Debt & Deficits

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...

Maya MacGuineas is president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and Samuel T. Sicard is president and CEO of First National Bank of...

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently found that extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and adding $1.5 trillion in additional tax...

The federal government has borrowed $2.1 trillion over the past year – April 2024 to March 2025 – based on estimates from the Congressional Budget...

On April 2, the Trump Administration announced a series of so-called " reciprocal tariffs” applied to nearly every country with which the United...

The Senate’s proposed concurrent Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget resolution would allow policymakers to add $5.8 trillion to primary deficits through...

Update (4/11/2025): The Senate adopted the budget described below on April 5, 2025, and the House adopted the budget on April 10, 2025, making this...

Press reports indicate that Senate leadership may release a proposed concurrent budget resolution for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 as early as today with...

It would take more than $7 trillion of ten-year savings to stabilize debt at the size of the economy by Fiscal Year (FY) 2034. But rather than making...