Description:
H.R. 5779 would establish a fiscal commission within the Congress. The commission would consist of 16 members—12 Members of Congress and 4 outside experts who would be nonvoting members—evenly divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate and by party affiliation. Under the bill, the commission would identify and report on policy recommendations to improve the long-term fiscal condition of the federal government before May 15, 2025. The commission also would be responsible for a national public awareness campaign about the government’s current fiscal condition. H.R. 5779 would authorize the commission to hold hearings, hire staff, and collect information. The bill also would allow any legislative recommendations from the commission to be presented to the Congress for expedited consideration. The Congressional Budget Office would be required to provide estimates of any such recommendations. Based on the costs of other national public awareness campaigns and Congressional commissions, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $12 million over the 2024-2025 period; that spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. CBO expects that most of that cost would be for the national public awareness campaign.
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