Ron Estes (R-KS)
Executive Action Cost Transparency Act
A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Executive Action Cost Transparency Act aims to change how the Congressional Budget Office calculates its baseline data. It requires the inclusion of budgetary effects from judicial and executive actions, such as executive orders, proposed rules, or final rules. To ensure accuracy, agencies must provide specific documentation and implementation guidance to the CBO within 10 days of an action taking effect. The bill also mandates a separate table in budget reports for actions with significant financial impacts. This applies to judicial or executive actions estimated to have budgetary effects of at least $50,000,000,000 over a ten-year period.
Yes
- Scored +5
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The act mandates the inclusion of high-impact executive and judicial actions in CBO reports through specific documentation and a separate table for significant financial impacts.
- Scored +3
Does this make the government pay for what it commits to?
The bill increases fiscal transparency by requiring the CBO to account for the budgetary impacts of executive and judicial actions in its baseline calculations.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Transparency of Government Spending: By requiring the Congressional Budget Office to include the effects of executive and judicial actions in their baseline calculations, the public can better understand the full budgetary impact of government decisions (Section 2).
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Detailed Documentation of Executive Actions: The requirement for agencies to provide written documentation and implementation guidance ensures that the information regarding how actions affect internal and external entities is made available to the C0B (Section 2(a)(2)).
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Tracking High-Impact Actions: The mandate for a separate table in reports helps identify specific judicial or executive actions that have a massive financial footprint, specifically those exceeding $50,000,000,000 over ten years (Section 2(b)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Increased Administrative Burdens on Agencies: Executive departments, agencies, and regulatory commissions are now required to provide lists of documentation, implementation guidance, and other relevant data to the Congressional Budget Office within 10 days of an action going into effect (Section 2(a)(2)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The act mandates the inclusion of high-impact executive and judicial actions in CBO reports through specific documentation and a separate table for significant financial impacts.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make the government pay for what it commits to? — The bill increases fiscal transparency by requiring the CBO to account for the budgetary impacts of executive and judicial actions in its baseline calculations.
- 12/10/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
- Introduced in House