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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more news

SCHIP Opposition: Even David Broder Doesn't Get It

Sep 27, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Centrist David Broder thinks its crazy to oppose SCHIP. The spectacle Tuesday of 151 House Republicans voting in lock step with the White House against expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was one of the more remarkable sights of the year. Rarely do you see so many politicians putting their careers in jeopardy.

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White House to Request $193 Billion for War

Sep 26, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, informed Congress that the White House would be requesting $193 billion to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in FY 2008. The AP reports that on top of the $150.7 billion requested in previous months, Gates asked the approps committee for an additional $42.3 billion, which includes:

$11 billion to field another 7,000 MRAP vehicles in addition to the 8,000 already planned;
$9 billion to reconstitute equipment and technology;

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House Presses the Pause/Panic Button on FY 2008

Sep 26, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The Senate having passed only four of 12 FY 2008 appropriations bills and those four not even scheduled for conference, and the new fiscal year starting next Monday, Oct. 1, House passage of a continuing resolution to keep the government operating through Nov. 16 at FY 2007 spending levels -- for the most part (see below) -- was a foregone conclusion. It hardly qualifies as news. The

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CBO's Score for House SCHIP Bill (HR 976)

Sep 26, 2007 by Craig Jennings

CBO has released its score for the recently passed House bill that would increase funding for SCHIP.

SCHIP provisions alone are $27.7 billion above CBO baseline of $27.4 billion
Other provisions in the bill, including additional Medicaid outlays are $7.2 billion above CBO baseline
Total spending above CBO baseline is $34.9 billion
These additional mandatory expenditures will be offset primarily by a 61-cent per-pack cigarette tax totalling $35.5 billion

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SCHIP Passes House!

Sep 26, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The SCHIP expansion bill passed the House last night by the large margin of 265 to 159. 45 Republicans voted for it, while only 8 Democrats voted against it. Kudos to everyone who called in! Now the fight moves to the Senate. Unfortunately, the House vote fell short of the 2/3 majority needed to overturn a veto. The Senate now has to get a veto-proof vote, which should put pressure on more House members to overturn a veto. If they don't get there, the new funding levels will have to come down, and fewer children will be enrolled in the program.

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House SCHIP Vote Imminent

Sep 25, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The House is scheduled to vote on the SCHIP bill in hours, while the Senate will vote on either Thursday or Friday. If you haven't already, please make sure to call your representatives. The toll free number is 1-866-544-7573. It sounds cheesy, but millions of kids are counting on you to do it.

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FY 2008 CR: Legislative Update

Sep 25, 2007 by Dana Chasin

With three legislative days left before the end of the 2007 fiscal year, Congress and the president have little choice but to adopt a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government operating at full strength. Word on the Hill is that a clean CR -- that is, providing continued funding during the life of the CR at FY 2007 levels -- is expected to be passed before the end of the week, with House voting on the CR tomorrow and the Senate doing likewise on Thursday. Currently under discussion is a CR that would expire sometime around Nov. 16. Click here for a look at the House CR bill.

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Renewing Fiscal Responsibility

Sep 25, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The Brookings Institution will be hosting an event to get the presidential candidates focused on the deficit. But only six years post-Clinton, they may be tilting at windmills.

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Bush, Monday Morning QB, Asks 'Clean' CR

Sep 25, 2007 by Dana Chasin

But Unable to 'Obey' His Own Demands House Appropriations chair Rep. David Obey (D-WI) is trying to forstall a government shutdown, negotiating details of a Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year 2008 (which begins next Monday, Oct. 1) with newly-installed OMB director Jim Nussle. "I met with the President's budget director last week and informed him at that time that we intended to pass a clean C.R. I asked him if he would let me know if the administration had any exceptions that they wanted included and they sent us over a dozen changes that they wanted."

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FY 2008 War Funding Could Top $200 Billion

In May, Congress passed a $99.5 billion supplemental war spending bill that expires on Sept. 30. The next supplemental bill for FY 2008 war spending is expected to total close to $200 billion. That total, however, is an estimate based on speculation in Washington and continuously changing conditions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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