§922. Judicial review

(a) Expedited review

(1) Any Member of Congress may bring an action, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief on the ground that any order that might be issued pursuant to section 902 ¹ of this title violates the Constitution.

(2) Any Member of Congress, or any other person adversely affected by any action taken under this title,¹ may bring an action, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief concerning the constitutionality of this title.¹

(3) Any Member of Congress may bring an action, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, for declaratory and injunctive relief on the ground that the terms of an order issued under section 902 ¹ of this title do not comply with the requirements of this title.¹

(4) A copy of any complaint in an action brought under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be promptly delivered to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and each House of Congress shall have the right to intervene in such action.

(5) Any action brought under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be heard and determined by a three-judge court in accordance with section 2284 of title 28.

Nothing in this section or in any other law shall infringe upon the right of the House of Representatives to intervene in an action brought under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) without the necessity of adopting a resolution to authorize such intervention.

(b) Appeal to Supreme Court

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia which is issued pursuant to an action brought under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall be reviewable by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. Any such appeal shall be taken by a notice of appeal filed within 10 days after such order is entered; and the jurisdictional statement shall be filed within 30 days after such order is entered. No stay of an order issued pursuant to an action brought under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall be issued by a single Justice of the Supreme Court.

(c) Expedited consideration

It shall be the duty of the District Court for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States to advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any matter brought under subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Noncompliance with sequestration procedures

(1) If it is finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that an order issued by the President under section 902(b) ¹ of this title for any fiscal year-

(A) does not reduce automatic spending increases under any program specified in section 907(1) ¹ of this title to the extent that such increases are required to be reduced by subchapter I of this chapter (or reduces such increases by a greater extent than is so required),

(B) does not sequester the amount of new budget authority, new loan guarantee commitments, new direct loan obligations, or spending authority which is required to be sequestered by subchapter I of this chapter (or sequesters more than that amount) with respect to any program, project, activity, or account, or

(C) does not reduce obligation limitations by the amount by which such limitations are required to be reduced under subchapter I of this chapter (or reduces such limitations by more than that amount) with respect to any program, project, activity, or account,

the President shall, within 20 days after such determination is made, revise the order in accordance with such determination.

(2) If the order issued by the President under section 902(b) ¹ of this title for any fiscal year-

(A) does not reduce any automatic spending increase to the extent that such increase is required to be reduced by subchapter I of this chapter,

(B) does not sequester any amount of new budget authority, new loan guarantee commitments, new direct loan obligations, or spending authority which is required to be sequestered by subchapter I of this chapter, or

(C) does not reduce any obligation limitation by the amount by which such limitation is required to be reduced under subchapter I of this chapter,

on the claim or defense that the constitutional powers of the President prevent such sequestration or reduction or permit the avoidance of such sequestration or reduction, and such claim or defense is finally determined by the Supreme Court of the United States to be valid, then the entire order issued pursuant to section 902(b) ¹ of this title for such fiscal year shall be null and void.

(e) Timing of relief

No order of any court granting declaratory or injunctive relief from the order of the President issued under section 902 ¹ of this title, including but not limited to relief permitting or requiring the expenditure of funds sequestered by such order, shall take effect during the pendency of the action before such court, during the time appeal may be taken, or, if appeal is taken, during the period before the court to which such appeal is taken has entered its final order disposing of such action.

(f) Alternative procedures for joint reports of Directors

(1) In the event that any of the reporting procedures described in section 901 ¹ of this title are invalidated, then any report of the Director of CBO under section 901(a)(2)(A) or 901(c)(1) ¹ of this title shall be transmitted to the joint committee established under this subsection.

(2) Upon the invalidation of any such procedure there is established a Temporary Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, composed of the entire membership of the Budget Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Chairman of these two committees shall act as Co-Chairmen of the Joint Committee. Actions taken by the Joint Committee shall be determined by the majority vote of the members representing each House. The purposes of the Joint Committee are to receive the reports of the Director of CBO as described in paragraph (1), and to report (with respect to each such report of the Director of CBO) a joint resolution as described in paragraph (3).

(3) No later than 5 days after the receipt of a report of the Director of CBO in accordance with paragraph (1), the Joint Committee shall report to the House of Representatives and the Senate a joint resolution setting forth the contents of the report of the Director of CBO.

(4) The provisions relating to the consideration of a joint resolution under section 904(a)(4) ¹ of this title shall apply to the consideration of a joint resolution reported pursuant to this subsection in the House of Representatives and the Senate, except that debate in each House shall be limited to two hours.

(5) Upon its enactment, the joint resolution shall be deemed to be the report received by the President under section 901(a)(2)(B) or (c)(2) ¹ of this title (whichever is applicable).

(g) Preservation of other rights

The rights created by this section are in addition to the rights of any person under law, subject to subsection (e) of this section.

(h) Economic data and assumptions

The economic data and economic assumptions used by the Director of OMB in computing the base levels of total revenues and total budget outlays, as specified in any report issued by the Director of OMB under section 901(a)(2)(B) or (c)(2) ¹ of this title, shall not be subject to review in any judicial or administrative proceeding.

( Pub. L. 99–177, title II, §274, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1098 ; Pub. L. 100–119, title I, §102(b)(9), (10), Sept. 29, 1987, 101 Stat. 774 , 775.)

References in Text

Section 902 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (3), (d), and (e), was amended generally by Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–581 . Provisions relating to Presidential orders are contained in section 904(g)(6) of this title.

This title, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), (3), means title II (§200 et seq.) of Pub. L. 99–177, Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1038 , known as the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. For complete classification of this Act to the code, see Short Title note set out under section 901 of this title and Tables.

Section 907 of this title, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A), was amended generally by Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(e)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–591 , and, as so amended, does not contain a par. (1).

Section 901 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (f)(1), (5), and (h), was amended generally by Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–577 . Provisions relating to reports are contained in section 904 of this title.

Section 904 of this title, referred to in subsec. (f)(4), was amended generally by Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13101(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–586 , and, as so amended, does not contain a subsec. (a)(4).

Amendments

1987-Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 100–119, §102(b)(9)(A), added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: "In the event that any of the reporting procedures described in section 901 of this title are invalidated, then any report of the Directors referred to in section 901(a) or (c)(1) of this title shall be transmitted to the joint committee established under this subsection."

Subsec. (f)(2), (3). Pub. L. 100–119, §102(b)(9)(B), substituted "Director of CBO" for "Directors" wherever appearing.

Subsec. (f)(5). Pub. L. 100–119, §102(b)(9)(C), substituted "section 901(a)(2)(B) or (c)(2)" for "section 901(b) or (c)(2)".

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 100–119, §102(b)(10), substituted "and economic assumptions" for ", assumptions, and methodologies", "Director of OMB" for "Comptroller General" in two places, and "section 901(a)(2)(B)" for "section 901(b)".

¹ See References in Text note below.