; (5) higher education; (6) Medicare improvements; (7) creation of long-term energy alternatives; (8) affordable housing; (9) equitable benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II; (10) reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act; (11) receipts from the Bonneville Power Administration; and (12) the Transitional Medical Assistance program extension. Title III: Budget Enforcement - (Sec. 301) Provides for adjustments to discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and allocations for: (1) continuing disability reviews and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) redeterminations by the Social Security Administration (SSA); (2) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax compliance; (3) the health care fraud and abuse control program; and (4) unemployment insurance improper payments reviews. Requires all House committees to: (1) review programs within their jurisdiction to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in program spending, Latest action (2007-03-29): Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Why this matters
Congressional budget resolutions set the fiscal envelope inside which farm bills and USDA appropriations must fit, and reserve funds signal which policy areas — here including agriculture — Congress is preparing to legislate on. The FY2008 resolution is the procedural backdrop to the 2008 Farm Bill debate, though the resolution itself does not change farmer payments, consumer food prices, or USDA program rules.