Budget Transparency and Public Good Investment Act of 2026

This Act requires that any bill or joint resolution introduced in either House of Congress that authorizes new discretionary spending in excess of $1 billion over a five-year period must be accompanied by a Public Good Impact Statement prepared by the Congressional Budget Office. The statement shall analyze whether the proposed spending serves the general welfare as required by Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, including its effects on workers, low-income communities, environmental quality, and public health. The statement must also identify any disproportionate burdens on marginalized groups and justify why the spending is necessary and proper. Any tax provision in a budget reconciliation bill that would reduce revenue by more than $500 million over ten years must be accompanied by a Worker Impact Analysis, assessing the provision's effect on wages, employment, and income inequality. The analysis shall be prepared by the Joint Committee on Taxation and made public at least 72 hours before a floor vote. To respect state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall include in the President's annual budget submission a section titled 'State and Local Government Impact,' which estimates the fiscal effects of proposed federal spending on state and local governments and identifies opportunities to consolidate categorical grants into flexible block grants where constitutional and effective. Enforcement of these requirements shall be through points of order in the House and Senate, waivable only by a three-fifths vote of the membership. No court shall have jurisdiction to review compliance with this Act, as it governs internal congressional procedure.

This proposal stays within constitutional bounds because it operates solely as a rule of congressional procedure under Article I, Section 5, Clause 2, which grants each House the power to determine the rules of its proceedings. It does not abridge any right enumerated in the Bill of Rights or the Fourteenth Amendment; it imposes no restriction on speech, press, assembly, or other protected liberties. The burden of justification is placed on the government (Congress and the executive) by requiring public-facing analyses that explain how spending serves the general welfare and does not harm workers or communities. The Act prefers decentralization by mandating a state and local government impact analysis and encouraging block grants, consistent with the Tenth Amendment's reservation of powers to the states. Due process is satisfied because the Act does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property; it only creates internal legislative procedures with no direct effect on individual rights.