Budget Reform Bill Co-Authored by Young Advances to Full House

Press Release

A bill co-authored by Rep. Todd Young (R-IN9)--H.R. 3582, The Baseline Reform Act--passed the House Budget Committee by a 21-12 vote on Tuesday, and is now headed to the full chamber for consideration.

The Baseline Reform Act would reform the baseline budget accounting method by removing automatic inflation increases in discretionary spending accounts, and would require budgets to compare proposed amounts to prior year spending levels. The current process starts by assuming a spending baseline of prior year spending plus inflation. That allows Congress to claim spending cuts by cutting into the inflation adjustment, even when actual discretionary spending levels rise. By removing the automatic inflation adjustment, that gimmick would no longer be at the disposal of Congress, and by requiring a prior year spending comparison actual increases and decreases in spending would be more transparent to the public.

"In my first year in the House, I quickly realized how easily Washington can manipulate numbers and play games with budget figures," said Young. "Our country is broke, our budgeting system is broken, and there's no time to play these games or rely on cheap gimmicks. We need Washington to be more open and honest, not less, so that Americans know we're working to find solutions instead of creating more problems. This bill is a great step towards fixing the process so that we work towards easing the crushing burden of our debt."

H.R. 3582 was part of a package of budget process reform bills introduced by House Budget Committee members last month. Another bill co-authored by Young (H.R. 3575, The Legally Binding Budget Act) was originally scheduled for committee mark-up on Tuesday, but was not called due to time restraints.

Source