The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform was established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which was signed into law on February 9, 2018. A bipartisan and bicameral panel tasked with considering and recommending reforms to the current budgeting and appropriations processes in Congress, the committee was comprised of 16 members, equally divided between the House and Senate. Four members each were appointed by the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, the House Democratic Leader, and the Senate Democratic Leader. House Budget Committee Chairman Steve Womack (R-AR) and House Appropriations Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) were co-chairs of the panel.
Joint Committee Developments:
- November 29, 2018 Mark-up
- Action: Joint Committee rejected its biennial budget legislation, failing to meet its November 30, 2018 deadline.
- Republicans on the panel voted 5-3 for the bill, while Democrats were divided, with two in favor, two opposed and four abstaining — citing concerns about potential amendments in the Senate. Passage would have required a majority of Republican and a majority of Democratic joint committee members.
- You Tube video of mark-up
- November 27, 2018: Mark-up
- November 15, 2018 Mark-up:
- Co-Chairs Mark: legislative language to move congressional budget resolutions to a biennial schedule — rather than the current annual schedule
- Committee Report
- Amendments Adopted
- Joint Committee votes on a broad array of process reform amendments
- Lowey Opening Remarks
- Womack Opening Remarks
- You Tube video of mark-up
- July 16, 2018:
- July 12, 2018 Hearing:
- Co-Chair Lowey’s Opening Remarks
- Co-Chair Womack’s Opening Remarks
- Joint Select Committee Release
- Testimony from Former Appropriations Chair David Obey and Former Budget Chairman, OMB Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
- You Tube video of hearing
- June 27, 2018 Hearing:
- The Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Testimony - The Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives Testimony
- Rep. Hal Rogers (KY-05) Testimony
- Rep. Peter Visclosky (IN-01) Testimony
- Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04) Testimony
- Rep. David Price (NC-04) Testimony
- Rep. John Carter (TX-31) Testimony
- Rep. Jim Himes (CT-04) Testimony
- Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-04) Testimony
- Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) Testimony
- Rep. Keith Rothfus (PA-12) Testimony
- Sen. Steve Daines (MT) Testimony
- Rep. French Hill (AR-02) Testimony
- Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR-04) Testimony
- Rep Warren Davidson (OH-08) Testimony
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) Testimony
- Rep. Roger Marshall (KS-01) Testimony
- Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-16) Testimony
- Rep. John Curtis (UT-03) Testimony
- Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05) Testimony
- Additional statements submitted for the record:
- Representative Virginia Foxx (NC-05)
- Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25)
- Senator Dean Heller (NV)
- Representative Bradley Byrne (AL-01)
- Representative Paul Mitchell (MI-10)
- You Tube video of hearing
- The Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
- May 24, 2018 Hearing:
- Womack Opening Remarks
- Lowey Opening Remarks
- Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Testimony
- James C. Capretta, American Enterprise Institute, Testimony
- Bill Dauster, Former Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Senate Budget Committee, Testimony
- Joseph White, Professor, Department of Political Science and Center for Policy Studies, Case Western Reserve University, Testimony
- You Tube video of hearing
- May 9, 2018 Hearing:
- G. William Hoagland, Senior Vice President, Bipartisan Policy Center, U.S. Senate staff, 1982-2007 | Testimony
- Donald R. Wolfensberger, Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center, Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Staff Director, House Rules Committee, 1991-1997 | Testimony | Supplemental Statement
- Emily Holubowich, Testimony
- Matt Owens, Vice President for Federal Relations and Administration, Association of American Universities, Testimony
- You Tube video of hearing
- April 17, 2018: Joint Committee holds first hearing.
- Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D., President, American Action Forum Testimony
- Martha Coven, J.D. Lecturer and Visiting Professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University Testimony
- Opening remarks from Chairman Womack.
- You Tube video of hearing.
- Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D., President, American Action Forum
- March 8, 2018: first meeting held, with some discussion reportedly being given to shifting the start of the fiscal year from October 1 to January 1.
- Background: The fiscal year used to begin July 1, due to Congress’ long summer recesses to avoid sweltering DC heat prior to air conditioning. The 1974 Budget Act provided more time, shifting the start of the fiscal year to October 1. It is not unlikely that Congress will now move the fiscal year to January 1, given the plethora of continuing resolutions (CRs).
About the Joint Committee
- Joint Committee website
- As called for in the Bipartisan Budget Act. Congress has launched a new “Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform.”
- Congressional leaders have appointed 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats from each chamber:
- House Republicans: Budget Chair Womack (R-AR); Rules Chair Sessions (R-TX); Woodall (R-GE); and Arrington (R-TX).
- House Democrats: Appropriations Ranking Lowey (D-NY); Budget Ranking Yarmuth (D-KY); Roybal-Allard (D-CA); and Kilmer (D-WA).
- Senate Republicans: Vice Chair of Rep. Conf. Blunt (R-Mo.); Perdue (R-Ga.); Lankford (R-Okla.); and Ernst (R-Iowa).
- Senate Democrats: Whitehouse (D-RI); Bennet (D-CO); Brian Schatz (D-HA); and Hirono (D-HA).
- The bipartisan committee is co-chaired by Steve Womack (R-AR) and Nita Lowey (D-NY).
Guide to Budget Process Reform
Key Budget Process Components
- Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
- Link to Major Laws Governing the Budget Process
- CRS: Overview of Funding Mechanisms in the Federal Budget Process (including mandatory spending) Aug 2016
- The Budget Control Act of 2011
- PAYGO
- Discretionary Spending Limits
- Sequestration: Explanation and Resources
- Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
- Budget Reconciliation
- Budget Functions
- Reserve Funds
- Budget Execution: Apportionment
- Presidential Impoundment
- The Congressional Appropriations Process
- Rules Governing Tax Legislation
Links to Key Budget Process Reform Proposals
- Automatic Continuing Resolutions
- Biennial Budgeting
- Debt Limit Reform
- Earmarks: Restoring Congress’ Authority to Earmark Appropriations
- Federal Fiscal Year: Move the Start of the Fiscal Year to January 1st
- Joint Budget Resolution (see discussion of the Legally Binding Budget Act of 2011)
- Line-Item Veto and Expedited Rescission; see also detailed discussion in chapter 2-8 of America’s Priorities.
- PAYGO: Explore ways to enforce pay-as-you-go principles
- Reconciliation: place limits on use of fast-track procedures that increase deficits
Other Resources on Budget Process Reform
- Konigsberg: America’s Priorities: See Chapter 2-8
- CRFB: Budget Process Reform Options (2016)
- BPC: Proposal for Improving the Congressional Budget Process (2015) (Rivlin/Domenici/Hoagland)
- Brookings: Reforming the Budget: How to fix the Congressional Budget Process (2014)
- Heritage: An Analysis of Selected Budget Process Reforms (2014)
- AEI: Reforming the Budget Process (2014)
- CRS: Budget Process Reform Proposals in 2012
- Urban: The Budget Process (Testimony by Rudy Penner, 2011)
- CRS: Budget Process Reform Proposals in the 111th Congress (2010)
- CRS: Budget Process Reform Proposals in the 107th Congress (2002)
- Washington Post editorial: July 18, 1984: “The Problem Is the Problem”