Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
How Fast Can America Grow?
Official projections show real economic growth will average less than 2 percent annually over the next decade. However, some policymakers have...
Eight Gimmicks to Look Out For This Budget Season
In the coming days and weeks, the Trump Administration is expected to release its full Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget proposal, and the House and Senate...
Principles for Responsible Tax Reform
The United States tax code has not been overhauled in over three decades, and it is in desperate need of reform. The current federal income tax is in...
CBO’s 2017 Long-Term Budget Outlook
The United States is on an unsustainable fiscal path, according to the Long-Term Budget Outlook released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)...
President Trump's FY 2018 "Skinny Budget"
The Trump Administration today released its "skinny budget," which details its plans for defense and non-defense discretionary spending for Fiscal...
Q&A: Everything You Should Know About the Debt Ceiling - Mar 2017
Note: We have updated this Q&A. A new version is available here. Attention is turning towards raising the federal debt ceiling, which will be...
Update: The Cost of Rising Interest Rates
Over the next decade, interest payments on the debt are projected to be the fastest growing part of the federal budget. Last year, the federal...
The Better Budget Process Initiative: Setting the Benchmark: Reforms to Budget Baseline Rules
Budget baselines are among the most important – but widely misunderstood – elements of budgeting and policymaking. The budgetary impact of a given...
What We’d Like to See in President Trump’s FY 2018 “Skinny Budget”
The Trump Administration is expected to soon release its first budget outlining the President’s priorities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and the...
Five Reasons to Pay for Tax Reform
An executive summary of this paper is available here. An updated version of this paper is available at Tax Reform Should Not Add to the Debt – Here's...
President Trump's Historic Debt Dilemma
As President Donald Trump begins his term, he faces perhaps the most daunting fiscal situation of any incoming president. President Trump enters...
Principles for the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Resolution
The Congressional budget resolution is a guiding document that should establish the nation’s budget priorities, the approach to financing them, and a...