Cost Estimates Improvement Act

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit constitutional authority over the federal budget and taxation under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 (the Taxing and Spending Clause), which grants Congress the power to 'lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.' Requiring cost estimates to include debt servicing costs is a procedural rule for how Congress exercises its spending power, and is within its authority under Article I, Section 5, Clause 2, which allows each House to 'determine the Rules of its Proceedings.'

Bill of Rights · passes

This bill imposes no restrictions on speech, religion, press, assembly, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, jury rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. It is a purely procedural requirement for legislative cost estimates and does not affect any rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict any individual's control over their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It imposes no mandates, prohibitions, or burdens on private citizens. It only changes how the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation calculate cost estimates for proposed legislation. There is no government restriction on individual freedom, so no compelling justification is needed.

Decentralization · passes

This bill concerns the internal budgeting procedures of the federal government. It does not involve matters that individuals, families, local communities, or states could handle, because it addresses how Congress estimates the fiscal impact of federal legislation. The four-question test: (1) An individual or family cannot handle federal budget cost estimation—this is a federal legislative function. (2) A local community cannot handle federal budget cost estimation. (3) A state cannot handle federal budget cost estimation. (4) This does not consolidate decision-making upward; it merely adds a transparency requirement to an existing federal process. The bill passes all four questions and does not violate the Tenth Amendment.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, nor does it take private property for public use. It imposes no penalties, fines, or forfeitures. It does not bypass any procedural or substantive due process protections. It is a purely informational requirement for legislative cost estimates, with no impact on individual rights or property.