Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO) have introduced new legislation aimed at changing how Congress handles the federal budget. The proposed Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act would require lawmakers to vote on the entire federal budget each year, instead of only voting on 12 appropriations bills that cover about a quarter of all federal spending.
Representative Moore stated, “The Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse to allocate taxpayer dollars in the interests of the American people. Yet Congress has slowly surrendered this role to mandatory or ‘autopilot’ spending programs that account for almost 75% of the budget and are renewed without any Congressional oversight. This bill requires Congress to vote on the whole budget every year, rather than just one quarter, allowing greater accountability to the taxpayer for how their dollars are spent.”
Representative Hurd added, “Washington’s broken budget process is a big reason we keep piling up debt without ever having an honest debate about priorities. Congress budgets in pieces, hides the real costs, and then acts surprised by the results. This legislation forces Congress to do what the Constitution expects: look at the entire budget at once and take responsibility for every dollar we spend and every dollar we borrow. It’s a serious reform that strengthens Congress and restores accountability to the process.”
Kurt Couchman, Senior Fellow for Fiscal Policy at Americans for Prosperity, expressed support for the proposal: “Congress needs an effective regular order for budgeting. It’s important to update annual appropriations, but they are only one-quarter of spending, and for decades, an appropriations-only process has barely limped along. A bottom-up, holistic framework to weigh all spending and revenue priorities together would give Congress many more ways to solve problems. We are thrilled to support Representative Blake Moore’s Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act, a bill that would empower legislators to deliver much greater value for the American people.”
Currently, most congressional attention is given each year only to discretionary spending through annual appropriations bills. Since 1974, when discretionary appropriations made up half of federal expenditures, their share has dropped significantly—to about 26% as of 2025—while mandatory programs have grown without direct congressional review or reauthorization.
Blake Moore represents Utah’s 1st district in Congress after replacing Rob Bishop in 2021. He was born in Ogden in 1980 and currently lives in Salt Lake City. Moore graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005.
A full version of the bill text can be found here.
