Should the Budget Resolution Be Signed by the President?

George Mason University’s James C. Capretta suggests a joint budget resolution signed by the president would produce a more collaborative budget process. He writes:

The current budget process does not force policymakers to confront the pressure that these massive programs exert on the federal budget. The process also lacks a ready mechanism for bridging the predictable conflicts that occur between the president and Congress. A joint budget resolution (JBR) could provide a partial antidote for the problems of budgetary drift, rising entitlement spending, and endless inertia in current federal budgeting practices. While today’s congressional budget resolution (CBR) applies restrictions only to consideration of legislation in Congress, the JBR is signed by the president and becomes law. It would thus have the potential to facilitate an agreement between the executive and legislative branches on key budgetary provisions that would govern decisions later in the budget process, and it could provide more structure and stability to government finances….(Read more at Mercatus.org)