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.
State of the Union: What We Heard
Yesterday, President Obama addressed the nation in his sixth State of the Union address. Unsurprisingly, the main focus of his speech was not on our...
Pension Gimmick Rises Again
In yesterday's State of the Union address, the President called for extending unemployment benefits that expired in December, which would affect...
Conference Agreement on Farm Bill Emerges
The threat of the " dairy cliff" is receding. On Monday, lawmakers in the farm bill conference committee emerged with an agreement that would save $17...
CRFB Tweets and Fact Checks the State of the Union
Tonight at 8:00 PM, President Obama will address Congress and the nation in the State of the Union address. As he lays out his agenda for the next...
What We Hope to Hear from the State of the Union
In the State of the Union address tonight, President Obama is not expected to focus heavily on fiscal issues or the national debt. However, in laying...
Don't Use Gimmicks To Undo Military Reforms
Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced legislation expanding many veterans'...
Is Wyden-Isakson the Future of Medicare?
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and the presumptive incoming Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR), have sponsored a new bill that...
CBO Releases New Doc Fix Bill Estimates
On Friday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released cost estimates for two bills to permanently replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)...
It's Back - State of the Union Bingo
President Obama's State of the Union address is tomorrow night. In preparation of his speech, we've brought back our great State of the Union fiscal...
Growth and Deficit Reduction Are Not Incompatible
Yesterday in an interview on CNBC's Squawkbox, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers chimed in again on his views that boosting economic growth...
Lew: Next Debt Limit Date is Late February
Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent a letter to Congress, updating the Treasury's projections of when the nation would hit its statutory...
Keep the War Gimmick Out of Doc Fix Discussions
The war savings gimmick is back! As the debate over how to offset a permanent "doc fix" to Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate formula heats up, the...