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              Congressional
           ~.Research Service






The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019: Changes to

the BCA and Debt Limit



July  24, 2019

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (H.R. 3877; BBA 2019), as introduced, would raise the discretionary
spending limits (caps) implemented by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) for FY2020
and FY2021; make other BCA-related changes, including an extension of the mandatory sequester
through FY2029; and suspend the statutory debt limit until August 1, 2021.

Changes   to FY2020 and  FY2021  Discretionary  Spending   Caps
The BCA  created annual statutory discretionary spending caps for defense and nondefense spending that
are in effect through FY202 1. If appropriations are enacted that exceed a limit for a fiscal year, across-
the-board reductions (i.e., sequestration) are triggered to eliminate the excess spending within that
spending category. For more information on the BCA, see CRS Report R44874, The Budget Control Act:
Frequently Asked Questions.
Previously enacted legislation increased these discretionary spending caps for each year from FY2014
through FY2019. For more information, see CRS Insight IN11090, Increasing the BCA Spending Limits:
Characteristics ofPreviously Enacted Legislation.
Section 101(a) of BBA 2019 would increase the caps on defense and nondefense budget authority for
FY2020  and FY2021, the final two years for which discretionary spending caps are scheduled to be in
effect under the BCA. For FY2020, the BBA 2019 would raise the defense discretionary cap to $666.5
billion (a $90 billion increase) and the nondefense cap to $621.5 billion (a $78 billion increase). In
FY2021, BBA  2019 would raise the discretionary defense cap to $671.5 billion (an $81 billion increase)
and the nondefense cap to $626.5 billion (a $72 billion increase). Table 1 shows the changes that would
occur under BBA 2019.

             Table I. Discretionary Cap Changes Resulting from the BBA  2019
                             (in billions of dollars of budget authority)
     Fiscal Year       Category         Current Law     BBA 2019 Change    Post-BBA 2019
       FY2020           Defense            $576.2            +$90.3           $666.5

                                                              Congressional Research Service
                                                                https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                   IN11148

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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