# Plain Language Summary: Per-Citizen Cost Estimates for Congressional Bills

This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—the nonpartisan agency that analyzes the financial impact of proposed laws—to add one new piece of information to every cost estimate it produces: what the bill would cost per American citizen. Right now, when Congress considers a major bill, the CBO tells lawmakers the total price tag. This bill says they also need to break that down to show what it would mean for each individual person in the country.

Here's what this means in practice. If Congress is considering a $1 trillion spending bill and there are about 330 million Americans, the CBO would calculate that the bill costs roughly $3,000 per citizen. This number would appear alongside the regular cost estimates that Congress already receives. The idea behind this change is to make the financial impact of legislation more tangible and easier for both lawmakers and the public to understand. Instead of just hearing "trillion-dollar bill," people could see a per-person figure that might feel more concrete.

The bill doesn't change how much anything actually costs or how Congress makes decisions—it's purely about adding transparency to the information lawmakers already get. Critics might argue this oversimplifies complex budget issues, since not everyone pays taxes equally and government spending affects different groups differently. Supporters believe it helps citizens and their representatives better grasp the true scale of government spending by putting it in personal terms. Essentially, this is a transparency measure designed to make federal budget information more accessible to ordinary Americans trying to understand what their representatives are voting on.

A bill to amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require any cost estimate for a bill or joint resolution prepared by the Congressional Budget Office to include the cost to each United States citizen for carrying out such measure, and for other purposes.

Scott, Rick

<p>This bill requires Congressional Budget Office cost estimates for legislation to include an estimate of the cost to each U.S. citizen for carrying out the legislation. Specifically, the estimate must include each citizen's pro rata share of the change in total federal spending and total federal debt if the legislation is enacted.</p>