Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
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...
Joint Letter: Don't Revive the Expired Tax Extenders
Below is a joint letter sent today to Congressional leadership and the heads of the taxwriting committees urging them against reviving the temporary...
Letter to Congress to Abide By PAYGO
Below is a letter from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas to all Members of Congress asking them to offset the costs...