This bill converts the annual budget and appropriations cycle from an annual to a biennial, or two-year, cycle. Under this process, the first year of the cycle will be reserved for budgeting and appropriations, with the second year reserved for authorizations and oversight. S. 92 is intended to increase Congressional control of the budget process by reducing the amount of time spent on planning the budget while increasing the amount of time Congress can spend examining how taxpayer dollars are actually spent. Enactment of S. 92 would permit agencies to plan for the longer term, a failure of the current annual process. In addition, a biennial budget would provide greater stability and predictability in federal funding, benefitting those entities, such as state and local governments, affected by the federal budget cycle. S. 92 is a priority item of the Committee’s agenda during the second session of the 106th Congress.

S. 92 was introduced by Senators Thompson (R-TN), Lieberman (D-CT) and Domenici (R-NM) on January 19, 1999 and the bill was referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Budget. The two committees held a joint hearing on January 27, 1999 on the subject of federal budget process reform, including biennial budgeting. S. 92 was subsequently considered by the Governmental Affairs Committee on March 4, 1999 and ordered reported by a roll call vote of 9-4 with an amendment (a complete substitute making a number of technical corrections.) A written report was filed on March 10, 1999 (S. Rept. 106-12). On April 12, the Budget Committee was discharged of further consideration of the bill and S. 92 was placed on the Senate calendar.

There are three bills pending before the House of Representatives addressing the biennial budget issue: H.R. 232, introduced by Congressman Ralph Regula (R-OH); H.R. 493, introduced by Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL); and H.R. 3586, introduced by Congressman Sonny Callahan (R-AL).

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