Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 2005

The Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 2005 (H.R. 903) was designed to reinstate and strengthen budget enforcement rules intended to control federal deficit spending. The bill would have extended "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) requirements, which mandate that any new tax cuts or increases in mandatory spending be offset by other savings, and established stricter limits on discretionary government spending through 2010.

For the average citizen, this legislation aimed to increase transparency regarding how tax dollars are spent by requiring the Congressional Budget Office to include the cost of interest on the national debt in its official reports for new laws. Additionally, it sought to prevent "emergency" spending designations from being used to bypass budget limits by requiring more rigorous voting procedures and detailed justifications for such funds. While the bill was introduced to promote long-term fiscal stability, it did not advance past the committee stage and never became law.