House Passes Congressman Blake Moore’s Bipartisan Bill to Improve Congressional Access to Economic Data
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Blake Moore’s Increasing Baseline Updates Act passed the House of Representatives. This bipartisan bill will bolster Congress’s ability to make informed decisions about federal spending by requiring the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to produce at least two baseline updates each year, including one update with economic data. Having updated budget and economic figures will ensure Congress has the most up-to-date information to inform the appropriations process and other legislation.
Congressman Moore was joined by Congressman Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) in introducing this legislation, and the bill unanimously passed the House Budget Committee in September.
“Americans have made it abundantly clear that they welcome the Trump Administration’s efforts to rein in wasteful federal spending and lower our crippling national debt,” said Congressman Moore. “The Increasing Baseline Updates Act will help this critical initiative by enhancing Congress’s ability to make informed decisions during the budgeting process with more consistently updated data from the Congressional Budget Office. I thank Chairman Jodey Arrington and the Budget Committee for their overwhelming support of this bill, and I am thrilled it has officially passed the House!”
"We can’t get our fiscal house in order, responsibly steward taxpayers’ treasure, and address our national debt without fixing our broken budget process, which is exactly what Rep. Blake Moore’s legislative reform will help us achieve," said Chairman Jodey Arrington.
Background:
Under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, CBO is required to publish its baseline before February 15th of each year. The baseline is a projection of federal outlays and revenues under current and future fiscal years according to existing law. Despite the requirement for an annual baseline, there is no statutory obligation for CBO to provide a specific number of baseline updates, which are critical to ongoing policymaking in Congress. The last time CBO published a baseline update after July was 2020. This is problematic considering Congress’s tendency to pass government funding bills at the end of the calendar year. Additionally, the last time CBO published three baselines in a year was 2019. This leaves lawmakers relying on outdated information on the fiscal state of our nation. The Increasing Baseline Updates Act is an important step toward improving our budget process and returning to regular order.
The text for the Increasing Baseline Updates Act can be found here.
Watch Congressman Moore’s remarks on the House Floor here:
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