Oversight
GAO Rules Obamacare Reinsurance Unlawfully Diverting Billions From Taxpayers
WASHINGTON, DC - A group of bicameral Republican health care leaders are pointing to a new legal opinion issued on Obamacare's controversial reinsurance program. The leaders urged the Comptroller General of the United States this spring to publish a legal opinion on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) decision to ignore federal law, and a previous CMS regulation that required taxpayers and the Treasury be paid under the Obamacare reinsurance program. To date, CMS has ignored th… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Enzi takes on bipartisan budget reform in Congress
by Laura Hancock
Threatened federal government shutdowns. Spending bills that exceed limits negotiated by Congress. Concocted emergencies to justify loans. And no way for the public to follow the money. These are all dysfunctions of the current budgeting and spending process in Washington, U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi says. And the Republican, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, is working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reform the process. "We have a broken budget process," Wyoming's senior U.… Continue Reading
09.20.16
Senate Budget Chairman Proposes a Cure for Congress' Addiction to Continuing Resolutions
by Charles S. Clark
Congress' frustrating budget stalemates and addiction to end-of-session continuing resolutions could be eliminated under a new set of reform proposals detailed on Monday by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Budget Committee. An accountant who points proudly to firm spending decisions made by the legislature in Wyoming, Enzi has been holding hearings and rolling out budget reform proposals for much of this year. To his earlier calls for biennial budgeting and a new fiscal commission to ta… Continue Reading
09.19.16
Enzi Calls for Bipartisan Budget Process Reform
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi's (R-WY) called for bipartisan solutions to fix America's broken budget process today during a forum focused on budget process reform. Earlier this year, Chairman Enzi proposed implementing new rules to make it easier for Congress to consider and pass its annual budget and appropriations measures, and update federal budget concepts that determine how the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estim… Continue Reading
09.15.16
Accounting for Federal Credit Programs
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Budget Committee today released its September 15, 2016, Budget Bulletin focused on Accounting for Federal Credit Programs. 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. During a recent Committee hearing, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Keith Hall noted the agency's long-held view that fair value scoring provides a more comprehen… Continue Reading
09.14.16
Enzi: CBO Must Continue to Provide Objective and Insightful Information to Congress
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today during an oversight hearing of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), said that it was crucial for CBO to provide objective and insightful information to Congress, while also increasing transparency of the agency's analysis and operations. "CBO recently released its latest round of projections this year," said Chairman Enzi. "What this report heralded should not be a surprise to anyone. CBO has continual… Continue Reading
08.11.16
Enzi Gains Support From Outside Congress for Budget Overhaul
by Paul M. Krawzak
A bipartisan group that advocates changes in the budget process expressed support Thursday for several that were suggested by Senate Budget Chairman Michael B. Enzi. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released a paper explaining why it backs Enzi's proposals to end the vote-a-rama practice, set aside dedicated time to consider appropriations bills and make the Senate budget resolution and amendments available in advance, among other proposals. Enzi, R-Wyo., released a dozen or so p… Continue Reading
07.17.16
Return to supercommittee mulled in Senate
by Joseph Lawler
Although overshadowed by the presidential campaign, a serious move is underway in Congress to try to end the dysfunction around the budget process and set up new fiscal commissions to reduce the debt. The effort, led by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi and bipartisan interlocutors, is not an attempt to reach a grand bargain or solve any of the fiscal problems that face the country. Instead, the senators are discussing overhauling the way Congress sets budgets and appropriates funds t… Continue Reading
07.15.16
Budget Chairmen: Dept. of Ed’s Rule Could Cost Taxpayers Billions
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) have asked the Department of Education for additional information concerning a new proposal by the department that could add as much as $41 billion to the cost of the federal student loan program over the next decade, according to an administration estimate. Read the full letter to the Department of Education here. Excerpts follow: "This is the latest in a series of admin… Continue Reading
07.14.16
Budget reforms would end Senate vote-a-rama
by JOSEPH LAWLER (@JOSEPHLAWLER)
The former accountant has only a small window of opportunity, however. He said in May that any reforms would need to be enacted before the November elections, so that neither party would know whose majority or White House would be affected by the reforms. Congress has scheduled only five more weeks of work before voters head to the polls, thanks to lengthy summer breaks for both chambers. Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts … Continue Reading
07.14.16
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
