Revenue & Spending

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

House GOP Split on SS; Analysts Respond to Proposals

May 3, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

House Republicans, it seems, are split on how to act on Social Security. Some, including Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), want to wait for the Senate to act before moving forward with legislation proposals. Others, such as Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Bill Thomas (R-CA) have indicated that they want to move forward with hearings and legislation more quickly. Click here for more information. There has been a lot of reaction to the news conference President Bush gave last week. This New York Times editorial discusses how Bush's plan may sound like he is trying to guard poor people from cuts, but that in reality his plan would significantly reduce benefits for millions and millons of Americans. The Center for American Progress and CBPP have also analyzed both the President's plan and Robert Pozen's Progressive Price Indexing Plan. The analyses are below.

Why the President's Social Security Proposals Could Ultimately Lead to the Unraveling of Social Security

Analysis of Conservative Social Security Proposals Presented Before the Senate Finance Committee

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Watcher: May 3, 2005

May 3, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

Congress Passes Irresponsible Budget Resolution
Despite Public Disdain, Private Accounts Will Not Die
Bush Criticized for Continuing 'Dishonest' War Budgeting
Senate Passes Emergency Supplemental; Bill Held Up in Conference
Economy and Jobs Watch: Economic Recovery Still Shortchanging Workers

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Economic Recovery Still Shortchanging Workers

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States grew at a slower pace than expected during the first quarter of 2005 according to data released by the Commerce Department. At just 3.1 percent, it was the slowest rate of growth in over two years since the first quarter of 2003.

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Senate Passes Emergency Supplemental; Bill Held up in Conference

The latest emergency supplemental spending bill (H.R. 1268) was held up as House and Senate conferees struggled to reach an agreement regarding specifics for the bill before leaving town April 29 for the week-long May recess. The bill, which will mainly fund war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, was held up due to disagreements over provisions regarding immigration, border security funding, and earmarks for special projects and programs.

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Bush Criticized for Continuing 'Dishonest' War Budgeting

For months, President Bush's budget proposal has been criticized for not being an honest reflection of his intended policies or the current fiscal reality. The president purposely left out a number of major policies, including Social Security reform, extension of Alternative Minimum Tax relief, and perhaps most egregiously of all, any funding for the future cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That last omission garnered increased criticism from Capitol Hill last week.

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Despite Public Disdain, Private Accounts Will Not Die

The issue of Social Security reform is gathering steam once again as President Bush wraps up his "60-cities-in-60-days" tour to sell his privatization plan to the public. Although the latest polls show more Americans oppose the president's proposal than ever, recent congressional hearings continue to keep the plan on life support.

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Congress Passes Irresponsible Budget Resolution

Last week, after lengthy negotiations, House and Senate Republican leaders finally agreed to a set of compromises in the fiscal year 2006 (FY06) budget resolution that allowed both chambers to narrowly pass the legislation. Negotiated behind closed doors, the final budget resolution is a dishonest and irresponsible agreement that will weaken both the federal government and the U.S. economy -- and negatively impact most Americans. Most striking is that it provides another tax break for the wealthy and cuts programs to needy and middle-income Americans while still increasing the deficit.

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Thomas Calls for Bolder Cuts Than Those in Budget Resolution

May 2, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On April 28 Congress passed the $2.6 trillion budget resolution. The non-binding agreement between the House and Senate calls for $70 billion in tax cuts protected under reconciliation and $35 in cuts to mandatory programs. While most Republicans note that these strides will begin work towards reducing the deficit, Democrats have cited that the cuts to mandatory programs would significantly cut funding to safety-net programs that many low- moderate-income people rely upon, and that the tax cuts would raise the deficit significantly. Last friday House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) proposed more extreme cuts, and called for the House to make a "far bolder statement" in terms of spending cuts and tax reductions. He said that the spending cut numbers in the budget should be viewed as minimums and not maximums, while the amount set aside for tax cuts (most of which will go to the wealthy) should be viewed as a maximums and not minimums. The final budet resolution included more in tax cuts and less in mandatory savings than the House had originally passed in their resolution. The tax cut reconciliation bill is slated to be completed in September.

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Connecitcut House Passes Minimum Wage Increase

May 2, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The Connecticut House approved a measure late last week to increase the minimum wage to $7.65 an hour over two years, the Hartford Courant reported. The Democratic-controlled House voted 96-44, primarily along party lines, to increase the wage by 30 cents next year and 55 cents in 2007. Connecticut's $7.10 an hour minimum wage is one of the highest in the nation, slightly above the wage in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Many Republicans opposed the increase, saying it would hurt workers as small employers would cut back on hours and jobs to avoid rising labor costs. Supporters say the increase would help low-income families, many of which depend on minimum wage jobs. Lawmakers stated there are 39,000 families in Connecticut living on the minimum wage. "We're making it better for people who are just barely making it," said House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan, a Democrat.

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Center for American Progress Submits Comments to Tax Panel

May 2, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform is accepting comments regarding ideas on how the tax code should be reformed to be more simple, fair, and more pro-growth. The Center for American Progress has submitted comments to the tax panel with their ideas concerning responsible tax policy changes. Their letter can be read here. In January of this year the Center put together a tax plan outlining a "progressive approach to tax reform." Their plan raises about $500 billion when compared with the president's policies. Under their plan, 70 percent of the population would receive a tax reduction, while those making over $200,000 per year would see a tax increase. The Center submitted their comments on April 29. The Tax Reform Panel will hold their next two meetings in Washington, D.C. These public meetings will take place on May 11th and 12th. The meetings will begin at 9:30 and will focus on specific options for tax reform. The location in TBA.

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