Congressional budget reform and the 103rd Congress

Abstract

Only three times during this century has the United States Congress undergone a bipartisan, bicameral review of its internal operations. Those three reviews were conducted in 1946 1970 and most recently in 1992. The 102nd Congress enacted legislation in 1992 establishing a Joint Committee oii the Organization of Congress. Many factors indicated that the time was right to enact major congressional reforms including major budget reforms. This study focused specifically on budget reform issues addressed by the 103rd Congress. The three primary factors associated with successful reform--an existing problem, public support and a catalyst which inspires reform--were present, suggesting that reform would be successful. The failure of the 103rd Congress to enact significant budget reform legislation can be attributed to the disintegration of those three factors during the Joint Committee's existence in l993.