Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Chartbook: Reducing the Tax Gap
One of the most fair and efficient ways for policymakers to raise revenue would be to close some portion of the “ tax gap.” The tax gap is the...
Analysis of CBO's July 2021 Budget and Economic Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released initial details of its updated Budget and Economic Outlook, accounting for enactment of the...
ARCHIVE: Appropriations 101
What are appropriations? How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations? How will this year's appropriations process be different? How...
President Biden's Full FY 2022 Budget
The Biden Administration today released its first full budget, laying out its proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and the subsequent decade. The...
Interest Payments in the Federal Budget
At a projected cost of over $300 billion this fiscal year, interest payments are a significant part of the federal budget. Net interest is currently...
The Nation's Upcoming Fiscal Challenges
President Joe Biden and the nation face perhaps the most daunting fiscal situation on record. One hundred days into his presidency, President Biden...
COVID Bills Had $650 Billion in Extraneous Policies
Congress has authorized around $6 trillion of fiscal support in response to the COVID pandemic, with a projected net cost of well over $5 trillion...
Alexander Holt's Senate Testimony on Student Debt's Burden on Borrowers and the Economy
On April 13, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget policy analyst Alexander Holt testified at the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy...
President Biden's FY 2022 Discretionary Budget
Today, the Biden Administration released an abridged version of the President’s budget. This partial budget details proposed allocations and plans for...
Maya MacGuineas's Senate Testimony on Taxation of Corporations and the Wealthy
On March 25, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas testified before the Senate Budget Committee on "Ending a Rigged Tax...
The Case for Trust Fund Solutions
Some of the nation’s most important government programs are financed with dedicated revenue sources using federal trust funds. Four of those programs...
How High Are Federal Interest Payments?
This year, the federal government will spend $300 billion on interest payments on the national debt. This is the equivalent of nearly 9 percent of all...