Senators Introduce Fiscal Commission Act
Note - Parts of this blog are an update to our previous blog on the House version of the Fiscal Commission Act.
Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Angus King (I-ME), joined by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Todd Young (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Mark Warner (D-VA) recently introduced a Senate version of the Fiscal Commission Act (FCA), legislation very similar to the bill led by Representatives Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Scott Peters (D-CA) in the House. Like the House version, the Senate’s FCA would create a commission to recommend policies that would improve the government’s fiscal health.
The bill would create a commission with the main goal of providing Congress with recommendations to stabilize the ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) below 100% by Fiscal Year (FY) 2039. The commission would also be tasked with recommending changes to improve the solvency of federal trust funds. Notably, these goals are not binding, so the commission could produce recommendations that improve our fiscal trajectory even if they don't reach the goals specified in the bill. Furthermore, the bill would require the commission to conduct a public education campaign informing people about our country’s current fiscal state. As part of that effort, the commission would hold public hearings.
The panel created by the FCA would be comprised of 12 Members of Congress, chosen evenly by the leadership of both parties in the House and Senate, along with four non-voting outside experts. If the commission’s policy recommendations are approved by a majority of the lawmakers on the panel, with at least two from each party, its recommendations would be sent to Congress. The commission could provide policy recommendations no earlier than the week after the 2026 election and no later than April 13, 2027. The FCA would require the commission’s recommendations to be made public, regardless of whether its members voted to approve or reject them. If policy recommendations are approved by the commission, they would receive expedited consideration in both chambers of Congress and could not be amended. However, the recommendations would still be subject to the filibuster in the Senate, therefore requiring 60 votes to pass the chamber.
There are some very minor differences between this version of the FCA and the version introduced in the House, which are described in the table below.
In the 118th Congress, former Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Joe Manchin (I-WV) led the introduction of a similar bill, the Fiscal Stability Act. The senators testified before the House Budget Committee (HBC) in 2023 to express their support for fiscal commissions. A few months later, the HBC went on to advance the FCA on a bipartisan basis.
Notable experts have expressed their support for the FCA, including individuals from the Peterson Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, Bipartisan Policy Center, Progressive Policy Institute, Cato Institute, Concord Action, and Third Way, among others. The idea of a fiscal commission has continued to receive significant bipartisan support from lawmakers during the 119th Congress, with the House FCA having double the number of original cosponsors upon introduction compared to last Congress. Furthermore, the Problem Solvers Caucus released a Fiscal Stability Framework, which endorsed the FCA and the Sustainable Budget Act, another commission bill.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, praised the bill’s introduction this Congress (full statement here):
A commission isn’t a substitute for policy change or for political will, but rather a tool to support both. It offers a venue for honest dialogue to occur, where our elected officials can talk to – not past – each other, and it eases some of the burden of making the choices that are difficult but necessary. A bipartisan commission creates the opportunity for lawmakers to begin fixing the debt.
“We commend Senators Curtis and King, along with all the other cosponsors of the Fiscal Commission Act, for taking this important step toward fiscal sanity.
By raising awareness of our fiscal challenges and helping lawmakers to begin addressing them, the FCA would be a meaningful first step toward improving the government’s fiscal health. Congress can no longer ignore our rising debt and the looming insolvency of federal trust funds. For more information on commissions, see our Fiscal Commission Act: Just the FAQs blog, our paper on the subject, and our Bipartisan Support for a Fiscal Commission blog.
Fiscal Commission Act and Fiscal Stability Act Comparison Table
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118th Congress |
119th Congress |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Senate FSA | HBC FCA Manager's Amendment | House FCA | Senate FCA |
| Primary Fiscal Goal | Sustainable debt-to-GDP below 100% by 2039 | Sustainable debt-to-GDP below 100% by 2039 | Sustainable debt-to-GDP below 100% by 2039 | Sustainable debt-to-GDP below 100% by 2039 |
| Deadline to Report | May 1, 2025 | December 12, 2024, commission may vote to extend deadline to May 15, 2025; option for an interim report | November 13, 2026, but not before November 4, 2026, commission may vote to extend deadline to April 13, 2027; option for an interim report | November 13, 2026, but not before November 4, 2026, commission may vote to extend deadline to April 13, 2027; option for an interim report |
| Description of Scope | Discretionary spending, mandatory spending, revenue, gap between revenue and expenditures | Discretionary spending, mandatory spending, revenue, gap between revenue and expenditures | Discretionary spending, mandatory spending, revenue, gap between revenue and expenditures | Discretionary spending, mandatory spending, revenue, gap between revenue and expenditures |
| Voting Threshold | Majority approval with at least 3 from each party, only lawmakers vote | Majority approval with at least 2 from each party, only lawmakers vote | Majority approval with at least 2 from each party, only lawmakers vote | Majority approval with at least 2 from each party, only lawmakers vote |
| Commission Structure | 16 members, 12 from Congress and 4 outside experts, split by chamber and party | 16 members, 12 from Congress and 4 outside experts, split by chamber and party | 16 members, 12 from Congress and 4 outside experts, split by chamber and party | 16 members, 12 from Congress and 4 outside experts, split by chamber and party |
| Fast Track | Requires each chamber to vote on recommendations without amendment | Requires each chamber to vote on recommendations without amendment | Requires each chamber to vote on recommendations without amendment | Requires each chamber to vote on recommendations without amendment |
| Public Education Campaign | N/A | Explicitly tasks commission with public education on the state of country's fiscal health and requires a public education campaign | Explicitly tasks commission with public education on the state of country's fiscal health and requires a public education campaign | Explicitly tasks commission with public education on the state of country's fiscal health and requires a public education campaign |
| Space for Commission | N/A | N/A | N/A | No later than 90 days after enactment, the Architect of the Capitol will find a space for the commission to work |
| Funding for Commission | Funding for the Commission from Senate contingent fund | Funding for the Commission from Senate contingent fund and applicable House accounts | Funding for the Commission from Senate contingent fund and applicable House accounts | Funding for the Commission from accounts determined by Appropriations Committee |
| Expenses | Expenses approved by the staff director of the fiscal commission, subject to rules and regulations of the Senate | Explicitly authorized to incur expenses in the same way as the Joint Economic Committee | Explicitly authorized to incur expenses in the same way as the Joint Economic Committee | Expenses approved by the staff director of the fiscal commission, subject to rules and regulations of the Senate |
| Termination Date | 30 days after submitting report | 30 days after submitting report | 30 days after submitting report | 30 days after submitting report or by May 17, 2027, whichever is earlier |
