House Budget Committee chair urges independent audit of Congressional Budget Office
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Summary
At a Committee on the Budget hearing, the chair praised CBO Director Phil Swagel for responsiveness but said an independent, holistic audit is needed to ensure the Congressional Budget Office's analyses are accurate, timely and transparent and to protect the agency from politicization.
The chair of the House Committee on the Budget opened a hearing on oversight of the Congressional Budget Office and urged a formal, independent audit of the agency’s practices and operations.
"Given our nation's unsustainable fiscal trajectory, it's never been more important for the CBO ... to provide the most accurate, timely, and transparent information and analysis to Congress and the American people," the chair said, and warned against CBO "being reduced to a political pinata." The chair identified Phil Swagel as the committee’s witness and thanked him for attending.
Why it matters: Committee members rely on CBO estimates to evaluate fiscal trade-offs in legislation. The chair argued that an independent, holistic audit would improve confidence in CBO methods and models and help "cut through the politics" that can surround cost estimates.
The chair praised the agency’s responsiveness during recent major legislation and described Director Phil Swagel and CBO staff as "responsive and professional and diligent," while also saying there are circumstances that "warrant the criticism" and that the committee lacks some expertise to conduct the kind of operational review he proposed.
Proposal details offered in the hearing: the chair called for an objective evaluation of CBO operations, including programmatic and operational practices similar to audits other agencies receive. The chair said he would not force the ranking member to accept the idea but suggested the ranking member could select an outside auditor and indicated willingness to let the agency have input on the selection.
The chair yielded his time to the committee’s ranking member to continue the hearing.
Reporting notes: The transcript records additional members the chair named as joining the hearing (transcribed as 'Keith South of Texas,' 'Warren Davidson of Ohio,' 'Cloud of Texas,' and 'Feenstra of Ohio'). The transcript does not record votes or formal actions on an audit motion in the passage provided.