The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act Signed into law
The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act was signed into law on September 24, 2021, requiring budget justifications and appropriation requests of agencies be made publicly available.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously in June. In August, the House passed the measure in a 423 to one vote. The legislation will make congressional budget justifications available online in a central location managed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Several good government groups have voiced their support for the Act since it was introduced including Demand Progress, FreedomWorks, and Government Information Watch.
Daniel Schuman, Policy Director at Demand Progress explained, “"Government accountability is a fundamental principle in a democracy, and knowing the government's accounts – how agencies plan to spend taxpayer funds – is the bedrock for such accountability.”
A number of lawmakers from both parties have also announced their support for the new law.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said of the Act, “Given the trillions of dollars the federal government spends annually, Congress and the American people must have full access to the hundreds of detailed budget plans each federal agency prepares in support of the President’s annual budget request. The Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act assures centralized and consistent open access to the federal government’s detailed spending plans, helping to increase public transparency and Congressional oversight.”
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, also strongly supported the passage of this bill and stated, “the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act, is a common sense, good government measure every Member should support. This bill builds on the work of the Committee to improve government transparency by allowing the public to more easily learn how federal agencies spend their taxpayer dollars.”
