INDEX |
TESTIMONY |
TRANSCRIPT
Date: July 27, 2005
Time: 11:00 am
Room: H-313, The Capitol
WITNESSES
Panel 1
Dr. Adam S. Posen
Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics
Mr. Barry Anderson
Head of Division for Budgeting and Management of the Public Governance Directorate,
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Former Deputy Director, Congressional Budget Office
Panel 2
Robert M. McNab
Assistant Professor of Economics, Defense Resources Management Institute
and Naval Post Graduate School
Maya C. MacGuineas
President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Director, Fiscal Policy Program, New America Foundation
PURPOSE OF THE HEARING
The hearing before the Subcommittee on Legislative and BudgetProcess will examine the mutli-year budget cycles of the United Kingdom and Germany in order to assess whether their systems offer useful lessons for the United States budget process. Multi-year or Biennial Budgeting has been a topic of possible reform since 1977 in the United States while the United Kingdom and Germany have instituted reforms with differing levels of scope and success.
On numerous occassions, Congress and government organizations, such as the Congressional Budget Office and General Accounting Office, have studied State governements and their multi-year budgets. 14 states currently have a biennial budgeting system through their legislatures meet annually, and an additional seven states utilize a biennial legislative session and budget cycle.
However, a comparison of budget practices between federal and state governments does not necessarily take into account important funding outlays such as national defense, emergency response to national disasters, and federal health care and retirement benefits among other provisions. This Subcommittee will use the governments of the United Kingdom and Germany to comparatively study challenges that face nation-states as they address domestic and foreign policy priorities.
Testimony will be collected to more accurately understand the possible effects of instituting a biennial or multi-year budget and appropriations system in the United States. However, this hearing will serve specifically as a case study of the budget procedures of the United Kingdom and Germany, not the United States. Based on the testimony provided, similarities and differences will be drawn at a future hearing featuring Members of Congress and Government Budget officials. The Rules Committee of the House of Representatives has clear jurisdiction to assess and administer the Rules of the House governing the annual budget and appropriations processes.
