GOP senator introduces dynamic scoring bill

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced legislation on Wednesday to force congressional scorekeepers to offer a so-called “dynamic” score for major tax bills.

{mosads}Portman said his measure could help Congress enact a broad revamp of the tax code. Under the bill, the dynamic scores for tax bill would be for advisory purposes only, with the traditional Joint Committee on Taxation projection remaining official.

“Something holding back comprehensive tax reform is our current static revenue estimating system that fails to take into account the dynamic effects of the integrated and competitive global economy,” Portman said in a statement.

The Ohio Republican’s bill comes a couple weeks after House Republicans approved a rules package that called for dynamic scores of major economic legislation to be part of JCT’s official estimates.

Republicans have long said that dynamic scores – which seek to estimate how much or if proposals increase or decrease the size of the economy – are more accurate than the more traditional, static scores. Static scores try to model for behavioral changes, but don’t assume any macroeconomic changes come from legislation.

Former House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp’s (R-Mich.) 2014 tax reform proposal had an advisory dynamic score, much like what Portman is seeking to make mandatory. JCT found that Camp’s plan would raise between $50 billion and $700 billion in extra revenue over a decade.

Democrats have slammed dynamic scoring as too uncertain, with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reiterating the Obama administration’s opposition at a Wednesday event.