Emergency Spending Under the Budget Enforcement Act
Abstract
At the end of the 105th Congress, lawmakers approved $21.4 billion in emergency spending as part of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 1999. That is the highest level of emergency spending enacted in the 1990s, excluding spending for the Persian Gulf War. The 1999 funds addressed a wide variety of purposes ranging from increased security at U.S. embassies and a continuation of peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia to aiding U.S. farmers affected by adverse weather. Many people have questioned the extent to which the $21.4 billion constitutes spending for true "emergencies. "Emergency" is not clearly defined in budget process law. Under procedures that have been in effect since 1991, emergency spending is generally whatever the Congress and the President deem it to be. Emergency spending has been more than just the funding typically provided to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. It has also included military funding for Operation Desert Storm in fiscal years 1991 and 1992, spending in the wake of such events as the riots in Los Angeles (1992) and the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City (1995), and funding for peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia (1997).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA399741
Entities
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office