No Bias in the Baseline Act
- Bill Number
- S. 4372
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Economics and Public Finance
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-04-22: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-13T12:12:35Z
AI-Generated Summary
No Bias in the Baseline Act (S. 4372)
Purpose
This bill aims to redefine the "baseline" used in federal budget projections. The baseline is a financial snapshot that projects future spending, revenues, surpluses, or deficits assuming current laws stay the same. The legislation clarifies that it should strictly follow current laws and hold discretionary spending (non-mandatory funding set annually by Congress) at current levels, without added assumptions like inflation increases.
Key Provisions
- Redefines baseline calculation in Section 257(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Projects current-year levels of new budget authority (spending approvals), outlays (actual spending), revenues, and surpluses/deficits into future years based solely on laws in effect.
- Simplifies direct spending and receipts in Section 257(b): Assumes mandatory programs (like Social Security or Medicare) and revenues operate exactly as current laws specify; removes other detailed assumptions.
- Adjusts discretionary spending rules in Section 257(c): Uses current-year levels, excluding emergency or supplemental funding; eliminates multiple prior paragraphs and bans any inflation or other adjustments.
- Makes conforming changes to related laws, including the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the Social Security Act, to align with the new baseline definition.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Replaces vague or expansive baseline assumptions with a strict "current levels" standard for discretionary appropriations.
- Removes inflation adjustments, emergency funding inclusions, and other factors that previously allowed baselines to grow automatically over time.
- Strikes several subsections and paragraphs in Section 257, streamlining the definition and eliminating provisions for program integrity adjustments or other escalators.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Could limit automatic spending growth in budget justifications, making it harder to secure increases beyond current levels.
- Congress and budget process: Alters scoring for new legislation under rules like PAYGO (pay-as-you-go, requiring offsets for new costs) and sequestration (automatic spending cuts), potentially increasing the perceived "cost" of new programs.
- Citizens and taxpayers: May promote fiscal restraint by preventing baseline "creep," but could constrain funding for growing needs like defense or infrastructure without explicit congressional action.
- No direct international relations impact.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Congress: Directly changes tools for budgeting and deficit control.
- Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Must update projection methods.
- Federal agencies: Face flatter spending projections, affecting planning.
- Taxpayers and advocacy groups: Interested in deficit reduction or spending priorities.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Modifies a key statute (2 U.S.C. 907) central to the budget enforcement framework established in 1985, ensuring consistency in how baselines are used for enforcement mechanisms like sequestration.
- Constitutional: No direct challenges; aligns with Congress's power of the purse (Article I, Section 9) by refining internal budget rules.
- Political: Promotes a "flat baseline" to counter arguments of bias toward spending growth; could spark debate over fiscal policy, with supporters viewing it as unbiased and opponents as overly rigid. Introduced April 22, 2026, by Sen. Marshall; referred to Senate Budget Committee.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Recent Actions
- 2026-04-22: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
- 2026-04-22: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- No Bias in the Baseline Act — issued 2026-04-22 — PDF (3 pages)