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.
The Basics of the SGR Replacement Bill
The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula returned yesterday with 21 percent cuts to Medicare physician payments, although the actual effect won't be...
Comparing the Major Budgets and Updated Simpson-Bowles
We've already provided topline comparisons of the budget metrics in the FY 2016 Congressional budgets and the President's budget, showing that most of...
Rep. Mulvaney: "The Republican Budget Is a Deficit Bust"
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) wrote a commentary published in The Wall Street Journal on Monday in which he decried the recently-passed budgets in the...
The CBO Directorship Changes Hands Today
Update: Director Hall has written an introductory blog post. Today marks not just April Fool's Day but also the end of Doug Elmendorf's six-plus year...
Sharpening the Axe: How the House and Senate Budgets Handle the Sequester
With the Murray-Ryan deal expiring at the end of September, the sequester will once again be a hot topic as lawmakers will be prompted to deal with...
Budget Rules! Process in the House and Senate Budgets
Now that the Senate and House have passed their respective budget resolutions, a budget conference committee is right around the corner. One aspect of...
The Path to $165 Billion of Savings
We have spent much space on this blog highlighting the fact that temporary delays of the cuts dictated by Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)...
Delaney and Cole Introduce Social Security Commission Bill
The bipartisan duo of Reps. John Delaney (D-MD) and Tom Cole (R-OK) have reprised a bill from last year to create a Social Security Commission. The...
Warner Amendment Would Restore Program Integrity Funding
The Senate is undergoing vote-a-rama, an annual event where the Senate considers hundreds of amendments before voting on the budget resolution. Of the...
Senate Amendment Would Take Further Step Back on War Spending
A big discussion has ensued in both the House and Senate about defense spending, and for the FY 2016 budget, that has meant how much to increase war...
No, the SGR Replacement Bill is Not Fiscally Responsible
Despite official estimates tabbing the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula replacement bill at a cost of $141 billion this decade and...
Progressive Caucus Releases Alternative Budget
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) threw their hat into the budget ring last week with the release of their “ People’s Budget”. This is the...