Congress moves to expose true cost of federal loan programs
H.R. 1388 — Fair-Value Accounting and Budget Act · Filed by Ralph Norman (R-SC) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 14, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to estimate the true economic cost of federal loan and loan-guarantee programs using 'fair-value' accounting—a method that captures the full risk and market value of loans, not just the cash flows. It mandates annual reports to Congress on these costs and directs budget committees to use these estimates for budget enforcement. The effect is to make the true cost of federal lending programs visible in budget debates, potentially revealing that some loan programs are more expensive than traditional accounting shows.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to change how federal loan programs are counted in the budget by requiring fair-value accounting instead of traditional credit-reform accounting. This is a technical but substantive shift in budget methodology designed to reveal the true economic cost of lending programs.
What the text implies
- Fair-value accounting may reveal that some politically popular loan programs (e.g., student loans, agricultural loans) are far more expensive than current budget estimates suggest, potentially triggering pressure to cut or restructure them.
- The shift could affect budget enforcement rules and deficit calculations, making it harder to pass new spending or tax cuts if loan programs are shown to be costlier than previously disclosed.
- Annual OMB reports on fair-value costs create a new public record that advocates and media can use to scrutinize federal lending, increasing political pressure on programs that appear inefficient under fair-value metrics.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens benefit from greater transparency about the true cost of federal credit programs, which enables more honest budget debates and better-informed decisions about spending priorities. Accurate cost estimates reduce the risk that lawmakers will hide expensive programs behind misleading accounting.
Named in the bill
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), House Committee on the Budget, Senate Committee on the Budget, Government Accounting Standards Board, Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Republicans.
- Feb 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Rules and House Committee on the Budget · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress moves to expose true cost of federal loan programs” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1388 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.