Congress demands CBO track whether laws actually work as promised
H.R. 2666 — CBO Scoring Accountability Act · Filed by Andy Barr (R-KY) · 22 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to publish annual analyses for 10 years after any major legislation is enacted, comparing actual costs and revenue effects against the CBO's original estimates. If actual results differ from predictions by 10% or more, the CBO must report to Congress explaining the discrepancy. 'Major legislation' is defined as bills projected to affect federal spending or revenue by at least 0.25% of GDP.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a procedural mandate requiring post-enactment fiscal auditing and public reporting. It does not create new spending, tax breaks, or regulatory authority — it mandates transparency and comparative analysis of legislative outcomes against predictions.
What the text implies
- CBO will face significant resource demands to conduct annual retrospective analyses on potentially dozens of major bills simultaneously, which may strain its budget and staff capacity.
- The 10% discrepancy threshold is relatively high; smaller but systematic forecast errors may not trigger mandatory explanation, limiting accountability for modest prediction failures.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The bill increases transparency and accountability by requiring the CBO to track whether major legislation actually delivers the fiscal results Congress was promised when voting. Citizens and their representatives gain better information to evaluate legislative effectiveness and hold government accountable for fiscal accuracy.