On December 10, 2013, Senate Budget Committee chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced that they have reached a two-year budget agreement in advance of the budget conference’s December 13^th deadline.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 would set overall discretionary spending for the current fiscal year at $1.012 trillion—about halfway between the Senate budget level of $1.058 trillion and the House budget level of $967 billion. The agreement would provide $63 billion in sequester relief over two years, split evenly between defense and non-defense programs. In fiscal year 2014, defense discretionary spending would be set at $520.5 billion, and non-defense discretionary spending would be set at $491.8 billion.

The sequester relief is fully offset by savings elsewhere in the budget. The agreement includes dozens of specific deficit-reduction provisions, with mandatory savings and non-tax revenue totaling $85 billion. The agreement would reduce the deficit by $23 billion.

The Summary of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 includes:

PREVENTION OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE

• Improving the collection of unemployment insurance overpayments
• Strengthening Medicaid third-party liability (“dead beat dad” provision)
• Restriction on access to the Death Master File (fee based access going forward to cover its costs)
• Identification of inmates requesting or receiving improper payments

FEDERAL CIVILIAN AND MILITARY RETIREMENT

• Federal Employees Retirement System for new employees
• Annual adjustment of retired pay and retainer pay amounts for retired members of the Armed Forces under age 62

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Default Reduction Program
• Elimination of nonprofit servicing contract

TRANSPORTATION

• Aviation security service fees
• Transportation cost reimbursement

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

• Limitation on allowable government contractor compensation costs: limits how much a contractor could charge the federal government for an employee’s compensation to $487,000, adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Employment Cost Index. (Comment: does this mean that government contractors are receiving more than $487,000 annually for an employee? How do I sign up?).
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premium rate increases

See House Report at http://budget.house.gov/the-bipartisan-budget-act-of-2013/

See CBO Report at http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44964