Why it matters:
The House Budget Committee held a markup on Sept. 16, 2026, considering the Increasing Baseline Updates Act and the Preventive Health Savings Act. The committee favorably reported both bills without amendment, with recorded votes of 26-0 for H.R. 6470 and 29-0 for H.R. 4464.
The proceeding was a markup, not a fact-finding or investigative hearing. It took place at 1:30 p.m. in 210 Cannon House Office Building.
The big picture:
The House Budget Committee described the two measures as bipartisan bills concerning congressional budget-process functions and the information the Congressional Budget Office provides lawmakers.
The Increasing Baseline Updates Act would require CBO to produce at least two annual baseline updates. At least one update would include the economic data CBO used to calculate the baseline.
The Preventive Health Savings Act would require CBO, when Congress requests it, to assess whether proposed legislation would reduce spending beyond the 10-year budget window through preventive health care. The bill would amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 concerning the scoring of preventive health savings.
The committee's opening remarks said the effort was intended to realign incentives, improve the accuracy, timeliness, and accountability of information, and help lawmakers steward taxpayer money efficiently.
The committee also held a general hearing on CBO oversight on Nov. 18, 2025. A September 2024 committee hearing addressed budget-baseline updates, CBO oversight and congressional budget-process transparency.
What they’re saying:
There were no witnesses, and the record lists zero witness documents. The 101 statements primarily comprise opening remarks, member discussion, clerk announcements and votes.
Rep. Jodey Arrington said H.R. 6470 would return CBO to providing three baseline updates per year. Rep. Blake Moore said CBO sends its annual projections to Congress by Feb. 15 and has not published a baseline update after July since 2020.
Boyle also said Republican and Democratic committee staff worked with CBO to revise the proposal and preserve the agency’s flexibility.
Moore moved that H.R. 6470 be reported to the House with a recommendation that it pass. The chair announced that the ayes had it, then postponed a requested recorded vote until later in the markup.
Arrington said H.R. 4464 would provide Congress supplementary information about a policy’s longer-term impact on the federal budget.
Political stakes:
The committee’s action advances both measures, but the supplied records do not establish that either bill became law. They also do not establish a specific legislative or administrative outcome from the November 2025 CBO oversight hearing.
The record identifies Jodey Arrington as chair, Lloyd Smucker as vice chair and Brendan Boyle as ranking member. Boyle said he would support H.R. 6470.
The other side:
It also does not establish broad bipartisan consensus among the cited stakeholder groups and lawmakers.
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