Sponsors (23)
Introduced September 9, 2025 by Brendan Francis Boyle · Last progress September 9, 2025
The bill increases transparency and congressional oversight of appropriations and emergency spending—potentially reducing waste and unlawful withholding—but does so by imposing significant new reporting, disclosure, and enforcement requirements that raise administrative costs, legal risks, and could limit executive flexibility in emergencies.
Taxpayers and Congress get substantially more visibility into federal spending (withheld funds, unused/expired/cancelled balances, and emergency expenditures), improving fiscal transparency and oversight.
State and local governments and program beneficiaries benefit from timelier availability of appropriated funds because agencies are required to make appropriations available for prudent obligation and face new oversight/penalties for unlawful withholding.
During declared national emergencies, Congress, oversight committees, and the public receive more frequent and detailed six‑month status and expenditure reports and greater committee access to emergency documents, strengthening legislative review of emergency spending and actions.
Federal executives and agencies will have less flexibility to delay, reallocate, or quickly reprogram funds, which can hinder the administration's ability to respond to evolving priorities or urgent national-security and emergency needs.
Federal agencies and staff face higher administrative and compliance burdens (more reporting, reviews, redactions, and oversight) that increase costs and can divert personnel from program delivery.
Criminal and disciplinary penalties for officials who withhold budget authority risk prosecuting or chilling good‑faith budgeting decisions, discouraging prudent discretion by agency managers.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Limits presidential withholding of appropriations, requires new budget transparency and cancellation of certain indefinite balances, and expands reporting for national emergency declarations.
Restricts the executive branch’s ability to delay, withhold, or condition the use of appropriated funds, tightens apportionment timing, and temporarily suspends an expedited congressional procedure for handling presidential rescissions. It also forces new, detailed budget transparency for unobligated and cancelled balances, creates authority to cancel certain indefinite appropriation balances, and greatly expands reporting to Congress when the President declares, renews, or specifies national emergency authorities. The bill increases congressional oversight of agency apportionments and emergency actions, requires agencies to notify key committees when apportionments impede prudent obligation, and adds multi-year reporting requirements to the President’s budget (applying to FY2027–FY2031). It includes a temporary suspension of a fast-track congressional procedure until January 20, 2029, and new cancellation and disclosure mechanisms aimed at closing or cancelling long-open indefinite appropriation accounts.