Press Releases

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted on his amendment to H.R. 3219 abolishing the Budget Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO):

“While a majority of the House did not agree with my amendment, the debate succeeded in bringing scrutiny to the repeated failings of the CBO. Even colleagues who did not support the amendment recognize that the CBO needs to improve its methods in order to provide Congress with accurate and timely projections. After the introduction of my amendment, House Budget Chairman Diane Black said on the floor that her committee plans to hold hearings on this matter. She agreed that the CBO’s modeling needs improvement. The fact that hearings will be held is a success in and of itself.

“As a side note, the CBO determined that my amendment ‘would have no net effect on budget authority or outlays.’ I question the methodology that would project this as an outcome of eliminating a division with 89 employees and $15 million in salaries. This prediction is a perfect example of why an increasing number of my colleagues and I believe the CBO to be in serious need of reform.”

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