Well, it seems that federal infrastructure finance isn’t the only area of federal policy that has a problem. Much bigger ones have been around for some time.
I’m glad that the article admits, however, “[In CBO’s] defense, it isn’t an easy job.” I’d imagine that it’s even harder for scoring the smaller, highly technical stuff about loan programs that I look at.
But still — it goes with the territory of taking on a hard job that you should be prepared (and to some extent, are entitled) to admit mistakes quickly and reverse course when new analyses or data are presented. In turn, those asking for a change should be prepared to present, not just the ‘pure’ correct case, but one that seeks some common ground with prior scoring whenever possible, even if some superfluous elements are included. These are not academic or moral debates, after all — practical solutions are the goal.
Specifically, I’m thinking about this approach regarding what might become a live scoring matter: New Bipartisan FCRA Bills — But CBO Sees Old Language?
But it also applies to previous JCT’s prior scoring assumption that federal infrastructure loans increase the issuance of tax-exempt debt: CBO/JCT Cost Estimates for HR 8127 It’s not an unreasonable assumption at the outset of a WIFIA-type loan program. But once a program has done a number of deals, it’s up to them to review their portfolio and present the correcting facts to JCT.