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.
Tax Day 2015: Charts to Explain Our Tax System
In honor of tax day, CRFB and our partners at Fix the Debt released a Tax Day 2015 chartbook yesterday, with ten charts (and one table) that explain...
A Budget Conference - Now What?
The House and Senate will soon appoint a formal conference committee to iron out differences between their two budgets, even though press reports...
A Quick Take on Governor Christie's Entitlement Plan
This morning, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) delivered an important speech in New Hampshire on the need for entitlement reform. The speech not only...
SGR Bill Triggers Several Rule Violations
We have described at length the fiscal irresponsibility of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) reform bill (H.R. 2) working its way through Congress --...
PAYGO or No-Go: An Easy Way for Congress to Improve the SGR Bill
There's a simple way to make the $141 billion House-passed Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) bill more fiscally responsible: don't exempt it from...
Senate Budget Takes Issue with CHIMPs
The Senate budget by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) contains an important provision to limit a gimmick often used to increase spending using phony savings...
Halfway Point of FY 2015 Shows Higher Deficit than FY 2014
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its Monthly Budget Review for March, rounding out the first half of Fiscal Year 2015. The report...
Health Care Policies in the President's Budget
Lawmakers often lament the difficulty of reforming Medicare and other health care programs, but the difficulty is not a lack of viable options. One...
Congressional Black Caucus Proposes Alternative Budget
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has released an alternative budget proposal highlighting their policy goals and preferred fiscal path for the...
Republican Study Committee Publishes Alternative Budget
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has released an alternative budget proposal that outlines their vision for the country’s fiscal future. Their...
The Basics of the SGR Replacement Bill
The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula returned yesterday with 21 percent cuts to Medicare physician payments, although the actual effect won't be...
Comparing the Major Budgets and Updated Simpson-Bowles
We've already provided topline comparisons of the budget metrics in the FY 2016 Congressional budgets and the President's budget, showing that most of...