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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Emanuel Proposes Defunding Part of the OVP

Jun 26, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) is leading a charge to cut funding for the Office of Vice President, in response to arguments the OVP has made that it isn't subject to disclosure requirements that apply to the executive branch. Emmanuel's amendment is such that unless the OVP complies with the requirements, it will lose the funding it gets in the appropriations bill that funds the President's administration, and will only get funding through the appropriations bill that funds legislative branch activities.

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The Vice President's Budget?

Jun 26, 2007 by Craig Jennings

The Washington Post is running a multi-part series on Vice President Dick Cheney and his impact on federal policies. Today, the series' authors, Jo Becker and Barton Gellman, examine the veep's role in influencing domestic policy. This section about the budget-making process is enlightening:

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President Follows Shining Path to $933 Bn.

Jun 26, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Threatens Veto of Interior-Environment Bill Yesterday, the administration issued its third veto threat of the appropriations season, this time against H.R. 2643, the House's $27.6 billion Interior-Environment Bill. Again, yesterday's Statement of Administration Policy reflects the administration's aggregate $933 billion discretionary spending topline approach to vetoing spending bills as they make their way through Congress:

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Admin. Veto Strategy: "Aggregate Topline" Theory

Jun 25, 2007 by Dana Chasin

An Analytic Framework for the FY 2008 Budget Battle

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President Promises Slew of Vetoes

As Congress looks forward to the July 4 recess, it continues to fulfill a primary responsibility — passing legislation that funds the activities of the federal government. Five of 12 FY 2008 spending bills have passed the House and await Senate approval. But President Bush has signaled he intends to veto bills that could push spending above the $933 billion cap specified in his budget request earlier this year.

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Commentary: Hamilton Project Paper Does Not Make the Grade

Prominent policy analysts for the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project remain wedded to the ideology that government intervention in the marketplace does more harm than good. Their vision damages the public's perception of government and promises to fall short of ensuring that the "rising tide" of economic growth does indeed "lift all boats."

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Portman Out, Nussle Tapped to Head OMB

On June 19, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Rob Portman announced his resignation, effective in August. President Bush has chosen former House Budget Committee chairman Jim Nussle to be the next OMB director — a candidate whose reputation and policy record suggest the White House is prepared to clash with Democrats in Congress, particularly over the FY 2008 budget.

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House Battle over Earmarks Procedure Resolved

A fiercely partisan impasse in the House was resolved on June 14 when Appropriations Chair David Obey (D-WI) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) reached a comprehensive procedural agreement following months of confusion and vituperation over the chamber's earmarks disclosure and approval process. The agreement outlines rules for consideration of earmarks for the House to follow for each of the 12 FY 2008 appropriations bills and appears to be operating smoothly thus far: on June 21, the House Appropriations Committee approved the lists of earmarks for two spending bills by voice votes.

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The Budget Battle -- Rhetoric vs. Reality

Jun 22, 2007 by Dana Chasin

With the Bush administration trying to effect a sudden shift from spendthrift to scrooge this budget season, the time is right to sort out fiscal myth from reality. The administration has issued shrill warnings that "the Democrats' budget would lead to spending and tax increases that put economic growth and a balanced budget at risk" (per OMB, June 12). In fact, the administration has demanded an increase in FY 2008 discretionary spending of seven percent over FY 2007; by contrast, the Democrats' proposed increase is a whopping nine percent, as we noted last week.

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Korb: $60 billion in Defense Waste

Jun 22, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Lawrence Korb, former Reagan administration official and fellow at the Center for American Progress, has a good report out on $60 billion of annual waste in the defense budget.

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