Aug 15, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
Where Does the Budget Stand Compared to Historical Averages?
Recently, there has been a lot of discussion over whether the country has a revenue problem or a spending problem. While there is no way to...
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.
Aug 15, 2019 | Other Spending
Appropriations Watch: FY 2020
Updated 8/15/2019: Press reports indicated the Senate would not proceed with appropriations bills until lawmakers reached a deal with the White House...
Aug 7, 2019 | Other Spending
Was a "No" Vote on the Budget Deal a Vote for "More Spending"?
In support of the $1.7 trillion Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (BBA19), Senator David Perdue (R-GA) gave a floor speech and penned an op-ed arguing...
Aug 7, 2019 | Budget Process
Upcoming Congressional Fiscal Policy Deadlines
Updated 8/7/2019: The House passed an agreement to raise the discretionary spending caps by $160 billion each year for FY 2020 and FY 2021 and...
Aug 7, 2019 | Health Care
Senate Finance Prescription Drug Bill Would Reduce Deficits by $100 Billion
The Senate Finance Committee recently approved by a 19-9 vote a prescription drug bill, the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, that the...
Jul 31, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
Even With Lower Interest Rates, Debt Remains Unsustainable
With the Federal Reserve today announcing a 0.25 percentage point decrease in the federal funds rate, it appears interest rates will remain...
Jul 31, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
Recent Fiscal Irresponsibility Will Double Deficits
As deficits are expected to climb above $1 trillion in the coming years, it's worth noting that tax cuts and spending hikes passed just in the...
Jul 30, 2019
Factchecking and Live-Tweeting the Democratic Presidential Primary Debates
Tonight and tomorrow's Democratic presidential primary debates mark the second of the 2020 campaign and will surely touch on fiscal issues.
Through...
Jul 25, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
President Trump’s $4 Trillion Debt Increase
If the recent budget deal is signed into law, it will be the third major piece of deficit-financed legislation in President Trump's term. In...
Addressing Common Claims About the Budget Deal
The President and Congressional leaders announced a plan to raise the caps on discretionary spending by $322 billion for Fiscal Years (FY) 2020...
Budget Deal's Offsets Don't Even Cover The Interest
President Trump and leaders in Congress announced a deal this week to increase caps on discretionary spending by $169 billion in 2020 and $153...
Jul 24, 2019 | Social Security
Ways and Means to Hold Hearing on Social Security 2100 Act
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson’s (D-CT) Social Security 2100 Act (SS2100...
Five Reasons to Oppose the Budget Deal
Congressional leaders and the President announced a proposed budget deal yesterday to raise the caps on discretionary spending for Fiscal Years (FY)...
Proposed Budget Agreement Could Cost $1.7 Trillion
Update: A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of the deal shows that the offsets are $55 billion rather than $77 billion as reported in the press...
Jul 19, 2019 | Taxes
Watch: What Should We Do About the Zombie Tax Extenders?
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget hosted a lunch and panel discussion on What Should We Do About the Zombie Tax Extenders?
The...
Jul 18, 2019 | Taxes
Ways and Means Tax Package Could Cost Over $900 Billion Now
Last month, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a tax package that would revive and extend several tax extenders through 2020 and...
Maya MacGuineas: No budget. On the brink of default. It's a hell of a way to run a country.
Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. She recently wrote an...
Jul 12, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
CBO's Long-Term Debt Outlook Improved Slightly from Last Year, Here's Why
In its latest Long-Term Budget Outlook, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects debt held by the public will rise from over 78 percent of...
Jul 10, 2019 | Taxes
Are There $1.6 Trillion in Tax Loopholes?
Former Vice President and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden told the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Convention on June 28 that the tax code contains $1.6...
Jul 10, 2019 | Other Spending
New Pension Bill Adds Too Much to the Debt
The House Ways & Means Committee is considering pension reform legislation that CBO estimates will add $64 billion to deficits over the...
