2 USC 903 - Enforcing deficit targets

U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 03, 2025

§ 903.

Enforcing deficit targets

(a)

Sequestration

(b)

Excess deficit; margin

The excess deficit is, if greater than zero, the estimated deficit for the budget year, minus—

(1)

the maximum deficit amount for that year;

(2)

the amounts for that year designated as emergency direct spending or receipts legislation under section 902(e) of this title; and

(3)

for any fiscal year in which there is not a full adjustment for technical and economic reestimates, the deposit insurance reestimate for that year, if any, calculated under subsection (h).

The “margin” for fiscal year 1992 or 1993 is zero and for fiscal year 1994 or 1995 is $15,000,000,000.

(c)

Dividing sequestration

(d)

Defense

(e)

Non-defense

Actions to reduce non-defense accounts shall be taken in the following order:

(1)

First

(2)

Second

(3)

Third

(A)

If additional reductions in non-defense accounts are required to be made, each remaining non-exempt, non-defense account shall be reduced by the uniform percentage necessary to make the reductions in non-defense outlays required by subsection (c), except that—

(i)

the medicare program specified in section 906(d) of this title shall not be reduced by more than 2 percent in total including any reduction of less than 2 percent made under section 902 of this title or, if it has been reduced by 2 percent or more under section 902 of this title, it may not be further reduced under this section; and

(ii)

the health programs set forth in section 906(e) of this title shall not be reduced by more than 2 percent in total (including any reduction made under section 901 of this title),

and the uniform percent applicable to all other programs under this subsection shall be increased (if necessary) to a level sufficient to achieve the required reduction in non-defense outlays.

(B)

For purposes of determining reductions under subparagraph (A), outlay reduction (as a result of sequestration of Commodity Credit Corporation commodity price support contracts in the fiscal year of a sequestration) that would occur in the following fiscal year shall be credited as outlay reductions in the fiscal year of the sequestration.

(f)

Baseline assumptions; part-year appropriations

(1)

Budget assumptions

(2)

Part-year appropriations

If, on the date specified in subsection (a), there is in effect an Act making or continuing appropriations for part of a fiscal year for any non-exempt budget account, then the dollar sequestration calculated for that account under subsection (d) or (e), as applicable, shall be subtracted from—

(A)

the annualized amount otherwise available by law in that account under that or a subsequent part-year appropriation; and

(B)

when a full-year appropriation for that account is enacted, from the amount otherwise provided by the full-year appropriation; except that the amount to be sequestered from that account shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the savings achieved by that appropriation when the enacted amount is less than the baseline for that account.

(g)

Adjustments to maximum deficit amounts

(1)

Adjustments

(A)

When the President submits the budget for fiscal year 1992, the maximum deficit amounts for fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 shall be adjusted to reflect up-to-date reestimates of economic and technical assumptions and any changes in concepts or definitions. When the President submits the budget for fiscal year 1993, the maximum deficit amounts for fiscal years 1993, 1994, and 1995 shall be further adjusted to reflect up-to-date reestimates of economic and technical assumptions and any changes in concepts or definitions.

(B)

When submitting the budget for fiscal year 1994, the President may choose to adjust the maximum deficit amounts for fiscal years 1994 and 1995 to reflect up-to-date reestimates of economic and technical assumptions. If the President chooses to adjust the maximum deficit amount when submitting the fiscal year 1994 budget, the President may choose to invoke the same adjustment procedure when submitting the budget for fiscal year 1995. In each case, the President must choose between making no adjustment or the full adjustment described in paragraph (2). If the President chooses to make that full adjustment, then those procedures for adjusting discretionary spending limits described in sections 901(b)(1)(C) ¹ and 901(b)(2)(E) ¹ of this title, otherwise applicable through fiscal year 1993 or 1994 (as the case may be), shall be deemed to apply for fiscal year 1994 (and 1995 if applicable).

(C)

When the budget for fiscal year 1994 or 1995 is submitted and the sequestration reports for those years under section 904 of this title are made (as applicable), if the President does not choose to make the adjustments set forth in subparagraph (B), the maximum deficit amount for that fiscal year shall be adjusted by the amount of the adjustment to discretionary spending limits first applicable for that year (if any) under section 901(b) of this title.

(D)

For each fiscal year the adjustments required to be made with the submission of the President’s budget for that year shall also be made when OMB submits the sequestration update report and the final sequestration report for that year, but OMB shall continue to use the economic and technical assumptions in the President’s budget for that year.

Each adjustment shall be made by increasing or decreasing the maximum deficit amounts set forth in section 665 ¹ of this title.

(2)

Calculations of adjustments

The required increase or decrease shall be calculated as follows:

(A)

The baseline deficit or surplus shall be calculated using up-to-date economic and technical assumptions, using up-to-date concepts and definitions, and, in lieu of the baseline levels of discretionary appropriations, using the discretionary spending limits set forth in section 665 ¹ of this title as adjusted under section 901 of this title.

(B)

The net deficit increase or decrease caused by all direct spending and receipts legislation enacted after November 5, 1990 (after adjusting for any sequestration of direct spending accounts) shall be calculated for each fiscal year by adding—

(i)

the estimates of direct spending and receipts legislation transmitted under section 902(d) of this title applicable to each such fiscal year; and

(ii)

the estimated amount of savings in direct spending programs applicable to each such fiscal year resulting from the prior year’s sequestration under this section or section 902 of this title of direct spending, if any, as contained in OMB’s final sequestration report for that year.

(C)

The amount calculated under subparagraph (B) shall be subtracted from the amount calculated under subparagraph (A).

(D)

The maximum deficit amount set forth in section 665 ¹ of this title shall be subtracted from the amount calculated under subparagraph (C).

(E)

The amount calculated under subparagraph (D) shall be the amount of the adjustment required by paragraph (1).

(h)

Treatment of deposit insurance

(1)

Initial estimates

(2)

Reestimates

(Pub. L. 99–177, title II, § 253, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1078; Pub. L. 100–119, title I, § 103, Sept. 29, 1987, 101 Stat. 775; Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, § 13101(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–583.)

cite as: 2 USC 903