Budget Reform Act of 2025

The Budget Reform Act of 2025 seeks a sweeping overhaul of how Congress and the executive branch plan, present, and spend federal money. It would (1) increase transparency at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) by requiring publication of all models, data, and computations used to estimate costs and effects of legislation; (2) require zero-based budgeting for most federal programs, meaning agencies would justify every activity from a zero baseline and compare multiple funding levels, with specific exclusions for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; (3) move the budget process to a biennial (two-year) timetable, amending the budget laws to shift from annual to two-year appropriations, with new dates and procedures for budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and reconciliation; (4) impose compliance measures tied to budget timing, including restrictions on travel for political appointees if the budget is late and conditions around presidential travel and major budget documents; and (5) reform Senate rules to adjust points of order and other procedural controls, plus establish new multi-year authorizations and reporting requirements. The overall aim is to tighten discipline, increase transparency, and reduce annual budgeting frictions by locking in a longer, two-year cycle. In short, the bill would transform how budgets are prepared, evaluated, and approved—from detailed, reproducible cost estimates and zero-based program reviews to a fixed biennial cycle with stricter deadlines and new procedural rules. If enacted, it would substantially affect federal agencies, Congress, and the budgeting tempo, while excluding major entitlement programs from certain new requirements.