In a June 11 interview, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said that any further increase in the federal debt limit should be accompanied by additional spending cuts, according to Roll Call.

“I believe that if we’re going to increase the debt limit, there ought to be cuts and reforms in place that are greater than the increase in the debt limit,” Speaker Boehner said.

The House committee in charge of overseeing the Department of Defense and drafting the National Defense Authorization Act has answered the White House’s call to address the ever-increasing contractor compensation cap. But the House Armed Services Committee is serving up something far weaker than what the White House wants and a substantial reversal from the status quo. Namely it would exempt a large universe of contractors that are subject to the cap currently.

Colin Gordon, a professor of history at the University of Iowa, has written an interesting (and interactive) article for Dissent that shows historic trends in taxes in the United States.

Although declining budget deficits would appear to have undercut pressure for another grand bargain on deficit reduction, administration officials are continuing to meet with Congress in search of an agreement.