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Ken Buck Introduces Bill to Increase Accountability and Transparency in Budgeting Process

April 6, 2017

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kyle Huwa, 202-225-4676

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Ken Buck introduced the Federal Budget Accountability Act. This legislation requires the Office of Management and Budget to begin tracking the revenue collected from budget offsets and then compile this information into an annual report to Congress.

"More transparency in our budgeting process is always a good thing," stated Congressman Ken Buck. "This legislation measures whether or not Congress complies with discretionary spending caps by offsetting any budget increases with accurate, realistic decreases in spending."

Budget "offsets" or "payfors" are the reductions in spending, or increases in revenue, that often accompany an increase in spending during the budget process. For example, the budget could include a spending increase that is offset by sales from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But because the price of crude oil changes over the course of these sales, the total revenue received from the offset may not be the amount promised during the budgeting process. By requiring OMB to track the actual revenue received and then report this to the legislative branch, Congress can create an environment of accountability and realistic budgeting.