Late last year, the House introduced a measure with over 245 cosponsors that expressed its support for a biennial budget process.  The measure gained overwhelming bipartisan support, including Members of the Leadership and Committee Chairmen.

Over the next few weeks, the House Rules Committee is scheduled to hold hearings to determine the benefit of reforming the current system, at which point legislation to enact a biennial budget is expected to be debated on the House floor.

“Each year, we find ourselves in a new fiscal year without a budget.  It is a time consuming process that allows little, if any, opportunity for program oversight. A biennial budget would allow a full year of oversight to determine what is working and what is not so we can control government spending and ensure the process moves more smoothly and the government runs more efficiently and effectively.”

Congressman Jones is part of a working group in the House to move Congress from an annual to a biennial budget.  Under a biennial budget, the first session of any Congress would be devoted to the budget resolution and appropriations decisions.  The second session would be dedicated to oversight in order to help eliminate wasteful government spending.