Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Fiscal Contingency Preparedness Act

Representatives Ben Cline (R-VA) and Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced the Fiscal Contingency Preparedness Act (FCPA) today. This bill was also introduced in the Senate by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN). The bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct annual assessments of the government's fiscal resilience in the face of potential domestic or international emergencies. 

These assessments would evaluate the fiscal risks and fiscal impacts of the federal government responding to unexpected fiscal pressures, including economic downturns, energy shocks or shortages, natural disasters, pandemics or public health emergencies, national security threats, and financial crises. 

After the assessment is released, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to conduct an independent review of Treasury and OMB’s analysis. GAO would also publish its findings online within a year and share them with Congress – following a process similar to its current review of Treasury’s annual Financial Report of the United States Government.  

This legislation is modeled off the RESILIENCE Act, introduced in October 2024 by former Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Mike Braun (R-IN) along with current Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).  

To make sound economic decisions, Congress needs accurate and ongoing insight into the nation's fiscal health. Without regular assessments, the U.S. becomes more vulnerable to economic shocks and less prepared to respond with effective stabilization measures. 

With debt on course to reach record levels in just a few years, trust funds nearing insolvency, and interest costs rising, routine fiscal evaluations are more critical than ever and can help policymakers better understand long-term risks and take action to put the country on a more sustainable path. 

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, praised the bill’s introduction this Congress:

Policymakers and the public need access to the best available analysis on how a severe economic shock may impact the federal government's finances. While our nation’s largest banks are required to undergo regular stress tests to prepare for an unexpected shock, the federal government lacks an equivalent playbook. It is essential that the federal government be prepared for a possible fiscal emergency, and we commend Senators Warner and Young and Representatives Cline and Golden for introducing this bipartisan, commonsense proposal to strengthen our fiscal resilience.