Hearing of the Committee on Rules
"Biennial Budgeting: A Tool for Improving Government Fiscal Management and Oversight"
Member of the Committee on Rules
Mr. Chairman,
I appreciate this opportunity to express my support for biennial budgeting legislation. I look forward to today's hearing and to continued discussions on this issue.
As a member of the Washington State Legislature for 8 years, I have experience with a biennial budget system. The legislature was required to pass a two-year budget predicting the needs of the state. It was a daunting task that required patience and foresight. However, this process provided the legislators with an important opportunity to more thoroughly investigate the uses of state dollars and oversee state agencies. I believe the Washington State model, as well as the twenty-three other states that employ similar biennial budgeting, provide important examples for implementing a biennial budget system at the federal level.
In Congress, we have witnessed many biennial budget proposals over the years. While four provisions have been enacted into law, a comprehensive biennial budgeting proposal has not been enacted. In the 106th Congress, there are detailed thorough proposals including the Chairman's resolution, of which I am an original cosponsor, expressing the Sense of Congress that a biennial budget and appropriations process should be enacted. With President Clinton supporting the call for a biennial budget, the climate is ripe to enact this important reform. There are simple reasons for supporting two-year budgeting. Reasons that make sense from my experience in the legislature. Biennial budgeting will improve the oversight of federal programs as well as provide stability and predictability in the budget process.
Congressional oversight
As members of Congress, we have a constitutional and statutory responsibility to oversee the federal government. I take this responsibility very seriously. With hundreds of programs and agencies, proper oversight requires extensive time and effort. The annual budget and appropriations process requires increasingly more time and resources to complete. Even then, Congress rarely meets the deadlines set for itself in the Budget Act. Lost in this hectic schedule is the authorization process. In FY 2000 alone, $120.9 billion for 137 unauthorized programs was provided. Biennial budgeting will allow for timely program reauthorization and detailed oversight by authorizing committees resulting in a reduction in unauthorized spending. It is vital for Congress to regularly scrutinize federal programs to eliminate unnecessary federal spending, more closely evaluate program performance, highlight successful programs and ensure executive compliance with congressional intent. Biennial budgeting would accomplish this.
Stability and Predictability
The budget and appropriations process has increasingly become a never ending cycle with little time for oversight. Biennial budgeting would give Congress an opportunity to complete our work in a more rationale manner. State and local government programs, private organizations and American taxpayers rely on federal spending. Yet under the current annual appropriations process, those receiving government funds do not know from year to year exactly what level of resources will be available to them. This leads to inefficiencies and less effective management. Biennial budgeting would offer a new level of predictability in the budget process. Finally, a two-year system would result in economic benefits to the American taxpayer. With fewer unexpected changes in tax and spending policies, Congress can reduce disruptions in spending that affect both the private and public sectors.
I recognize that there are several other benefits of biennial budgeting. However, I believe the most important cumulative benefit of a two-year budget process will be a return to better government and trust in the work we do here. We need to use this opportunity to restore faith in our government. Biennial budgeting brings greater efficiency and accountability to our federal government and gives Congress and the President the ability to serve Americans in a more responsive manner.