Lubbock Times

Last week, the House Budget Committee marked up five additional budget process reform bills, including H.R. 8341, the "Cost Estimates Improvement Act." The bill was favorably reported by the House Budget Committee on a bipartisan vote of 17 ayes to 7 nays.

The "Cost Estimates Improvement Act," sponsored by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), will require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to include the cost of servicing the public debt in legislative cost estimates, to the extent practicable.

Stakeholders and industry experts are urging swift passage of H.R. 8341.

Kurt Couchman from Americans for Prosperity stated, "Members of Congress rely on timely and complete cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to guide legislative decisions. CBO and JCT's traditional practice of excluding interest effects from cost estimates is increasingly untenable."

Michele Stockwell from BPC Action remarked, "As net interest on the debt soars, surpassing what the federal government spends annually on Medicaid and even the military, it is more important than ever that lawmakers understand how major fiscal legislation would impact the costs of servicing the growing debt."

Romina Boccia from Cato Institute commented, "The Cost Estimates Improvement Act would make congressional scorekeeping more accurate by mandating that CBO and JCT cost estimates include interest costs."

Maya MacGuineas from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget added, "Our nation's challenging fiscal situation is increasingly pressing... Lawmakers and the public ought to know the interest costs of legislation, which is not currently provided by Congressional scorekeepers."

Ryan Walker from Heritage Action expressed support: “Interest on the federal debt is increasing much faster than the government predicted... Heritage Action offers our strong support of the Cost Estimates Improvement Act.”

Demian Brady from National Taxpayers Union Foundation noted, “The Cost Estimates Improvement Act introduced by Representative Michael Cloud addresses this critical gap by requiring CBO to include the impact of proposed legislation on debt interest payments in its cost estimates.”

Brian Riedl from Manhattan Institute stated, “CBO bill scores have long been incomplete because they fail to include the interest costs of deficit-expanding legislation.”

Brett Loper from Peterson Solutions Fund observed, “Interest is the fastest growing ‘program’ in the federal budget... Including an estimate of interest costs resulting from proposed legislation would give lawmakers and the public a fuller understanding.”

Nan Swift from R Street Institute concluded, “We are pleased to support the ‘Cost Estimates Improvement Act,’ which would provide a more accurate accounting of the true cost of our incessant borrowing.”