The Honest Budget Act

[Conan71]

I had clicked over to this Senator's web page as he had introduced an amendment to the stock trading bill in the senate and I wanted to know more about him.  Aside from the sloppy housekeeping which has resulted in no budget being passed in the Senate for over 1000 days, it's interesting how this bill exposes the accounting gimmicks used to cloak government deficit spending.

CORKER TOUTS HOUSE INTRODUCTION OF HONEST BUDGET ACT TO RESTORE DISCIPLINE & ACCOUNTABILITY TO SPENDING
Companion to Senate Bill Cosponsored by Corker Establishes New Barrier to Spending without a Budget, Ends Accounting Tricks that Conceal Deficit Spending

February 1 2012 -

WASHINGTON – At a news conference today in the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) joined fellow Senate and House supporters of the Honest Budget Act to announce the introduction of the companion bill in the House of Representatives. The Honest Budget Act, first introduced in the Senate last year by Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), would establish a new barrier to prevent advancing spending bills without a budget and end some common accounting tricks used to conceal the true cost of deficit spending in Washington.

"I voted against all appropriations bills this fiscal year because we continue to spend money without doing the tough work to actually pass a budget, which hasn't happened in the Senate in over 1,000 days. So I'm strongly supportive of this bill to help restore some much needed discipline and accountability to spending in Washington, and I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for their leadership on this issue," Corker said.

Senate cosponsors of the Honest Budget Act include: Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME), Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (NH), Sen. John Barrasso (WY), Sen. John Boozman (AR), Sen. Scott Brown (MA), Sen. Richard Burr (NC), Sen. Saxby Chambliss (GA), Sen. Dan Coats (IN), Sen. Bob Corker (TN), Sen. John Cornyn (TX), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Michael Enzi (WY), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX), Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA), Sen. Mike Johanns (NE), Sen. Ron Johnson (WI), Sen. Mike Lee (UT), Sen. John McCain (AZ), Sen. Rand Paul (KY), and Sen. Rob Portman (OH), and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Some key provisions of the Honest Budget Act:

No more spending bills without a budget - The Senate hasn't passed a budget in over 1,000 days.  The Honest Budget Act establishes a new sixty vote point-of-order threshold for trying to move a spending bill unless both houses of Congress have adopted a binding budget resolution.

No more pretend "emergencies" - Congress has added billions to the deficit by labeling routine expenditures, like the $210 million for the 2010 Census, as emergency spending to bypass budgetary rules. The Honest Budget Act changes Senate rules to require a supermajority of senators to make an emergency designation, rather than a single member under current procedure.

No more savings from money never to be spent - Congress frequently rescinds money that was never going to be spent and then uses those "savings" to pay for increased spending elsewhere. The Honest Budget Act prohibits these rescissions from being counted as spending cuts unless they produce actual cash savings in the budget.

No more timing shifts for expenditures to hide their cost - By shifting expenditures or tax due dates from one period to another, legislation can appear to be deficit neutral in the 10-year budget window when it really isn't.  The Honest Budget Act would disallow these phony offsets from being used.

No more temporary changes to mandatory spending - Frequently, temporary reductions in certain mandatory programs are used as "savings" to pay for spending increases elsewhere, only to be restored in the following year, resulting in zero net savings in the Budget. The Honest Budget Act would prevent changes in mandatory spending programs from being used as phony budgetary savings in appropriation bills.

For a complete summary of the legislation and further details visit: http://budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/honest-budget-act#c11d06c7-8edc-4419-b977-a186e5c4df19

Text of the bill is available here: http://budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=dfc26afd-51f7-4df5-a4e4-ac69ed3a3fc7&SK=35669B01766E919B2DAD0611A74BB220

http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/

[Gaspar]

The slices of debt required to pay for entitlement are now so large that an established budget would serve to put an unacceptable burden of responsibility many members of congress who build their power structures on constituent entitlement rather than constituent prosperity.

We have moved past the point where Democrats will accept or even entertain a budget.  This bill has no future unless their is a drastic change in the composition of congress and the White House.

[Conan71]

...many members of congress who build their power structures on constituent entitlement rather than constituent prosperity.

That's a good quote.  I'll have to borrow that one.

[nathanm]

Somebody clearly thinks they aren't going to benefit from this year's election. The whole thing seems to be designed to allow the minority party to prevent money from being spent on anything if they so choose. Great if you're Grover Norquist, I guess.

I'm not against the concept, mind you, only the execution as described in the original post.