CBO Show Your Work Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make available to Congress and the public each fiscal model, policy model, and data preparation routine that the CBO uses to estimate the costs and other fiscal, social, or economic effects of legislation. For each estimate of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, the CBO must also disclose, in a manner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not employed by the CBO, the data, programs, models, assumptions, and other details of the computations used to prepare the estimate. For data that may not be disclosed, the CBO must make available to Congress and the public a complete list of all data variables for the data; descriptive statistics for all data variables for the data, to the extent that the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule against disclosure; a reference to the statute requiring that the data not be disclosed; and contact information for the individual or entity who has unrestricted access to the data.
The implementation of this bill would significantly alter the current operational protocols of the CBO, as it seeks to provide an unprecedented level of insight into the agency's analytical processes. By ensuring that all methodologies and data assumptions are laid bare, the bill aims to foster a greater understanding of the fiscal implications of legislations being considered by Congress. Such transparency is expected to have a positive impact on the quality of legislative discussions, as members will have better data to inform their decision-making. However, there could be operational challenges regarding the balance between transparency and protecting sensitive data.
House Bill 724, referred to as the 'CBO Show Your Work Act', mandates the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to publicly disclose the fiscal and mathematical models, data, and methodologies used in its cost analysis and scoring. This legislation aims to enhance transparency in the federal budgeting process by requiring that taxpayers and lawmakers can scrutinize the bases of the CBO's estimates. The bill emphasizes the need for the CBO to provide sufficient detail that would enable independent replication of the analysis, hence improving trust in government fiscal assessments.
Opponents of the bill may raise concerns about the potential for misuse of the disclosed data, arguing that making comprehensive models public could lead to misinterpretations or manipulation of the data by partisan groups or individuals with vested interests. Additionally, there are discussions about whether the CBO has adequate resources to handle the increased demand for detailed disclosures without sacrificing its core analysis functions. This tension between accountability and operational capacity may lead to debates in the legislative process as the bill moves forward.
Economics and Public Finance