CBO Show Your Work Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1077 To require the Congressional Budget Office to make publicly available the fiscal and mathematical models, data, and other details of computations used in cost analysis and scoring. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 7, 2019 Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio (for himself, Mr. WALKER, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. POSEY, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. PERRY, Mr. PALMER, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. YOHO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget A BILL To require the Congressional Budget Office to make publicly available the fiscal and mathematical models, data, and other details of computations used in cost analysis and scoring. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘CBO Show Your Work 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Feb 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1077.IH H1077 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1077 IH SEC. 2. PUBLICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 1 MODELS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402 of the Congressional 3 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653) is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director’’ and inserting 5 the following: 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION OF MODELS AND DATA.—The Di- 9 rector of the Congressional Budget Office shall make 10 available to Members of Congress and make publicly avail- 11 able on the website of the Congressional Budget Office— 12 ‘‘(1) each fiscal model, policy model, and data 13 preparation routine used by the Congressional Budg- 14 et Office in estimating the costs and other fiscal, so- 15 cial, or economic effects of legislation, including esti- 16 mates prepared under subsection (a); 17 ‘‘(2) any update of a model or routine described 18 in paragraph (1); 19 ‘‘(3) subject to paragraph (4), for each estimate 20 of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, in- 21 cluding estimates prepared under subsection (a), the 22 data, programs, models, assumptions, and other de- 23 tails of the computations used by the Congressional 24 Budget Office in preparing the estimate, in a man- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Feb 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1077.IH H1077 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1077 IH ner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not 1 employed by the Congressional Budget Office; and 2 ‘‘(4) for any data that is required not to be dis- 3 closed by the Congressional Budget Office— 4 ‘‘(A) a complete list of all data variables 5 for such data; 6 ‘‘(B) descriptive statistics for all data vari- 7 ables for such data (including averages, stand- 8 ard deviations, number of observations, and cor- 9 relations to other variables), to the extent that 10 the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule 11 against disclosure; 12 ‘‘(C) a reference to the statute requiring 13 that the data not be disclosed; and 14 ‘‘(D) information regarding how to contact 15 the individual or entity who has unrestricted ac- 16 cess to the data.’’. 17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 18 subsection (a) shall apply on and after the date that is 19 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Feb 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1077.IH H1077 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS