WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a rare display of unanimity, the House Budget Committee here has passed a bipartisan bill to improve congressional access to economic data proposed by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT).
Moore’s proposal was approved unanimously by Budget Committee members by a vote of 32-0 on Sept. 27.
“This legislation will bolster Congress’s ability to make informed decisions about federal spending based on updated budget and economic figures,” according to Moore after the vote.
The Increasing Baseline Updates Act will require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to produce at least two baseline updates each year, including one with economic data.
Members of Moore’s staff say this will ensure the Congress has the most up-to-date information on relevant budget and economic figures to inform the appropriations process and other legislation.
The baseline estimates produced by the CBO are a projection of federal outlays and revenues for current and future fiscal years. Under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the CBO is required to publish such a baseline before February 15 of each year.
But there is no statutory requirement for CBO to provide additional baselines updates throughout the year, even though such data is crucial to ongoing policy making by Congress.
In fact, the last time that the CBO published three baselines in a single year was 2019. The last time that any baseline update was issued after July was 2020.
The problem, Moore says, is that Congress has a tendency to pass government funding bills at the end of the calendar year while relying on outdated fiscal information.
“Returning to regular order is critical to reversing Washington’s debt culture,” he added during debate on the Increasing Baseline Updates Act. “This bill is a common-sense step toward improving the way we conduct business.”
Members of the House Budget Committee unanimously agreed with Moore, particularly U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) who added his name as co-sponsor of the proposed legislation.
Moore was appointed to serve as the second-highest ranking Republican on the Budget Committee by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in June of 2022. Moore also serves as a representative of the House Armed Services Committee on that panel.
In January of 2023, Moore was reappointed to the Budget Committee by the newly formed GOP majority in House.