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Yesterday, Senator Lee introduced legislation that would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to release the analytical models its staff uses for cost analysis and scoring.
That the legislation’s first moments in this world were as an amendment to the failed health care bill is fitting. The moments after failure are a good time for Congress to focus on improving its own institutions. Ensuring rigorous, replicable policy analysis is a smart place to start.
I outline why openness at the CBO would facilitate better public policy in a recent infographic and video.
In many respects, the approach that Senator Lee adopts is restrained. It would require CBO to release its models, but it does not mandate any changes to CBO’s current management structure or internal workflows. CBO would only need to follow guidelines that are quite similar to those prescribed by the American Economics Association for academic economic research. To the academics working at CBO, the requirements in Lee’s legislation should feel very familiar.
You can find the text of Lee’s two-page amendment, here.
CBO reform is a prudent step to prepare for the next policy debate.
The moments after failure are a good time for Congress to focus on improving its own institutions. Ensuring rigorous, replicable policy analysis is a smart place to start.
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