Washington, D.C.—American Commitmentand theHSA Coalitionare leading a coalition of nearly 20 national organizations, representing millions of members and supporters, in requesting that Senator Mike Enzi, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget, enact wide-ranging reform of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) while selecting a new kind of director for the vital organization. CBO is under intense criticism for providing inaccurate projections in its analysis of legislation (such as Obamacare exchange enrollment projections), seriously undermining Congress’s ability to accomplish its policy objectives.
In a letter sent to Chairman Mike Enzi, the coalition states: “There is a crying need for reform and modernization of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). We are writing you with specific reform suggestions, as well as to urge you to select a completely different type of Director than has been selected in the past, one who has a track record of successfully reforming institutions and who will impose significant and greatly needed reforms on CBO.”
The coalition contends that CBO requires a new kind of director and lays out a series of specific recommendations including:
A Commitment to and a History of Accurate Financial Projections
Retroactive Scoring
Alternate Scores
Bring in Artificial Intelligence
Make the ‘Black Box’ Transparent
Use Scores Other than from CBO
Do Not Pick an Academic to be CBO Director
Create a Timely Scoring Process
The letter concludes: “We, the undersigned, urge you, Mr. Chairman, to consider these criteria for selecting the next CBO Director because a business-as-usual approach to filling this crucial position will result in business-as-usual at the CBO—and we must do better”
American Commitmentis dedicated to restoring and protecting our nation’s commitment to free markets, economic growth, Constitutionally-limited government, property rights, and individual freedom. American Commitment engages in critical public policy fights over the size and intrusiveness of government through direct advocacy, strategic policy analysis, and grassroots mobilization.
Conservatives to Enzi on CBO