Increased funding for federal enforcement and program integrity often pays for itself through what are called secondary effects. In some cases, the funding allows agencies to collect more revenue; in others, it enables agencies to reduce the amount of money lost to waste, fraud, and abuse. But despite these benefits, Congress regularly underfunds agency enforcement and program integrity. This Note argues that the problem of underfunding arises out of a little discussed feature of the congressional budget process: the scorekeeping guidelines. As a general matter, the scorekeeping guidelines tell the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) how to estimate or score the cost of legislation
