Increasing Baseline Updates Act

This bill would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to submit at least two updates each year to its baseline budget projections, unless the chairs of the congressional budget committees direct otherwise. Currently, CBO publishes one baseline by February 15 each year, with additional updates provided at varying times depending on when the President submits the budget request. At least one of the required updates would need to include the economic data that CBO used to calculate its projections, providing Congress with more transparency about the assumptions underlying budget forecasts.

The bill also directs the President to submit technical budget data to Congress by February 1 each year, to the extent practicable. This data is currently provided as part of the President's annual budget request. If enacted, these changes would give Congress more frequent and detailed information about federal budget projections and the economic assumptions behind them, potentially allowing for more informed budget discussions throughout the year rather than relying primarily on a single annual baseline.