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.
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...
Line Items: An Appropriate Result Edition
One Debate Spent, More to Come – The long saga over the Fiscal Year 2014 budget came to an end as Congress approved of spending bills funding the...
Generals: Don't Turn Away from Reforming Military Retirement Benefits
One of the most contentious provisions in the Ryan-Murray budget agreement that became the Bipartisan Budget Act was a provision that reduced cost-of...
Washington Post: "Lawmakers Should Offer Up a Fiscally Responsible 'Tax Extenders' Bill"
We couldn't have said it better ourselves! A Washington Post editorial today called on Congress to break with the trend of recent Congresses and...
CBO's "Approaches to Reducing Federal Spending on Military Health Care"
Military personnel costs continue to increase as a share of the defense budget. One of the fastest growing components is military health care, where...
With Spending Bill Passed, More Fiscal Steps Ahead
Yesterday, the Senate passed the Omnibus appropriations act (72-26), following strong passage in the House (359-67). The bill will now be sent to...
The Debt Doctor: Coburn Announces His Retirement
Yesterday, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), M.D., announced that he would retire at the end of the year, two years before his Senate term would normally...