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.
CBO's Options to Improve Social Security Solvency
Social Security is the largest federal government program and provides income to nearly 70 million retirees, dependents, survivors, and disabled...
Tax Cut Extensions Would Add $37 Trillion to Debt by 2054
In a recent letter, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that extending and reviving various provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act...
Ending Taxes Below $150,000 Would Lose $10 to $15 Trillion
Members of the Trump Administration and Congress have recently discussed the idea of waiving all taxes for those making less than $150,000 per year...
Senators Push Back Against Current Policy Gimmick
Update: JCT issued a response to the letter confirming the default approach to scoring tax legislation is using a current law baseline as established...
Primer: Understanding the Tax Gap
Note: This is an update of our Tax Gap Primer using the latest available data from the IRS. One of the most fair and efficient ways for policymakers...
A $2 Trillion Cut Compared to $86 Trillion in Spending
The House-adopted Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget resolution calls for up to $2 trillion in spending cuts as partial offsets for $4.8 trillion of tax...
Putting the Reconciliation Resolution in Context
The House Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget resolution would allow policymakers to add $2.8 trillion to primary deficits through 2034 via a reconciliation...
What's in the House's Full-Year Continuing Resolution?
Update (3/13/2025): This piece has been updated to include an estimate of the Changes in Mandatory Programs (CHIMPs) without outlay savings, which...
Maya MacGuineas on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria”
Committee president Maya MacGuineas recently appeared on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria” to discuss the House continuing resolution (CR), the...
12-Month Rolling Deficit Rises to $2.2 Trillion in February 2025
The federal budget deficit totaled $2.2 trillion between March 2024 and February 2025 based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)...
House Spending Cuts Would Not Be Largest in History
The House recently adopted its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget resolution, which includes reconciliation instructions allowing a net $2.8 trillion of...
Potential Savings from Shrinking the Federal Workforce
The Trump Administration has called for significant reductions to the federal workforce and has begun the process by laying off a number of federal...