Stanford Conference examines Congressional budget policy
While John Boehner was able to avoid a government shutdown this month, his successor as Speaker of the House will face another potential shutdown in December over budgetary matters. The politics of Congressional budgeting are unique among advanced democracies, since most countries insulate their budgetary procedures from partisan politics.
America is unique in experiencing shutdowns; most advanced democracies have budgetary procedures that are insulated from partisan politics. Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosted a conference on budgeting in May 2014 to think through possible reforms to the Congressional budgeting process. The conference brought scholars of American institutions and comparative budget policy with policymakers who have worked in American agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. Further, the conference included experts from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to compare the United States budgeting process to international benchmarks and standards. The conference report recommended institutional and technical reforms to decrease the likelihood of shutdowns.