(Washington, DC) -  U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, a senior member of the House Budget Committee and Chairman of the House Republican Budget Task Force, called on preeminent national economists today, including the former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), as he chaired today’s Budget Committee hearing.  The focus of the hearing was expanding the use of dynamic analysis and modernizing the underlying concepts of the budget process.

 

“While we have done some tweaking here and there over the years, a comprehensive, formal review of our technical rules has not been undertaken in nearly four decades,” Crenshaw said as he opened today’s hearing.  “Clearly, forty year old concepts cannot possibly account for some of the real-world economic precepts that drive our 21^st Century economy.”  

 

Today’s hearing focused on how outdated concepts create confusion and misrepresentation as Congress puts together its budget each year.  Witnesses included Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D. – former CBO chairman, John W. Diamond, Ph.D. – tax policy fellow for the James Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Leonard E. Burman, Ph.D. – senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

 

“It is high time for a thorough cleaning of our budget concepts,” said Holtz-Eakin.

 

Just last week, Rep. Crenshaw introduced HR 6040, which creates a Congressional Commission that will provide the necessary oversight and make recommendations on ways to modernize our basic budgetary principles as Congress brings more accountability and transparency to the budget process.

 

“If Congress is serious about fiscally responsible budgeting, it is essential we take politics out of the equation and have this commission of experts take an unvarnished look at our budget and accounting practices and report its findings back to Congress,” Crenshaw said at the bill’s introduction.

 

Crenshaw noted at today’s hearing that one of the most important concepts to be studied under the bill is dynamic analysis.  He said the impact of the legislative actions of Congress must be analyzed to produce a fair, accurate picture of the costs or benefits associated with various tax and spending policies.

 

“The important benefit of dynamic analysis is that it helps us see more clearly the real effects of our policy choices, and the ramifications they can have.  It systematically examines how policies affect incentives to work and invest – which directly affect how real people live.”

 

Crenshaw cautioned his colleagues, “While we often hear the terms “dynamic analysis” and “dynamic scoring” used interchangeably - they are not the same.  “Dynamic scoring” deals with a particular application of “dynamic analysis.”  The analysis is the broader, overarching concept.”