Hoosier State Today

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Mike Braun, a member of the Senate Committee on the Budget, introduced five bills aimed at increasing transparency on federal spending and addressing the national debt.

“We’re on the path to financial destruction because the federal government keeps spending money we don’t have. Congress needs firm guardrails because they won’t stop spending more than we take in. These budget bills I am introducing today will help restore fiscal sanity,” stated Senator Mike Braun.

Senator Braun introduced the following bills:

The Fiscal State of Nation Act is a bipartisan bill that provides lawmakers with current, nonpartisan data on the nation’s fiscal health to enable fiscally responsible and economically sound decisions. It requires the Comptroller General to address a joint hearing of the House and Senate Budget Committees each year and present the Financial Report of the United States Government to provide an analysis of the nation’s fiscal state.

The Improper Payments Transparency Act increases reporting requirements by mandating clear and comprehensive data on improper payments in the President’s annual budget request each year. In FY 2023, federal agencies reported $236 billion in improper payments, but due to insufficient reporting requirements, the true scale remains unknown.

The Debt-to-GDP Transparency and Stabilization Act requires the President’s annual budget to include the debt-to-GDP ratio, providing context for the size of the debt relative to our nation’s total economic output and our ability to repay it.

The Strengthening Administrative PAYGO Act restores oversight of costly executive actions by reasserting Congress’ constitutional authority over unchecked administrative spending.

The No Bias in the Baseline Act would restore the baseline to reflect current law.

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