The House Budget Committee’s recent Member Day hearing offered a window into the growing appetite for strengthening the federal budget process. Lawmakers from across the conference laid out a series of reforms aimed at improving transparency, enforcing fiscal discipline, and restoring long-term accountability. At a time when the cost to finance the federal debt amounts to the annual budget of major federal programs, Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) deserves credit for providing a forum for important discussions—and for the Committee’s record of advancing bipartisan reforms, including 14 bills last Congress. The hearing made one point clear: meaningful budget process improvements are urgently needed and will require cooperation across the aisle.
Reform Bills Featured in the Hearing
Several members emphasized that the need for budget process reform is not abstract but grounded in the stark fiscal math. Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) highlighted the unsustainable trajectory of federal debt and the compounding interest costs now crowding out other priorities. His warning underscored why budget process improvements are essential for protecting future generations of taxpayers from the federal debt—$38 trillion and growing—by taking action sooner rather than later.
Members highlighted a range of proposals aimed at tightening the budget process, improving transparency, and addressing long-term drivers of the debt. Below are the major reforms discussed and the lawmakers championing them.
Unauthorized Spending Reform
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) promoted her Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act (H.R. 143), which would target “zombie” programs operating without congressional authorization. The bill phases in a three-year step-down—10% in year one, 15% in year two, and another 15% in year three—before terminating the program entirely if Congress still fails to act. The goal is simple: force lawmakers to review and reauthorize programs instead of allowing spending to run on autopilot. In early December, the bill was approved by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Bipartisan Fiscal Commission
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) urged passage of the Fiscal Commission Act (H.R. 3289), a bill he introduced with Scott Peters (D-CA). This would establish a bipartisan, bicameral commission charged with improving the nation’s medium-term fiscal trajectory and restoring trust-fund solvency for at least 75 years. The commission’s recommendations would receive expedited, up-or-down votes, ensuring that Congress cannot ignore the results. A bipartisan fiscal commission could help bridge the divide and chart a course toward a fiscally responsible future. The House Budget Committee approved this reform in the previous Congress.
Social Security Solvency Transparency
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) highlighted his Save Our Seniors (SOS) Act (H.R. 4793), which would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to publish a clear comparison between scheduled Social Security benefits and the reduced “payable” benefits that would take effect after trust-fund insolvency. With automatic cuts of roughly 23% projected as soon as 2034, Feenstra argued that lawmakers and the public need straightforward, undeniable transparency about the scale of the problem.
Cost Estimates Improvement Act
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) discussed two important reforms. The Cost Estimates Improvement Act (H.R. 991) would require CBO to include debt interest costs in all legislative cost estimates. This common sense reform would show lawmakers the full cost of proposals and it already won strong bipartisan support in the Budget Committee last Congress.
CBO Show Your Work Act
Cloud also endorsed Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-OH) CBO Show Your Work Act (H.R. 724), which would require CBO to disclose the models, assumptions, and datasets behind its scores. Greater transparency will improve the quality of fiscal policymaking. And, while CBO had focused on improving transparency over the past several years, this reform would help ensure that this emphasis on transparency continues.
Reforming “Use It or Lose It” Spending Incentives
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) outlined the Incentivized Savings Act (H.R. 5438), an effort to reverse the perverse “use it or lose it” dynamic that encourages agencies to use up remaining budgetary resources before the end of the fiscal year so that they won’t face budget cuts. His bill would allow agencies to keep 49% of any unspent funds, apply 49% to deficit reduction, and use the remaining 2% for performance bonuses—up to 10% of salary. The goal is to reward prudent budgeting rather than punish it.
Balanced Budget Amendment
Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) discussed his Principles-Based Balanced Budget Amendment (H.J. Res. 110), a streamlined constitutional requirement that federal expenditures and revenues be balanced but that could occur over more than one year. His proposal allows time for Congress to phase in balance and provides flexibility for emergencies with a two-thirds vote. The federal government has not had a balanced budget since 2001 and annual deficits are growing. A Balanced Budget Amendment would provide constitutional protection against reckless spending and runaway debt.
Conclusion
Taken together, the reforms highlighted at the Member Day hearing provide a menu of options for strengthening the federal budget process with reforms that include enforcing authorization rules, increasing CBO’s transparency, and scoring debt interest impacts. While Republicans carried the discussion this time, many of the proposals, especially those focused on transparency, long-term solvency, and fiscal enforcement, should attract bipartisan interest.