RESTORE THE FEDERAL BUDGET PROCESS
Each passing year brings new evidence of the need to repair the process for managing the $4 trillion U.S. budget. Budget resolutions and spending bills narrowly pass, often very late, with lukewarm promises of hammering out priorities in the following budgeting cycle. It has been more than 20 years since all appropriations bills were passed prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. With so many missed deadlines and insufficient attention paid to longer-term budget priorities and oversight, it is obvious the process needs to change.
- Convergence: Building a Better Budget Process
The current federal budget process is ridiculous. The problem is obvious: The U.S. Congress Has the Power of the Purse + The U.S. Congress is Completely Dysfunctional = Disaster. Passing a budget is one of Congress' main responsibilities, yet the entire process has gone haywire. It goes without saying that this mess enables massive fiscal irresponsibility.
Luckily, there are really smart people who have been working on solutions:
"For over a year, the Convergence Building a Better Budget Process (B3P) Project has engaged an unexpected coalition of budget experts, advocates, and executives to address the oft-dysfunctional federal budget process. Together this group developed practical, politically realistic proposals to improve the process Congress uses to manage its $4 trillion annual budget. This project engaged participants who reflect a wide set of ideologies and interests that are deeply affected by the budget decisions Congress makes each year.
The federal budget process has broken down many times in recent years. Stop-gap measures that fund the government for weeks or months at a time fail to provide the certainty government agencies, businesses, and individuals need to plan for the future. Just as importantly, public trust in government falters with each missed deadline. The B3P project has focused on how to restore the federal budget process. While process reforms alone cannot fix all the problems facing the country, we believe the proposals will, if adopted, provide 'better rules of the game' by improving the odds that the federal budget process would function more effectively, and give Congress time to focus on other priorities facing our country."
This group did an excellent job, and we believe this is a great place to start!
* The text below is taken directly from their analysis. Read the entire report here.
Using the Constitution and principles and themes that emerged from rich and robust dialogue as the foundation, the group created the following five proposals for improving the federal budget process. The details of each proposal can be found here.
To synchronize the budget cycle with the electoral cycle and to change norms around the process, the group proposes that Congress and the President negotiate a Budget Action Plan at the beginning of a new Congress that would be passed into law, making certain key fiscal decisions — setting discretionary funding levels and adjusting the debt limit, for example — for a two-year period.
To raise the visibility of fiscal information, the group proposes the publication of a Fiscal State of the Nation report every four years, timed for release at a key point in the national election cycle, that clearly and succinctly lays out the condition of the country’s finances.
To reinforce the importance of the long-term effects of budget decisions, the group proposes that Congress, through the Government Accountability Office, review the performance of portfolios of federal programs that involve long-term or inter-generational commitments. The reviews would cover federal programs grouped by topics, such as retirement security, health coverage, education or national security.
To create new norms around the budget process so that Congress and the public can expect more timely action on budget decisions, the group recommends strengthening the Budget Committees by revising the membership rules and assigning responsibility to the Committees to oversee the new activities proposed above.
To ensure that the agencies created to support the Congressional budget process, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), can continue to provide high-quality and independent information the nation relies on in making budgetary choices, the B3P group proposes that Congress provides them with sufficient resources.