Commentary: Playing Chicken with the Debt Ceiling
May 4, 2011
Though it may be difficult to believe, Congress's budget trials and tribulations continue. While members of both parties are sorting through the details of April's fiscal year (FY) 2011 spending deal and sparring over the FY 2012 budget, the deadline to raise the nation's debt ceiling is fast approaching. Though the consequences of failing to increase the debt ceiling would be serious, some members of Congress have decided that they would rather play a game of "chicken" than address the issue in a responsible way.
Senators Seek Medicare Transparency
May 4, 2011
A long-running dispute about access to Medicare claims data could be resolved by bills pending in the Senate. Proponents assert the measures could combat fraud and abuse in one of the federal government's most expensive programs and might also help improve health outcomes and consumer decision making.
Analysis: Rep. Paul Ryan's FY 2012 Budget Resolution
Apr 7, 2011
Like all congressional budget resolutions, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan's (R-WI) fiscal year (FY) 2012 Budget Resolution is not simply a chart of preferred spending and revenue levels, it's also a political statement guided by ideology. And Ryan's ideology demands that the federal government divert ever increasing sums from middle- and low-income families to big business and high-income families.
Cloaked in Good Government Garb, Sunset Commission Would Fast Track Spending Cuts
Mar 22, 2011
On March 16, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) proposed a controversial amendment to a small business reauthorization bill. The amendment would create a so-called "sunset commission," which is designed to identify and eliminate federal programs deemed unnecessary. The commission, billed as a "good government" measure by proponents, would likely operate behind closed doors, usurping the traditional oversight role of key congressional committees and potentially eliminating important programs.
Commentary: Congress's Backward Budgeting
Mar 22, 2011
Some in Congress are treating a recently released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on duplicative federal programs as a recipe book for budget cutting. However, GAO's recommendations for fixes are more nuanced, and the report ultimately underscores the value of implementing effective program measurement tools and carefully calibrating federal spending to ensure that national priorities are addressed.
read in fullBalanced Budget Amendment Would Impede Economic Recoveries
Jan 25, 2011
Over the past 30 fiscal years, the federal government has run a surplus only three times. In the past three years, the government has seen deficits totaling almost $3.5 trillion, and the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) baseline prediction shows deficits for at least the next decade. With such a history and with the recent rise of the Tea Party and its fiscally conservative contingent in Congress, it is unsurprising that balanced budget amendments to the Constitution are once again finding their way to the national agenda. While forcing Congress to balance the books through a constitutional mandate may be appealing to many fiscal hawks, a balanced budget amendment could impede economic recoveries following Wall Street meltdowns and other calamities.
The Wrong Approach to the Deficit Could Imperil More than Just the Recovery
Jan 24, 2011
by Craig Jennings, OMB Watch, Jan. 24, 2011
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday, one topic he will likely devote many words to will be the nation’s finances. For months, we’ve heard calls from all sides to “rein in the deficit” – a deficit so massive that, if some politicians are to be believed, it may plunge the nation into another Dark Ages. If Obama echoes these unceasing cries coming from inside the Beltway and sets forth a budget plan designed to meet the needs of Washington politics and not the nation, he could imperil the nascent economic recovery and future growth while stifling public protections, the effectiveness of the federal workforce, and the economic well being of millions of families.
New House Rules Will Increase Deficit, Underfund National Priorities
Jan 11, 2011
Whenever a party takes control of one or both houses of Congress, it exercises its prerogative to implement a flurry of new rules and practices. This is generally unremarkable, though in 2011, with the House of Representatives returning to Republican control, the changes are stirring up controversy. Despite claiming to fight for fiscal responsibility and transparency, by tweaking a handful of rules, the Republican majority will end up delivering the opposite.
OMB Watch Criticizes House Vote on Estate Tax Amendment
Dec 17, 2010
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2010—OMB Watch today criticized the House's Dec. 16 failure to adopt Rep. Earl Pomeroy's (D-ND) estate tax amendment to the Bush tax cut compromise reached by President Obama and congressional Republicans. The vote against the Pomeroy amendment indicates that the nation's fiscal priorities have been cast aside in favor of the estate planning needs of the wealthiest 0.3 percent of Americans.
Customer Reviews of the Year in Federal Fiscal Policy
Dec 14, 2010
Fiscal policy determines a lot of things in your daily life. From the number of food inspectors that USDA can employ, to the availability of FBI agents to track down suspected terrorists, to the quality of the roads you drive on, fiscal policy is what makes this country tick. If you were running a country and were shopping around for fiscal policies, would those proposed in 2010 by Congress and President Obama be the first ones you'd grab off the shelf? Before you buy, you may want to consider what other customers thought about the Fiscal Policy of the United States of America in 2010.
