Daines introduces bill to require budgetary scorekeepers to include debt interest costs

In order to bring greater transparency to the federal budget process, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently introduced legislation to require congressional budget analyses to account for interest on borrowed funds.

The legislation coincides with a widely anticipated interest rate increase, the first of 2016, which is expected to be announced by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

The Budgetary Accuracy in Scoring Interest Costs (BASIC) Act would include the cost of debt in Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) analyses to create a better picture of true legislative costs.

“If I told you that when Congress employs gimmicks to shield you from knowing exactly how much it was spending you would be angry,” Daines said. “Government spending is bloated and far exceeds the fiscal sanity that a Montana family would use for their household. It’s time Congress had a true account of the true debt burden it was leaving for our kids and grandkids.”

Currently, CBO and JCT are responsible for providing budgetary and revenue scores, but their scoring methodologies do not include interest costs.

Interest on the nation’s debt is expected to reach $712 billion by fiscal year 2026, not counting any new funds the government would have to borrow for new legislative proposals.