WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) joined three of his colleagues today to introduce legislation that will reform the federal budget process by changing policies that have permitted—and even encouraged—the growth of the national debt to unsustainable levels. The Transparent and Sustainable Budget Act requires the federal government to accurately account for each dollar it spends and helps establish a framework for deficit reduction.
“Until we reform the budget process, we will continue to run into road blocks that prevent us from controlling the budget itself,” said Himes. “This bill helps fix the broken budget process by setting clear benchmarks and improving the transparency of federal spending.”
The Transparent and Sustainable Budget Act includes measures that:
- Establish 10-year debt and deficit reduction targets of 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the debt and three percent of GDP for the deficit;
- Require the Congressional Budget office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to analyze the second decade budget impact for any bill that it scores for Congress
- Improve the information available on tax expenditures, which account for over $1 trillion in lost revenue every year.