Skip to main content
H.R. 4376 100th Congress House

Truth in Federal Spending Act of 1988

Official title: A bill to require analyses and estimates of the likely impact of Federal legislation and regulations upon the private sector and State and local governments, t… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to require analyses and estimates of the likely impact of Federal legislation and regulations upon the private sector and State and local governments, to provide for deficit neutrality of new spending legislation, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 13, 1988 See on congress.gov
Congress Administrative procedureBalanced budgetsBusiness and commerceCongress and Members of Congress
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Congressional agenciesCongressional committeesEconomic growthEconomic impact statementsEconomics and Public FinanceFederal budgetsFederal receipts and expendituresForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment and businessHouse of RepresentativesInternational competitivenessLegislationLocal and Municipal GovernmentLocal financeRegulatory impact statementsSenateState financeStates
This bill died when the 100th Congress ended
It never became law before the 100th Congress (1987–1988) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 13, 1988
Referred to House Committee on Rules.
Apr 13, 1988
Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
Apr 13, 1988
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action April 13, 1988

Referred to House Committee on Rules.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Truth in Federal Spending Act of 1988 - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to prepare a financial impact statement to accompany each bill, amendment, resolution, or conference report of a public character reported by any committee of the House or Senate or considered on the floor of either House.

Requires the statement to express the extent to which enactment of the legislation would result in increased costs to the private sector or to State and local governments. Requires the statement to include a detailed assessment of the annual impact of the legislation (projected annually over a five-year period from its effective date and expressed in monetary terms) on: (1) costs to consumers or business; (2) national employment; (3) the ability of U.S. industries to compete internationally; (4) the ability of affected State and local governments to comply with requirements of the legislation; and (5) outlays by the Federal Government as compared to outlays for the same activity in the current fiscal year. Provides that the financial impact statement may consist of a brief summary assessment if preliminary analysis indicates that the aggregate effect on the four above categories is less than $100,000,000.

Requires each regulation or proposed regulation promulgated by an executive department or agency to be accompanied by a financial impact statement and to be published in the Federal Register with such regulation.

Prohibits each House of Congress from considering any new spending legislation unless such legislation is voted on simultaneously with other legislation which would reduce outlays or increase receipts, or both, by equivalent amounts.

 Related & companion bills 2
 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4376: Truth in Federal Spending Act of 1988. 100th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/100-HR-4376/
MLA
"H.R. 4376: Truth in Federal Spending Act of 1988." 100th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/100-HR-4376/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4376, 100th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/100-HR-4376/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4376: Truth in Federal Spending Act of 1988](https://openamerica.io/bill/100-HR-4376/)
Report a problem