# Plain Language Summary: Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate Reading Requirement

This bill makes a simple but significant change to how Congress operates. It requires the House Clerk to read aloud the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate immediately after reading the title of any bill being considered. Right now, when a bill is introduced in the House, the clerk reads its title, but there's no automatic requirement to also read what it will cost taxpayers. This bill changes that.

Here's why this matters in practical terms: The CBO is an independent agency that estimates how much bills will cost the government. These estimates are crucial information—they tell you whether a bill will add $100 million or $100 billion to the budget. Currently, this cost information exists, but it's not automatically announced to all House members during the formal reading. A representative would have to actively seek out the estimate if they wanted to know the price tag. This bill ensures that every single House member hears the cost estimate out loud, at the same moment they hear what the bill is called.

The effect is straightforward: it makes budget information more visible and harder to ignore. When costs are read aloud in front of everyone, it creates a moment where members must confront the financial impact of what they're voting on. It doesn't change what bills can pass or prevent anyone from voting however they want—it just ensures that cost information is front and center from the very beginning of the legislative process. Think of it as requiring the price tag to be announced whenever a product is introduced, rather than letting people discover the cost later if they bother to look.

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the Clerk to read the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of any bill immediately after the reading of the title of the bill.

 <p>This resolution requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives, after reading a bill's title, to read the estimated cost of the bill as determined by the Congressional Budget Office.</p>