Q&A: Everything You Should Know About Government Shutdowns
The fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2019, and Congress has enacted none of 12 appropriations bills setting discretionary spending levels. Lawmakers have...
Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Nov 6, 2019 | Budget Process
Letter to Senate Budget Committee: Advance Bipartisan Budget Improvements
Below is a letter sent today from Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike...
Choices for Financing Medicare for All: A Preliminary Analysis
Proposals to adopt single-payer health care in the United States have grown in popularity in recent years, as numerous lawmakers and presidential...
Oct 16, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
Budget Offsets Bank
The federal debt is at a post-war record high, deficits are set to exceed the trillion-dollar mark this year, and new initiatives are being proposed...
Sep 24, 2019 | Social Security
Chartbook: Promoting Economic Growth through Social Security Reform
Below is a Chartbook that corresponds to the paper "Promoting Economic Growth through Social Security Reform":
Sep 19, 2019 | Social Security
Promoting Economic Growth through Social Security Reform
By Marc Goldwein, Maya MacGuineas, and Chris Towner
Executive Summary
As the population ages and an increasing share of Americans exit the...
Sep 18, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
Americans Show They Can Make Tough Federal Budget Decisions and Reduce National Debt
The national debt currently is the highest it has been as a share of the economy since just after World War II, and it is rising rapidly. This high...
Sep 12, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
After the 2020 Election, Fiscal Challenges Await
The winner of the 2020 presidential election will begin his or her term facing a daunting fiscal situation. High deficits and debt, depleting trust...
Aug 27, 2019 | Economics
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...
Aug 21, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
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...
Aug 9, 2019 | Health Care
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...
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...
Jun 25, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
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...
Jun 20, 2019 | Other Spending
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...
Jun 7, 2019 | Budget Process
Appropriations 101
What are appropriations?
How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations?
How does Congress allocate appropriations?
How are...
May 14, 2019 | Budget Process
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...
May 13, 2019 | Health Care
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...
May 9, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
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...
May 6, 2019 | Taxes
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...
May 1, 2019 | Budgets & Projections
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...
