No Bias in the Baseline Act

Key Points

• This bill changes how Congress calculates its budget baseline by removing automatic inflation adjustments for discretionary spending. Instead of building in expected cost increases each year, the baseline would simply assume the same dollar amount as the current year going forward.
• Emergency and supplemental spending would be excluded from future budget projections. This means one-time spending for things like natural disasters would not become baked into future years' baseline numbers.
• The bill redefines the baseline as a projection based on current laws and the assumption of continuation of current levels of discretionary appropriations, replacing the existing formula that accounted for inflation and other adjustments.
• The Congressional Budget Office would be required to publish alternative fiscal scenarios alongside the baseline, developed in consultation with the House and Senate Budget Committees. This gives lawmakers additional context beyond the new flat baseline.
• By freezing the baseline in nominal dollars, the bill would effectively create a built-in spending cut each year as inflation erodes the purchasing power of flat budgets. Congress would need to actively vote for any increases rather than having them happen automatically.

Votes

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Related Bills

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