Washington, DC…Rep. Tom McClintock has introduced H.R. 8380, legislation to reform the congressional budget process by ensuring timely consideration of annual appropriations bills and reducing the risk of government shutdowns.

Under current law, discretionary spending is determined through the 12 annual appropriations bills, each of which must overcome a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.  While these bills often pass the House after extensive deliberation, they frequently stall in the Senate for lack of cloture, forcing Congress into last-minute continuing resolutions or risking costly and disruptive government shutdowns.

H.R. 8380 addresses this dysfunction by amending the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide the same expedited consideration for appropriations bills in the Senate that is currently granted to reconciliation legislation.  By streamlining the process, the bill promotes timely passage of funding measures and restores accountability to Congress’s core responsibility of funding the government.

By aligning the treatment of discretionary spending bills with the expedited procedures used for mandatory spending reforms under reconciliation, H.R. 8380 encourages a more predictable and transparent budgeting process.  When enacted the legislation will reduce reliance on omnibus packages and continuing resolutions, empowering lawmakers to debate and pass individual appropriations bills as intended.

“Much of Congress’ constitutional role involves the power of the purse — setting priorities and allocating resources are our principal means of shaping policy and exercising the checks and balances at the core of our constitutional architecture,” remarked Rep. McClintock.  “This commonsense reform will strengthen congressional accountability and help to restore regular order to the budget process.”