Oversight
Budget Perspectives for Fannie and Freddie
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Budget Committee today released its July 14, 2016, Budget Bulletin focused on Budget Perspectives for Fannie and Freddie. The Budget Bulletin provides regular expert articles by Senate Budget Committee analysts on the issues before Congress relating to the budget, deficits, debt, and the economy. Read the full Senate Budget Bulletin here. Excerpts follow: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which play a key role in the U.S. housing-finance system, have been in conservators… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Senate Budget Overhaul Ideas from Enzi
by Jennifer Shutt and Paul M. Krawzak
Eliminating the vote-a-rama, making it tougher to waive budget points of order and creating enforceable, long-term fiscal targets are among ideas for overhauling the budget process that Senate Budget Chairman Michael B. Enzi will unveil Wednesday, according to a document obtained by CQ. Moreover, the Wyoming Republican is saying these concepts have gained some level of bipartisan support on the committee. An aide said Enzi still wants to mark up budget process overhaul legislation before the en… Continue Reading
07.13.16
How to Break Through America's Budget Gridlock
by By Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Last year could have been a big one for Congress, because it was able to pass its first joint balanced 10-year budget resolution since 2001 - a budget blueprint that would have put the nation's finances on a sustainable fiscal path. Unfortunately, within a month it was ignored. The truth is America's budget process is broken, and this dysfunction is preventing Congress from tackling the pressing fiscal challenges facing our country. The current budget process is designed only to spend, which fa… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Budget chairman proposes bipartisan overhaul of congressional budget process
by Tom Howell Jr.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi on Wednesday will propose the first bipartisan overhaul of Congress' budget process in four decades, saying lawmakers should outline two years of spending at a time and then stick to their plans. The Wyoming Republican hopes to put an end to the last-minute deadline showdowns that have plagued Capitol Hill over the last six years by forcing the Senate to debate spending bills soon after the annual budget is finished. "Instead of a functioning appropri… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Enzi: Time to Unstick Washington’s Budget Gridlock
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today highlighted bipartisan, common sense solutions to fix America's broken budget process that Enzi said will place the country on a better, more sustainable fiscal path. "America's budget process is broken, and it is preventing Congress from tackling the pressing fiscal challenges facing our country," said Chairman Enzi. "The current budget process is designed only to spend and fails hardworking taxpayers. … Continue Reading
06.30.16
Emergency Spending Designations
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Budget Committee today released its June 30, 2016, Budget Bulletin focused on the use of Emergency Spending Designations. The Budget Bulletin provides regular expert articles by Senate Budget Committee analysts on the issues before Congress relating to the budget, deficits, debt, and the economy. Read the full Senate Budget Bulletin here. Excerpts follow: There are currently three separate emergency designations available to senators for budget enforcement purposes… Continue Reading
06.16.16
Options to Fix the Broken Federal Budget Process
Read the full Senate Budget Bulletin here.… Continue Reading
06.09.16
Hill Budget Committees Rev Up Reform Engines
by John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) - The House and Senate Budget committees are trying to rev up their budget reform engines this week, with a House hearing and a private Senate meeting on the matter. These efforts are part of a broader bid to draft legislation this summer that would overhaul the congressional budget process. The House Budget Committee is holding a hearing Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET on budget process reforms, focusing on entitlement spending and funding for unauthorized programs. A panel of fisca… Continue Reading
06.06.16
Senate Budget Members to Huddle With Two Former Chairmen on Overhaul This Week
by Jennifer Shutt, CQ Roll Call
Former Senate Budget Committee chairmen Judd Gregg and Kent Conrad will meet with current committee members on Wednesday to talk about overhauling the budget process. A committee aide told CQ that the closed-door meeting, which will be followed by a private roundtable question-and-answer session, is part of an ongoing effort by Budget Committee Chairman Michael B. Enzi to change key elements in Congress' budget process. The meeting will be closed to the public and the press, so lawmakers can "… Continue Reading
05.26.16
Enzi: I want you to know what keeps me awake nights
VIDEO Washington, D.C. - As the nation continues to add to its $19 trillion debt, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., says he can't get to sleep at night over fearful thoughts about his grandkids and the bleak future for them because of the federal government's overspending. "I hear them ask 'You were there; why didn't you fix it? Why didn't you give us the same chance you had?" Enzi said yesterday speaking on the Senate floor. The answers to fixing the country, according to Enzi, can't just come f… Continue Reading
05.25.16
Enzi Pushes for Regulatory Budget
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) today joined Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to push for legislation to establish a regulatory budget, which would calculate the costs of federal regulations on hardworking families and small businesses for the first time. "Overregulation breaks the spirit of innovation that has traditionally pushed our nation to greatness," said Chairman Enzi. "It is time to bring the true costs of federal regulations out of t… Continue Reading
05.19.16
Enzi Receives Fiscal Hero Award for Efforts to Fix Budget Process, Address National Debt
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) this week was named a Fiscal Hero for his efforts to fix America's broken budget process, improve the nation's fiscal future and address the core drivers of the national debt. "Congress must tackle the pressing fiscal challenges facing our country, including the government's out of control spending and skyrocketing national debt," said Chairman Enzi. "But today, budgets are increasingly ignored, and our spending bills are mont… Continue Reading
05.18.16
Enzi Asks For Honest Accounting of Higher Ed Proposal
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) today issued a letter asking the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director to score S. 2677, the In the Red Act of 2016, which includes several costly higher education spending initiatives. Lacking accountability measures, it is unclear whether the bill would actually increase college access for students and families, or if it would trigger tuition increases that could affect the spiraling college costs for the 40 million Amer… Continue Reading
05.13.16
Top Senators Make A Case For A Better Budget Process
by Juliwegrace Brufke
The Senate's seeming inability to pass a budget is not due to party conflicts but the budget process itself, two top senators said during a panel discussion at the Peterson Foundation 2016 Fiscal Summit in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi of Wyoming said the process isn't substantive and is often used for political purposes. He cited how the upper chamber had a budget last year, managed to pass 11 of the twelve spending bills, yet still ultimately ended up … Continue Reading
05.12.16
New CBO Analysis Shows Increased Spending and Deficits for FY 2016
WASHINGTON D.C. - At the request of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis that tracks the budgetary impact of enacted legislation against amounts the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2016 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The CBO analysis shows the breach of aggregate spending levels in FY 2016 is attributable to increased spending not accompanied by action on any of the deficit reduction assume… Continue Reading
05.12.16
Overview of Senate Budget Process Reform Proposals
Read the full Senate Budget Bulletin here.… Continue Reading
05.12.16
BUDGET BULLETIN: Overview of Senate Budget Process Reform Proposals
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Budget Committee today released its May 12, 2016, Budget Bulletin focused on various budget process reform proposals introduced in the Senate. The Budget Bulletin provides regular expert articles by Senate Budget Committee analysts on the issues before Congress relating to the budget, deficits, debt, and the economy. Read the full Senate Budget Bulletin here. Excerpts follow: Over the course of the 114th Congress, a number of senators have offered their own new ide… Continue Reading
05.11.16
Wanted: A Budget That Matters
by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Probably the worst kept secret in Washington is that America's budget process is broken. As chairman of the committee tasked with putting together a budget every year, I should know. Last year was a big one for our committee, because after years without a budget, the Senate last year was able to pass its first joint balanced budget since 2001. Unfortunately, just six months later it was ignored, and as a result our deficit and debt rose significantly. America's broken budget process no longer f… Continue Reading
04.28.16
Senate Considers Fixes to America’s Broken Budget Process
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Budget Committee today released its April 28, 2016, Budget Bulletin focused on fixes to the broken budget process. The Budget Bulletin provides regular expert articles by Senate Budget Committee analysts on the issues before Congress relating to the budget, deficits, debt, and the economy. Excerpts follow: The Problem: Broken Budgets and Out-of-Control Spending In theory, the annual budget process begins on the first Monday in February with submission of the presid… Continue Reading
04.27.16
Enzi: Put America on a Better Path
WASHINGTON D.C. - During the Senate Budget Committee's fourth hearing on the broken budget process, Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) today said that fixing the budget will help put the nation on a better path by providing more predictability, transparency, and accountability to spending by the federal government. "Both parties agree that our budget process is broken, and now is the time to fix it," said Chairman Enzi. "Instead of the current budget, which is designed to fail both Congress and the pu… Continue Reading
