The Budget Belongs to the People

Establishing the Presidential Advisory Council on Management and the Budget

Campaign Briefing: Fiscal Discipline and Structural Oversight

2028 Presidential Campaign of Martin A. Ginsburg, RN

April 10, 2026

I. What the Federal Budget Actually Is

The federal budget is more than a ledger. It is the operating soul of the government. Every dollar allocated is a decision about what this country values — what it is willing to build, protect, fund, and sustain on behalf of the people who paid for it.

For decades, the apparatus behind that decision — the Office of Management and Budget — has operated under a fog of political influence, selective access, and unaccountable discretion. OMB has grown into a de facto policy gatekeeper, capable of altering the President's stated priorities before they ever become real policy, without passing through the vote of Congress or the conscious decision of the President. It has become top-heavy with political appointees and insulated from the scrutiny that an institution wielding that much quiet power should face.

This campaign proposes a clear corrective. The Presidential Advisory Council on Management and the Budget — PACMB — restores fiscal strategy to its constitutional anchor: squarely in the hands of an elected President, advised by credentialed, independent, and diverse professionals whose work is visible to the public.

II. Why This Matters

The American people do not elect advisors. They elect a President. And a President must be free to govern without having their priorities filtered, redirected, or quietly revised by unelected operatives operating behind an institutional curtain.

That is what has been happening. The budget process has become less about what the President wants to propose and more about what OMB is willing to transmit. Policy gets shaped before it reaches the Oval Office, by people the public cannot identify, through a process the public cannot see.

The PACMB changes the direction of that flow.

III. How the Council Works

The Council is composed of at least nine advisors — each appointed by the President for documented expertise in finance, administrative law, economic modeling, or performance evaluation. No member may hold a Senate-confirmed role, hold partisan office, or represent lobbying organizations. The Council has no chair. Every submission must include majority, minority, and individual perspectives — in writing, on the record, available to the public.

Recommendations are advisory only. No Council member has the authority to direct agency action, issue rulings, or shape public narrative without express Presidential adoption. The President decides. The Council informs.

All federal departments and agencies will submit their budget justifications, performance reports, regulatory assessments, debt service estimates, and trust fund forecasts directly to the PACMB for aggregation and analysis — not to OMB. Departments retain their statutory autonomy. The PACMB serves only one function: giving the President an honest, unfiltered, multi-perspective view of what the numbers actually say.

IV. What Happens to OMB

OMB remains in place — it must, to comply with existing federal law. But it will not be staffed with political or career appointees under this model. Statutory budget submissions will be executed in the President's name by designated White House staff operating under PACMB advisement.

This is full constitutional compliance. It is also a fundamental shift in how fiscal advice flows through the executive branch — from partisan insiders to independent professionals, from opacity to publication.

V. What the Public Sees

All PACMB recommendations are published in full, with all perspectives represented. All archives are available for audit and legislative reference. All data sources, scoring assumptions, and methodological notes are included. Where classified material is involved, redacted public versions are released alongside secured full versions.

A budget is not a wish list. It is a legal act of governance. Under this administration, it will be built by people committed to facts — not factions — and the public will be able to see the work.

We govern with facts. We propose with purpose. We serve without spin. 

Martin A. Ginsburg, RN

2028 Presidential Campaign of Martin A. Ginsburg, RN