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.
Jonathan Rauch Calls for Simpson-Bowles
In yesterday's Washington Post, Jonathan Rauch writes that President Obama should propose a bill, that would among other things, tackle long-term debt...
Short-Sightedness on Display: Changes to Pension Insurance Risk Great Future Costs
Keith Hennessey examines a provision of the two-year transportation bill that may have reduced deficits on paper, but only by potentially increasing...
House Agriculture Committee Releases Companion Farm Bill
Correction: The original post incorrectly stated the change that the House bill made to the Standard Utility Allowance. It does adopt the provision...
The Budgetary Impact of States Opting Out of the Medicaid Expansion
Last week, the Supreme Court released its ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). As the initial...
Zero-Sum Doesn't Quite Cut It
The New York Times has an article today entitled " In Washington’s New Mood of Austerity, Legislating Turns Into a Zero-Sum Game," detailing how the...
Happy Independence Day!!
On behalf of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and its Board of Directors, we wish everyone a happy Independence Day and hope for a day...
IMF: U.S. Must Get Its Timing Right
Today, the IMF released the concluding statement of its Article IV Consultation, calling for the U.S. to pass a deficit reduction plan quickly but...
David Cote Makes the Case for a Fiscal Fix
In an appearance on Bloomberg TV, Honeywell CEO and Fiscal Commission member David Cote made the case for a fiscal plan, saying that it would be...
Parties Discuss Sequester Working Groups
A few members of Congress are now proposing House-Senate working groups to try and negotiate a compromise that would avoid the squester. From The Hill...
The OECD Recommends a "Go Smart" Approach
This week the OECD released its biennial Economic Surveys on the United States, with the organization's economic recommendations for policymakers. The...
The True Cost of Federal Credit Programs?
In a new report released yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office looked at the difference in accounting methods used to score federal credit...
So, You Want to Pay For a $70 Billion Spending Increase With a $200 Billion Tax Cut?
According to CNN, the White House has floated a plan to deal with the fiscal cliff, one which would turn off a few provisions temporarily. Their plan...