Timmons, Panetta Introduce Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2019

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Congressman William Timmons (R-SC), both members of the House Committee on the Budget, recently introduced the Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2019 (BiFRA). The legislation would require all future budgets considered by Congress include a ratio comparing the federal government's debt held by the public to the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States.

Presently, budget resolutions project future spending in pure dollars and cents. For example, in Fiscal Year 2018 the federal government collected $3.3 trillion in tax revenue and spent $4.11 trillion, running a $779 billion deficit. These numbers, while obviously quite large, can be difficult to put into perspective.

"The Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act is an important step to improve the integrity of the federal budget process," said Congressman Panetta. "Congress must assess the consequences of increasing debts and deficits. This legislation creates a decision-making framework that will help us meet our country's needs and priorities."

"I was proud to join my colleague, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, to introduce this bipartisan piece of legislation which will serve as a good first step in reforming the broken budget process in Congress," said Congressman Timmons. "With our debt and deficits continuing to rise, steps like this need to be adopted sooner rather than later. While it will take more than process reforms to tackle our debt crisis, we cannot solve this crisis without reforming the Congressional budget process."

"We commend Representatives Timmons and Panetta for focusing attention on the debt burden. Measuring the size of the debt against the economy is the best way to start the process of setting goals and priorities. This information should be clearly and prominently displayed in any major budgeting legislation so Congress can make informed trade-offs," said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

"BPC Action is pleased that Representatives Timmons and Panetta are working to improve our federal budget process. We applaud them for their bipartisanship on this important issue, and for highlighting the importance of fiscal sustainability which is a core purpose of establishing budgets, said Michele Stockwell, Executive Director of Bipartisan Policy Center Action.

Contrasting our national debt with our country's total economic output (GDP) is a common-sense reform which will help citizens everywhere from South Carolina's 4th District to California's 20th District, better understand how much money the federal government is raising, spending, and borrowing. Currently, our debt to GDP ratio is 78 percent. Taking into account the most recent budget agreement Congress passed in July, it is estimated this ratio will rise to 95 percent in 2029, the highest level of debt since right after World War II.

Embracing this data-driven approach will help put Congress on the road to a responsible federal budget. Read H.R. 4071 here.