Book Description

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 laid out the current process, which, while adequately responding to concerns of the time, created a system of rules that have proved inadequate in altered circumstances. The intense polarization of the two political parties makes it hard to reach agreement, and increased transparency inhibits real deal-making. This report does not address specific budgets or budget targets. Instead, it lays out a menu of mid-level reform options that can help the budget process work better. While these reforms cannot overcome our deep partisan and ideological division, they can help us frame our choices more clearly and make those choices more cleanly. Despite our differences, there is broad agreement on the objectives of budget process reform: timeliness; transparency; democratic control; better alignment of priorities with overall commitments across the full range of fiscal tools; and improved public trust and confidence in the process.