Rescissions are provisions of law that cancel budget authority previously provided to federal agencies before it would otherwise expire. The Congress can use rescissions, along with other legislative tools, to reduce federal spending.
The Congressional Budget Office provides estimates of the budgetary effects of proposed rescissions to support the Congress in enforcing budget rules. To produce those estimates, CBO considers several factors, including:
- How much budget authority will be available to rescind,
- Whether the rescission would be permanent or temporary, and
- How any savings from the rescission would be classified in the budget.
CBO also makes an assumption about the date of the legislation’s enactment, taking into account how long different types of legislation are typically considered by lawmakers, and uses historical spending patterns to estimate the rescission’s effect on outlays for the budget account in question.
This document provides answers to key questions about how CBO estimates savings from rescissions.
Originally published at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58915
