Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

Senators Suggest Making Tax Code Less Offensive

Aug 6, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Writing in the New York Times, Stephanie Strom brings yet another instance of how corporations and their enabling political benefactors have clearly had their way with the tax code.

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Lurita Doan is Back!

Aug 6, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Lurita Doan is back in the news. I know, I can't believe it either. But wait until you hear why and what she is saying now. It seems she is headlining a 15-minute segment on Federal News Radio (1050 AM in DC) where she will share her views on, get this, government leadership. I'm not making this up. That's like having Jack Abramoff lecture on ethical/legal congressional fundraising tactics. The segment, entitled "Leadership Matters," will run at 7:28 am on Tuesday mornings, according to this Federal Times article from last week.

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State Budget Woes Continue

Aug 5, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The fiscal health of states around the country is continuing to deteriorate, according to an updated report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. CBPP has issued updates to this report, initially released on January 15 this year, as state legislatures have attempted to deal with their budget shortfalls during the FY 2009 state budget process. This will be the last update of this report as only two states are left without an enacted FY 2009 budget.

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Notes from the Economy: There's a Deeper Problem than Housing

Aug 5, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Former Clinton Labor Secretary and current UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich really nails it on his blog today:

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Senate Approves GAO Pay Raise, IG Legislation

Aug 5, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Just before slipping out the door for summer recess, the Senate passed by unanimous consent an amended version of the Government Accountability Act of 2008 (HR 5683) on Aug. 1. The bill, approved by the House on June 9, would enact a retroactive pay raise for employees affected by a pay structure change implemented in 2006; establish an inspector general's office in the GAO; and require the GAO to report to Congress on how cooperative the Executive branch with GAO investigators and auditors.

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Approps Update: House Approves First of Twelve

Aug 4, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Action on other next 11 unlikely In rare fit of, umm, action on their constitutionally-mandated duty to provide funding for the federal government, the House of Representatives passed the FY 2009 Militarty Construction-VA appropriations bill. The $72.7 billion measure passed Friday afternoon 409-4.

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Notes from the Economy: Employment

Aug 1, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Jobs data released this morning show that the economy continued to a seven-month trend of shedding jobs. July's bottom-line job-loss number was mitigated by an increase of 25,000 government jobs; private sector employment dropped by 76,000. Since January, the economy has lost 463,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also moved upward from 5.5 percent to 5.7 percent. In the past year, the unemployment rate has rise 1.0 percent as 1.6 million workers have become unemployed. (click to enlarge)

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The Blind Leading the Blinder?

Jul 31, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Yesterday, the Senate voted once again against beginning debate on a package of tax cuts called the "extenders" for the fourth time this year. The vote was 51-43, and will put off any consideration of the legislation until Congress returns from their August recess on September 8.

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Notes from the Economy: GDP

Jul 31, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Commerce Department, via the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), released initial ("advance") second quarter GDP figures and revisions to previous quarters' estimates. BEA reports that in the second quarter of this year, the economy grew at a tepid 1.9 percent annual rate. Economic growth was spurred by the economic stimulus payments from the government and strong exports boosted by the declining value of the dollar.

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FedSpending.org Reaches 10 Million Searches

Jul 30, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

OMB Watch released new federal spending data on contracts and assistance spending on FedSpending.org yesterday. The site now has full spending data for federal contracts from FY 2000 through the first two quarters of FY 2008 and federal assistance data (grants, loans, and related spending) from FY 2000 through the first three quarters of FY 2007. The FedSpending.org database currently contains over $18.7 trillion in federal spending dating back to FY 2000. This update also made minor site improvements, including added advanced search functionality and bugs fixes.

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