H.R. 2524 — REPEAL CBO Requirements Act

This section authorizes the chair of any committee of the House or Senate (except Appropriations) to obtain a cost estimate for a reported bill or resolution of a public character from a private reputable accounting firm—defined as one of the ten public accounting firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board with the largest net revenue in the previous year—instead of from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Such private estimates supplant CBO estimates for all budget enforcement purposes (including under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, budget resolutions, House and Senate rules, and reconciliation), and CBO is not required to prepare its own estimate if a private one is obtained. (As background, CBO cost estimates under current law inform congressional budget decisions by projecting spending or revenue effects over five years.) The section also makes a conforming amendment to allow House and Senate Budget Committees to use such private estimates.