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.
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New Paper Estimates Upper Limit on Debt
In a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists Vadim Elenev, Tim Landvoigt, and Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh...
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Reflections on the 2025 Ed Lorenzen Fiscal Internship
By: Maddie Brown Shirley I am honored by the opportunity to continue Ed Lorenzen's legacy as this year’s Ed Lorenzen intern. Ed was a pillar in the...
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The Case for Funding ACA Cost-Sharing Reductions
The House is scheduled to vote today on the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. Among other provisions, the legislation requires the...
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Trillion-Dollar Interest Payments Are the New Norm
As the national debt continues to climb toward record levels – totaling 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 –...
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John Kasich: President Trump should support a balanced budget amendment
John Kasich is a former governor of Ohio, former congressman representing the state, and director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget...
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Maya MacGuineas Joins Fireside Chat at American Growth Summit
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas recently sat down with National Interest Editor at Large Steve Clemons for a...
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12-Month Rolling Deficit is $1.6 Trillion in November 2025
The federal government has borrowed $1.6 trillion over the past 12 months based on new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In...
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Senate ACA Plan Could Add $350-$635 Billion to Debt
Update 12/10/2025: In place of the proposal described below, the Senate is now expected to vote on a clean three-year extension of the enhanced...
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Pell Grant Program Still Faces Large Shortfall, Despite One-Time Fix
The Pell Grant program faces a large funding gap, despite the one-time infusion of funding enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)...
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CRFB Releases Updated Social Security Reformer
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) has updated its interactive online Social Security solvency tool, the Social Security Reformer...
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CBO’s New Projections Show $1 Trillion Less in Tariff Savings
Updated projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that tariffs enacted this year will reduce debt (including interest) by $3.0...
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Maya MacGuineas: Our elected officials can’t keep ignoring the looming Social Security problem
Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. She recently wrote an opinion piece for Deseret News, an excerpt of...