Federal Budget Policy

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Jackson May Not Have Been Only Bad Apple at HUD

May 21, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Carol Leonnig at the Washington Post wrote a great article over the weekend that gets further into the weeds on contracting problems at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under former Sec. Jackson. Leonnig profiles three small businesses that received huge jumps in the size of federal contracts they received over the last five or so years, often times despite objections of career contracting officers. It appears awarding contracts as political favors might have extended well beyond Jackson to many other high ranking officials at HUD:

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DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- May 21, 2008

May 21, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Earmarks -- House Cmte. Chair to Ignore Bush Order: Earlier this year, the president issued an Executive Order barring government agencies from using funds for earmarks added in House and Senate committee or conference report instead of the original bill's language. Per House Armed Services chair Ike Skelton (D-MO)'s spokeswoman: the "committee does not believe and does not acknowledge the president's assertion that report language should have no weight.

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DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- May 20, 2008

May 20, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Housing -- Senate Banking Compromise Mark-Up Today: The Senate Banking Committee's compromise housing package, the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act, will be marked up by the committee this morning. The bill, which provides $300 billion in mortgage guarantees, includes "major efforts to help prevent the rising number of foreclosures, to create more affordable housing for Americans and to reform the regulation of government-sponsored [housing finance] enterprises in order to improve their role in the housing finance system." Committee Release.

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Editorial Titans Go Head-to-Head on Housing

May 19, 2008 by Dana Chasin

The lead editorials in the New York Times and Washington Post today both focus on the principal legislative solution to the nation's housing crisis -- the House-passed $1.7 billion plan to provide $300 billion in mortgage refinance guarantees, designed by Financial Services Committee chair Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to mark up a similar bill tomorrow.

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I am a Budget Hero

May 19, 2008 by Dana Chasin

And So Can You American Public Media's Marketplace has produced an on-line game called Budget Hero, which allows players to try their hand at balancing the federal budget. Pick your policy priorities and fund them with real-life pay-fors. Or don't pay for them and see what year your budget goes bust.

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DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- May 19, 2008

May 19, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Among the major outstanding fiscal issues likely to see congressional action this week, in advance of the Memorial Day recess: Budget Resolution -- An FY09 Budget by Friday?: The budget resolution conference committee is expected to meet to hash out the FY09 budget resolution. Conferees and leaders are hoping to approve the budget before lawmakers leave town for the Memorial Day recess. If it is approved, it will mark the first time since 2000 that Congress has been able to agree on a budget blueprint in an election year. Story.

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Unions Boost Wages of Lowest-Income Workers the Most

May 16, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Shawn Fremstad posted yesterday on a new paper released this month by John Schmitt over at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The paper studies the impact unions have on income and has some interesting findings:

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GI Bill Surtax Would Affect 0.3% of All Taxpayers

May 16, 2008 by Craig Jennings

When the House approved the domestic spending amendment to the war supplemental spending bill, it approved not only a $52 billion expansion of the GI Bill, but a 0.5% surtax on income for millionaire couples (individuals earning more than $500,000). According a recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, the tax would affect about 0.3% of all taxpayers.

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DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- May 16, 2008

May 16, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Tax Policy -- W&M Approves Extenders; Rejects AMT Patch: By a mostly party-line vote of 25-12, the House Ways and Means Committee approved at $57 billion tax package of an assortment of tax breaks yesterday. The committee also voted down a Republican-offered unpaid-for one-year AMT patch. The bill is expected to be on the House floor next week.

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War Supplemental Update: War Funding Bill Lacks War Funding Provision

May 15, 2008 by Craig Jennings

For reasons not entirely clear -- other than simply throwing a temper tantrum -- House Republicans voted present on the amendment that would add $162.5 billion in war funding to HR 2642, the shell bill that was to be ultimately be the war supplemental spending bill. The vote to add war funding failed 141-149, as anti-war Democrats voted "no" and 132 Republicans voted "present." A second amendment, a provision that would set a Dec. 31, 2009 withdrawal date for troops in Iraq, passed 227-196.

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