INFORM Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
Intergenerational Financial Obligations Reform Act or INFORM Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide certain information on any legislation or resolution considered in either chamber which would impact revenues or mandatory spending by greater than 0.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) over the following 10-fiscal-year period, and upon request by the Chairmen or Ranking Members of the congressional budget committees.
Requires such information to comprise:
a fiscal gap and generational accounting analysis, including any change in the analysis relative to the baseline; and
the federal deficit, at current spending levels, in the fiscal year that is 75 years after the fiscal year in which the legislation is being considered, as well as the stock of the debt in that 75th year.
Requires: (1) CBO to produce an annual fiscal gap and generational accounting analysis within its annual "Long-Term Budget Outlook" and post it on the CBO public website, and (2) the Comptroller General to produce a separate similar analysis within its annual "Long-Term Fiscal Outlook" and post it on the General Accountability Office (GAO) public website.
Requires the President's budget submission to Congress to include:
a fiscal gap and generational accounting analysis of the full budget proposal;
the same kind of analysis of specific policy changes that would impact revenues or mandatory spending by greater than 0.5% of GDP over the following 10-fiscal year period; and
the federal deficit, at current spending levels, in the fiscal year that is 75 years after the fiscal year in which the legislation is being considered, as well as the stock of the debt in that 75th year.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 24, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 24, 2013: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Thune (R-SD) introduced it on July 24, 2013, and 8 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 24, 2013, 4796 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4796 days ago, on July 24, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers