Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Djou: “Truth in Spending Act would force Congress to live by financial forecasts”
By Selected News Articles @ 1:10 PM :: 11182 Views :: Maui County, Education K-12, Energy, Environment, National News, Ethics

Truth in Spending Act would force Congress to live by financial forecasts

By Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Charles K. Djou (R-Hawaii) - Link to original>>>The Hill

It was Ronald Reagan who famously said, “I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.”

That may have been the case in 1981 when Reagan took office. But today, the deficit is so bloated – more than five times what it was at the beginning of Reagan’s presidency – that it is far too corpulent to care for itself. 

So it now is time – in fact, it is way past time – for us to take care of the deficit. The Truth in Spending Act, which we are introducing, is one solid way to begin reining in this rapidly expanding threat.

The national debt recently hit a record-breaking $13 trillion – and it is growing by a staggering $1 million every 30 seconds.

Clearly, the reasons for the deficit are many – and so are the solutions. But we in Congress must accept our share of the blame – even though many increases in the deficit came not because of bad intentions but because of bad information.

The Congressional Budget Office employs talented economists whose job it is to study every aspect of every bill and predict how much each will cost – or how much each will save – years into the future.

They are good, but they are not infallible soothsayers. Economic predictions that are off just a little in a year can become wildly inaccurate over the course of decades.

Examples of that abound:

  • In 1965, as Congress considered legislation to establish the Medicare program, the House Ways and Means Committee estimated the hospital insurance part of the program would cost $9 billion annually in 1990. Actual cost in 1990: $67 billion.
  • In 1989, Congress considered adding a catastrophic coverage benefit to Medicare to take effect in 1990. The CBO cost estimate was $5.7 billion. One year later, the estimate was raised to $11.8 billion and Congress responded by repealing the program before it took effect.
  • In 2008, CBO estimated the 2002 and 2008 farm bills combined would generate federal budget deficits of $49.8 billion. The actual cost later was reported at $87.9 billion.

There also are errors that are wrong in the other direction.

  • CBO projected Medicare’s hospital payment system would save $10 billion over 10 years. Actual savings: $21 billion.
  • In 2003, CBO projected that a new Medicare drug benefit would cost $518 billion. The price tag, three years later: $382 billion.

Our Truth in Spending Act won’t make predictions more accurate. But it will force Congress to take action when predictions are inaccurate.

The legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget to check cost estimates for legislation five and 10 years after laws take effect to determine the accuracy of the predictions.

When costs are higher than or savings lower than predicted, the Truth in Spending Act creates a fast-track process to reduce excess costs through legislation.

This legislation also would cover laws already passed. Laws passed from 2005 to the present also would be included.

We can get a handle on the federal deficit by putting teeth into the cost estimates that legislation is built upon.

Good information leads to good legislation. Our Truth in Spending Act is a contract with the American people that will force Congress to live within budgetary estimates for legislation.

---30---

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT