12.10.20

Enzi Challenges Congress to Come Together to Fix Broken Budget Process

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, challenged Congress to come together to fix America’s broken budget process and address the fiscal challenges facing our nation.  During Enzi’s time leading the Budget Committee, both have been priorities.   

Enzi was able to reform the Senate Budget Committee’s rules, which led to more orderly, meaningful and transparent consideration of budget resolutions.  Chairman Enzi followed that success with legislation that represented the first bipartisan budget reforms approved by the Senate Budget Committee since 1990. Under Enzi’s leadership, the committee approved four budgets, including the first balanced ten-year blueprint approved by Congress since 2001. It also played a key role in helping pass the most sweeping update to our nation’s tax system in more than 30 years.

“There is no question that these have been challenging times, culminating with the current pandemic that we continue to confront,” said Chairman Enzi.  “Throughout all of these challenges, I am proud to say that the Committee has played a key role in working to address the fiscal challenges facing our nation, put in place policies that help grow our economy, and improved the Congressional budget process. Contrary to what most people believe about Congress – and what is reported in the media – I know both parties can work together.”

Enzi noted that a key focus of budget process reform is to make congressional budgets easier to pass and harder to ignore, while encouraging regular order in the normal funding process. He said if budgets are going to be a useful governing tool, they must matter because budgets are the foundation by which we govern. Enzi’s bill, the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act, would make a number of important reforms, including creating a new enforcement tool that could be used only for reducing the deficit.

“We’ve seen time and again that when budgets are treated as an after-thought or a wish-list, our ability to legislate effectively and fulfill our most basic Constitutional duties is made more difficult,” Chairman Enzi said. “To restore budgets to their proper role, they must be enforceable, and they should increase fiscal accountability in Congress. If lawmakers approve a budget, they should stick to it.”

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