The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy impact. The Committee is made up of some of the nation's leading budget experts including many of the past Chairmen and Directors of the Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, and the Federal Reserve Board.

History

In 1980, Robert Giaimo (D-CT) and Henry Bellmon (R-OK) both left Congress. Mr. Giaimo served 20 years as United States Representative including four years as Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. Mr. Bellmon served 12 years as United States Senator and was the ranking Republican on the Committee on the Budget from its inception in 1975. The two fiscal policy leaders decided to convene a group including other former Budget Committee Chairmen, former Directors of the Office of Management and Budget, leading economists, and businessmen. The group concluded that the country needed an organization outside government committed to sound budget process. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget was incorporated June 10, 1981.

New America Foundation

Since 2003, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has been housed at the New America Foundation. New America is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit public policy institute that brings exceptionally promising new voices and new ideas to the fore of our nation's public discourse. Relying on a venture capital approach, the Foundation invests in outstanding individuals and policy ideas that transcend the conventional political spectrum. New America sponsors a wide range of research, published writing, conferences and events on the most important issues of our time.

Projects

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) runs a number of ongoing projects. Among them include US Budget Watch (www.usbudgetwatch.org), a project funded by Pew Charitable Trusts which has reported on important fiscal issues through and beyond the 2008 Presidential election. Through generous support from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, CRFB also runs the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform. Another CRFB project is Stimulus.org (www.stimulus.org), which monitors the extraordinary actions taken by the government during the current economic crisis and puts out regular reports and releases on various budgetary issues. CRFB also runs the Fiscal Roadmap project, created to help policymakers navigate the country's serious economic and fiscal challenges.

Finally, CRFB's two most recent projects are the Moment of Truth Project and the "Go Big" initiative. The Moment of Truth Project is a non-profit, non-partisan effort created to use the findings of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to spark a national discussion on the need to implement a comprehensive budget fix and to help further develop policy reform ideas to improve the nation’s fiscal outlook. Through the Go Big initiative, CRFB is working to urge the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to exceed its savings mandate of $1.5 trillion and enact a bipartisan, comprehensive fiscal plan large enough to stabilize and reduce debt as a share of the economy.