HB1388, titled the Fair-Value Accounting and Budget Act, would amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to produce fair-value estimates for any legislation that creates or changes federal loan or loan guarantee programs. It also directs CBO to include fair-value and credit-reform estimates for loan and loan guarantee programs, as practicable, in its Budget and Economic Outlook publication.
The bill further requires the chair of the House or Senate Budget Committee to use the fair-value estimate, when provided, for budget enforcement and compliance purposes. In addition, beginning in 2026, the Office of Management and Budget would have to submit an annual report to the House and Senate Budget Committees on the fair-value cost of federal credit programs. The bill defines fair value by reference to the Government Accounting Standards Board’s 2015 publication on fair value measurement and application.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would change federal budget scoring rules and reporting requirements for federal credit programs by making fair-value accounting mandatory in specified CBO estimates and OMB reporting. It would affect how the budgetary cost of federal loans and loan guarantees is measured, potentially altering the apparent cost of programs under congressional budget rules and affecting legislative enforcement, appropriations, and deficit calculations. The bill would amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and add a new section 407 to that law.
Sentiment
The available record shows the bill was introduced and referred to committee, with no recorded votes or committee transcript excerpts provided. Based on the text, the bill appears to reflect a policy preference for more conservative and comprehensive federal credit-cost accounting, which is generally associated with budget transparency and fiscal restraint. Because there is no discussion or vote history in the record, there is no documented bipartisan or partisan sentiment to summarize beyond the bill’s stated purpose.
Contention
The main point of contention likely concerns the use of fair-value accounting versus traditional federal credit reform accounting. Supporters would likely argue that fair-value estimates better capture market risk and the true economic cost of federal credit programs, while critics may contend that fair-value scoring can overstate costs, make credit programs appear more expensive than they are under current law, and reduce the attractiveness of federal lending and guarantee initiatives. The bill also shifts budget enforcement to rely on these estimates when available, which could be controversial among lawmakers concerned about how scoring methodology affects legislative outcomes.
Article I Regulatory Budget Act This bill requires the establishment of a federal regulatory budget to limit the costs of federal regulations. It also establishes requirements for disclosing the projected costs of federal regulations and procedures for enforcing the regulatory budget.