Senate Defeats Estate Tax Giveaway...Yet Again

The Senate voted last week to reject a tax and wage package dubbed the "trifecta" that would have slashed the estate tax permanently, increased the minimum wage modestly, and extended a broad set of tax breaks. The bill, passed by the House last month, also contained a number of "sweeteners" to entice targeted senators to vote for the bill. "What I will do over the next month [is] assess where America is," Frist said. "And what I would very much like to do or to have happen is ... pressure from the American people. If I felt that, I would use that procedural option in bringing these back."

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Last-Minute Attempt to Add Estate Tax to Pension Reforms Fails

Over the last week, Capitol Hill has been abuzz with speculation that House and Senate GOP leaders were engaging in a last-ditch effort to attach a provision gutting the estate tax to a sensitive and complicated pension reform conference report. The sneaky move failed, however, as Senate Majority Leader Bill First (R-TN) announced today he could not convince a number of key Republicans, particularly Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), to support it. In related news, President Bush has moved to gut IRS estate tax enforcement.

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Household Debt: A Growing Challenge for American Families and Federal Policy

Mirroring the federal government's penchant for spending more money than it collects, the American public now has a negative net savings rate. Home prices, medical care, and college tuition are all growing faster than wages, and debt has become increasingly pervasive among American households. These are facts that have not escaped the attention of American consumers, 82 percent of whom now recognize household debt as a serious problem, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Center for American Progress.

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Support Grows for Contracts and Grants Disclosure

The financial and information management subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a July 18 hearing on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590). Support in the Senate for the bill that would create a free, searchable public database of government contracts and grants has surged in recent weeks, helping propel the issue forward.

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OMB Mid-Session Review Gives Limited Picture Of Budget Crisis

Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its annual Mid-Session Budget Review, and has lowered by $127 billion the projected FY 2006 budget deficit - from $423 billion estimated earlier this year to $296 billion. The reduction is attributed to an unexpected rise in corporate and personal income tax receipts and revenues from capital gains taxes. Beneath the increased tax revenue, however, is a frightening reality: the ever-widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us.

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Congress Running Out of Time for Approps Work

Lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday after a week-long 4th of July break. Both chambers of Congress are far behind in their work for the year and appear to lack momentum toward completing contentious legislation, including immigration and pension reform, additional tax cuts, and budget process changes. This already nearly guarantees that a continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary for funding the federal government after the start of the fiscal year on Oct.

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Back From the Dead: Estate Tax "Compromise" Could Move in Senate Soon

The House voted last week to approve an estate tax "compromise" that is, in reality, backdoor repeal of the tax. The vote clears the way for another Senate vote on the estate tax, following the Senate's rejection of repeal earlier this month.

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