goBig on Federal Deficit Reductionlogo

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget -- along with many other lawmakers, business leaders, former government officials, and organizations -- is calling on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee) to go beyond its current mandate of just $1.5 trillion in savings over the coming decade. In order to stabilize and reduce debt as a share of the economy, lawmakers will have to be bolder and "Go Big."

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    What We Hope to See From the Extensions Conference Committee

    Raising Eligibility Ages Is Good for the Budget...and the Economy

    CRFB Re-Launches US Budget Watch

    Deficit Reduction Plan Comparison Tool

What We Hope to See From the Extensions Conference Committee
What We Hope to See From the Extensions Conference Committee

 

Late last year, Congress enacted a temporary extension of several expiring policies, and a Conference Committee was appointed to address how further extensions would be treated. CRFB's latest paper details how lawmakers can extend these provisions in a fiscally responsible way.

 

Read the Paper
Raising Eligibility Ages Is Good for the Budget...and the Economy
Raising Eligibility Ages Is Good for the Budget...and the Economy

 

A recent CRFB blog post takes a look at a CBO report that evaluates the effects of raising various eligibility ages. The report found that doing so would reduce the deficit, encourage work, and increase the size of the economy. 

Read the Blog
CRFB Re-Launches US Budget Watch
CRFB Re-Launches US Budget Watch

 

CRFB has officially re-launched U.S. Budget Watch, a project meant to raise awareness on fiscal issues in the 2012 campaign and provide objective analysis of candidates' fiscal plans. Our first paper, The 12 Principles of Fiscal Responsibility for the 2012 Campaign, lays out 12 specific principles that all candidates should follow.

 

Read the Paper
Deficit Reduction Plan Comparison Tool
Deficit Reduction Plan Comparison Tool

 

CRFB's deficit-reduction plan comparison tool provides side-by-side comparisons of the many deficit reduction plans that have been developed.

 

We're thrilled with the many comprehensive plans that have sprung up over the last year, and our website is a great way to track and compare them.

 

Visit the Website

Reports

January 25, 2012
What We Hope to See From the Extensions Conference Committee
January 24, 2012
Maya MacGuineas Testimony Before House Rules Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process for Biennial Budgeting
December 15, 2011
The 12 Principles of Fiscal Responsibility for the 2012 Campaign
December 12, 2011
Dealing with Expiring Provisions in a Fiscally Responsible Manner
December 12, 2011
Op-Ed: How to Pay for the Payroll Tax Cut
More publications

Press Releases

January 26, 2012
Debt Ceiling Raised, But No Plan to Curb Future Debt
January 24, 2012
CRFB Reacts to the State of the Union
January 24, 2012
Congress Takes Up Budget Process Reforms
December 13, 2011
Senator Lieberman Introduces Bill to "Keep Going"
November 21, 2011
Disappointing News from the Super Committee
more press releases

Featured CRFB Content

GO BIG Resource Page

 

 

Closer Look at the Fiscal Commission's Cost-Sharing Recommendations

 

Overlapping Policies & Estimated Savings Across Fiscal Plans

 

CBO's August 2011 Baseline & Update of CRFB Realistic Baseline

 

One-Stop Shop for Budget Reform Tools

 

 

Budget Slideshow: Averting a Fiscal Crisis

 

Social Security & the Budget

 

 

Measuring Up: The Case for the Chained CPI


See All Reports

CRFB's Blog: The Bottom Line

January 27, 2012
An Update on TARP

The report by the Inspector General of TARP drew some attention for showing that some of its programs would not end until 2017. That in itself is no surprise; in fact, some programs do not have specific end dates and could go on longer than that. Still, the report is useful to see where we are on TARP.

Read More
January 27, 2012
Panetta Presents New Defense Budget

Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta fleshed out the widely-anticipated FY 2013 defense budget. The budget showed to some extent how the Obama Administration plans on meeting the defense reductions that are necessary because of the discretionary spending caps in the Budget Control Act.

While Panetta's briefing was not as detailed as next month's budget, it included more details than we had heard in previous speeches and laid down the topline defense numbers the Administration will propose over the next five years.

Read More
January 27, 2012
Debt Ceiling Watch 2012

In order to avoid bumping up against the statutory debt ceiling, the Department of the Treasury has begun undertaking a number of so-called "extraordinary measures".

Keep checking back as we update this table (and click here for last year's Debt Ceiling Watch of 2011).

 

Read More
January 26, 2012
House Budget Committee Advances Process Reform Proposals

As we mentioned in our press release earlier this week, the House Budget Committee has been working on legislation to reform the current budget process. Three legislative proposals were advanced by the Committee on Tuesday, in addition to another on the budget resolution that will be brought up soon.

They are:

Read More
more blog posts
 

Let's Get Specific

The Let’s Get Specific series is intended to help focus the national discussion on specific policies that could help reduce the deficit and create a better understanding of the types of policy changes that will be required.

 

Let's Get Specific: Tax Expenditures

Let's Get Specific: Social Security

Let's Get Specific: Health Care

 

Read More

 

May 19, 2010
As Congress Sidesteps Budget, You Can Step In

CRFB encourages you to check out our budget simulator: Stabilize the Debt!

It's no secret that America's finances are a mess. The problem of our mounting debt can't be solved overnight, but we need to start addressing it now. In this online simulator, visitors get to make the hard choices themselves in order to stabilize the debt at 60% of GDP by 2018.

begin the simulation
June 16, 2011
CRFB Unveils Fiscal Plan Comparison Website!

Check out CRFB's Fiscal Plan Comparison Tool!

The Comparison Tool is an interactive website that allows users to compare up to 3 fiscal plans side-by-side. A countless number of budgets or fiscal plans have been released in the past year and a half, and our new website is an easy way to compare and keep track of them.

View the Grid

CRFB Projects

Moment of Truth Project

The Moment of Truth (MOT) project is a non-profit, non-partisan effort that seeks to foster honest discussion about the nation’s fiscal challenges, the difficult choices that must be made to solve them, and the potential for bipartisan compromise that can move the debate forward and set our country on a sustainable path.

Visit Site
Go Big

CRFB - along with many other lawmakers, business leaders, former government officials, and organizations - is calling for Congress and the White House to "Go Big" to enact savings sufficeint to stabilize and reduce debt as a share of the economy.

Go Big Resources
Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform

The bipartisan Peterson-Pew Commission is made up of the country's most seasoned federal budget policymakers. The commission is supported by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

VISIT SITE

 

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