Senator Rob Portman (R., Ohio) is renewing his push for “dynamic” or “macroeconomic” scoring. The Senate Republican budget includes language, mirroring that adopted by House Republicans, requiring the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to try to take account of the macroeconomic effects of major tax and spending bills when reporting on their impacts on the budget.
In 2013, Portman wrote an amendment to the same basic effect to the Senate Democrats’ budget. It drew six Democratic votes. Four of the supportive Democrats are still in the Senate: Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Joe Manchin (W. Va.), and Claire McCaskill (Mo.).
Portman notes that members of Congress will still have access to “static” scores that do not take account of macroeconomic feedback effects. But he thinks that having a dynamic score will make for better policy. “Why wouldn’t you want that information?” he asks. Good question.