# CBO Scoring Accountability Act: What It Means

When Congress passes big spending bills, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates how much they'll cost and how they'll affect the government's finances. The problem is, those estimates are made before the laws actually go into effect. This bill requires the CBO to check back and see if their predictions were accurate.

Here's what the bill does: For any major law that's expected to cost a significant amount of money or affect federal revenues, the CBO must publish a report every year for the first ten years after the law passes. These reports compare what actually happened to what the CBO originally predicted. If the actual costs or revenue changes differ from the original estimate by 10 percent or more, the CBO has to explain why they were wrong. For example, if a law was predicted to cost $100 billion but actually costs $115 billion, the CBO would need to report that discrepancy and explain what caused it.

The bill defines "major legislation" as any law expected to affect federal spending or revenue by at least 0.25 percent of the country's total economic output (GDP). This is a fairly high bar, so it would only apply to significant bills, not routine legislation. The CBO would also have the power to request information from government agencies to help them prepare these reports.

Essentially, this bill is about accountability and transparency. It forces the CBO to publicly track whether their predictions hold up in the real world, which could help Congress make better-informed decisions on future legislation. It also gives taxpayers and lawmakers a clearer picture of whether major laws are working as advertised or if they're costing more or less than expected.

CBO Scoring Accountability Act

Barr, Andy

CBO Scoring Accountability ActThis bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide additional cost&nbsp;estimates and reports regarding&nbsp;major legislation that has been enacted into law.Under the bill, major legislation is any bill or joint resolution that would be projected to result in outlays of mandatory spending or receipts of federal revenue equal to or greater than 0.25% of the current projected gross domestic product of the United States for that year.For the first 10 years after&nbsp;major legislation has been enacted into law, the bill requires CBO to annually prepare and make publicly available an analysis of the results of carrying out the provisions of the legislation. The analysis must include<ul><li>an estimate of the costs and the change in federal revenue as a result of the legislation,</li><li>a comparison of the current and previous estimates of the costs and change in revenue, and</li><li>any applicable updates to the estimates.</li></ul>The bill also requires CBO to submit reports to Congress that explain any discrepancy between the actual and estimated costs and change in revenue that is greater than or equal to 10%.&nbsp;