How the Congressional Budget Office can better support Congress

“Oversight of the Congressional Budget Office” (“CBO”) is the subject of today’s House Budget Committee hearing. CBO exists to reduce Congress’ dependence on the executive branch for budget and economic analysis. By that measure, it has largely succeeded. 

Even so, CBO can do more to support Congress’ fiscal powers. My submission to the House Budget Committee discusses eight options: 

1. Publish committees of jurisdiction for each spending line item 
2. Provide estimates of tax expenditures 
3. Include interest effects in cost estimates 
4. Provide more intuitive options in CBO’s military force structure tool 
5. Supplement FCRA estimates with fair value estimates for credit programs 
6. Codify CBO’s panels of economic and health advisors 
7. Standardize the statutory budget baseline 
8. Modernize CBO’s duties 

Read the full submission here.