As shown in Figure 1 below, the BBA 2019 is the closest to BBA 2018 in terms of the size of the agreement. BbA 2019 increased defence budget caps for the GJ 2020–2021 period by about $172 billion, while the BBA increased defence caps in 2018 and fiscal year 2018–2019 by $165 billion. By comparison, BBA 2013 and BBA 2015 increased defence caps by $32 billion and $40 billion for their respective two-year periods. In the absence of congressional action, the statutory discretionary funding caps will impose an 11 percent reduction in defence and a 9% reduction in non-defence (NDD) programs by 2020 compared to the amounts allocated in 2019. Such deep cuts would have devastating effects on national security and the economic vitality of the United States. The budget agreement replaces these destructive cuts with a realistic fiscal framework to allow Congress, through its annual budget projects, to invest critically in our country‘s infrastructure and people. As with the previous two-year budget agreement, the 2019 bill does not use the retirement of federal public servants to offset significant increases in spending in 2020 and 2021. Congress used two-year budget agreements between parties to set higher premiums for federal public servants. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 required new federal employees recruited after 2013 to contribute 4.4% to their retirements. The date of the BBA 2019 agreement also means that Congress can theoretically adopt defenses before the start of the fiscal year on October 1. This would be the first time since the 2004–2005 GJ that the defence would benefit from two consecutive years of appropriations stopped prior to the start of the fiscal year. And because it‘s a two-year budget deal, it means that Congress may also be able to deliver the funds in time for GJ 2021, which would be the first time in at least 50 years that defence has had one-off resources for three consecutive years. However, simply reaching a budget agreement does not guarantee that the budgetary procedure will proceed smoothly.
For example, while a budget agreement was already in effect months in advance for GJ 2019, some parts of the federal government did not have timely resources and experienced a prolonged loss (i.e. a partial government shutdown) for part of the year. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 increases defence and domestic spending limits by about $100 billion over the next two years. In addition, the debt ceiling will be extended until July 31, 2021 — additional funding is provided for Health Veterans and other initiatives. Q2: What is this budget agreement compared to previous financial statements? The two-year budget agreement, signed by the president on Friday afternoon, provides a slight sense of security for federal officials and their agencies and sets spending figures for 2020 and 2021. Under previous laws in 2013, 2015 and 2018, the budget agreement is the fourth time Congress has relaxed the discretionary limits imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) on defense and non-defense spending. What is remarkable is that this is the first time that such an agreement has been reached before the start of the government‘s fiscal year on October 1, however open the possibility — however small — that one or more of the 12 individual expense accounts on which Congress relies to effectively fund discretionary programs can be closed on time.