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.
Representative Suozzi Introduces the WISH Act
Representative Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) recently introduced the WISH Act, which aims to provide catastrophic long-term care insurance for older Americans...
Comparing the Permanent Costs of Build Back Better and the TCJA
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the forthcoming budget reconciliation bill – together making up the core of the "Build Back...
How Much Could Build Back Better Add to the Debt?
Note: This analysis was updated for new data and details on August 11, 2021. See the updated analysis here. While we do not have all the estimates for...
Appropriations Watch: FY 2021
Updated 7/30/2021: The House passed an emergency supplemental appropriations measure of $1.9 billion, intended to to address security concerns at the...
Fiscal State of the Nation Introduced in the Senate and House
Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Mike Braun (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV...
Policymakers Shouldn't Attach More Borrowing to a Debt Ceiling Increase
The debt ceiling, or the statutory limit on the total amount of debt the federal government can accrue, is set to come back on August 1 after being...
What's in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?
UPDATE 8/5: We have published a new summary of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act based on a recently published score from the...
Trust Fund Solutions Would Be Pro-Growth
In our recent paper “ The Case for Trust Fund Solutions,” we showed that making the Social Security, Medicare, and highway trust funds solvent would...
Two Ways to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs
High and rising prescription drug costs are contributing to the budgetary pressure faced by the federal government. Also, a significant number of...
Can Medicare Advantage Reforms Save the Trust Fund?
We estimate costs will exceed dedicated revenue by about $505 billion over the next decade, leaving a $360 billion solvency gap after accounting for...
Kent Conrad: Congress should reinstate the 'Conrad Rule' to prevent abuse of budget reconciliation
Kent Conrad is a former senator from North Dakota, a former Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and a member of the Committee for a Responsible...
True Cost of Budget Plan Could Exceed $5 Trillion
The Senate may soon move forward on reconciliation instructions to allow for the enactment of $3.5 trillion in new spending and tax breaks (on top of...