Last week Senators Jeff Sessions (R-Al.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Me.) introduced the “Honest Budget Act,” which proposes a number of fiscally responsible reforms to the budget process.
The bill would strengthen the budget point of order preventing consideration of appropriations bills before a budget resolution has been adopted. The legislation would also make it more difficult to use emergency spending as a loophole, limit changes to mandatory programs that are included in appropriations bills, prevent timing shifts from being used as budget gimmicks, and require more honest budgeting for transportation spending.
Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby said the proposal should “be seriously considered by Congress” but should also be accompanied by “detailed proposals that make the difficult choices among competing revenue and spending priorities.” Bixby said
“Improving the integrity of the budget process would help to facilitate these choices and restore public trust.”
External links:
Sessions, Snowe Unveil ‘Honest Budget Act’ To Strip Away Washington’s Most Outrageous Gimmicks
