Over the years, reckless spending habits and budget gimmicks have brought us to this critical moment in history where we face a job-crippling national debt. Only in Washington would this current broken budget process seem sound. The time is now to end the smoke and mirrors that Washington has used to cloak its addiction to spending and to bring sunshine and accountability to our federal budget.
Working alongside Representatives Jim Rennaci (R-OH), John Carney (D-DE), Larry Buschon (R-IN), Jim Himes (D-CT), Bill Owens (D-NY), and Kurt Schrader (D-OR), I have introduced legislation that delivers common-sense reforms to foster greater accountability in the federal the budget process. Some of these important reforms include: making sure current unbudgeted fiscal expenditures like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are examined; requiring the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the cost of legislation over a 20 year period; and implementing an accrual accounting method commonly used in the private sector.
Specifically, the measure:
- Requires thorough analysis of the 20 year impact on our deficit when determining the cost of proposed legislation
- Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue an annual report examining the true extent of our debt burden (such as the costs of Fannie and Freddie, which are currently excluded from the annual budget)
- Requires performance reviews of each tax exemption, deduction, or credit at least once every four years to establish effective oversight of these tax expenditures
- Implements an accrual accounting system, which provides a more realistic reporting of revenues and expenditures in the budget, including retirement benefits and environmental liabilities
- Requires the Congressional Budget Office to issue a report projecting revenues over the next decade
- Makes Congress accountable for producing a two-year budget for federal agencies
Click Here to read the bill text of the Budget Process Improvement Act.
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