CBO Show Your Work Act

CBO Show Your Work Act

This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make available to Congress and the public each fiscal model, policy model, and data preparation routine that the CBO uses to estimate the costs and other fiscal, social, or economic effects of legislation.

For each estimate of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, the CBO must also disclose, in a manner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not employed by the CBO, the data, programs, models, assumptions, and other details of the computations used to prepare the estimate.

For data that may not be disclosed, the CBO must make available to Congress and the public

• a complete list of all data variables for the data;
• descriptive statistics for all data variables for the data, to the extent that the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule against disclosure;
• a reference to the statute requiring that the data not be disclosed; and
• contact information for the individual or entity who has unrestricted access to the data.

Bill 119 hr 724, also known as the Transparency in Budgeting Act, aims to increase transparency in the budgeting process by requiring the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make public the fiscal and mathematical models, data, and other details of computations used in cost analysis and scoring.

The bill would require the CBO to provide detailed information on how they arrive at their cost estimates for proposed legislation. This would include making public the specific models and data sources used, as well as the assumptions and methodologies employed in their calculations.

Proponents of the bill argue that increased transparency in the budgeting process will help to ensure that lawmakers and the public have a better understanding of the potential costs and impacts of proposed legislation. By making the CBO's methods more transparent, it will also allow for greater scrutiny and accountability in the budgeting process. Opponents of the bill may argue that making the CBO's methods public could potentially compromise the independence and objectivity of the agency. They may also argue that the additional transparency requirements could be burdensome and time-consuming for the CBO. Overall, Bill 119 hr 724 seeks to promote greater transparency and accountability in the budgeting process by requiring the CBO to make publicly available the details of their cost analysis and scoring methods.