<div>          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2019 CONTACT <a href="mailto:sam.lau@mail.house.gov">Sam Lau, </a><a href="mailto:Alexandra.Weinroth@mail.house.gov">Alexandra Weinroth</a>202-226-7200<div class="indented"><div class="indented">Chairman Yarmuth Introduces Investing for the People Act of 2019</div></div> <div class="indented"><div class="indented">Two-Year Budget Sets New Spending Caps, Avoids Debilitating Cuts &amp; Moves Our Country Forward</div></div> WASHINGTON – Today, House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) introduced the Investing for the People Act of 2019, a budget to stabilize discretionary funding levels over the next two years and ensure Congress can meet its obligations to the American people. The legislation is cosponsored by House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY). “Congress owes the American people a government—and a budget—that works,” Chairman Yarmuth said. “The Investing for the People Act lays out a responsible framework for the country that ensures we make the needed investments for American families, our economy and our security. By moving this bill forward, we will bring responsible governing back to the budget process, avoid uncertainty and the unrelenting threats of a government shutdown, and meet our obligations to the American people.” Since the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) and its implementation of austerity-level spending caps, raising these caps to workable levels has become a standing bipartisan and bicameral necessity. Without Congressional action this year, defense and non-defense investments will face a $125 billion cut from 2019 levels. The Investing for the People Act sets out a two-year budget for the country, lifting the caps for defense and non-defense discretionary spending to more realistic levels for 2020 and 2021, the final two years of the BCA. The legislation will: <ul><li>Adhere to the principle of parity – applying the same dollar increase to the defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) caps.</li><li>Set the NDD cap for 2020 at $631 billion – a 5.7 percent increase over the 2019 cap – and $646 billion in 2021.</li></ul> <ul><li>Set the defense cap for 2020 at $664 billion – a 2.6 percent increase over the 2019 cap – and $680 billion in 2021.</li></ul> <ul><li>Allow for up to $8 billion per year for non-defense Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) activities that do not count against the cap, while preventing abuse of the OCO designation by limiting defense OCO for 2020 and 2021 to no more than this year’s level of $69 billion.</li><li>Provide upward adjustments to the NDD caps for two particularly important activities: carrying out the 2020 Decennial Census and supporting IRS tax enforcement activities.</li></ul> The House Budget Committee will <a href="https://budget.house.gov/legislation/markups/bill-invest-people-raising-discretionary-spending-caps-and-other-budget">mark-up </a>the legislation tomorrow, April 3, at 2 p.m. <a href="https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/Investing%20for%20the%20People%20Act%20analysis%20FINAL.pdf">Report: </a>Investing for the People Act of 2019<a href="https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/Support%20the%20Caps%20Bill%20FINAL.pdf">Issue Brief: </a>The Investing for the People Act Moves our Country Forward<a href="https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/FINAL%20Devastating%20Consequences%20of%20the%20caps%2004.02.19.pdf">Issue Brief: </a>The Devastating Consequences of the 2020 and 2021 Budget Caps <a href="https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/0398_001.pdf">Full text of the bill.</a><a href="https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/Investing%20for%20the%20People%20Act_section-by-section%20as%20introduced%20FINAL.pdf">Section-by-section description of the bill.</a>  # # # Investing for the People Act of 2019Section-by-Section Description Section 1. Short Title. This section cites the short title of the legislation as the “Investing for the People Act of 2019.” Section 101. Amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. This section amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to increase the defense and nondefense discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. It also amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to place a limit on the adjustment to the discretionary spending caps for funding designated for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terror. Section 102 also adds two new adjustments to the discretionary spending caps: (1) for Internal Revenue Service enforcement activities in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, and (2) for cyclical expenses in fiscal year 2020 associated with the 2020 Census. The section also revises procedures for implementing sequestration of direct spending, which is required under current law and involves cuts that interact with discretionary spending levels. The section requires that sequestration to take place in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, as if the amendments that this section makes to the discretionary spending limits have not been made. Section 201. Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Resolution. This section provides that, as soon as practicable, the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives must submit for publication in the Congressional Record committee allocations, aggregate spending levels, and aggregate revenue levels. This section further specifies that the Chairman will set allocations of discretionary funding in accordance with the discretionary spending caps established by the bill and allocations of mandatory funding consistent with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline. It also specifies that the Chairman will set the aggregate spending levels in accordance with those allocations and the aggregate revenue levels consistent with the CBO baseline. The allocations, aggregates, and levels submitted by the Chairman are enforceable in the House of Representatives as if they were included in a fiscal year 2020 concurrent resolution on the budget. This section further provides that the Chairman may make adjustments to the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels for certain purposes, including to reflect changes resulting from CBO’s updates to its baseline. Section 202. Limitation on Advance Appropriations. This section extends a general prohibition on advance appropriations. It also provides for exceptions for programs, activities, or accounts identified in lists submitted by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives for publication in the Congressional Record. Section 203. Exercise of Rulemaking Powers. This section specifies that sections 103 and 104 are enacted under the rulemaking powers of the House of Representatives and will be considered part of the rules of the House. It also recognizes that the House has the authority to change the rules.</div>

Yarmuth Announces Fiscal 2020 Budget Resolution

Yarmuth Announces Fiscal 2020 Budget Resolution

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. House Budget Committee

In an April 2 release, House Budget Committee Chair John A. Yarmuth, D-Ky., announced the Investing for the People Act of 2019 (H.R. 2021), which sets out a two-year budget and adds a new adjustment to the discretionary spending cap for IRS enforcement activities in fiscal 2020 and 2021.

In an April 2 release, House Budget Committee Chair John A. Yarmuth, D-Ky., announced the Investing for the People Act of 2019 (H.R. 2021), which sets out a two-year budget and adds a new adjustment to the discretionary spending cap for IRS enforcement activities in fiscal 2020 and 2021.

In an April 2 release, House Budget Committee Chair John A. Yarmuth, D-Ky., announced the Investing for the People Act of 2019 (<a href="/lr/resolve//29b3c">H.R. 2021</a>), which sets out a two-year budget and adds a new adjustment to the discretionary spending cap for IRS enforcement activities in fiscal 2020 and 2021.