Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Americans Show They Can Make Tough Federal Budget Decisions and Reduce National Debt
The national debt currently is the highest it has been as a share of the economy since just after World War II, and it is rising rapidly. This high...
After the 2020 Election, Fiscal Challenges Await
The winner of the 2020 presidential election will begin his or her term facing a daunting fiscal situation. High deficits and debt, depleting trust...
Break Glass Here: A Responsible Plan to Combat the Next Recession
The United States is in the midst of one of the longest periods of sustained economic growth in its history, but there are signs that this prolonged...
Analysis of CBO’s Updated Budget and Economic Outlook (August 2019)
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its updated Budget and Economic Outlook, showing that the national debt is on an unsustainable...
Letter to Finance Committee: Thank You For Working to Reduce Health Costs
Below is a letter sent today from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee...
Letter: Nearly 100 Experts Warn Against Cadillac Tax Repeal
A group of nearly 100 distinguished health and economic policy experts from across the ideological spectrum joined together to warn the Senate against...
CBO's 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Long-Term Budget Outlook, again confirming the budget’s unsustainable long-term trajectory...
A Plan to Raise the Caps Without Breaking the Bank
Due to the large temporary increase in discretionary spending levels for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, spending is...
Appropriations 101
This paper has been updated here. What are appropriations? Appropriations are annual decisions made by Congress about how the federal government...
Kent Conrad's Testimony on the Broken Budget Process
On May 14, 2019, former Senate Budget Committee Chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget board member Kent Conrad (D-ND) testified...
Analysis of the 2019 Medicare Trustees' Report
The Medicare Trustees have released their 2019 report, which makes projections for Medicare spending and revenue for the next 75 years. The Trustees...
CBO's Analysis of the President's FY 2020 Budget
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimate of the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget using its own assumptions to evaluate the...