House Committee on the Budget

House Committee on the Budget
Committee	House Committee on the Budget
Congress	118th
Formed	1974
Jurisdiction	Federal budget process, congressional budget
Chair	Jodey Arrington
Chair party	Republican
Chair since	January 3, 2023
Ranking member	Brendan Boyle
Ranking member party	Democratic
Ranking member since	January 3, 2023
Seats	36
Majority	22
Minority	14
Policy	Republican
Website	https://budget.house.gov/

House Committee on the Budget is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its primary role is to develop the annual Congressional budget resolution, a concurrent resolution that sets aggregate levels for federal spending, revenue, and the deficit. The committee plays a central role in the budget process established in 1974, coordinating with other authorizing and appropriating committees to enforce budgetary discipline. It is distinct from the Appropriations Committee and the Ways and Means Committee, focusing on the overall fiscal framework rather than specific spending or tax legislation.

History and establishment

The committee was created by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a landmark response to perceived executive overreach during the Nixon administration, particularly regarding the impoundment of appropriated funds. This legislation, championed by lawmakers like Senator Edmund Muskie and Representative Brock Adams, also established the Congressional Budget Office and the Senate Committee on the Budget. The act aimed to reassert congressional authority over the federal purse, moving away from a system heavily reliant on the Office of Management and Budget. Key reforms included the creation of a formal calendar for budget resolutions and reconciliation bills, fundamentally altering the dynamic between Congress and the White House.

Jurisdiction and responsibilities

The committee's core jurisdiction encompasses the formulation and enforcement of the congressional budget. This includes drafting the annual budget resolution, which provides a blueprint for total spending across categories like national defense and Medicare, and overseeing the process of budget reconciliation, which allows certain fiscal legislation to bypass the Senate filibuster. The committee is responsible for monitoring the budgetary effects of legislation reported by other committees and issues related to the Statutory PAYGO Act. It also has oversight duties concerning the Congressional Budget Office and the overall performance of the federal budget.

Membership and subcommittees

For the 118th Congress, the committee is chaired by Jodey Arrington of Texas, with Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania serving as the Ranking Member. The committee typically has 36 members, proportionally reflecting the majority party in the House of Representatives. It currently operates three subcommittees: the Health Care and Entitlements Subcommittee, the Budget Process and Spending Oversight Subcommittee, and the Economic Growth and Fiscal Accountability Subcommittee. These panels allow for more focused examination of specific areas within the federal budget, such as Social Security outlays or the procedures of the Appropriations Committee.

Role in the budget process

The committee initiates the congressional budget process each year by reporting a budget resolution, which is debated and amended on the House floor. A critical function is the issuance of Section 302(b) allocations, which distribute the total spending ceiling among the twelve Appropriations subcommittees. The committee also plays a gatekeeper role for reconciliation instructions, which direct authorizing committees to produce legislation altering spending or revenues. Throughout the year, it enforces budget rules through points of order and works with the Rules Committee to structure floor debate on major fiscal bills.

Notable legislation and events

The committee has been instrumental in several major fiscal events. It drafted the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, negotiated between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton administration. It also crafted the Budget Control Act of 2011, which created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and triggered the sequestration cuts. More recently, the committee developed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which addressed the debt ceiling and established new spending caps. Historically, the committee's failure to pass a budget resolution in certain years, such as during the 111th United States Congress, has led to significant procedural challenges and reliance on continuing resolutions.

Relationship with other committees

The committee maintains a complex, sometimes contentious, relationship with other powerful House panels. It must coordinate closely with the Ways and Means Committee on revenue matters and with the Appropriations Committee on discretionary spending allocations. Its budget resolutions directly impact the work of authorizing committees like Energy and Commerce and the Armed Services Committee. The committee also interacts with the Oversight Committee on matters of budgetary performance and with the Senate Committee on the Budget, with which it must conference to produce a final concurrent budget resolution.

Category:United States House of Representatives committees Category:1974 establishments in the United States