WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Mike Braun, a member of the Senate Committee on the Budget, introduced five bills to increase transparency on the enormous spending levels in the federal government and to address the unsustainable national debt.
“We’re on the path to financial destruction because the federal government keeps spending money we don’t have. Congress needs firm guardrails because they won’t stop spending more than we take in. These budget bills I am introducing today will help restore fiscal sanity.” — Senator Mike Braun
Senator Braun introduced the following bills:
The Fiscal State of Nation Act is a bipartisan bill that provides lawmakers with the most current, nonpartisan data on the nation’s fiscal health so they can make fiscally responsible and economically sound decisions.
Specifically, it requires the Comptroller General to address a joint hearing on the House and Senate Budget Committees each year and present the Financial Report of the United States Government in order to provide an analysis of the nation’s fiscal state.
- The House legislation was introduced by Rep. Blake Moore.
- Cosponsors: Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Jackie Rosen, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Roger Marshall, Sen. Pete Ricketts, and Sen. Rick Scott
The Improper Payments Transparency Act increases reporting requirements by requiring clear and comprehensive data on improper payments in the President’s annual budget request each year.
In FY 2023, federal agencies reported $236 billion in improper payments, but the true scale remains unknown due to insufficient reporting requirements
- The House legislation was introduced by Rep. Rudy Yakym
- Cosponsors: Sen. Jackie Rosen, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Roger Marshall, Sen. Pete Ricketts, Sen. Rick Scott
The Debt-to-GDP Transparency and Stabilization Act requires the President’s annual budget to include the debt-to-GDP ratio, which provides context for the size of the debt to our nation’s total economic output and our ability to pay it back.
- Cosponsors: Sen. Roger Marshall, Sen. Rick Scott, and Sen. Thom Tillis
- The House legislation was introduced by Rep. Lloyd Smucker
The Strengthening Administrative PAYGO Act restores oversight of costly executive actions by reasserting Congress’ constitutional authority of reining in the out-of-control and unchecked administrative spending.
- The House legislation was introduced by Rep. Jack Bergman
- Cosponsor: Sen. Roger Marshall
The No Bias in the Baseline Act wouldrestore the baseline to reflect current law.
- Currently, the method by which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculates its budget baseline includes fiscal projections that are not consistent with true current law and assumes higher spending each year. Such distortions in the baseline bias the process in favor of higher spending and higher taxes by making spending appear much larger than they would be if Congress made no further changes in law.
- The House legislation was introduced by Rep. Ben Cline
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