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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Finance Committee Hearing on SS Solvency

Apr 27, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Senate Finance Committe held a hearing yesterday on the issue of Social Security solvency and private accounts. Witnesses testifying before the committee included Peter Orszag from the Brookings Institution, Robert Pozen, whose Social Security plan has been praised by Bush, Joan Entmacher of the National Women's Law Center, Michael Tanner of Cato, and Peter Ferrara of the Free Enterprise Fund. Click here for witness testimonies. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley told reporters after the hearing that he wants to move forward with Social Security legislation. Republicans on the committee are planning to meet in two weeks to start coming with legislation that Grassley hopes will appeal to the Democrats on the committee, which include Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), John Kerry (D-MA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). While the Democratic senators seem to be united in their opposition to private accounts, Republicans are more splintered on the issue. During yesterday's hearing Craig Thomas (R-WY) questioned a move that would add trillions of dollars to our debt, and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) seemed opposed to personal investment accounts. She said, "Social Security became the bedrock of support for seniors in my state precisely because it's defined and guaranteed. What cost and what risk is it worth to erode the guaranteed benefit?" Click here and here for newspaper articles on the hearing as well as the Social Security rally that took place yesterday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

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Greenspan Comments on Tax Increases and the Deficit

Apr 27, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Last week Alan Greenspan testified before the Senate Budget Committee. He said that tax increases, as well as spending decreases, must be part of any responsible deficit reduction plan. In his testimony he also stated, "The federal budget deficit is on an unsustainable path, in which large deficits result in rising interest rates and ever-growing interest payments that augment deficits in future years." For more information, click here.

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Another Strike Against Private Accounts

Apr 21, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On tuesday, Finance Committee member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that both he and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) had "pretty much told the president he's not going to get carve-outs" in regards to Social Security reform. Senate GOP leaders seem to be coming around to the fact that Bush's Social Security plan is not politically popular enough for them to seriously pursue. Hatch, in fact, is promoting a plan that would let people contribute up to $5,000 per year into a personal account, with the government providing scaled matching contributions for those who make less than $80,000 annually. Hatch's proposal also provides financial incentives that would be added to the accounts of those who opt to defer their receipt of Social Security retirement benefits. And the debate for reform continues. Of note: On April 26th, at 10 AM, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on sustainable solvency, during which they will look at proposals for reform both with and without private accounts. Robert Pozen, a former member of Bush's 2001 Social Security commission, will testify. His plan for reform has garnered a lot of attention over the past few months.

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Watcher: April 20th, 2005

Apr 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

House Again Passes Irresponsible Estate Tax Repeal
No Compromise Seen in Budget Negotiations
Billions Lost Annually Due to Tax Evasion

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Allard Looks Into GPRA for Legislative Branch

Apr 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, is interested in looking to apply the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) to the legislative branch of the government. Currently, GPRA is a program that requires federal agencies to set goals and measure results through annual performance report. For more information on GPRA click here. Allard wants to see legislative agencies follow the GPRA, noting during a hearing yesterday, "I want to look into whether we apply all of the formulating in the GPRA or just a part of [it]." His interest in seeing GPRA applied to legislative agencies was fueled by a funding request for FY 2006 from the Library of Congress which is significantly higher (7 percent) than the funding request was for FY 2005. The GPRA ideally would be used to evaluate programs and the resources necessary to run them effectively. Allard indicated that he will need to spend time discussing this idea with other members of the Committee before it goes anywhere. To read an article in The Hill on this issue, click here.

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No Compromise Seen in Budget Negotiations

It has been over a month since the House and Senate passed their fiscal year 2006 budget resolutions, yet GOP negotiators have not made significant strides toward reaching compromise between the two chambers. While only the Senate has named conferees to the conference committee, informal talks between House and Senate leaders have begun to point to difficulties ahead.

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House to Debate on Tax Breaks in Energy Bill

Apr 19, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Tomorrow the House will debate an energy bill, H.R. 1541, which includes provisions on tax breaks targeted for the energy industry. Last week the Ways and Means Committee approved $8 billion in tax breaks for the energy industry -- a number which is actually at odds with the Bush administration. The administration proposed $6.7 billion worth of tax breaks, with 72 percent of that amount going towards renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency. The House version passed by the Committee increases the tax cut by $1.3 billion and only allocates 6 percent of the money to go towards renewable and efficient sources of energy. Not only is this measure environmentally irresponsible, but it is also fiscally irresponsible. As Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth stated in this Washington Post article, "The energy bill is just another example of the House Republican leadership overreaching for corporate interests."

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State Budgets Plagued By Education and Health Costs

Apr 18, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The National Conference of State Legislatures released a report last thursday highlighting the fiscal health of states and the budget pressures that exist for states regarding some key programs. The report noted that in FY 2003, 31 states faced budget gaps after the fiscal year began, however this year only 3 states found themselves in that situation. Despite this fact, Medicaid and other health costs continue to cause increasing financial pressure for states, and while state tax revenues have been able to cover most costs this year it may not work out as nicely in the years to come -- as the report says 26 states are facing shortfalls as they put together their FY 2006 budgets. More on the report can be read here.

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Tax Panel Meeting in DC 4/18

Apr 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform will hold their next meeting on Monday, April 18th at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. The meeting will focus on state tax systems, how they interact with the federal system, and also how the tax system affects business investment in technology. These meetings are open to the public. A list of witnesses as well as more information can be found here.

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Finance Committee Hearing on Tax Gap

Apr 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On April 14th, the day before tax day, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the tax gap where they discussed compliance issues, tax code complexity, and the amount of revenue that is lost each year due to people and corporations who don't pay 100 percent of their taxes. Witnesses included GAO Comptroller David Walker, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, Cheif of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation George Yin, and National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. All Committee member and witness statements can be read here. Read this Washington Post article for more info on the tax gap and compliance issues, and look for an article in next week's edition of the Watcher for more detailed coverage.

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