Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

Mechanics of the Stimulus Plan

Feb 8, 2008 by Dana Chasin

The A-B-C's of How it Works The stimulus package passed by Congress yesterday operates fairly simply. Here's what you need to know:
  • TAX REBATES: all eligible citizens will receive up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per married couple, with a minimum of $300 per single and $600 per couple plus an additional $300 per child
  • ELIGIBILITY: 35 million individuals and families who received at least $3,000 in 2007 in wages and social security/disability payments, including payments to survivors of disabled veterans, will be eligible for the rebate checks

read in full

DAILY FISCAL POLICY REVIEW

Feb 8, 2008 by Dana Chasin

SUDDENLY, STIMULUS: Congress must have surprised even itself yesterday, moving with alacrity to complete work on and adopt the biggest stimulus package ever and send it to the president. Of course, the package wasn't paid for so there wasn't much heavy lifting. The legislative process took less than a month...

read in full

House Approves Senate-Revised Stimulus Package, Heads to President's Desk

Feb 8, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The House voted (380-34) to approve an economic stimulus package passed by the Senate hours earlier. The measure now awaits the president's signature. Congress has decided that the hungry, the unemployed, and the cold should continue to go without adequate food, adequate income, and adequate heat, because putting money into their hands would do little stimulate the economy as they probably wouldn't spend it.

read in full

Budget Reform Proposals-in-Wonderland

Feb 7, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Once again this year, the president's budget includes a set of budget reform proposals, not substantially changed from the proposals put forth in the same space in years past (evaluated here). Among the highlights:
  • Joint Budget Resolution: The President's budget advocates a joint budget resolution requiring the President's signature. Of course, this would give the Budget Resolution the force of law, meaning that Congress would effectively set the level of appropriations bills.
  • Line-Item Veto: George Will has the last word...

read in full

Senate Adopts Modestly Expanded Stimulus Bill

Feb 7, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Moments ago, the U.S. Senate passed a $152 billion ($168 billion over two years) stimulus package along the lines described below, by an 81-16 vote. The House is expected to adopt an indentical measure, perhaps as soon as this evening, and send it to the president for his signature.

read in full

DAILY FISCAL POLICY REVIEW

Feb 7, 2008 by Dana Chasin

The FY09 budget proposal submitted Monday by President Bush is the talk of the town (leaving the the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday results and aftermath aside). Not so much because it is likely to be enacted, but because it provides talking points opportunities for everyone. Below are figures from the Senate Budget Committee that express the president's broad priorites in stark terms. The defense figure is the highest in real terms since World War II; the domestic cuts belie the administration's concerns about a recession...

read in full

More Reactions/Analysis of President's Budget

Feb 7, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

More reactions and analysis of the president's budget have emerged since our first round-up post on Tuesday:
  • CBPP: President's Budget and Medicare "Trigger"
  • NWLC: Budget Woes: President's FY 2009 Budget
  • Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: The President's FY 2009 Budget
  • The Workforce Alliance: FY 2009 Federal Funding Analyses
There have also been a number of statements and analyses circulated from Capitol Hill:
  • Senate Budget Committee Dems: Brief Analysis of Bush FY 2009 Budget
  • Sen. Conrad (D-ND): Statement on FY 2009 Budget Release
  • Majority Leader Hoyer (D-MD): Bush's Legacy: Fiscal Meltdown, Weak Economy
  • House Budget Committee: State-by-State Analysis of President's FY 2009 Budget Request
  • Speaker Pelosi (D-CA): Statement on President Bush's FY 2009 Budget
  • Majority Leader Hoyer: Statement on Bush's Release of Another Fiscally Irresponsible Budget
  • Sen. Gregg (R-NH): Statement on FY 2009 Budget Release
  • Senate Budget Committee Repubs: Overview of President's Budget

read in full

Stimulus Stalled in Senate by Single Vote

Feb 7, 2008 by Dana Chasin

By a 58-41 vote last night, the Senate fell one vote short of invoking cloture on the stimulus package passed last week by the Finance Committee. Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) lost his bid to pass a broader package than was passed by the House on Jan. 29. Reid had told his GOP colleagues that the vote would be their one-and-only chance to vote on a stimulus package, but he is virtually certain to hold a vote in the coming days on a pared down version of the Finance Committee bill.

read in full

Monthly Budget Review: February, 2008

Feb 7, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The federal government incurred a deficit of $90 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates, about $48 billion more than the shortfall in the same period last year. Shifts in the timing of certain payments and receipts account for about one-third of that increase in the deficit. ... The federal government recorded a surplus of $15 billion in January, CBO estimates, less than half the surplus recorded in the same month last year.

read in full

Senate Shoot-Out at Stimulus Corral

Feb 6, 2008 by Dana Chasin

With neither side certain of the outcome, the Senate will hold a cloture vote (basically, on whether to proceed to a vote) on an expanded version of the fiscal stimulus package approved last week by the Finance Committee.

read in full

Pages

Subscribe to The Fine Print: blog posts from Center for Effective Government
  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.