Summary: Executive Action Cost Transparency Act (HR 6569)

Overview

• Bill number: H.R. 6569
• Title: Executive Action Cost Transparency Act
• Purpose: To include the budgetary effects of executive and judicial actions in the baseline calculations used by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and to require documentation and reporting of such actions.
• Status: Introduced in the House (Committee on the Budget). Introduced December 10, 2025.
• Primary sponsor: Representative Estes

What the bill would do (Key Provisions)

1. Expanded baseline accounting (Section 257(f))

   • The baseline budget calculations used for planning and scoring (as per the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985) would be updated to include the budgetary effects of:
     • Any judicial action
     • Any executive action, including proposed rules, final rules, executive orders, or memoranda
   • This inclusion would occur unless the chairs of the House and Senate Budget Committees direct otherwise.
   • The method of scoring/analyzing these actions would follow the scorekeeping practices agreed to by the Director of the CBO and the Budget Committees.

2. Executive action documentation requirement (Section 257(f)(2))

   • For each executive action subject to the above baseline inclusion, the relevant department, agency, establishment, regulatory agency, or commission must provide to the CBO, within 10 days after the action takes effect:
     • (A) All written documentation related to implementation
     • (B) Any implementation guidance issued for affected parties (including internal/external personnel, offices, private parties, etc.)
     • (C) Any other information relevant to the required analyses, including relevant data as determined by the Director

3. Reporting enhancement (Amendment to Section 202(e)(1) – separate table)

   • The CBO-reported baseline document would include, to the extent practicable, a table identifying any judicial or executive action described in Section 257(f) that was issued on or after the last publication of the report (or its most recent update) if the Director estimates a budgetary effect of at least $50 billion in the current year, budget year, and the nine subsequent years.
   • Any proposed executive action would be treated as final for the purposes of determining inclusion, and would be included only in line with scorekeeping guidelines in Section 252(d)(5) of the Congressional Budget Act.

Who/What Would be Affected

• Federal departments, agencies, establishments, regulatory agencies, and commissions that promulgate or implement executive actions.
• The Congressional Budget Office (as the scoring and reporting body) and the Congressional Budget Committees (as the guiding authorities for scorekeeping practices).
• Policy areas where significant executive or judicial actions produce substantial budgetary effects could see altered baseline inclusion and reporting.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

• Introduction: December 10, 2025.
• Referral: Committee on the Budget (House).
• Implementation timeline: Requires action within 10 days after effect for documentation submissions to the CBO.
• Reporting: Adds a mechanism to feature large executive/judicial actions in the CBO baseline report, with threshold guidance ($50 billion impact across the current year, budget year, and nine following years).

Potential Impacts and Considerations

• Increases transparency around the budgetary impact of executive and judicial actions.
• Potentially broadens what is treated as a baseline cost, influencing fiscal projections and policy scoring.
• Could affect the perceived cost of proposed regulations or executive actions by highlighting their long-term budgetary effects.
• Administrative burden on agencies to compile and submit detailed implementation documentation promptly (within 10 days of action effect).

Bottom Line

HR 6569 proposes to broaden baseline budgeting to capture the budgetary effects of executive and judicial actions, with mandatory documentation to the CBO and enhanced reporting for large actions. The aim is greater transparency in how federal actions impact the baseline budget and future deficits.