The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) ceased operations as of March 2016. The majority of work and materials has been passed on to the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). This site is being maintained as an archive of materials produced.
Where's the Budget Outrage?" is a question asked by columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. in an op-ed in today's Washington Post. In it he discusses the "cut-the-poor, help-the-big-interests federal budget," and the vote on the budget reconciliation bill that is taking place in the House tomorrow. This op-ed is a good read, especially as we prepare to hear President Bush outline his agenda on budget, tax, and health care issues in tonight's State of the Union.
As the House gears up for tomorrow’s vote on cutting $40 billion in entitlement spending from the budget, the House leadership is less and less confident they will have enough votes to ram these cuts through. Following in the footsteps of Rep. Simmons (R-CT), who recently changed his position on the bill, a number of moderate GOP Representatives are considering voting against the bill as well. These include Reps. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), John Sweeney (R-NY), and Chris Shays (R-CT).
The long-awaited House vote on the Senate-passed budget reconciliation bill is taking place this Wednesday, February 1. The vote is expected to be extremely close, as a handful of moderate Republicans who previously voted for the bill are expected to vote against it this time around.
The Fair Taxes for All Coalition has released new talking points on Congress' plan to cut the budget and pass new tax cuts. The talking points cover the new deficit projections, the possibility of extending capital gains and dividends cuts, and this year's new tax cuts.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute have released a study called "Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends." The study examines income inequality and finds that the gap between the highest-income families and poor and middle-income families grew significantly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. The study finds that during this time, the incomes of the bottom fifth of families grew more slowly than the incomes of the top fifth of families in 38 states.
Today the Congressional Budget Office projected a $337 billion deficit for 2006. The increase over last year's $318 billion recorded deficit is largely attributed to hurricane costs and the introduction of the Medicare prescription drug benefit this month. $337 billion is far less than the Office of Management and Budget's estimate stating that the deficit will exceed $400 billion this year.
Despite the plethora of issues Congress will be addressing this legislative year, the leadership has created a compressed election-year schedule, allowing very little time for actual work to be done. Congress will devote 72 days this year to work on legislative business. (Remeber: votes are generally only held Tuesday - Thursday of any given week). They are scheduled to recess for the year on October 6 in order to give lawmakers up for re-election a full month in which to campaign back in their districts.
With the President's FY 2007 budget soon to be released, the House must still take one more vote on the FY 2006 budget cuts bill it struggled with for almost all of last year, and some moderate Republicans are starting to break out of the stranglehold of party loyalty. Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), who initially voted against the cuts, then voted for them in December, has announced today that he has re-evaluated his position again and will vote against the bill on Feburary 1.
Simmons' office released the following Kerry-esque statement:
Yesterday, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson announced that the Questionable Refund Program, which is currently under scrutiny for recent practices, will undergo a review and modification process.
