The collapse of congressional budgeting in recent years has occurred just as the government’s fiscal outlook is approaching critical. If left unchecked, current trends will lead to unprecedented levels of federal spending as a share of U.S. economic output, far beyond taxpayers’ historical tolerance and perhaps greater than the economy can sustain. The resulting debt would seriously hamper the nation’s potential for long-term growth. These trends can be corrected only with a regular, stable, and sustained practice of budgeting.