Senator Hassan Highlights Benefits of Biennial Budgeting at Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee Hearing

Senator Hassan Highlights Benefits of Biennial Budgeting at Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee Hearing

Click here for video of Senator Hassan questioning Robert E. Corsi Jr. on biennial budgeting

WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Maggie Hassan participated in the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management hearing on "Empowering Managers: Ideas for More Effective Federal Workforce," where she highlighted the importance of budget predictability and the benefits of bringing biennial budgeting to Washington.

Senator Hassan sits on the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management as well as the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

In the hearing, Senator Hassan asked Robert E. Corsi Jr., former Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services in the United States Air Force, "whether biennial budgeting would provide the kind of predictability you're looking for" to help address personnel and management issues? Mr. Corsi responded that if Congress truly committed to biennial budgeting it would be "wonderful because of the amount of time that is consumed in putting a budget together." Mr. Corsi added that this would allow managers to look for efficiencies and make decisions in the current year based on future predictability.

Earlier this week, Senator Hassan joined Senator Shaheen in supporting the Biennial Budgeting Act, which would convert Congress's annual appropriations process to a two-year budget cycle. Converting the budget process into a two-year budget cycle would encourage Congress to manage taxpayers' dollars more efficiently, allowing one year for appropriating federal dollars and a second year devoted to measuring, assessing, and focusing on general oversight of federal programs. As Governor of New Hampshire, Senator Hassan saw firsthand the benefits of biennial budgeting at the state level, and is a strong proponent of bringing it to the federal level to help make the budget process more efficient and to ensure that federal dollars are being put to their best use.

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