House Passes Boyle Bill to Keep Congress Better Informed

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House passed H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Data Sharing Act. This legislation to improve CBO's ability to provide timely cost estimates and reports was introduced by Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan F. Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee. He was joined by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington as an original cosponsor.

"For half a century the Congressional Budget Office has provided critical support to lawmakers and committees in Congress, providing us with information on the costs of new legislation and our nation's fiscal health," said Ranking Member Boyle. "And just as they help us, we need to help them by ensuring they have access to the data they need to issue reports and analyses in a timely manner. That's why I introduced the CBO Data Sharing Act and that's why I'm proud to see it pass today in a unanimous, bipartisan vote. I want to thank Chairman Arrington again for his support in this effort, and I urge my Senate colleagues to swiftly send this commonsense legislation to the President's desk."

"The first step to getting our fiscal house in order is to have timely and accurate cost-benefit analysis regarding legislation," said Chairman Arrington. "The Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act will cut through the bureaucratic baloney and get the necessary information from the executive branch to provide Congress and taxpayers with accurate and timely cost scores for legislation. I thank my friend and House Budget Committee Ranking Member, Brendan Boyle, for fixing this part of the broken budget process and leading on this commonsense, bipartisan reform."

Watch Ranking Member Boyle's floor remarks here:

(Click here for video of remarks as delivered.)

Background:

• Each year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides hundreds of cost estimates and dozens of reports to keep Congress informed on the impact of proposed legislation on the federal budget.

• In order to provide accurate estimates and information to Congress, CBO works collaboratively with federal agencies to get access to data. For example, CBO might work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to study the impact of legislation on Medicaid payments.

• CBO sometimes experiences delays in receiving necessary data due to federal agencies concerned about the handling of sensitive data.

• By strengthening CBO's data access authority and detailing CBO's obligations to protect sensitive data, the CBO Data Sharing Act will enable CBO to provide Congress with more timely information.

A fact sheet on the CBO Data Sharing Act is available here and the text is available here.