Budget & Taxes (State Budget)

in committee · United States · House Jun 5, 2025

HR 3785: Forgotten Funds Act

The Forgotten Funds Act permanently rescinds unobligated discretionary funds from fiscal years 2021 and prior, directing these amounts to the Treasury's general fund specifically for deficit reduction. This affects federal agencies that held unused budget allocations, requiring them to return the unspent money rather than carry it forward. The bill makes no new program changes but redirects existing, uncommitted funds toward reducing the federal deficit.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesRedirects unspent funds to Treasury's general fund for deficit reduction, promoting fiscal responsibility without new taxes or program cuts.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Appropriations State Budget

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in committee · United States · House Sep 4, 2025

HR 5153: TRUST Act

Tariff Revenue Used to Secure Tomorrow Act or TRUST Act This bill establishes the Tariff Trust Fund within the Treasury and requires certain revenues collected from duties (e.g., tariffs) to be deposited into the fund and used for deficit reduction. If the federal government maintains a budget deficit for any fiscal year beginning with FY2026 and continues to maintain a budget deficit for the subsequent fiscal year, the bill requires amounts collected from the imposition of duties for the subsequent fiscal year that exceed the amounts collected from duties for FY2025 to be deposited into the fund established by this bill.  Any amounts deposited into the fund must be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury and may only be used for deficit reduction.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesDirects tariff revenues to deficit reduction, promoting fiscal responsibility per bill's explicit mandate for deficit-focused spending.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget

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in committee · United States · House Mar 26, 2026

HR 7605: African Development Foundation Termination Act of 2026

HR 7605, the African Development Foundation Termination Act of 2026, abolishes the U.S. African Development Foundation (ADF) 120 days after enactment. The bill requires the Foundation to cease all new grants, loans, or agreements immediately, wind down operations within 120 days, and transfer all remaining funds to the Treasury’s general fund and assets/records to the Department of State for managing existing multi-year grants until completion. It also repeals the law creating the ADF (the African Development Foundation Act) and mandates a report to Congress for technical adjustments to the U.S. Code. This directly affects the ADF’s operations, employees (who would face reductions in force), and current grant recipients whose projects continue under State Department oversight.

Topics ✗ Budget & TaxesOpposes Budget & TaxesTerminates ADF funding, transferring remaining funds to Treasury's general fund, defunding an essential program per bill's explicit language.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget

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in committee · United States · House Feb 12, 2026

HR 7555: Audit the Pentagon Act of 2026

This bill requires the Department of Defense to obtain a clean audit opinion for its financial statements or face automatic spending reductions. If the Pentagon fails to achieve this by fiscal year 2026, non-exempt programs would lose 0.5% of funding in the first year of failure and 1% annually thereafter, with cuts applied across all programs within the affected department. Military personnel, reserve, National Guard, and Defense Health Program accounts are exempt from these reductions. Any funds saved through these cuts would be deposited into the General Fund for deficit reduction, not redirected to military operations.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesRequires Pentagon audit compliance with spending cuts for non-compliance, promoting fiscal accountability in defense budget management.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Audits & Accountability State Budget

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in committee · United States · Senate Feb 11, 2025

S 511: Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act of 2025

S 511 requires federal labor organizations (like unions representing government employees) to pay quarterly fees for using agency resources and union time. Fees are calculated based on the agency's hourly pay rate for employees (including benefits) for union time, plus market rates for resources like office space, equipment, or parking. Non-payment triggers penalties: denial of union time after 90 days, termination of union allotments after 180 days, and loss of exclusive representation certification after 365 days. The bill aims to offset costs of federal resources used for union activities, with fees deposited into the Treasury general fund.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill imposes union fees for government resources, promoting fiscal responsibility by reducing taxpayer costs and ensuring unions cover resource usage expenses.85% confidence ✗ Labor & EmploymentOpposes Labor & EmploymentRequires unions to pay fees for resources/union time, with penalties for non-payment including loss of exclusive representation, directly restricting collective bargaining rights.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget Collective Bargaining Professional Licensing

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passed · United States · Senate Mar 18, 2025

S 1077: District of Columbia Local Funds Act, 2025

This bill authorizes the District of Columbia to use local funds from its General Fund for fiscal year 2025, matching the programs and spending levels set in the District's Fiscal Year 2025 Local Budget Act (D.C. Law 25-218). It sets a strict spending cap, limiting total operating expenses to either the budgeted amount or the District's total projected revenues for 2025, whichever is lower. The bill allows limited one-time increases for emergencies or unexpected needs, but only if approved by local law and following reserve rules. It also prohibits reprogramming funds from bond proceeds (used for capital projects) to cover regular operating costs, requiring the Chief Financial Officer to manage fund distribution accordingly.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill enforces strict spending cap on DC's operating expenses, aligning with fiscal responsibility principles by limiting spending to budgeted amounts or projected revenues.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Government Spending State Budget

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in committee · United States · Senate Jan 14, 2025

S 88: No Budget, No Pay Act

This bill requires Congress to pass the annual budget resolution and all funding bills by October 1 each year. If Congress misses this deadline, members of Congress (excluding the Vice President) would not receive salary for the period of non-compliance, and this pay would not be retroactively issued. The Budget Chairs of each chamber would determine compliance and certify pay withholding. The law takes effect on September 29, 2027.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesEnforces annual budget deadlines with pay withholding, promoting fiscal responsibility and government accountability per bill's compliance mechanism.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Appropriations State Budget

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in committee · United States · Senate Apr 3, 2025

S 1276: American Innovation Act

The American Innovation Act (S 1276) authorizes multi-year funding for key federal science and technology agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy's Office of Science, Department of Defense science programs, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and NASA's Science Mission Directorate. It sets specific annual funding levels from fiscal years 2026 through 2035, with automatic annual increases starting in 2036 based on the Consumer Price Index to adjust for inflation. The bill also exempts these appropriations from automatic budget cuts (sequestration) under the Balanced Budget Act. This funding directly affects the operations and research capabilities of these federal agencies.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill authorizes multi-year funding for federal science agencies with automatic inflation adjustments, increasing government spending on essential programs.90% confidence ✓ EnergySupports EnergyFunds DOE's Office of Science (key energy research arm) for multi-year R&D, aligning with clean energy investment indicators.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyAuthorizes multi-year funding for federal tech agencies (NSF, NIST, NASA) to advance R&D, directly supporting technology development and innovation through sustained investment.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget

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in committee · United States · House Mar 31, 2025

HR 2524: REPEAL CBO Requirements Act

HR 2524, the "REPEAL CBO Requirements Act," would allow congressional committees (excluding Appropriations committees) to replace Congressional Budget Office (CBO) budget estimates with estimates from private accounting firms. Specifically, committee chairs could obtain budget cost estimates from the top 10 accounting firms by revenue instead of the CBO for any bill or resolution, using these private estimates for budget enforcement under key laws like the Balanced Budget Act and Pay-As-You-Go rules. The bill requires that if a private firm's estimate is used, the CBO would no longer prepare an estimate for that measure. This change would shift the responsibility for budget scoring from the nonpartisan CBO to for-profit accounting firms for most legislative measures.

Topics ✗ Budget & TaxesOpposes Budget & TaxesBill replaces nonpartisan CBO budget analysis with private firms, reducing oversight and accountability in fiscal management per its summary.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Appropriations State Budget

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in committee · United States · House Jan 3, 2025

HJRES 11: .Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution requiring that each agency and department's funding is justified.

HJRES 11 proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to maintain a balanced budget by ensuring annual spending does not exceed revenue, with specific spending limits tied to gross domestic product (GDP). It mandates that every federal agency and department must justify each line item in its budget request, including how funding supports its mission and its impact on GDP, and provide a reduced funding alternative for critical functions. The amendment includes exceptions for declared wars, military conflicts, or major natural disasters, requiring a two-thirds congressional vote for waivers. This would directly affect all federal agencies by imposing new budget justification requirements and spending caps, though it remains a proposed amendment awaiting state ratification.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesRequires balanced budget with agency funding justification, promoting fiscal responsibility through GDP-linked spending limits and mission-based budget justification.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Appropriations Government Spending State Budget

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