Title 2, The CongressRelease 119-110
§933 Paygo Estimates and Paygo Scorecards
Title 2 › CHAPTER 20A — STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO › § 933
Summary
When Congress passes or changes a bill that affects spending or taxes, it must include or point to an official statement that says how the bill will affect the budget. The chair of the House or Senate Budget Committee can send a statement called “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” to the Congressional Record before a vote. That statement sets the bill’s budget numbers for PAYGO rules. If a joint conference version is used, the House and Senate Budget Committee chairs can send a joint statement. If no valid statement is sent before passage, OMB will make the estimate when the bill becomes law. The Senate clerk will read any submitted statement out loud. If a bill has parts that qualify for special "current policy" adjustments under section 936, CBO or OMB will change the estimate up to the allowed limits for the 10-year period, and any extra savings can only be used in specific ways. OMB must keep and publish two PAYGO scorecards showing a bill’s budget effect over 5 years and over 10 years, plus a separate list for emergency-designated costs. If a bill includes the official budget statement, OMB uses those numbers; if not, OMB estimates using the President’s budget assumptions. Money or revenue that happens in the current year is treated as happening in the budget year. For the scorecards, OMB adds up effects over the period, divides by five for the 5-year scorecard and by ten for the 10-year scorecard, and shows that average in every year column. If Congress calls a bill item an emergency in the text, CBO or OMB will leave that item off the PAYGO totals. In the Senate, a senator can make a point of order to strike an emergency label unless three-fifths of senators vote to keep it; appeals on such rulings are limited to one hour. Also, scorecards must not count net savings from any “Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act” provisions enacted or changed after February 12, 2010.
Full Legal Text
Title 2, §933
The Congress, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)PAYGO estimates
(1)Required designation in PAYGO Acts
(A)House of Representatives
To establish the budgetary effects of a PAYGO Act consistent with the determination made by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, a PAYGO Act originated in or amended by the House of Representatives may include the following statement: “The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’ for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.”.
(B)Senate
To establish the budgetary effects of a PAYGO Act consistent with the determination made by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, a PAYGO Act originated in or amended by the Senate shall include the following statement: “The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act 1 of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’ for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.”.
(C)Conference reports and amendments between the Houses
To establish the budgetary effects of the conference report on a PAYGO Act, or an amendment to an amendment between Houses on a PAYGO Act, which if estimated shall be estimated jointly by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees, the conference report or amendment between the Houses shall include the following statement: “The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act 1 of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’ for this Act, jointly submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage in the House acting first on this conference report or amendment between the Houses.”.
(2)Determination of budgetary effects of PAYGO Acts
(A)Original legislation
(i)Statement and estimate
Prior to a vote on passage of a PAYGO Act originated or amended by one House, the Chairman of the Budget Committee of that House may submit for printing in the Congressional Record a statement titled “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” which shall include an estimate of the budgetary effects of that Act, if available prior to passage of the Act by that House and shall submit, if applicable, an identification of any current policy adjustments made pursuant to section 936 of this title. The timely submission of such a statement, in conjunction with the appropriate designation made pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B), as applicable, shall establish the budgetary effects of the PAYGO Act for the purposes of this Act.
(ii)Effect
The latest statement submitted by the Chairman of the Budget Committee of that House prior to passage shall supersede any prior statements submitted in the Congressional Record and shall be valid only if the PAYGO Act is not further amended by either House.
(iii)Failure to submit estimate
If—
(I)the estimate required by clause (i) has not been submitted prior to passage by that House;
(II)such estimate has been submitted but is no longer valid due to a subsequent amendment to the PAYGO Act; or
(III)the designation required pursuant to this subsection has not been made;
the budgetary effects of the PAYGO Act shall be determined under subsection (d)(3), provided that this clause shall not apply if a valid designation is subsequently included in that PAYGO Act pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) and a statement is submitted pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(B)Conference reports and amendments between Houses
(i)In general
Prior to the adoption of a report of a committee of conference on a PAYGO Act in either House, or disposition of an amendment to an amendment between Houses on a PAYGO Act, the Chairmen of the Budget Committees of the House and Senate may jointly submit for printing in the Congressional Record a statement titled “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” which shall include an estimate of the budgetary effects of that Act if available prior to passage of the Act by the House acting first on the legislation and shall submit, if applicable, an identification of any current policy adjustments made pursuant to section 936 of this title. The timely submission of such a statement, in conjunction with the appropriate designation made pursuant to paragraph (1)(C), shall establish the budgetary effects of the PAYGO Act for the purposes of this Act.
(ii)Failure to submit estimate
If such estimate has not been submitted prior to the adoption of a report of a committee of conference by either House, or if the designation required pursuant to this subsection has not been made, the budgetary effects of the PAYGO Act shall be determined under subsection (d)(3).
(3)Procedure in the Senate
In the Senate, upon submission of a statement titled “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee for printing in the Congressional Record, the Legislative Clerk shall read the statement.
(4)Jurisdiction of the Budget Committees
For the purposes of enforcing section 637 of this title, a designation made pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), or (1)(C), that includes only the language specifically prescribed therein, shall not be considered a matter within the jurisdiction of either the Senate or House Committees on the Budget.
(b)Omitted
(c)Current policy adjustments for certain legislation
(1)In general
For any provision of legislation that meets the criteria in subsection (c), (d), (e) or (f) of section 936 of this title, the Chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the House and Senate, as applicable, shall request that CBO adjust the estimate of budgetary effects of that legislation pursuant to paragraph (2) for the purposes of this chapter. A single piece of legislation may contain provisions that meet criteria in more than one of the subsections referred to in the preceding sentence. CBO shall adjust estimates for legislation designated under subsection (a) and estimated under subsection (b). OMB shall adjust estimates for legislation estimated under subsection (d)(3).
(2)Adjustments
(A)Estimates
CBO or OMB, as applicable, shall exclude from the estimate of budgetary effects any budgetary effects of a provision that meets the criteria in subsection (c), (d), (e) or (f) of section 936 of this title, to the extent that those budgetary effects, when combined with all other excluded budgetary effects of any other previously designated provisions of enacted legislation under the same subsection of section 936 of this title, do not exceed the maximum applicable current policy adjustment defined under the applicable subsection of section 936 of this title for the applicable 10-year period.
(B)Baseline
Any estimate made pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be prepared using baseline estimates supplied by the Congressional Budget Office, consistent with section 907 of this title. CBO estimates of legislation adjusted for current policy shall include a separate presentation of costs excluded from the calculation of budgetary effects for the legislation, as well as an updated total of all excluded costs of provisions within subsection (c), (d), or (e) of section 936 of this title, as applicable, and in the case of paragraph (1) of section 936(f) of this title, within any of the subparagraphs (A) through (L) of such paragraph, as applicable.
(3)Limitation on availability of excess savings
(A)Prohibition on use of excess saving for ineligible policies
To the extent the adjustment for current policy of any provision estimated under this subsection exceeds the estimated budgetary effects of that provision, these excess savings shall not be available to offset the costs of any provisions not otherwise eligible for a current policy adjustment under section 936 of this title, and shall not be counted on the PAYGO scorecards established pursuant to subsections (d)(4) and (d)(5).
(B)Prohibition on use of excess savings across budget areas
For provisions eligible for a current policy adjustment under subsections (c) through (f) of section 936 of this title, to the extent the adjustment for current policy of any provision exceeds the estimated budgetary effects of that same provision, the excess savings shall be available only to offset the costs of other provisions that qualify for a current policy adjustment in that same subsection. Each paragraph in section 936(f)(1) of this title shall be considered a separate subsection for purposes of this section.
(4)Further guidance on estimating budgetary effects
Estimates of budgetary effects under this subsection shall be consistent with the guidance provided at section 936(h) of this title.
(5)Inclusion of statement
For PAYGO legislation adjusted pursuant to section 936 of this title, the Chairman of the House or Senate Budget Committee, as applicable, shall include in any statement titled “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation”, submitted for that legislation pursuant to this section, an explanation of the current policy designation and adjustments.
(d)OMB PAYGO scorecards
(1)In general
OMB shall maintain and make publicly available a continuously updated document containing two PAYGO scorecards displaying the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation as determined under section 639 of this title, applying the look-back requirement in subsection (e) and the averaging requirement in subsection (f), and a separate addendum displaying the estimates of the costs of provisions designated in statute as emergency requirements.
(2)Estimates in legislation
Except as provided in paragraph (3), in making the calculations for the PAYGO scorecards, OMB shall use the budgetary effects included by reference in the applicable legislation pursuant to subsection (a).
(3)OMB PAYGO estimates
If a PAYGO Act does not contain a valid reference to its budgetary effects consistent with subsection (a), OMB shall estimate the budgetary effects of that legislation upon its enactment. The OMB estimate shall be based on the approaches to scorekeeping set forth in section 639 of this title, as amended by this title, and subsection (g)(4), and shall use the same economic and technical assumptions as used in the most recent budget submitted by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31.
(4)5-year scorecard
The first scorecard shall display the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation in each year over the 5-year period beginning in the budget year.
(5)10-year scorecard
The second scorecard shall display the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation in each year over the 10-year period beginning in the budget year.
(6)Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act
Neither scorecard maintained by OMB pursuant to this subsection shall include net savings from any provisions of legislation titled “Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act”, which establishes a Federal insurance program for long-term care, if such legislation is enacted into law, or amended, subsequent to February 12, 2010.
(e)Look-back to capture current-year effects
For purposes of this section, OMB shall treat the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation enacted during a session of Congress that occur during the current year as though they occurred in the budget year.
(f)Averaging used to measure compliance over 5-year and 10-year periods
OMB shall cumulate the budgetary effects of a PAYGO Act over the budget year (which includes any look-back effects under subsection (e)) and— (1)
(2)for purposes of the 10-year scorecard referred to in subsection (d)(5), the nine subsequent outyears, divide that cumulative total by ten, and enter the quotient in the budget-year column and in each subsequent column of the 10-year PAYGO scorecard.
(g)Emergency legislation
(1)Designation in statute
If a provision of direct spending or revenue legislation in a PAYGO Act is enacted as an emergency requirement that the Congress so designates in statute pursuant to this section, the amounts of new budget authority, outlays, and revenue in all fiscal years resulting from that provision shall be treated as an emergency requirement for the purposes of this Act.
(2)Designation in the House of Representatives
If a PAYGO Act includes a provision expressly designated as an emergency for the purposes of this chapter, the Chair shall put the question of consideration with respect thereto.
(3)Point of order in the Senate
(A)In general
When the Senate is considering a PAYGO Act, if a point of order is made by a Senator against an emergency designation in that measure, that provision making such a designation shall be stricken from the measure and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor.
(B)Supermajority waiver and appeals
(i)Waiver
Subparagraph (A) may be waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(ii)Appeals
Appeals in the Senate from the decisions of the Chair relating to any provision of this subsection shall be limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the appellant and the manager of the bill or joint resolution, as the case may be. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under this subsection.
(C)Definition of an emergency designation
For purposes of subparagraph (A), a provision shall be considered an emergency designation if it designates any item as an emergency requirement pursuant to this subsection.
(D)Form of the point of order
A point of order under subparagraph (A) may be raised by a Senator as provided in section 644(e) of this title.
(E)Conference reports
When the Senate is considering a conference report on, or an amendment between the Houses in relation to, a PAYGO Act, upon a point of order being made by any Senator pursuant to this section, and such point of order being sustained, such material contained in such conference report shall be deemed stricken, and the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate shall recede from its amendment and concur with a further amendment, or concur in the House amendment with a further amendment, as the case may be, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report or House amendment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such motion in the Senate shall be debatable. In any case in which such point of order is sustained against a conference report (or Senate amendment derived from such conference report by operation of this subsection), no further amendment shall be in order.
(4)Effect of designation on scoring
If a provision is designated as an emergency requirement under this Act, CBO or OMB, as applicable, shall not include the budgetary effects of such a provision in its estimate of the budgetary effects of that PAYGO legislation.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is title I of Pub. L. 111–139, Feb. 12, 2010, 124 Stat. 8, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 931 of this title and Tables. This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2)(A)(i), (B)(i) and (g)(1), (4), is Pub. L. 111–139, Feb. 12, 2010, 124 Stat. 8, which enacted this chapter, amended section 639, 900, 905, and 906 of this title and section 3101 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and enacted provisions set out as a note under section 712 of Title 31. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (c)(1) and (g)(2), was in the original “this title”, meaning title I of Pub. L. 111–139, Feb. 12, 2010, 124 Stat. 8, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 931 of this title and Tables. As amended by this title, referred to in subsec. (d)(3), means as amended by title I of Pub. L. 111–139. Legislation titled the “Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act”, referred to in subsec. (d)(6), was enacted as title VIII of Pub. L. 111–148, Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 828. Title VIII, which was also known as the “CLASS Act”, enacted subchapter XXX of chapter 6A of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, amended section 1396a of Title 42, enacted provisions set out as notes under section 300ll of Title 42, and amended provisions set out as a note under section 1396p of Title 42, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 112–240, title VI, § 642(b)(1), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2358. Codification Section is comprised of section 4 of Pub. L. 111–139. Subsec. (b) of section 4 of Pub. L. 111–139 amended section 639 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
2 U.S.C. § 933
Title 2, The Congress
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110