Long-Term Studies of Comprehensive Outcomes and Returns for the Economy Act (Long-Term SCORE Act)

Long-Term Studies of Comprehensive Outcomes and Returns for the Economy Act (Long-Term SCORE Act)

This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare long-term cost estimates for legislation reported by congressional committees. It also establishes a long-term budget scoring division within CBO. The bill requires the long-term estimates to cover at least each of the next four ten-year periods. CBO currently provides cost estimates over a 5- or10-year period.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 282 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 282

   To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require that the 
  Congressional Budget Office prepare long-term scoring estimates for 
   reported bills and joint resolutions that could have significant 
   economic and fiscal effects outside of the normal scoring periods.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2015

   Mr. Ribble (for himself, Mr. Pocan, Mr. McKinley, Ms. Jenkins of 
   Kansas, and Mr. Takano) introduced the following bill; which was 
    referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require that the 
  Congressional Budget Office prepare long-term scoring estimates for 
   reported bills and joint resolutions that could have significant 
   economic and fiscal effects outside of the normal scoring periods.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Long-Term Studies of Comprehensive 
Outcomes and Returns for the Economy Act'' (``Long-Term SCORE Act'').

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        estimates that 133 million Americans live with at least one 
        chronic condition.
            (2) More than three of every four health care dollars spent 
        in the United States derive from the care of chronic medical 
        conditions.
            (3) Such conditions include diabetes, cardiovascular 
        disease, cancer, obesity, arthritis, and Alzheimers.
            (4) Reports from the Trust for America's Health, the 
        Campaign to End Obesity, and other organizations demonstrate 
        that Federal policies which lead to reductions in the 
        prevalence of one or more chronic diseases may save United 
        States taxpayers as much as $611 billion over the next 20 
        years, and more in years beyond that time window.
            (5) The Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the 
        cost of Federal policies, typically provides Congress with 
        budgetary impact analyses for a five- or ten-year period.
            (6) Longer-term budgetary impacts fall beyond the 
        traditional Congressional Budget Office budget window and 
        therefore are not captured in Congressional determinations of 
        policies that reflect strategic investments in chronic disease 
        prevention and treatment, and similar long-term policies.
            (7) The Congressional Budget Office has produced some long-
        term budget analysis, assessing the budgetary impact of certain 
        programs for a period of as much as 75 years.
            (8) The Congressional Budget Office presently lacks 
        adequate resources to conduct more regular long-term economic 
        analyses.
            (9) Congress and taxpayers will benefit from having such 
        analyses more regularly available to steward Federal dollars 
        into the most effective policies and programs, particularly 
        those that will generate long-term budgetary savings.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require that the 
Congressional Budget Office prepare long-term scoring estimates for 
reported bills and joint resolutions that could have significant 
economic and fiscal effects outside of the normal scoring periods.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR LONG-TERM BUDGET 
              SCORING.

    Paragraph (1) of section 201(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1)'' and by adding at the 
end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(B) There is established within the Office a long-term 
        budget scoring division which shall be headed by an assistant 
        director who shall report directly to the Director.''.

SEC. 4. LONG-TERM COST ANALYSES OF LEGISLATION BY CBO.

    Section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by 
inserting ``(a) Cost Estimates.--'' after ``Sec. 402.'' and by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Long-Term Cost Estimates.--Whenever the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office prepares an analysis of the costs of a bill 
or resolution under subsection (a), and upon the request of any Member 
of the House of Representatives or the Senate, the Director shall 
prepare and submit to such committee the information requested under 
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a), except that such 
information shall be for, if practicable, at least each of the next 
four ten fiscal-year periods beginning with the first fiscal year after 
the last fiscal year for which an analysis was prepared under 
subsection (a).''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR LONG-TERM COST ESTIMATING.

    Section 201(g) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended 
by striking the second sentence and inserting the following new 
sentence: ``In addition to such sums as may otherwise be appropriated 
to the Office, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Office 
for each fiscal year $5,000,000 to enable it to prepare the long-term 
cost estimates required by section 402(b).''.
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