HR 2524119th CongressIn Committee

REPEAL CBO Requirements Act

Introduced: Mar 31, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, the REPEAL CBO Requirements Act, would allow Congress to obtain budget and enforcement estimates for legislation from private, reputable accounting firms instead of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Specifically, the chair of any committee in either chamber (except the Appropriations Committee) could have an estimate prepared by a top-tier private accounting firm for a bill or joint resolution of a public character reported by that committee. If such a private estimate is used, the CBO would not be required to prepare an estimate for that measure. The private firm must be one of the ten largest publicly registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) by net revenue. The private-firm estimates would be used for budget enforcement purposes under the same statutes and rules that currently use CBO estimates, including reconciliation processes and related budget rules. The bill’s short title is the REPEAL CBO Requirements Act, and its long-form title humorously expands to “Replacing Exploitative Partisan Estimates with Alternatives by Liquidating Congressional Budget Office Requirements.”

Key Points

1New option to use private sector estimates: The chair of any committee (except Appropriations) may obtain an estimate for a bill or joint resolution from a private reputable accounting firm instead of the CBO.
2Use for budget enforcement: The private-firm estimate would replace the CBO estimate for budget enforcement of the applicable measure, covering CBO processes, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, PAYGO, concurrent budget resolutions, House Rules, Senate Standing Rules, and reconciliation.
3CBO role limited: If a private firm’s estimate is used, the CBO is not required to prepare an estimate for that measure.
4Definition of “private reputable accounting firm”: The firm must be one of the ten public accounting firms registered with the PCAOB with the largest net revenue in the prior year.
5Conforming cross-reference: The bill adds a provision allowing estimates from private firms to be used in the related PAYGO/subsection 312(a) processes, ensuring consistency in budget enforcement mechanisms.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Congress and budget process: Committees (excluding Appropriations) could rely on private-sector estimates, which could alter how budget enforcement numbers are generated and used in reporting, reconciliation, and budget rules.Secondary group/area affected- Private accounting firms and financial firms: The top-ten PCAOB-registered firms would gain a formal role in the legislative budget process, potentially increasing demand for their services and visibility in policy debates.Additional impacts- Transparency and accountability: Introducing private estimates could raise questions about transparency, independence, and potential conflicts of interest compared to CBO’s independent, non-partisan analyses.- Consistency and comparability: Private estimates may differ from CBO estimates in methodology or assumptions, potentially affecting policy outcomes or the perceived rigor of budget enforcement.- Administrative and timing considerations: Arranging private-sector estimates could affect timelines for bill consideration if agencies or committees need to engage external firms, potentially slowing or complicating the process.The CBO is a nonpartisan federal agency that provides budgetary and economic analyses to Congress. Replacing CBO estimates with private-sector estimates could shift the source, methodology, and perceived objectivity of budget numbers.The bill explicitly excludes the House and Senate Appropriations Committees from using private-sector estimates, meaning the traditional primary budget-allocations body would still rely on CBO for its calculations.The “short title” and the long subtitle signal a shift in governance philosophy toward alternatives to CBO requirements, framed in the bill as promoting alternatives and reducing what proponents view as exploitative partisan estimates.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025