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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Panel Begins Work on Dissecting the Financial Crisis

Sep 17, 2009 by Craig Jennings

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a 10-member, bi-partisan, group of congressional appointees charged with determining the causes of last year's financial markets meltdown will begin its work today. The crisis resulted in a $700 billion appropriations bill and trillions of dollars in loan guarantees from the Fed, and now the FCIC will put the events that lead to the systemic breakdown under a microscope.

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CBO Jumps to 20-Year Budget Window for Health Care

Sep 15, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

There is an interesting article ($) in CQ this morning about a possible change in forecasting techniques used by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, announced on Monday that CBO would likely provide cost estimates for the forthcoming Senate health care reform bill beyond the standard 10-year budget window - extending that window to 20 years.

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Public to See Recovery Act Data Oct. 15

Sep 14, 2009 by Craig Jennings

Updated below

The Nextgov blog Tech Insider is reporting that on the eve of All Hallows' Eve, the public will be treated with its first look at Recovery Act recipient report data. Recovery Board chief Earl Devaney has told Tech Insider that that the reports will become available after the 20-day correction and revision period allowed by the law to "mitigate[] the board's concern that large amounts of uncorrected data could actually harm transparency rather than enhance it."

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Recovery Act Fraud: How the Senate Wasted an Entire Perfectly Good Morning

Sep 11, 2009 by Sam Rosen-Amy

This post should be about all the great Recovery Act transparency and oversight issues the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee learned about yesterday when it held a hearing titled "Follow the Money: An Update on Stimulus Spending, Transparency, and Fraud Prevention." But it isn't.

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Shortsighted Tax Policy to Generate Windfall for the Rich

Sep 11, 2009 by Gary Therkildsen*

According to Howard Gleckman over at TaxVox, the blog of the Urban and Brookings Joint Tax Policy Center, due to a shortsighted revenue generator Congress put in place several years ago, wealthy individuals will soon be able to convert taxable investments into tax-free nest eggs, and deny the government needed revenues down the road. It's a perfect example of the unintended consequences of public policy and one of those things that make you either want to scratch your head or beat it against the wall, or both.

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Independent Analysts Concur With CEA: Recovery Act Boosts Employment

Sep 11, 2009 by Craig Jennings

Yesterday, as per Recovery Act requirements, the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) released their quarterly report on the "impact of programs funded through [the Recovery Act] on employment, estimated economic growth, and other key economic indicators."

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OMB Watch Releases Recovery Act Transparency Status Report

Sep 10, 2009 by Sam Rosen-Amy

This week, Recovery Act transparency will begin to take center stage. Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on stimulus spending and the Council of Economic Advisors released its report on the economic impact of the Recovery Act, while later this month the Government Accountability Office will release its third bimonthly report on Recovery Act implementation and transparency. To highlight strengths and weaknesses of disclosure and accountability in Recovery Act spending, OMB Watch is releasing a comprehensive report on Recovery Act transparency.

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OMB Watch Releases Recovery Act Transparency Status Report

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2009—This week, Recovery Act transparency will begin to take center stage. Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on stimulus spending, the Council of Economic Advisors will release its report on Recovery Act job creation, and the Government Accountability Office prepares to release its third bimonthly report on Recovery Act implementation and transparency. To highlight strengths and weaknesses of disclosure and accountability in Recovery Act spending, OMB Watch is releasing a comprehensive report on Recovery Act transparency.

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CTJ: For Some in Congress, Priorities Lie With the Rich

Sep 8, 2009 by Gary Therkildsen*

According to a new report released today by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), the tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush, which provide benefits mostly to the rich, will cost the country $2.5 trillion over the decade after they were first enacted (2001-2010). A number of lawmakers who voted for the Bush tax cuts have recently been arguing against health care reform legislation aimed at helping all Americans, claiming reforms are "too costly." How can this be?

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Another 100 Days, Another Recovery Act Update from Biden

Sep 4, 2009 by Sam Rosen-Amy

Yesterday was the 200th day since Obama signed the Recovery Act into law, and the White House is celebrating the occasion with another report from its Recovery Act czar, Vice President Joe Biden. You might remember Biden's last Recovery Act report, from the bill's 100 day anniversary, which consisted of a collection of news reports on Recovery Act projects. Pretty much everyone roundly panned the report as a PR move with little useful information, and one would hope that they took the criticism to heart.