Oversight

12.18.19

Improving CBO is a Key Part of Enzi-Whitehouse Budget Process Reform

by Demian Brady


12.12.19

The broken budget process is a democracy reform issue

by Kevin R. Kosar

It is difficult to overstate how wrecked the federal budget process is. Late last month, President Trump signed a 30-day stopgap funding measure to dodge a government shutdown. This was the second time this autumn that Congress and the president had to resort to such a continuing resolution. Governing through short-term spending bills has become the rule in recent years, and not passing a congressional budget resolution (or spending plan) has become the new normal. The wrecked process has produ… Continue Reading


12.05.19

New Scorekeeping Report Continues Focus on Fiscal Transparency in Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) announced the release of the December 2019 Senate scorekeeping report. That report tracks the budgetary impact of legislation approved by Congress against the deemed budgetary numbers included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the Chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees to provide members of Congress with regular updates on the budgetary effects of congressio… Continue Reading


11.21.19

Enzi-Whitehouse Budget Process Bill Includes Important Reforms

by Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

The Senate Budget Committee recently marked up and reported bipartisan legislation to reform the budget process. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act, introduced by Chairman Enzi (R-WY) and Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), would improve transparency and accountability in the budget process. It would make the budget resolution into a more effective governing tool by making it easier for policymakers to choose fiscal targets and stick with them. That, we hope, would mean putting the debt on a … Continue Reading


11.14.19

Enzi’s Long-Shot Push for Budget Reform

by Zach C. Cohen

It was almost done. After an hour-and-a-half of debate last week on reforming the way Congress budgets billions of dollars every year, Sen. Michael Enzi refused to call a vote on his bill. Most of the members of the panel were present except for those also on the Judiciary Committee, who were at the White House basking in their effort with President Trump to remake the federal judiciary. So Enzi, the retiring chairman of the Budget Committee, reconvened his committee mere minutes later in an o… Continue Reading


11.13.19

Broken Budget Blues? Senators Enzi, Whitehouse May Have A Remedy For That

by Andrew Lautz

You don't need to be a legislative expert to know that the Congressional budget process is broken. Total public debt is $23 trillion and counting, which is the equivalent of more than 103 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), and the fiscal year (FY) 2019 federal budget deficit alone approached $1 trillion. Lawmakers have time and time again proven unwilling to make politically difficult but fiscally responsible decisions, all the while careening from budget crisis to budget cris… Continue Reading


11.11.19

Bipartisan Reforms Get Budget Committee OK

by MARK TAPSCOTT

WASHINGTON-A package of fundamental reforms in how Congress does federal budgeting received overwhelmingly bipartisan support at the committee level and is now heading to the Senate floor, where it could face big hurdles. The principal sponsors of the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act of 2019 are Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and committee member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The budget panel approved the legislation Nov. 6 on a 15-6 vote, with support by… Continue Reading


11.08.19

Yahoo! Budget Process Reforms Move Forward.

by Taxpayers for Commonsense

Considering the cacophony coming out of the Capitol, it would be excusable to have not heard about an important bipartisan piece of legislation moving forward. But this week the Senate Committee on the Budget put its stamp of approval on the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Act. Co-sponsored by Senate Budget Committee Chair Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) along with more than a dozen of their colleagues from both parties, this bill is the first bipartisan budget process reform… Continue Reading


11.07.19

Senate Committee Approves Budget Reforms

by Fiscal Times Staff

The Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday approved a bipartisan bill that aims to reform the federal government's budget process. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act "would provide a more orderly and deliberative budget process focused on long-term fiscal planning," according to committee chair Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), who sponsored the bill along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Here's Whitehouse's summary of what the bill would do: Move the budget resolution to a two-year cycle… Continue Reading


11.06.19

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: Bipartisan Budget Process Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate Budget Committee approved bipartisan budget reforms sponsored by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to fix the government's broken budget process by a vote of 15 to 6. The bill, S.2765 - the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act, would provide a more orderly and deliberative budget process focused on long-term fiscal planning. The historic measure approved today represents the first bipartisan budget reforms approved by the Senate B… Continue Reading


11.06.19

Senate Budget Committee Approves Historic Bipartisan Budget Reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate Budget Committee today approved bipartisan budget reforms sponsored by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to fix the government's broken budget process. The bill, S.2765 - the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act, would provide a more orderly and deliberative budget process focused on long-term fiscal planning. The historic measure approved today represents the first bipartisan budget reforms approved by the Senate Budget Committee… Continue Reading


11.06.19

Concord Coalition Praises Bipartisan Senate Budget Reform Plan

by Concord Coalition

WASHINGTON - The Concord Coalition said today that a new budget process reform bill co-sponsored by Senate Budget Committee Chair Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Budget Committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) proposes reforms that would address some of the most vexing problems plaguing the current budget process. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act is also co-sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA), Kaine (D-VA), Crapo (R-ID), King (I-ME), Graham (R-SC), Coons (D-DE), Barrasso (R-WY), … Continue Reading


11.05.19

The unglamorous job of federal budgeting

by Sen. Michael B. Enzi and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

OPINION - It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship, rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country's unsustainable fiscal course. Our current budget process is broken, as evidenced by mounting debt and deficits, a patchwork of temporary spending bills, government … Continue Reading


11.05.19

The unglamorous job of federal budgeting

by Sen. Michael B. Enzi and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

OPINION - It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship, rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country's unsustainable fiscal course. Our current budget process is broken, as evidenced by mounting debt and deficits, a patchwork of temporary spending bills, government … Continue Reading


11.04.19

Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Major Reforms in Budget Process

by MARK TAPSCOTT

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and committee member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the "Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act" to provide "a more orderly, deliberative budget process focused on long-term fiscal planning." Enzi and Whitehouse added in a statement announcing their proposal that they believe "it would end the brinksmanship surrounding the debt limit and encourage bipartisan collaboration in tackling our growing debt and deficits." Co-spo… Continue Reading


11.01.19

Fair and Smart Budget Reforms Deserve Vote

by Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released bipartisan legislation Friday to reform the federal budget process. The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA), Kaine (D-VA), Crapo (R-ID), King (I-ME), Graham (R-SC), Coons (D-DE), Barrasso (R-WY), Blunt (R-MO), Johnson (R-WI), Perdue (R-GA), Kennedy (R-LA), Cramer (R-ND), and Braun (R-IN). The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committe… Continue Reading


10.31.19

Senators Enzi and Whitehouse Offer Bipartisan Reforms to Fix Broken Budget Process

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced bipartisan legislation to fix the federal government's broken budget process. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act would provide a more orderly, deliberative budget process focused on long-term fiscal planning. It would end the brinksmanship surrounding the debt limit and encourage bipartisan collaboration in tackling our growing debt and deficits… Continue Reading


10.30.19

Chairman Enzi: Better Financial Management Will Lead to Better Budgets

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) said it was important to learn what the federal government is doing well in terms of federal financial management, and what opportunities exist for further improvements during a hearing today focused on the federal government's efforts to meet the requirements of the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990. "When the CFO Act was signed into law nearly 30 years ago, it laid a new foundation for federal financial management,… Continue Reading


10.28.19

Joint Statement from Chairman Enzi and Ranking Member Womack Opposing H.R. 2440

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Steve Womack (R-AR) issued the following statement today expressing opposition to H.R. 2440, the Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF): "The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which increased spending caps for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, was enacted less than three months ago. Instead of prioritizing additional funding for harbor maintenance activities under this ag… Continue Reading


10.25.19

Chairman Enzi: Soaring Deficits Show Our Fiscal Path is Unsustainable

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) released the following statement today after the Department of Treasury issued its monthly treasury report showing the federal government's deficit rising by more than 26 percent from last year to $984 billion: "Today's report shows that our nation's current fiscal path is unsustainable. In the last twelve months, the federal deficit has surged more than 26 percent. While the federal government's revenue continues to grow, s… Continue Reading

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