Blog
Welcome to our blog – The Bottom Line, where you’ll find up-to-date commentary and analysis on the most important news in the fiscal world. Below is a list of our blog posts.
CBO: The Deficit Will Be About $45 Billion Lower This Year But $1.7 Trillion Higher over Ten Years
In May of last year, CBO expected the 2014 deficit to fall to $560 billion from 2013's total of $680 billion. Now, CBO is estimating a deficit of $514...
Everything You Need to Know About Budget Gimmicks, in 8 Charts
Last week's report by the Congressional Budget Office showed that our debt remains on an unsustainable path, (see our ongoing blog series) and is...
Mixed News on the House Military COLA Bill
With the debt ceiling having been reinstated last Friday, lawmakers are scrambling to come up with legislation to lift or suspend it again before...
Debt Ceiling Watch 2014
In order to avoid bumping up against the statutory debt ceiling, the Department of the Treasury has begun undertaking a number of so-called...
Line Items: Seeing Shadows Edition
Having Our Phil – Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow last Sunday, traditionally meaning six more weeks of winter. That is no surprise to most of the...
Half-Way There: Bipartisan, Bicameral Agreement Reached to Reform SGR
Last week, on the day Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus was confirmed to his new post as Ambassador to China, the Senate Finance, House Ways and...
CBO Continues to Say the Debt Will Be a Problem for Economic Growth
In its February 2014 Budget and Economic Outlook, CBO continued its previous warnings from last year's February outlook and September's long-term...
CBO's Social Security Projections
In CBO's 2014 Budget and Economic Outlook released this week, they addressed the future of the federal government's largest program, Social Security...
Everything You Needed to Know About the Debt Ceiling, Part 2
Yesterday, we updated our Q&A: Everything You Needed To Know About the Debt Ceiling to reflect the newest date for the debt ceiling, which will be...
Why Did the Deficit Fall in 2014?
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its annual report on the federal budget, which outlines their projections of all federal spending...
Heritage and CBPP Agree: Pension Smoothing is a Gimmick
This afternoon, the Senate is expected to vote on an extension of unemployment insurance, offset with so-called "pension smoothing" - a timing shift...
Sanders Bill Would Add to the Debt, Create a $250 Billion Slush Fund
Soon, the Senate may consider the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act legislation ( the CBO scoring...