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Comments for the record on the September 11, 2024 hearing on “Congress and the CBO: Examining Ways to Improve CBO” Before the House Committee on the Budget

Upgrading federal budget and authorization practices can unlock doors to success and help Congress more efficiently exercise its proper powers.

Americans are frustrated with Congress. They see the festering bloat, discoordination, and waste and think Congress ignores obvious problems. The growing debt burden makes us poorer, crowds out other priorities, and threatens stagnation or worse.

Congress doesn’t make policy holistically. But it should. Today’s piecemeal process limits the ability of the people’s representatives to improve the structure and finance of the government’s activities.

We’ll talk about shrinkflation, government spending, growing deficits, the cost-of-living crisis, and how inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Kurt’s recent report on these issues is called “Bidenflation Blame Game: How Big-Spending Politicians Scapegoat Business.”

Today, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) released a new economic report, responding to lawmakers’ attempts to dodge accountability for rubber-stamping President Biden’s economic policies by blaming businesses for increased consumer prices.

The House would benefit from more deliberation. Every member represents about the same number of Americans, and a successful Congress would draw much more on their distributed knowledge to make policy. After all, committees aren’t perfect microcosms of House members, and members often have ideas to improve legislation from committees other than those on which they serve.

This week, the House Budget Committee held a hearing on “Creating a Culture of Responsibility: Assessing the Role of the Congressional Budget Office.”