Foster Introduces Bipartisan Payer State Transparency Act

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) reintroduced the bipartisan Payer State Transparency Act to help shed light on the “Payer State” problem, wherein certain states, including Illinois, pay more in federal taxes than they get back in federal spending. For every dollar Illinois gives the federal government, its residents only receive $0.74 back. According to a 2020 report by the non-partisan Rockefeller Institute of Government, this resulted in $5.6 billion leaving Illinois between 2015 and 2018. 

The Payer State Transparency Act would require the Office of Management and Budget, in conjunction with the Council of Economic Advisors and the Treasury Department, to produce annual assessments of net economic effect on individual states of all federal spending programs, and compare these figures against a model of state tax burdens developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“As a businessman who co-founded a manufacturing company, I understand the financial drag that federal Payer State policies put on companies that are committed to keeping good jobs in Illinois,” said Foster. “I also recognize the burden the Payer State problem places on middle-class families here in Illinois, and the tragic underinvestment in physical and human capital that it drives. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to help us gain a better understanding of the problem and find ways to make sure Illinois taxpayers are getting their fair share of federal resources.”

This legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Christopher Smith (R-NJ). 

Text of the bill can be found here.

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