With the U.S. national debt nearing $40 trillion, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) on Jan. 13 sponsored a bipartisan bill that aims to improve congressional oversight and fiscal accountability of the nation’s financial health.
The Fiscal State of the Nation Act, H.R. 7026, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), would require the Comptroller General of the United States to present an annual, nonpartisan presentation to a joint hearing of the House and Senate Budget Committees regarding the financial state of the nation and its future trends. The joint hearing would also be open to all other members of Congress.
“I am proud to lead this critical legislation alongside Rep. Peters to ensure Congress has clear, concise, and nonpartisan information about the financial state of our nation,” Rep. Barr said on Tuesday. “With better data and greater transparency, lawmakers can make more informed decisions to control spending and work toward reducing the deficit.”
The presentation would consist of data from the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) auditor report, with explicit details about U.S. government financial statements and future financial outlook. While some of this GAO data is available online, it is buried across hundreds of financial statements on different agency websites, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Barr’s office.
“Our national debt is out of control, and our annual deficits are now worse than they were during the Great Depression,” said Rep. Peters. “The Fiscal State of the Nation Act will cut through the noise of biased information members of Congress receive every day and instead give us a sober and thorough analysis of how current and future policies influence our fiscal health.”
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the American Institute of CPAs endorsed the measure, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Rules Committee.