Senators Phil Gramm (R-Texas), Warren Rudman (R-New Hampshire), and Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina), who were credited as their chief authors.

This deficit is the amount by which expenditures by the federal government exceed its revenues each year and was at the time the largest in history in dollar terms.

He is removable only by impeachment or a joint resolution of Congress, which requires majority votes in both houses and is subject to a Presidential veto.

[6] On August 12, 1986, Representative Dan Rostenkowski introduced the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act.

The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 supplanted the fixed deficit targets, which replaced sequestration with a PAYGO system, which was in effect until 2002.