Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act(OBRA)

Law

42 U.S.C. § 9801 et seq.  | (1981)

implemented massive government spending reductions and significantly altered the congressional budget process. As the centerpiece of President Ronald Reagan's “supply-side” revolution, the law called for $135 billion to be cut from federal programs while defense spending was greatly increased. The Act also shifted responsibility for the budget reconciliation process from congressional committees to the House and Senate floors. Later budget reconciliation acts (1990, 1993) were aimed at extending and adjusting five-year deficit reduction targets as part of the overall federal budget process.