Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act 55783 209141658 2008-04-30T01:46:27Z Brisiingar 7004248 {{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}}The '''Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985''' ({{USPL|99|177}}, title II, [[s December 12]], 1985, {{USStat|99|1038}}, {{USC|2|900}}) and '''Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987''' ({{USPL|100|119}}, title I, Sept. 29, 1987, {{USStat|101|754}}, {{USC|2|900}}) (both often known as '''Gramm-Rudman''') were, according to [[United States|U.S.]] Senator [[Phil Gramm]] of [[Texas]], "the first binding constraint imposed on federal spending, and its spending caps have become part of every subsequent U.S. budget. Together with a rapidly growing economy it produced the first balanced federal budget in a quarter of a century." Senators [[Ernest Hollings]] ([[Democratic Party of the United States|D]]-[[South Carolina]]), [[Warren Rudman]] ([[Republican Party of the United States|R]]-[[New Hampshire]]) and [[Phil Gramm]] (R-[[Texas]]) were the chief sponsors. The Acts were aimed at cutting the [[budget deficit]], which at the time was the largest in history. They provided for automatic spending cuts (called "sequesters") if the deficit exceeded a set of fixed deficit targets. The process for determining the amount of the automatic cuts was found unconstitutional in the case of ''[[Bowsher v. Synar]],'' {{ussc|478|714|1986}} and Congress enacted a reworked version of the law in 1987. Gramm-Rudman failed, however, to prevent large budget deficits. The [[Budget Enforcement Act of 1990]] supplanted the fixed deficit targets. Balanced budgets did not actually emerge until the late 1990s; however, even these budgets were not balanced when including "off-budget" spending. ==See also== *[[Budget deficit]] [[Category:United States federal government administration legislation]] [[Category:Government finances]] [[Category:1985 in law]] [[Category:1987 in law]]