Young's Bill to Eliminate Automatic Increases in Baseline Funding Passes House

Statement

A bill co-authored by Rep. Todd Young (R-IN9)--H.R. 3578, the Baseline Reform Act--passed the House on Friday morning by a 235-177 vote. The bill would stop the practice of inflation-adjusted baselines in federal budgeting, instead requiring Congress to consider the actual funding levels from the prior year as a starting point when setting a budget.

"It's time to bring Washington's definition of a spending cut in line with Americans' definition of a spending cut: That is an actual cut in spending," said Young. "In theory, the way Washington does baseline budgeting is supposed to ensure that inflation doesn't erode funding for essential programs. In reality, Washington often cuts only into the baseline adjustment and claims spending cuts, or claims not to be increasing spending--even as spending increases over the previous year. These sorts of gimmicks need to end, and I'm proud the House passed our bill today."

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