GAAP Act

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Act or GAAP Act - Requires the President's budget submission to include an estimate of the deficit or surplus for the fiscal year concerned, prepared using generally accepted accounting principles.

Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the alternative levels of total revenues, total new budget authority, and total outlays (including related surpluses and deficits) covered by the annual Congressional Budget Office (CBO) fiscal policy report to the congressional budget committees on the upcoming fiscal year to be prepared using both cash basis accounting and generally accepted accounting principles.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 476 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 476

  To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the President to 
   submit with the budget an estimate of the deficit using generally 
 accepted accounting principles, and to amend the Congressional Budget 
 Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to submit the 
 same with its report to the Committees on the Budget of the House of 
                    Representatives and the Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 2013

  Mr. Gingrey of Georgia (for himself and Mr. Conaway) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the President to 
   submit with the budget an estimate of the deficit using generally 
 accepted accounting principles, and to amend the Congressional Budget 
 Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to submit the 
 same with its report to the Committees on the Budget of the House of 
                    Representatives and the Senate.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Generally Accepted Accounting 
Principles Act'' or the ``GAAP Act''.

SEC. 2. BUDGET DEFICIT CALCULATION USING GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING 
              PRINCIPLES.

    (a) In General.--Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (37) (relating to 
        a list of plans and reports for elimination or consolidation) 
        as paragraph (39); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(40) an estimate of the deficit or surplus for the fiscal 
        year for which the budget is submitted, prepared using 
        generally accepted accounting principles.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The requirement added by subsection (a) shall 
take effect beginning with the budget submission made by the President 
in 2015.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REPORT TO THE COMMITTEES ON THE 
              BUDGET OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.

    (a) In General.--Section 202(e)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 602(e)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ``prepared 
using both cash basis accounting and generally accepted accounting 
principles'' after ``(including related surpluses and deficits''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The requirement added by subsection (a) shall 
take effect beginning with the report that the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office submits in 2015.
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