This week, the House of Representatives is poised to take up the Increasing Baseline Updates Act (H.R. 9716) introduced by Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and cosponsored by Reps. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Ron Estes (R-KS), and Ralph Norman (R-SC). The bill will be considered under suspension on Wednesday. This bipartisan legislation aims to enhance the ability of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to produce and update its annual budget baseline. Specifically, the bill mandates that the executive branch provide critical data to CBO by February 1 and requires CBO to produce at least two updates to its baseline each year. These reforms would ensure lawmakers have access to more timely and accurate fiscal data.
What the Bill Would Do
CBO’s annual baseline, a ten-year projection of the budget and economy based largely on current law, is generally published in January or February. It serves as a critical benchmark for evaluating the fiscal impact of legislative proposals. Updates are released in the spring and late summer to reflect changes in enacted laws and economic conditions.
The baseline is often delayed because Congress and the President do not complete work on the budget in a timely manner. However, it can also be delayed because the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does not provide key data to CBO as soon as it could. OMB manages and produces the President’s annual budget request based on data from across the federal departments and agencies. This data is only made available to CBO at the same time the budget is released to the public.
The Increasing Baseline Updates Act addresses this issue by requiring OMB to provide relevant technical data to CBO by February 1 each year. This will enable CBO to finalize its budget baseline more quickly. It would also require CBO, to the extent practicable, to provide at least two baseline updates to Congress. In most years, CBO will produce one or two updates, but, under the Increasing Baseline Updates Act, this would become the minimum. More frequent baseline updates would also improve the accuracy of legislative cost estimates, which are measured against the most recent baseline.
Bipartisan Support for Better Budget Data
This bipartisan reform to provide for more timely CBO budget baselines and updates was passed in September by the House Budget Committee with a vote of 32-0. This reform builds on a pair of bills enacted by Congress this fall. The CBO Data Sharing Act (H.R. 7032), introduced by the Budget Committee’s Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-PA) and the CBO Data Access Act (S. 1549), introduced by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME). These bills made it easier for CBO to get the budgetary data it needs from federal agencies without needless delays, so that it can produce legislative cost estimates on a shorter timeline.
Conclusion
The Increasing Baseline Updates Act is a pragmatic, bipartisan reform that strengthens CBO’s ability to provide timely and accurate fiscal data to lawmakers. By expediting the availability of critical technical data and codifying baseline update requirements, this legislation ensures that Congress has the tools it needs to make informed budgetary decisions. As the national debt continues to grow, reforms for improved baselines and cost estimates will help lawmakers make progress towards sound fiscal management and accountability in government.