Blog
Welcome to our blog – The Bottom Line, where you’ll find up-to-date commentary and analysis on the most important news in the fiscal world. Below is a list of our blog posts.
Ways & Means Zeroes in on Hospital Costs
Last week, the Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on the high cost of hospital care with leaders of various health systems. Over the course of...
12-Month Rolling Deficit is $1.7 Trillion in April 2026
The federal government borrowed $1.7 trillion over the past year – May 2025 to April 2026 – based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office...
CBO Scores FY 2026 Reconciliation at $72 Billion
The Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committees released draft reconciliation legislation for Fiscal Year (FY)...
Upcoming Congressional Fiscal Policy Deadlines
Updated 5/4/26: On April 30, the House passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, ending a partial shutdown that began on February...
Appropriations Watch: FY 2026
Updated 5/1/26: On April 30, the House passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, ending a partial shutdown that began on February...
Debt Surpasses Size of the Economy
The national debt exceeded 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last month, based on new economic data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis...
Waiting To Rescue Social Security Has Weakened Our Options
Social Security’s retirement trust fund is less than seven years from insolvency, at which point beneficiaries face the prospect of a 24% benefit cut...
What’s in the Senate FY 2026 Budget Resolution?
The Senate adopted its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget resolution last night, kicking off the reconciliation process. Unfortunately, the budget is about...
1% Higher Interest Rates Add $3.5 Trillion in Debt
Interest costs will exceed $1 trillion this year and have nearly tripled from $345 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. By FY 2036, the Congressional...
Senator Wyden Introduces Tax Week Revenue-Raisers
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced five bills this week to close tax loopholes, improve tax...
Trump CEA Projections Tracker
Before the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) released economic and fiscal...
Recent Metal Tariff Changes Will Lose $90 Billion, Instead of Raising Revenue
On April 2 the Administration issued a proclamation adjusting tariffs on imports of aluminum, steel, and copper. Contrary to the initially reported...