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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BudgetBlog on Hiatus for Holiday: Happy Fourth Everyone!

Jun 27, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Happy Fourth of July! Just wanted to let our loyal BudgetBlog readers know we're going on a short hiatus next week. With Congress heading out of town for a short summer recess and the upcoming Fourth of July holiday next week, the Fiscal Policy team is heading out of town in order to escape the heat for some well-deserved vacation. This means, though, that the BudgetBlog will be dormant next week. But don't despair. Craig and I will return in one short week on July 7 to continue to bring you all the news, gossip, information, and analysis on federal fiscal policy you've come to expect.

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The Heat Must Be Getting to Them

Jun 26, 2008 by Craig Jennings

It's the end of June, and the temperature is climbing in the District. And I think it's starting to affect the work of our elected leaders. The House Appropriations Committee abruptly adjourned in chaos Thursday before acting on two big domestic spending bills, after Republicans tried to force the committee to take up a bill covering the Interior Department they believe could be used to lower fuel prices. ...

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Yet Another Example of Questionable Outsourcing

Jun 26, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Another report of a questionable use of outsourcing appeared today in CongressDaily, this time it's happening over at the State Department. Seems folks over there have modified an existing contract to Computer Sciences Corporation (FedSpending.org profile) to "collect visa information and fingerprints of Mexicans applying for new border crossing cards." The non-competed contract has raised some eyebrows in Congress and among government watchdogs, particularly the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

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Senate GOP Battling Themselves Over Earmarks

Jun 26, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Looks like reforms that would bring increased transparency to earmarking in the U.S. Senate will have to wait a little longer. The Senate Republican caucus postponed a vote yesterday on a package of recommendations developed by five GOP senators earlier this year that would increase disclosure of earmark requests and accessibility of earmark language in legislation. The Hill reports:

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More Support for Ending the Contracting Free-For-All

Jun 25, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Following up on my blog earlier today about the Webb-McCaskill Wartime Contracting Commission finally starting to get off the ground, I came across a great column by Thomas Frank today in the Wall Street Journal (of all places!) continuing the drumbeat for a contracting commission to finally get to the bott

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Approps Update: Senate Panel Clears Labor-H

Jun 24, 2008 by Craig Jennings

By a voice vote, a Senate appropriations subcommittee has approved a FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill. The measure would provide about $400 billion less than the House version but bests the president's request by over $7 billion. The bill includes a $1.1 billion boost to NIH and would increase college education funding by $2.7 billion.

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Fiscal Responsibility, War Critics Take a Back Seat in House War Supplemental

When the House Democratic leadership introduced a supplemental appropriations bill the week of June 16, chock-full of popular spending measures, it ensured easy passage of the $257 billion package. The Democrats and President Bush can each claim they won items in the negotiation over the bill: the Democrats won increased spending on domestic programs; Bush was able to kill any requirements for withdrawal of soldiers from Iraq. Yet the bill remained controversial because the Democrats refused to include fiscally responsible measures or accede to the opinion of 63 percent of Americans that soldiers should return home within two years.

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House Approves Supplemental War, Domestic Spending

Jun 20, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Spending bill sent to Senate

Yesterday evening (Thurs.), the House approved a pair of amendments to the war supplemental spending bill that would found the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and would provide funding for exetended unemployment benefits, expanded GI bill benefits, and a host other domestic spending provisions.

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War Supp: What's Up with That?

Jun 18, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Hoyer eyeing Thursday for House vote; GI Bill offset included (Updated below) By cancelling approps markups this week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has cleared the deck for floor consideration of that chamber's latest revision of the war supplemental spending package. With the exception of additional funds for midwest region's recent flooding disaster (speculation is $2 billion-ish), the House bill is shaping up to look pretty much like the original sent to the Senate oh-so-long ago:

Fulfillment of the remaining war funding request for FY 2008 and part of FY 2009

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House Approps Subcommittee Boosts IRS Funding, Takes Aim at Private Debt Collection

Jun 18, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee approved, by voice vote, a $22.4 billion bill that would provide funds for the Treasury Department and the District of Columbia. Included in the measure is $11.4 billion for the IRS, a slight increase over the president's request and over $300 million more than the current budget. And while the IRS' enforcement budget allotment matches the president's request -- a respectable 7 percent increase over current levels --, the committee saw fit to raise Bush's $2.15 billion request for taxpayer services funding by $60 million.

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