Blog: The Fine Print / Open, Accountable Government

CBO Releases Another Depressing Long-Term Outlook

Dec 16, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The Congressional Budget Office released their Long-term Budget Outlook today, in which they noted Even if taxation reached levels that were unprecedented in the United States, current spending policies could become financially unsustainable. An evergrowing burden of federal debt held by the public would have a corrosive and potentially contractionary effect on the economy.

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GOP Budget Policies Don't Honor Or Promote Work

Dec 15, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

We have been saying a lot lately that Congressional GOP budget and tax policies look out for the wealthy by providing them with tax cuts, while at the same time hurt the poor by robbing social programs of funding in the name of fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction. While this is true, there is more to the picture. As Josh Lynn and Robert Gordon have recently discussed at Think Progress and in the American Prospect, the latest GOP policies are also responsible for discouraging hard work and self-reliance - two ideals endlessly promoted in conservative rhetoric. Lynn and Gordon write

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House Passes Labor/HHS Bill; ANWR Attached To Defense Bill

Dec 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The House passed a $602 billion Labor/HHS Appropriations bill yesterday by a close vote of 215-213, nearly one month after twenty-two Republicans surprisingly voted with Democrats to defeat the initial bill that came out of conference. In the vote, all Democrats and only 12 Republicans voted against the bill, which provides $142.5 billion in discretionary funding (the remainder is automatic spending on entitlement programs). This discretionary amount is 0.1 percent - or $163 million - less than what was appropriated for FY 2005, and $785 million more than President Bush’s budget request.

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Deficit Up Sharply In November

Dec 13, 2005 by Guest Blogger

This November the Treasury recorded a n $83.1 billion deficit. The significant increase is partially due to hurricane payouts, as government spending is far exceeding tax receipts. The total deficit for the first two months of this fiscal year - which began October 1 - was $130.3 billion, or 13.1 percent higher than it was during the same period last year (when the Treasury reported a $115.2 billion deficit). Revenues for the month totaled $138.8 billion while spending was up to $221.9 billion.

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Temporary Victory for Wolf in Tax Bill

Dec 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has pursuaded the House GOP leadership to put forward a Hurricane Katrina tax bill that exempts some businesses in the Gulf Coast from receiving tax breaks. According to a Ways and Means Committee summary of the bill, the "Gulf Opportunity Zone" restoration tax incentives will not be extended to country clubs, liquor stores, massage parlors, private or commercial golf courses, racetracks, tanning salons, or "facilities used for gambling."

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Greenspan Again Supports Budget Rules For Congress

Dec 2, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

In his last speech to the Federal Reserve before retiring, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan again warned about the economic risks posed by long-term budget deficits and an escalating national debt. Greenspan described the risk of sustained deficits on the U.S. economy over the long-term as "severe" and urged swift action to begin instituting policies to correct structural problems.

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Economy Posts Solid Job Gains in November

Dec 2, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The country's businesses added 215,000 jobs in November, according to a report released this morning by the Labor Department. This increase is more than the average monthy gains for the first eight months of 2005 (196,000) and follows two months of disappointingly low gains following the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.

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Conservatives' Misgivings Could Complicate Negotiations

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The House will get to work on the tax reconciliation bill when they return to D.C. the week of December 5. Vast differences between the House and Senate versions of the tax bill already threaten to impede conference negotiators, and in what promises to further complicate the situation, House GOP members appear to be split over providing excessive tax breaks to businesses in the Gulf Coast.

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Priority Check: Congressman Donates Pay Raise

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) is giving away the annual pay raise he received to charity today. The Transportation/Treasury/HUD appropriations bill raised Congress' pay by $3,100 this year.

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GDP Grows 4.3 Percent in the Third Quarter

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the economy grew 4.3 percent in the third quarter, which is the best showing in more than a year. The growth marks a sizable increase from the 3.3 percent increase in GDP registered in the second quarter of this year. Corporate profits decreased $45.5 billion this quarter, following a $59.3 billion increase in the previous quarter. According to the BEA, "The major contributors to the increase in real GDP in the third quarter were personal consumption expenditures (PCE), equipment and software, federal government spending, and residential fixed

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