Blog Posts and Analysis / Revenue & Spending

War Spending Keeps Climbing, Says CBO

A new round of defense and emergency appropriations will raise the total amount of money spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to nearly $750 billion by the end of FY 2008, according to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

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Congress Seeks to End IRS Privatization Program

Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate that would halt an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) program that outsources certain tax collection responsibilities to private companies. The costly and dangerous program has been soundly criticized by Congress, the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate, and outside consumer groups since it began last fall.

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Congress Finally Finishes FY 07 Appropriations

It took four extra months and a new Congress, but on Feb. 14, lawmakers finished the FY 2007 appropriations cycle when the Senate passed H.J.Res. 20. The $463.5 billion spending bill passed 81-15. The President signed the bill the next day, just in time to prevent a government shutdown.

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Squabbling Over Tax Cuts Continues to Delay Minimum Wage Increase

On Feb. 16, by a vote of 360-45, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 976, a ten-year, $1.3 billion package of offset tax cuts designed to accompany a $2.10 per hour increase in the minimum wage. On Feb. 1, the Senate adopted S. 2 — including its own set of offset tax cuts totaling $8.3 billion over ten years. The two tax packages differ markedly in size and content, and S. 2 includes the minimum wage hike while H.R. 976 comprises only the tax provisions, which could complicate the procedural road ahead.

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OMB Watch Releases Analysis of Bush FY 08 Budget Request

During the week of Feb. 5, OMB Watch issued a multipart analysis of President George W. Bush's Fiscal Year 2008 budget request to Congress. In an overview of the president's budget, OMB Watch examined the overall impact of the request and found that it puts tax cuts ahead of domestic needs. The budget uses gimmicks and omissions to mask the true impact of the president's proposals and allows him to project an artificially balanced budget.

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Senate Passes Minimum Wage Increase with Tax Cuts Added

On Feb. 1, the U.S. Senate wrapped up nearly two weeks of debate with a 94-3 vote to approve S. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. The bill raises the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009 and extends $8.3 billion of existing small business tax breaks. The fate of the bill remains uncertain because House Democrats are reluctant to provide tax breaks for small business in exchange for passing a minimum wage hike.

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House Passes FY 2007 Spending Resolution that Restores Some Funding

On Jan. 31, the House cleared a $463.5 billion joint resolution that boosts spending or maintains service levels in health, education and housing programs while staying under a tight budget cap. The resolution also makes $10 billion worth of cuts in 60 programs and eliminates earmark language from bills that were drafted but not passed during the last Congress. If the Senate passes the resolution, the new Congress will finish the FY 2007 budget bills, which the last session of Congress failed to do.

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