Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today as the author of H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, almost to the day, Congress passed the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which created the modern Congressional budget process as well as the Senate and House Budget Committees, and finally, the Congressional Budget Office.

With 270 dedicated, nonpartisan staff led by Director Dr. Phillip Swagel, CBO is critical to our work on behalf of the American people.

CBO issues hundreds of cost estimates on proposed legislation annually, provides technical assistance in crafting legislation, and keeps the public informed about the costs and impacts of legislation, as well as the overall fiscal health of our Nation.

The Budget Committee has direct oversight of CBO, and as the ranking member, helping CBO to do a better job of serving our institution is one of my top priorities.

Just a few months ago, the CBO director testified before our committee on the issues that CBO faces when requesting data from executive branch agencies.

In many cases, even when agencies want to cooperate with the CBO, they sometimes have concerns about their legal authority to provide data that creates delays.

In just one example that Dr. Swagel gave, CBO faced delays receiving data from FEMA regarding important analysis on flood insurance because FEMA was unsure of their legal authority to provide the data that was requested.

In cases like this, CBO is often forced to rely on less detailed, publicly available information in order to complete their reports on time.

My bill remedies this by clarifying CBO's authority to request data from executive agencies and grant CBO better and timely information so CBO can provide this analysis to Congress.

It accomplishes that while maintaining that CBO protects data to the same standards as the Federal agency providing it.

The security of sensitive data is important to agencies, CBO, and Congress, and this legislation ensures that CBO will continue to follow the procedures of the providing agency when it comes to protecting that data.

Mr. Speaker, as you heard just a few moments ago, this bill is a commonsense solution to an issue that has plagued CBO both through Republican and Democratic administrations, and I am proud that it had unanimous bipartisan support in the Budget Committee.

I thank the lead cosponsor of this legislation, Chairman Jodey Arrington, who has been a crucial partner in advancing this bill.

I thank my friend as well from the South Bend, Indiana, area who has spoken so positively about this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago after the enactment of the Budget Act, Congress clearly still has work to do when it comes to improving our budget and appropriations process and ensuring we deliver for the American people on time. This bill is the first step to improving our budget process.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Congressional Budget Office on how this bill would clarify and strengthen the agency's general authority for accessing data from executive branch agencies, as well as a letter from the Bipartisan Policy Center in support of this bill. Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, April 12, 2024. Hon. Jodey Arrington, Chairman, Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Brendan F. Boyle, Ranking Member, Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Re H.R. 7032, Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act

Dear Chairman Arrington and Ranking Member Boyle: You have asked how enacting H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act, would improve CBO's access to data. The bill would amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to clarify and strengthen the agency's general authority for accessing data from executive branch agencies.

The Congressional Budget Act provides CBO general authority to access data from a variety of sources. CBO works collaboratively with the executive branch to obtain data through formal and informal means. CBO also accesses data by using specific authority and by collaborating with other agencies.

CBO currently has more than 20 active data-use agreements with federal agencies. However, the shifting legal and regulatory frameworks at federal agencies can delay, weaken, or block access to information. The time necessary to negotiate and renew agreements can be unpredictable and is widely variable, taking from a couple of weeks to more than a year.

H.R. 7032 would amend section 201(d) of the Congressional Budget Act, which governs CBO's access to executive branch data, by striking a parenthetical statement in that section, ``(other than material the disclosure of which would be a violation of law).'' That condition is unnecessary when another statute more specifically governs CBO's access to certain data. It also can hamper access to data by requiring CBO to enter into additional discussions with agencies, thus impairing the timeliness of CBO's work.

Enacting the bill would remove the caveat and, instead, provide CBO access to executive branch data unless that access is specifically disallowed by a future law. H.R. 7032 also includes a reference to section 203(e) of the Congressional Budget Act to highlight CBO's obligation to protect the restricted information it receives.

Better and more timely access to data enhances the precision of CBO's work, and it gives the Congress better-- and more timely--information to make informed decisions about policy. Such access also helps to ensure equal footing with the executive branch.

I hope this information is useful to you. Please contact me if you have further questions. Sincerely, Phillip L. Swagel, Director. ____ Bipartisan Policy Center April 15, 2024. Hon. Jodey Arrington, Chairman, House Budget Committee, Washington, DC. Hon. Brendan Boyle, Ranking Member, House Budget Committee, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Arrington and Ranking Member Boyle: On behalf of the Bipartisan Policy Center, I write to commend you and your colleagues on the House Budget Committee for your work in advancing H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act. This thoughtful, bipartisan legislation would enhance the working relationships between the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and federal departments and agencies, and would enable CBO to collect better data in the course of serving lawmakers and their staff.

As you know, CBO faces challenges in gaining access to agency-level data, even with willing executive branch partners. These challenges delay or even prevent CBO from working hand in hand with departments and agencies, which in turn hinders CBO's ability to respond to congressional requests in a timely manner.

Your legislation would address these challenges head on, enhancing CBO's ability to work with federal agencies while retaining confidentiality protections that are essential to any entity making use of potentially sensitive government data. We were glad to see widespread, bipartisan support for H.R. 7032 in the House Budget Committee in February of this year.

With the 50th anniversary of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act approaching, now is the perfect time for lawmakers to be considering reforms large and small that would improve upon this law and update it for the budgetary challenges lawmakers face in the 21st century. BPC looks forward to working with you and the members of the House Budget Committee on this and other proposals to reform and improve the congressional budget process.

We thank you for your work on H.R. 7032 and for your commitment to bipartisan, bicameral budget process reform. Sincerely, G. William Hoagland, Senior Vice President, BPC.

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Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense bipartisan bill that gives CBO the tools it needs to do its job to serve this institution better.

This is really about strengthening the institution of Congress, in addition to ensuring CBO is better able to deliver a product.

Helping CBO provide more timely and accurate information to Congress will help us as a body make better and more informed decisions on behalf of the people who sent us here.

I urge all of my colleagues to support the CBO Data Sharing Act, and I once again thank Director Swagel and all the dedicated staff at CBO for their hard work.

I, again, thank Chairman Arrington for his friendship and his support, as well as all of my colleagues on the Budget Committee, including the gentleman from Indiana, who unanimously supported this legislation.

As always, a heartfelt thank you to the staff in my office, as well as both the Democratic and Republican staffs of the Budget Committee for their hard work to make this legislation possible.

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