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Hearing of the Committee on Rules

"Biennial Budgeting: A Tool for Improving Government Fiscal Management and Oversight"

Statement of Congressman Bill Luther (D-MN)

Mr. Chairman, thank you for inviting me to this hearing.

As I mentioned at the press conference introducing this initiative two weeks ago, one important group of beneficiaries of a biennial federal budget would be state and local governments. Before coming to Congress five years ago, I spent 20 years in the Minnesota State Legislature. Minnesota uses a biennial budget. As any legislator who has worked on a biennial budget can tell you, budgeting for two years is a more efficient and more thoughtful process for everyone involved. If we had a biennial budget at the federal level, states and localities that depend on federal funds could better plan for the long term, and officials at those levels of government could be more efficient and cost-effective in their management of taxpayer dollars.

In this regard, there is one particular point that needs emphasis. In my judgment, a biennial budget process would make it easier for legislators to make difficult budget cuts. Due to the initial closing costs associated with eliminating programs in a one-year budget cycle, I believe it's easy for many legislators to simply keep funding these programs. After all, very little will be saved in just one year. Under a biennial budget, it is much easier to project the long term cost savings associated with shutting down inefficient or unnecessary layers of government. Today, 20 state legislatures, including Minnesota's, use the biennial budget cycle. Legislators in these states understand the importance of projecting cost savings into the out years. The time has come for Congress to benefit from the biennial budget process in the same way.

No responsible business or family would want to manage its finances the way Congress does today. It is about time we institute much more long term thinking in the budget process. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and the other members of the Rules Committee again for inviting me to speak today.


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