Lawmakers call for commission on budget process reform

Their hand forced by a Sept. 5 deadline to act on biennial budgeting legislation or lose jurisdiction, House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, and House Budget committee ranking member John Spratt, D-S.C., on Thursday jointly offered a substitute amendment to the bill to create a Commission on Federal Budget Concepts. The substitute was adopted by voice vote, with a loud dissent from Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., author of the underlying biennial budget bill that was superseded by the Nussle-Spratt substitute. According to a "Dear Colleague" letter Nussle and Spratt wrote in advance of Thursday's markup, the commission "would, among other things, reassess the appropriate measures of federal spending; evaluate differences between 'revenues' and various forms of user fees; appraise the appropriate use of cash and accrual-based measures for various long-term federal commitments; assess the adequacy of the current government account and fund structure; review potential changes in budget practices to reflect the federal government's multiyear commitments for various acquisitions; and assess the value and feasibility of moving to a biennial budget cycle." A Rules Committee markup of the bill has been postponed until after the August recess.