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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Senate's Second Chances for Line-Item Slim

Jan 23, 2007 by Dana Chasin

A new edition of the old GOP chestnut, the line-item veto, is getting substantial Senate floor time during consideration of S. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act. Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-NH) has offered an amendment to the minimum wage bill to grant the president line-item "enhanced rescission" authority to strike earmarks from tax and spending bills.

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PayGo on TPM Cafe

Jan 23, 2007 by Matt Lewis

An interesting discussion on PayGo has popped up on TPM Cafe. Amitai Etzioni wrote we shouldn't go by PayGo because it'll only lead to surpluses that Republicans will squander on their well-heeled constituents. Point well taken. Paul Krugman recently made a similar point, though less in terms of PayGo and more in terms of the deficit. But that's not the end of the story. Greg Anrig at TPM Cafe has an interesting response to Etzioni's post. He thinks PayGo is a good way to define Democrats as responsible and competent and Republicans as crazy.

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Congress Can Shape War Policy through Appropriations Process

President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq has stirred up debate recently over the extent to which Congress can direct war policy. While some have gone so far as to suggest that Congress has the authority to do no more than make symbolic statements, in truth, the appropriations process gives Congress significant — albeit restricted — power to shape the course of war policy. Using the Power of the Purse

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Senate Passes New Rules on Earmark Disclosure

The Senate on Jan. 18 passed a comprehensive lobbying and ethics reform bill — S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 — that included an overhauled earmark disclosure rule. After nearly two weeks of floor debate featuring reversals, stalemates, and a brief filibuster, the Senate voted 96-2 to pass the bill, widening the definition of earmarks and increasing their public disclosure requirements. S. 1 must be passed by the House and signed by the president before any of it, including the Senate rules changes, can take effect.

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The Fiscal Impact of House 100 Hours Agenda

On Jan. 18, the House Democrats succeeded in passing the final piece of their six-part "100 hours" agenda. The combined fiscal impact of the bills — which implement 9/11 Commission recommendations, close energy tax loopholes and more — is significant: the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated $21.1 billion in savings and revenue over the next ten years if the bills are signed into law. H.R. 1: Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007

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Congress Commits More Time to Doing Its Job

After one of the shortest legislative sessions on record, the 110th Congress has scheduled substantially more days in session for 2007. Hoping to avoid the "do-nothing" label that haunted the 109th Congress, Democratic leaders are hoping the additional time will not only allow for the adoption of their initial "100 hours" agenda, but also the timely completion of all appropriations bills before the start of the next fiscal year. Despite the additional days in session, however, it may still be difficult for Democrats to enact their priorities.

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Millenium Challenge To Run Out of Money

Jan 22, 2007 by Matt Lewis

More news that this year's budget underfunds important programs. This time, it's the Millenium Challenge program, which provides funding to foster the development of poor countries. WASHINGTON -- President Bush's signature foreign-assistance program is likely to run out of money this year, leaving in the lurch several poor countries that have labored to meet its strict eligibility standards, according to aid officials. Mr. Bush introduced the Millennium Challenge program in 2002 as a new approach to fix the perceived failures of overseas-development assistance.

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Dems Struggling to Clean Up Approps Mess

Jan 18, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The newly-empowered Democrats are now reaping a grim reward for winning the November election. They have to clean up the Republican's appropriations mess, and reports show that so far, they're having a rough time doing it. Regular readers might recall that the Republican Congress did not pass nine of the eleven required appropriations bills that provide funding for discretionary programs.

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House To Vote on Oil Subsidy-Rescinding Bill Tomorrow

Jan 17, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The last leg of the 100 hours legislative marathon- the Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007- will come up for a vote Thursday. The LA Times has a good summary of the bill here.

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Whitey on the Moon, Iraq

Jan 16, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Via TAPPED, the Washington Post reports today on budget choices at NASA. Money is being shifted out of programs that monitor climate change and hurricanes and into space exploration. The government's ability to understand and predict hurricanes, drought and climate changes of all kinds is in danger because of deep cuts facing many Earth satellite programs and major delays in launching some of its most important new instruments, a panel of experts has concluded.

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