Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, Ranking Member Brendan Boyle Launch Bipartisan Budget Process Reform Effort
Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-PA) announced their intention to lead a new bipartisan effort focused on budget process reform. This new House Budget Committee initiative will convene Members, stakeholders, and experts to examine alternatives to the current flawed and ineffective Congressional budget process.
“The congressional budget process is fundamentally broken and will continue to yield bad results and incentivize bad behavior until we address the root causes. There are numerous ways to improve the current budget process that will reduce deficit spending and long-term debt-to-GDP, encourage fiscally responsibly outcomes, and strengthen the financial health of our country,” Chairman Arrington said.
“The budget process, which hasn’t changed in a half century, has failed to produce responsible outcomes and is in desperate need of overhaul. The symptoms of a broken process are everywhere. A dysfunctional budget process will never result in optimal outcomes for our country. No public or private organization would ever run their budget process the way the federal government operates theirs and remain viable,” concluded Chairman Arrington.
“We may not agree on various matters of policy, but we agree the budget process is badly in need of repair. So we are coming together in good faith to explore possible ways we can improve the budget process. It’s been twenty-five years since Congress passed all appropriations bills on time. That’s unacceptable and it erodes Americans’ trust in our system of government. We can do better,” said Ranking Member Boyle.
“While we work on ways to reform the budget process, and particularly important to me the debt ceiling mechanism, I will be ever mindful of the need to promote policies that increase our economic growth, tackle our long-term projected rise in debt, and still protect the sacred commitments we have made to the American people,” concluded Ranking Member Boyle.
BACKGROUND:
In addition to traditional hearings on these subjects in the House Budget Committee, the lawmakers will convene roundtables and meetings with interested parties in different parts of the country.
This new bipartisan House Budget Committee initiative will focus on, but not be limited to, issues such as how to finish the appropriations process on time, better ways to address the debt limit, and the most effective models to address the long-term projected increase in debt.
