Pete Domenici: “First, S.J. Res. 28 is an automatic resolution. It is required to be introduced by the majority leader and considered by…”

“First, S.J. Res. 28 is an automatic resolution. It is required to be introduced by the majority leader and considered by the Budget Committee and the Senate under expedited procedures. That is why we are here today. The resolution is automatic when the Congressional Budget Office notifies the Congress of an economic slowdown, as described in the Budget Act. On October 31 the Department of Commerce of the United States advanced the preliminary report on real economic growth. It showed the economy in the third quarter shrank at the annual rate of .4 percent, the largest fall since October of 1991. The report, which will likely be revised downward even more come the January report, triggered the Congressional Budget Office notification of low growth and subsequently triggered the introduction of the resolution before us today. The provision in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, sometimes referred to as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, that necessitated the reporting of this resolution was simply that we did not want to initiate major spending cuts in a time of recession.”