Honest Expenditure Limitation Program Act of 2010

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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 111th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

R InhofeSponsor

19 cosponsors · 19 R

2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

Honest Expenditure Limitation Program Act of 2010 or HELP Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes any provision that would exceed specified non-security discretionary spending limits for…

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 9, 2010

Limits non-security discretionary spending limits for FY2011-FY2015 to the level provided in FY2010, but reduced each year on a pro rata basis so that the level for FY2015 does not exceed the level for FY2008. Limits the spending levels for FY2016-FY2020 to the FY2015 spending level.

Defines "non-security discretionary spending" as discretionary spending other than spending for the Department of Defense (DOD), homeland security activities, intelligence-related activities within the Department of State, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and national security related activities in the Department of Energy (DOE).

Requires the President to issue a sequestration order, effective on issuance, if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in its Final Discretionary Sequestration Report estimates that any sequestration is required.

Subjects to permanent cancellation any budgetary resources sequestered from any account, except those in special fund accounts or offsetting collections sequestered in appropriation accounts. Applies the same percentage sequestration to all programs, projects, and activities within a budget account.

Requires Discretionary Sequestration Preview Reports by: (1) OMB to the President and Congress; and (2) the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to Congress. Requires the OMB report to explain the difference between OMB and CBO estimates for each item.

Requires the Final Discretionary Sequestration Reports to set forth estimates for: (1) the current year and each subsequent year through 2014; (2) the current year, if applicable, and, the budget year, the new budget authority and the breach, if any; (3) the sequestration percentages necessary to eliminate the breach; and (4) the level of enacted sequesterable budget authority, and resulting estimated outlays to be sequestered for each account.

Sets forth sequestration enforcement mechanisms.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Honest Expenditure Limitation Program Act of 2010

Also known as: HELP Act

Latest action (Mar 9, 2010): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.

Policy area: Economics and Public Finance · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 9, 2010

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.