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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Why Federal Budget Rules Matter

As we often try to remember on these pages, the federal budget, which may superficially appear to be merely a convoluted collection of insignificant numbers, is actually the decoder ring to a better understanding of our country’s real priorities -- since not a lot happens to improve a problem without spending money, the federal budget reveals which problems our country’s policy makers are working to improve. Even less understood and farther removed from our daily lives are the intricacies of federal budget rules. These rules, which govern how the House and Senate must work to craft the country’s annual budget, are in place to ensure that sufficient time is given to debating and developing the a course for tackling the nation’s problems.

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About the Senate Budget Process Rules

One reason the nonprofit community was able to stop permanent repeal of the estate tax is that Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) needed 60 votes in the Senate, rather than just a "simple majority" of 51 votes. With the expiration of key Senate budget rules on October 1, however, the Senate may lose this key feature that helped earn it the title of "the world’s greatest deliberative body."

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Social Investment Initiative

For more information on the SII, please contact our Federal Budget project

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EPI's Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN)

The Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) is a collaboration between the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and state-level and regional economic research organizations. EARN links local, state, and national groups that conduct and disseminate research on a range of economic issues, including wages and benefits, incomes, jobs, unemployment, workforce and economic development, minimum and living wages, Social Security, and other issues related to living standards.

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National Priorities Project Database

The National Priorities Project Database offers state data on socio-economic needs and federal expenditures, and allows the user to create customized tables, graphs and reports. The database is searchable by issue area (e.g., income, housing, hunger) and by state. Data is also available for the U.S. as a whole. Use of the database is free, though returning visitors are asked to register (free of charge). NPP notes that it will not share or sell any of the information collected through the registration form. More on the National Priorities Project

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Demos: New Opportunities?

This Demos report -- New Opportunities? Public Opinion on Poverty and Inequality and Public Policy: 1996-2001 -- uses more than 12 different surveys commissioned by various nonprofit organizations, foundations, and media outlets, and 2 academic surveys of public opinion to provide a look at how the American public views the causes of and potential remedies for poverty. The report highlights two seemingly conflicting values in American society -- "individualism" and "egalitarianism" -- that work to shape public opinion of poverty.

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CBPP's Focus on the States

This Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) state page offers detailed analyses of policy proposals and developments that affect states, particularly their low- and moderate-income residents.

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OMB Watch's Social Investment Initiative

The Social Investment Initiative (SII) is a two-year planning and action project to prepare a foundation for a longer-term effort to address domestic priorities. SII starts from the premise that federal fiscal policy is a reflection of our priorities as a nation as well as a statement about the role of government in our civil society. Read more about the SII For more information on the SII, please contact our Federal Budget project. More on the SII About the SII Discussion Groups and Participants Austin & San Antonio, Texas, Summary Chicago, Illinois, Summary Seattle, Washington, Summary

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Appropriations and Supplemental Spending Bill Update

Negotiations between the House and Senate on the FY 2002 supplemental spending bill (H.R. 4775) broke down after the White House threatened to veto the bill if spending was much more than the $28.8 billion requested by the President and consisted primarily of spending for defense and national security and aid to New York City.

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OMB?S Mid-Session Budget Review: Rosey Pays Another White House Visit

It comes as no surprise that the budget review issued by the Office of Management and Budget on July 19, 2002, shows a higher deficit for 2002 than predicted in its February 2002 report—from a $106 billion to a $165 billion deficit. In spite of the increasing deficit, OMB is optimistic about a quick return to budget surpluses in 2005, which are estimated to continue to increase over the next decade. In other words, according to OMB, this has been a rough time, but the President’s economic and fiscal policies, particularly the tax cut, insure that the long-term outlook couldn’t be better.

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