House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington called on Mar. 17 for the first-ever independent audit of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) during remarks at the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch’s Member Day Hearing.
Arrington said that CBO plays a critical role in informing Congress by scoring policies and legislation, which can impact economic outlooks, growth rates, and interest rates. "The Congressional Budget Office has a very difficult job. They fundamentally score policies that we develop and draft in the form of legislation, and that score will show up as either more revenue or greater expense. Over a budget window of 10 years, that will affect the economic outlook, so it could affect growth rates and interest rates. In order for us as lawmakers to make informed decisions, CBO has a huge responsibility to make sure that those scores are accurate, that the way they arrived with those scores are transparent, so that we can have some give and take, good healthy debate, and that they're timely, because these things have to move expeditiously to solve some of the big problems facing our country," Arrington said.
He highlighted bipartisan support for an independent audit: "50 years since the 1974 Budget Act and the Budget Committee and CBO were created, not once have we as Budget Committee members, both Democrat and Republican, had the value and benefit of an independent audit of CBO. Not even a GAO audit. Every department and every agency and most programs in the federal government have endured some sort of audit because that gives us as Members the information, we need to decide if there are ways to improve these programs, these agencies, these departments. This is not a political exercise or a partisan exercise. I think there's been enough criticism on both sides about, again, accuracy, timeliness, and transparency. I'm simply requesting that we put some money in to do an independent audit."
Arrington also suggested improvements may be needed within CBO itself: "Mr. Chairman, one of the recommendations may be that they need more resources. They may not have enough personnel, the right personnel, but they may also be working on older, outmoded predictive modeling and things that we could modernize to improve it. I just want to make sure that we, as members and as the customer of CBO, have the information we need to make the right decisions based on our views, our values and the people we represent. I urge you to consider what I believe is not just bipartisan but is a nonpartisan exercise that is just good government..."
The House Budget Committee works closely with key committees such as Ways and Means and Appropriations according to its official website. The committee oversees federal spending responsibilities by developing budget resolutions aimed at promoting fiscal responsibility according to its official website. Arrington has served as chairman according to its official website.
The committee has influenced budget management through tools like reconciliation according to its official website, collaborates with CBO for independent analyses according to its official website, and prepares annual budget resolutions along with guidelines for spending targets according to its official website.
Arrington concluded his remarks by saying he hopes future chairmen—regardless of party—will benefit from increased transparency after five decades without an audit.
