Congress shouldn't get paid until it does its most basic job: passing annual budgets on time. dailysign.al/2NYT7iT via @JustinBogie @DailySignal
@JustinBogie @DailySignal The fact that a month-and-a-half into the new fiscal year none of the 12 annual appropriations bills have been enacted is a sign of how dysfunctional the congressional budget process is.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Ralph Norman of South Carolina on Nov. 14 introduced the Budget Process Enhancement Act. The bill would make two major changes to improve the current budget process.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal First, it would remove the assumption that federal programs grow at the rate of inflation from the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Next, it would institute a “no budget, no pay” policy: If Congress doesn’t adopt a budget resolution by April 15 of each fiscal year, lawmakers would receive no pay until it does.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal The Budget Process Enhancement Act is a positive first step toward removing the bias in favor of higher spending from the baseline and eliminating an accounting gimmick used to skew the impact of budget decisions.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Congress should continue to pursue reforms that will create a better functioning and more responsible budget process.
Assuming that spending will automatically increase with inflation creates two problems.
Assuming that spending will automatically increase with inflation creates two problems.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal First, it allows Congress to claim spending cuts relative to the baseline when spending is actually increasing actually increasing, just not at the same pace as inflation would otherwise have increased it.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Second, baseline budgeting creates a bias in favor of higher spending. The Congressional Budget Office arbitrarily assumes that agency funding will increase with inflation, not based on actual needs or proposals.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Biggs’ and Norman’s bill would end the practice of adjusting baseline projections for inflation and require agencies to justify additional funding needs.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Federal budgeting should be about prioritizing funding toward constitutional responsibilities. Forcing agencies to justify new spending should slow the growth of discretionary spending and bring more transparency to the budget process.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal One reason federal spending has grown over the past several decades is that lawmakers spend little time engaging in the broader federal budget outlook.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Rather, they focus on discretionary spending, which is about one-third of total federal outlays.
That strategy has left the country $23 trillion in debt.
That strategy has left the country $23 trillion in debt.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Passing a budget and appropriations bills is one of the few jobs that lawmakers are required to do each year. Yet, it has been nearly 25 years since Congress completed each individual step of the budget process before the start of the new fiscal year.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal Over that period of time, the federal government has been plagued by an ongoing series of continuing resolutions, bloated omnibus spending bills, and numerous government shutdowns. Taxpayers are the real losers in all of this dysfunction.
@JustinBogie @DailySignal The federal deficit is projected to top $1 trillion and remain above that level annually for decades to come. Now is the time for Congress to implement reforms to reduce spending and create a better functioning budget process.
