Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Q&A: Everything You Should Know About Government Shutdowns
This paper has been updated here. The fiscal year began on September 30, has only passed 5 of 12 appropriations bills setting spending levels. If...
Budgeting for the Next Generation: Options to Improve Budgeting for Children
Children have less ability to meet their needs in the short term and more potential in the long term than other age groups, but federal policy does...
Budgeting for the Next Generation: Does the Budget Process Prioritize Children?
Compared to other age groups, children have higher levels of poverty, less ability to provide for themselves, and greater potential to support future...
CBO’s Alternative Long-Term Budget Scenarios
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released alternative scenarios to its Long-Term Budget Outlook today. These scenarios show that if the recent...
Letter to the Veterans Affairs Conference Committee
Below is a letter from CRFB President Maya MacGuineas to the conferees appointed to negotiate between the House and Senate versions of the Veterans...
Leon Panetta's Testimony on Budget and Appropriations Process Reforms
On July 12, 2018, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Co-Chair Leon Panetta testified before the Joint Select Committee on Budget and...
The Better Budget Process Initiative: Recommendations for the JSC
The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform (JSC) has the opportunity to make important improvements to the budget process...
CBO's 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook today, reiterating the budget’s unsustainable long-term trajectory...
Analysis of the 2018 Medicare Trustees' Report
The Medicare Trustees have released their 2018 report on the financial status of Medicare. The report shows that Medicare spending will increase...
Budgeting for the Next Generation: How Do Kids Fare?
When it comes to fiscal policy, it is increasingly clear that children are not a high priority. Recent tax cuts and spending increases have burdened...
Analysis of the 2018 Social Security Trustees’ Report
The Trustees for Social Security released their annual report today. As they have for many years, their projections show that the Social Security...
Appropriations 101
This paper has been updated here . What are appropriations? Appropriations are annual decisions made by Congress about how the federal government...