Budget & Taxes (Government Spending)

This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to impose stricter time limits on the legislative process for annual spending bills. In the Senate, debate on any annual appropriation bill is capped at 20 hours, including all related amendments and motions. In the House of Representatives, members are prohibited from voting to adjourn for more than three days during July until all new budget authority for the upcoming fiscal year has been approved. These provisions directly affect the scheduling and procedural rules governing how Congress passes its annual spending legislation.

The Super Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2026 strengthens existing budget rules by requiring that any new government spending or tax cuts be offset by savings equal to twice the cost of those changes. This stricter standard aims to ensure that legislation directly reduces the federal deficit rather than merely maintaining the current level of debt accumulation. The bill also tightens the process for designating emergency spending, mandating a two-thirds congressional vote to waive these stricter budget rules and requiring specific justifications for such designations. Additionally, it mandates that the Office of Management and Budget publish detailed reports on how new laws affect the federal deficit and that Congress cannot bundle these budgetary restrictions with other unrelated legislation.

This concurrent resolution establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2027, sets forth budgetary levels for FY2028-FY2036, and provides reconciliation instructions for legislation that increases the deficit.  The resolution recommends levels and amounts for FY2027-FY2036 for federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits (on-budget), debt subject to limit, debt held by the public, and the major functional categories of spending. The resolution includes reconciliation instructions that direct the House Agriculture Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Administration Committee to submit recommendations for legislation that will increase the deficit over FY2027-FY2036 by not more than specified amounts. Each committee must submit the recommendations to the House Budget Committee by September 11, 2026.  (Under current law, reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.) In addition, the resolution establishes a reserve fund that allows certain adjustments to committee allocations and other budgetary levels to accommodate reconciliation legislation. Finally, the resolution sets forth budget enforcement procedures that address issues such as adjustments to committee allocations and other budgetary levels; the budgetary treatment of the discretionary administrative expenses for the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service; emergency spending; and additional adjustments for disaster relief, wildfire suppression, health care fraud and abuse control, continuing disability reviews and redeterminations, and reemployment services and eligibility assessments.

The SKILL Act creates a new tax credit for employers who partner with public colleges and community colleges to develop short-term training programs lasting two years or less. To qualify, employers must be certified by their state agency for contributing to these programs through activities like co-designing curricula, offering apprenticeships, or donating equipment. The credit allows eligible businesses to claim up to $2,500 per student who earns a credential or is hired full-time after completing the program, with a total national spending cap of $500 million per year from 2027 to 2031. State agencies will distribute the available funds to employers on a competitive basis, and the law takes effect for tax years ending after December 31, 2026.

This resolution directs the House of Representatives to consider four separate bills related to federal funding and program administration. The first bill allocates money for agriculture, rural development, and the Food and Drug Administration for the fiscal year 2027. The remaining three bills propose changes to child care funding, student financial aid fraud detection, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs. Specifically, it allows for the withholding of child care funds from states that do not comply with requirements, mandates the use of an identity fraud detection system for student aid applications, and establishes goals to reduce fraud in federal assistance grants.

The TRUE Accountability Act requires federal agencies to create and maintain internal control plans specifically designed for emergency spending situations like disasters, pandemics, or economic relief efforts. These plans must identify senior officials responsible for implementation, assess risks of improper payments and fraud, and include data-driven monitoring techniques to detect issues before funds are spent. Agencies must submit their plans to the Office of Management and Budget within a year of enactment and report them to Congress annually, with the guidance and plans being reviewed and updated every three years. The bill does not authorize any new funding but instead establishes reporting and accountability procedures for existing emergency appropriations processes.

The ZOMBIE Act amends the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, primarily affecting federal executive agencies and their oversight of government spending. The bill redefines "improper payments" to specifically focus on those that result in a "financial loss to the Government," excluding administrative errors that don't cause actual financial harm. It requires the Treasury Secretary to develop new risk assessment guidance, which agencies must use to conduct more frequent assessments of their programs for these specific types of improper payments and fraud. Agencies will also be required to designate a senior official to coordinate efforts with oversight bodies, report on actions taken to prevent financial losses, and implement enhanced financial and administrative controls to mitigate fraud risks in federal programs.

This bill requires the President to propose spending cuts equal to or greater than any requested debt limit increase over the next 10 years, and it prevents Congress from voting on debt limit increases or suspensions unless they include matching spending reductions. The legislation also mandates that the Treasury Secretary issue warnings when the government is approaching its debt limit within 60 days, even if temporary measures could extend funding. Additionally, the bill establishes procedural rules requiring a three-fifths Senate vote to waive these spending requirements and ensures that cost estimates are publicly available before Congress can vote on debt limit measures. These provisions directly affect the executive branch's ability to request debt limit increases and the legislative process for approving such requests.

This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that (1) Congress should adopt a fiscal target to reduce the federal budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product or less as soon as possible and no later than the end of FY2030; and (2) after the target is achieved, Congress should continue to pursue further deficit reduction with the goal of achieving a balanced federal budget.

This bill, titled the Balanced Budget Responsibility Act of 2026, would give the President the authority to reduce government spending to eliminate a projected budget deficit. It allows the President to decline to spend certain discretionary funds, excluding Medicare and Social Security benefits, if a deficit is anticipated for a fiscal year. The decision to withhold these funds would be made in consultation with the Treasury Secretary and the Office of Management and Budget. This provision would operate outside the usual rules governing how the President handles unspent government funds.