Last year, amid the passage of an all-too-short government funding agreement, Senator David Perdue (R-GA) noted the problems of the “broken budget process” but pointed out a “silver lining” in the agreement. “It finally establishes a select committee to address our broken budget process. Fixing the budget process alone will not solve our debt crisis, but we won’t solve this debt crisis unless and until we fix our broken budget process. This select committee is our opportunity to finally develop a process that works,” said Perdue.
A year in and the Joint Select Committee has not had much luck. In fact, in December they decided to maintain the status quo for the process. Perdue was disappointed. In a statement along with fellow Republican Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), Perdue said “This is completely irresponsible. Throughout the process we had bipartisan discussions of ideas that could have fixed the way Congress funds the federal government and addressed our debt. Most of these ideas were met with little disagreement in conversation but suddenly received major pushback when it was time to put the ideas into action.”
Now, his Peach State colleague Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) will take another bite at the apple. The measure introduced by Isaskon and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is not a new one but considering the state of things over the past two years, maybe it could get some extra traction this time. The Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act, S.284, would change the annual appropriations process for federal money to a two-year cycle. One year would be devoted to appropriating the dollars and the next year would focus on oversight of how those dollars are being used in federal programs.
“It’s time to prove to taxpayers that their federal government cares about how their money is being spent and is serious about eliminating waste,” said Isakson. “This commonsense, bipartisan approach would help ensure an on-time budget cycle and remove the political deadlines and uncertainty that produces results like the most recent government shutdown.”
The measure is something Isakson has introduced in the past and has talked about frequently as a possible solution to the broken budget mess. Under the proposed legislation, the president would submit a two-year budget at the beginning of the first session of a new Congress. Congress would then adopt a two-year budget resolution and the funding bill during that session. The next year would then allow Congress to monitor how those dollars are being spent and prepare any changes that might be needed for the next year.
The bill is bipartisan, besides Isakson and Shaheen, 12 other senators have agreed to support the proposal – Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn, (R-TN), Tom Carper (D-DE), John Cornyn, (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rick Scott (R-FL), and John Thune (R-SD). For those keeping track at home, that’s nine Republicans and five democrats total. A relative rarity.
“By budgeting in a two-year cycle, we would improve oversight and ultimately reduce spending while making our federal government more efficient and more accountable to taxpayers.”
