Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending
Report: Public Interest Groups Outspent on Tax Issues
Jun 19, 2013 by Patrick Lester
A new report from Public Citizen says that public interest groups working on tax reform are being vastly outspent by corporate lobbyists and PACs.
According to a story in The Huffington Post:
read in fullSome reform-minded groups are lobbying in favor of these bills, notes Public Citizen. But they are being drowned out by the lobbying in the other direction.
House Proposes Energy and Water Spending Cuts
Jun 18, 2013 by Jessica Schieder
The first major spending bill with significant cuts for the coming year was released this week. The bill, which funds energy and water programs, cuts funding for those programs by about 10 percent.
Overall, the bill provides $30.4 billion, $2.9 billion less than fiscal year 2013 (before sequestration) and $4.1 billion below the president’s request.
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State Budgets Are Improving, But Still Not Fully Recovered From Recession
Jun 18, 2013 by Patrick Lester
The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) have released their Spring 2013 Fiscal Survey of States.
According to NASBO:
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White House to Combat Tax Evasion
Jun 18, 2013 by Jessica Schieder
The White House released a four-step National Action Plan this morning, June 18, outlining an initiative to tackle tax evasion and money laundering. The plan reflects an international initiative agreed upon by the U.S. and seven foreign governments at a G8 Summit being held in Northern Ireland.
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House May Pass Partisan Tax Reform Plan
Jun 18, 2013 by Patrick Lester
House Republicans have indicated that, if necessary, they may pass tax reform legislation with little or no support from House Democrats, according to a June 18 article in The Hill.
One key difference between the two parties is whether tax reform legislation should raise new revenues overall, as Democrats would prefer, or be revenue-neutral, as Republicans would prefer.
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GOP 30-year Budget Projections Target Social Security and Medicare
Jun 17, 2013 by Patrick Lester
Ezra Klein wrote an interesting piece over at the Wonk Blog this afternoon poking fun at congressional Republicans who have decided that, since current budget deficits are dropping, it makes more sense for them to focus on 30-year deficit projections.
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Wildfires to Cost U.S. Forest Service More Under Sequestration
Jun 17, 2013 by Jessica Schieder
A 16,000 acre wildfire blazing in the Black Forest of Colorado has burned more than 485 homes and taken two lives, but the efforts of firefighters may be hindered by budget disagreements in Washington.
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No Movement on Larger Budget Framework in the House
Jun 17, 2013 by Patrick Lester
While budget talks between the Obama administration and Senate Republicans seem stalled, House Republicans also seem content to wait until the fall before launching the next budget battle, according to a June 16 report from Politico.
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Bad Apple!
Jun 17, 2013 by Patrick Lester
On June 13, the tech-savvy pranksters at Americans for Tax Fairness and the San Francisco Light Projection Team projected the image above on the building hosting Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco.
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The Impact on Public Investment from Drops in Non-Defense Discretionary Spending
Jun 14, 2013 by Nick Schwellenbach
While the damaging impacts of austerity have received increased attention in recent weeks, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that most of the major budget plans being considered in Washington would make things worse.
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