Blue Dog Leaders Introduce Comprehensive Reform Package To Fix Broken Budget Process

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Reps. Jared Golden (ME-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) and Adam Gray (CA-13) - leaders in the House Blue Dog Coalition - today introduced the Congressional Budget Reform Act of 2026.

The legislation would fix Congress's broken budgeting process, strengthen fiscal guardrails and checks and balances, and provide greater transparency about the fiscal health of the United States.

"Washington has spent years cutting taxes while increasing spending, and the bill is catching up with us," Golden said. "Debt payments have grown so large that they eclipse nearly every other line item in the budget. They are crowding out investments in education, national security and other priorities and threatening Social Security and Medicare. Now, our record-breaking $40 trillion debt is driving up interest rates, making it more expensive for Americans to own a home, buy a car or start a small business. Congress needs to get serious about the debt and start making responsible choices again."

"Working people know what debt actually means - it's the difference between whether you can afford your kid's next season of sports or winter coat. Meanwhile, Congress has spent years treating hard-earned income like it's monopoly money to throw around without a second thought," said Gluesenkamp Perez, a member of the Appropriations Committee. "We're introducing these reforms because we recognize that we have a job to do here, and the cost of not doing it is too high. Congress needs to show that there is a respect for the work it takes to earn money and for what it means to be a good steward of the economy. We want our kids to inherit an economy of stability, not one of flippant waste."

"Passing a responsible budget is one of the most basic responsibilities Congress has, and the current system clearly isn't working," Gray said. "We shouldn't accept shutdowns, trillion-dollar deficits and last-minute spending bills as business as usual. These reforms put some common sense back into the process, strengthen guardrails against runaway debt and make it easier for Congress to do what people expect us to do: pass a budget and make government work."

The bill contains nine reforms to Congressional budgetmaking. These include:

Fixing a Broken Process:

• Bundle the 12 Appropriations bills into four "minibus" bills. This will reduce procedural bottlenecks and encourage on-time enactment of appropriations.
• Implement the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. This would enact automatic 14-day Continuing Resolutions in the event of a lapse in government funding and require Congress to stay in session until Appropriations bills are completed.
• End the fast-track for impoundment in the Senate. This would strengthen checks and balances by instituting the same 60-vote threshold on executive rescissions that is required to pass appropriations in the first place.
• Clarify that so-called "pocket rescissions" are illegal. Close the door on presidents seeking to bypass congressional authority and unilaterally cancel funding by submitting a rescission request and withholding funding at the end of a budget cycle, when Congress does not have enough time to take up the request.

Strengthening Fiscal Guardrails:

• Enforceable debt-to-GDP targets. Require Congress to set either debt-to-GDP or deficit-to-GDP targets in the annual budget resolution and create a special reconciliation process to enforce the target if it is exceeded.
• Strengthen PAYGO. Require the House to take a recorded vote before exempting legislation from the PAYGO Scorecard or other actions that cook the books rather than meet statutory fiscal responsibility rules.
• Deficit Reduction Accounts. Create new accounts in Appropriations bills to allow savings to go directly toward reducing the deficit.

Improving Information and Data Available to Congress:

• Fiscal State of the Nation: Require an annual, nonpartisan briefing in a joint hearing of the House and Senate Budget committees from the Comptroller General.
• Report on Fiscal Contingency Preparedness: Require the Treasury Department and OMB to conduct and publish an annual assessment of the government's fiscal resilience to major emergencies, subject to independent Government Accountability Office review.

(For more information, click here to see full text of the bill and here to read a more detailed summary.)

The Budget Reform Act of 2026 is endorsed by the Blue Dog Coalition and supported by several independent, nonpartisan organizations dedicated to fiscal responsibility, including the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Progressive Policy Institute, Concord Action and the Peterson Solutions Fund.

Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: "We appreciate the Blue Dog Coalition putting forward the Congressional Budget Reform Act. The legislation includes multiple reforms to strengthen transparency and accountability in the federal budget process. Exploding deficits are an affordability issue, and reducing them can help temper inflation, lower everyday costs and boost incomes over time. Process reforms cannot substitute for the hard policy choices lawmakers will ultimately have to make. Still, this bill would be a step in the right direction by helping reduce the crisis-driven nature of the current budget process and enhancing the tools available to hold lawmakers accountable. We look forward to continuing to work with the Blue Dog Coalition to improve the nation's fiscal outlook."

Ben Ritz, VP of Policy Development, Progressive Policy Institute: "The Blue Dogs' Congressional Budget Reform Act is a good first step to modernize the budget process and push Congress to manage federal finances more responsibly."

Carolyn Bourdeax, Executive Director, Concord Action: "We appreciate the Blue Dog Coalition's leadership in proposing the Congressional Budget Reform Act of 2026. Restoring regular order, strengthening fiscal guardrails and improving transparency are good ways to begin righting the ship after being off course far too long. At the same time, Concord Action will continue to emphasize the urgent need for a concrete, enforceable plan to cut the deficit in half to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and economic stability."

Brett Loper, Executive Director, Peterson Solutions Fund: "Budgeting from one crisis to the next not only threatens our economy, but it contributes to our $40 trillion and rising national debt. We commend members of the Blue Dog Coalition for putting forward the Congressional Budget Reform Act of 2026, which includes commonsense proposals to strengthen fiscal guardrails, provide meaningful information to Congress and the public and better align budgeting with the goals of fiscal responsibility. In particular, setting a debt-to-GDP target is a commendable step to highlight our runaway long-term debt outlook and what is required to put our nation on a more sustainable path."

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ABOUT THE COALITION: The Blue Dog Coalition is an official caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives composed of fiscally-responsible Democrats, who are leading the way to find common-sense solutions. They are pragmatic Democrats, appealing to mainstream values of the American public. The Blue Dogs are dedicated to pursuing fiscally-responsible policies, ensuring a strong national defense for our country, and transcending party lines to get things done for the American people.