Congress Needs to Stop Deeming and Start Budgeting

Today, the House of Representatives passed a $1.6 trillion “deeming resolution” to set the topline level for appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023. The deeming resolution was passed under the cover of a separate and unrelated rule focused on gun legislation and did not receive a separate vote. Meanwhile, neither the House nor Senate have even proposed a budget resolution, despite the statutory deadline to pass a concurrent budget resolution by April 15. The House Budget Committee has not put forward even a draft budget of its own since 2018. Below is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

It’s beyond disappointing that Congress won’t even try to pass a budget this year. In fact, they aren’t even pretending to try. What’s the point of having a Budget Committee if they are never going to put forward a budget?

Meanwhile, this deeming resolution could let us spend another $100 billion a year when inflation is at a 40-year high and debt is approaching record levels. To pass it under the cover of darkness is completely irresponsible.

A budget is a statement of priorities and a core function of good governance. Simply put, to fail to budget is to fail to govern.

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For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org