Sustainable Budgets Act – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

A BILL

To establish sustainable Federal budget principles and processes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

(a) SHORT TITLE.— This Act may be cited as the “Sustainable Budgets Act.”

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

(a) The Congress finds that—

(1) Sustainable and balanced Federal budgets reflect and contribute to a sustainable level of economic activity of the Nation;

(2) A sustainable level of National economic activity is called a “steady state economy”;

(3) A steady state economy is achieved when population multiplied by per capita consumption, expressed in terms of GDP, is stabilized or mildly fluctuating at a size within the ecological capacity of the nation;

(4) Various sustainable levels of a steady state economy may be identified, from barely sustainable, ecologically risky, precariously high levels of GDP to easily sustainable, low levels of GDP that are socially suboptimal;

(5) Based upon the best available science, as summarized by the Commission on Economic Sustainability, current GDP is not sustainable in the long term, as it entails the degradation and often the liquidation of economically essential natural capital such as soils, minerals, timber, fisheries, rangeland resources, and coastal and marine resources;

(6) Managing for sustainability, including sustainable budgeting, requires a long-term planning horizon, and can be hampered by shortsighted, short-term planning;

(7) Degrading environmental conditions, caused by economic growth, reduce the capacity for future economic activity and the sustainable level of Federal budgeting;

(8) Perpetual deficit spending, government debt, and payment of interest on loans is unsustainable;

(9) Federal budgets have a limited but significant influence over the stability and sustainability of the Nation’s economy;

(10) The Federal budget comprises part of a fiscal plan, along with the tax code, that reflects the values and priorities of the Nation; and

(11) An optimally sized Federal budget is neither too small for the social wellbeing of the Nation nor too large, in combination with private sector economic activity, for the Nation’s ecological capacity.

(b) The Congress declares that—

(1) A period of 150 years is an appropriate long-term planning horizon for environmental and economic sustainability, and Federal budgets must be formulated with sufficient attention to their long-term, cumulative effects;

(2) Federal budgets must reflect a prudent mixture of market and democratic elements that tend to the environmental protection, economic sustainability, social security, and defense of the Nation in addition to the prosperity of its citizens;

(3) It is the policy of the Federal Government to manage its budget in a manner conducive to the establishment and maintenance of a socially prosperous but readily sustainable steady state economy;

(4) If it is determined, based upon sound science and economics, as summarized by the Commission on Economic Sustainability, that a given level of GDP may be maintained for the long term, then that level of GDP, persisting in a steady state, is considered sustainable;

(5) The Federal budget must be conducive to an optimal steady state economy that is neither too large to be ecologically sustainable nor too small to be socially acceptable;

(6) To be most conducive to a steady state economy, the Federal budget shall itself be managed forthwith in a steady state, not to include outlays exceeding 7 trillion dollars of 2023 purchasing power parity or one fourth (25%) of the prior year’s GDP, whichever figure is less;

(7) Federal outlays shall differ from one fiscal year to the next by no more than 3 per cent, except during war or national emergency;

(8) A balanced budget is important for maintaining a sustainable level of Federal governance, such that payment of interest on Federal borrowing may be phased out; and

(9) The initiation of any new federal programs will entail reassignment of duties among existing federal employees, cessation of other programs, and other means congruent with no net gain in bureaucracy.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

(a) In this Act—

(1) “Act” refers to the Sustainable Budgets Act;

(2) “Deficit” means the amount by which outlays exceed receipts during a fiscal year;

(3) “Enactment” means the passage into law of the Sustainable Budgets Act;

(4) “Long term” means a period of time sufficient to include protracted and complex ecological, social, demographic, and economic processes and trends, and for Federal planning purposes, including budgeting, implies a period of 150 years;

(5) “Outlay” means, with respect to any fiscal year, expenditures and net lending of funds under Federal budget authority;

(6) “Steady state economy” means a stabilized, sustainable level of production and consumption of goods and services in the aggregate, as measured with GDP;

(7) “Sustainable” means ecologically and economically operational for the long term; and

(8) “Sustainable budget” means Federal spending that is balanced by receipts and does not exceed 25% of GDP, which in turn fits within the ecological capacity of the nation and is therefore feasible for the long term.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES AND CONSTRAINTS OF BUDGETARY CONTENT.

(a) Federal outlays shall not exceed expected Federal receipts and shall not exceed Federal receipts from the prior fiscal year.

(b) The Federal budget shall include sufficient appropriations for programs mandated by Congress.

(c) The Federal budget may include appropriations for non-mandatory programs authorized by Congress or lawfully ordered by the President.

(d) The Federal budget shall not include appropriations for non-mandatory programs that would threaten, undermine, or compromise the essential conditions for the long-term health and wellbeing of the Nation, including environmental protection, economic sustainability, social stability, National security, and international diplomacy.

SEC. 5. NO NET GAIN IN DEMAND FOR GOVERNMENT OUTLAYS.

(a) The Congress shall not mandate programs, policies, and procedures requiring additional Federal outlays without concurrently identifying antiquated or unnecessary programs, policies, and procedures which are thenceforth terminated, thereby maintaining a steady state of Federal outlays.

(b) Commencing with enactment, there shall be no net gain in Federal bureaucracy, in terms of cumulative employment of civil servants and political appointees, wages paid, and numbers of agencies and programs authorized or appropriated for by the Congress.

(c) If in violation of Section 2(b)(6) Congress fails to advance to the President a budget with outlays of less than or equal to 7 trillion dollars of 2023 purchasing power parity or one fourth (25%) of the prior year’s GDP, whichever is lower, the Congressional Research Service shall provide an amended budget, for the President’s, in which outlays are uniformly and proportionately lowered across all non-mandatory, non-employee line items, resulting in outlays equaling 7 trillion dollars of 2023 purchasing power parity or one fourth (25%) of the prior year’s GDP, whichever is lower.

(d) The President shall veto any budget submitted by Congress in violation of Section 2(b)(6), and will opt instead to pass back to the Congress either a budget provided by the Congressional Research Service pursuant to Section 5(c) or another budget with outlays of less than or equal to 7 trillion dollars of 2023 purchasing power parity or one fourth (25%) of the prior year’s GDP, whichever is lower.

(e) Congress shall introduce no new unfunded mandates requiring additional State or Municipal Government outlays, except when terminating prior unfunded mandates requiring State or Municipal Government outlays.

SEC. 6. CAPS ON MANDATORY SPENDING.

(a) SOCIAL SECURITY.—

(1) The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall produce for the President, no later than two years following enactment, three viable options for stabilizing or lessening the aggregate level of social security payments.

(A) Each option must take no more than three years to accomplish.

(B) No option may include the raising of the minimum eligibility age beyond 70 years.

(D) No option may lessen social security payments to existing recipients.

(2) No later than six months after receiving the three viable options for stabilizing the aggregate level of social security payments from the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, the President shall adopt and commence administering one of the options.

(b) MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.—

(1) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shall produce for the President, no later than two years following enactment, three viable options for stabilizing or lessening the aggregate level of Medicare and Medicaid payments.

(A) Each option must take no more than three years to accomplish.

(B) No option may include the raising of minimum eligibility ages beyond 70 years.

(2) No later than six months after receiving the three viable options for stabilizing the aggregate level of Medicare or Medicaid payments from the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the President shall adopt and commence administering one of the options.

(1) The Congressional Research Service shall produce for the President, no later than two years following enactment, five viable options for stabilizing or lessening the aggregate level of Treasury payments for military pensions, veterans benefits, interest on the federal debt, and all other mandatory payments to people, businesses, and State and local governments.

(A) Each option must take no more than three years to accomplish.

(B) No option may include the raising of minimum eligibility ages beyond 70 years.

(2) No later than six months after receiving the five viable options for stabilizing the aggregate level of Treasury payments for military pensions, veterans benefits, interest on the federal debt, and all other mandatory payments to people, businesses, and State and local governments from the Congressional
Research Service, the President shall adopt and commence administering one of the five options.

SEC. 7. SUSTAINING DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND PROGRAMS.

(a) The following agencies are tasked with assessing, protecting, and maintaining the Nation’s stocks of natural capital and will retain funding equivalent to or greater than their fiscal year 2023 budgets:

(1) Agricultural Research Service

(2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(3) Arctic Research Commission

(4) Bureau of Indian Affairs

(5) Bureau of Land Management

(6) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

(7) Council on Environmental Quality

(8) Delaware River Basin Commission

(9) Environmental Protection Agency

(10) Farm Service Agency

(11) Federal Geographic Data Committee

(12) Federal Maritime Commission

(13) Fish and Wildlife Service

(14) Forest Service

(15) Geological Survey

(16) Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(17) Marine Mammal Commission

(18) Migratory Bird Conservation Commission

(19) Mississippi River Commission

(20) National Agricultural Library

(21) National Agricultural Statistics Service

(22) National Institute of Food and Agriculture

(23) National Invasive Species Information Center

(24) National Marine Fisheries Service

(25) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(26) National Park Service

(27) National Weather Service

(28) Natural Resources Conservation Service

(29) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

(30) Office of Environmental Management

(31) Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement

(32) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

(33) Susquehanna River Basin Commission

SEC. 8. CAPS ON DISCRETIONARY SPENDING.

(a) NATIONAL DEFENSE.—

(1) No more than 10 per cent of the Federal Budget may be allocated to National defense, with the following exceptions:

(A) Congress has declared war and the minimum costs of victory exceed the 10-per-cent cap.

(B) The President has declared a national emergency of a nature that requires substantial defense operations to solve or mitigate.

(b) COMMERCE.—

(1) No more than 0.7 per cent of the Federal Budget may be allocated to the Department of Commerce.

(1) No more than 2 per cent of the Federal Budget may be allocated to the Department of Education.

SEC. 9. SUNSETTED DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND PROGRAMS.

(a) The following agencies shall receive no funding after fiscal year 2028 and will cease to exist on October 1, 2028:

(1) Agency for Global Media

(2) Agricultural Marketing Service*

(3) Alhurra TV

(4) Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation

(5) Bureau of International Labor Affairs

(6) Bureau of Justice Statistics

(7) Chief Financial Officers Council

(8) Chief Human Capital Officers Council

(9) Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee

(10) Commerce Department

(11) Commission of Fine Arts

(12) Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States

(13) Commission on International Religious Freedom

(14) Commission on Presidential Scholars

(15) Community Oriented Policing Services

(16) Office of Congressional Workplace Rights

(17) Defense Commissary Agency

(18) Delta Regional Authority

(19) Denali Commission

(20) Economic Development Administration

(21) Export-Import Bank of the United States

(22) Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology

(23) Federal Consulting Group

(24) Federal Executive Boards

(25) Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

(26) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

(27) Fulbright Program

(28) Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation

(29) Indian Arts and Crafts Board

(30) Institute of Education Sciences

(31) Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group

(32) International Development Finance Corporation

(33) International Trade Administration

(34) James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

(35) Mediation and Conciliation Service

(36) National Capital Planning Commission

(37) National Endowment for the Arts

(38) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

(39) National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

(40) Northern Border Regional Commission

(41) Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

(42) Office of Cuba Broadcasting

(43) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy

(44) Office of Policy Development and Research

(45) Office of Science and Technology Policy

(46) Office of Textiles and Apparel

(47) Open World Leadership Center

(48) Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia

(49) Radio Free Asia

(50) Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty

(51) Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

(52) Space Command

(53) State Justice Institute

(54) Stennis Center for Public Service

(55) Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

(56) Voice of America

(57) Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

(b) Each director of the agencies listed in Section 8(a) shall complete and publish in the Federal Register by January 1, 2026, a demobilization plan designed to meet remaining contractual obligations and to assist, where feasible, with the resignation, retirement, or interagency transfer of the agency’s employees.

(c) Commencing no later than October 1, 2029, the General Services Administration shall manage the real estate and physical property of vacated agencies listed in Section 8(a), disposing of all such estate and property by September 30, 2032.