Sponsor
Benjamin Cline
Representative · R-VA
Representative · R-VA
The bill increases fiscal transparency and forces explicit Congressional choices about continuing programs, but it risks understating long‑term costs, creating uncertainty and administrative burdens for state/local programs, and adding workload and politicization risks for CBO analyses.
Taxpayers, lawmakers, and budget staff get more accurate and transparent fiscal baselines and reports because CBO/OMB scoring is tightened, inflation adjustments are removed from baseline assumptions, and CBO must publish alternative fiscal scenarios (with committee consultation).
State governments and taxpayers gain greater legislative accountability because the bill narrows automatic baseline continuation for large programs, requiring Congress to explicitly approve extensions or increases.
Taxpayers and federal budget watchers get simpler, more comparable outyear projections because inflation adjustments are removed from certain baseline calculations.
Taxpayers and middle-class families may face larger future budget pressure because excluding inflation from baselines can understate long‑term costs and prompt bigger catch-up appropriations later.
State and local governments and the families they serve could face increased uncertainty and administrative burden because narrower baseline assumptions and changes to Social Security Act cross‑references may require more frequent Congressional action and lead to short‑term eligibility or implementation confusion.
Federal program proponents and taxpayers may see slower policy responses because stricter baseline scoring can make it harder to demonstrate 'pay‑fors', complicating passage of new spending programs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Narrows baseline scoring by removing continuation and inflation adjustments and requires CBO to produce alternative fiscal scenarios with Budget Committee consultation.
Official title: To clarify that the baseline is based on current laws and the assumption of continuation of current levels of discretionary appropriations, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 29, 2026 by Benjamin Cline · Last progress April 29, 2026
Changes how federal budget baselines are calculated and requires the Congressional Budget Office to produce alternative fiscal scenarios in consultation with the House and Senate Budget Committees. The bill narrows which programs and amounts are treated as continuing in the baseline and prohibits inflation or other upward adjustments, and it directs CBO to include one or more alternative fiscal scenarios in a statutorily required report.