Debt & Deficits

The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion over the past year – August 2024 to July 2025 – based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office...

On August 7, the Trump Administration finalized a new set of “reciprocal tariff rates” that generally range from 10 to 41 percent. Assuming they...

Representatives Ben Cline (R-VA) and Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced the Fiscal Contingency Preparedness Act (FCPA) today. This bill was also...

Note: This blog was updated on 8/4/25 to reflect CBO's newly-released estimates of the permanent cost of certain expiring tax provisions in OBBBA. The...

The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion over the past year – July 2024 to June 2025 – based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office...

Update (7/2/2025): The analysis below has been updated based CBO's initial estimate of the Senate-passed bill and JCT's estimate of the Senate-passed...

Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. She recently wrote an opinion piece for U.S. News and World Report, an...

The federal government borrowed $2.0 trillion over the past year – June 2024 to May 2025 – based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office...

If policymakers enact the House-passed reconciliation bill, they will need to find at least $17 trillion in savings to balance the budget. President...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has frequently discussed the importance of reducing annual deficits to 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) –...

The federal budget deficit totaled $2.0 trillion over the past 12 months based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Due to...

Key Resources to Get You Started or Refresh Your Understanding of Fiscal Topics The Budget 101 resources page offers a collection of materials...