Blog Posts and Analysis / Revenue & Spending

Trifecta Bill May Resurface in Senate This Month

The fate of the "trifecta" bill and middle-class tax cuts remains uncertain, as GOP leaders send mixed signals about their intentions and the GOP ranks appear restless. In late July, the House passed a so-called "trifecta" package (H.R. 5970) that would roll back estate taxes, increase the minimum wage, and extend several business and other tax credits. Solely because of the inclusion of the estate tax cut, the package failed in the Senate, falling three votes short of the 60 necessary to end debate.

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Senate Finance Committee Looks at Executive Compensation Excesses

A Sept. 8 Senate Finance Committee hearing demonstrated that a 1993 tax code reform has failed to curb the growth of extravagant CEO compensation packages. In fact, the reform created loopholes that have opened the door for outrageous salaries and bonuses, and unscrupulous behavior by company executives and boards of directors. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) vehemently denounced the loopholes in the tax code created by the 1993 reforms.

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Congress Squanders Year As Appropriations Remain Unfinished

With the beginning of the new fiscal year less than three weeks away, not one of this year's appropriations bills has been signed into law. The Senate shoulders most of the blame for the standstill, having now passed just two of its 12 appropriations bills. Because there is so little time left, Congress will have to finish up its appropriations work in a lame-duck session after the November election.

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Spending Transparency Bill Passes Senate, House Approval Imminent

After a month of secret holds, back-room maneuvering, stall tactics and butting of heads, the Senate quietly passed the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) on Thursday, Sept. 7 by unanimous consent. The bill will dramatically increase government accountability and public access to federal spending data, by creating a free, public, searchable website of all federal spending, including government contracts and grants. The House is expected to amend the bill slightly before passing it this week.

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Despite Short-Term Gains, CBO Forecasts Grim Long-Term Fiscal Outlook

On Aug. 17, The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released the annual summer update to its Budget and Economic Outlook report. In it, CBO lowers its estimate of the Fiscal Year 2006 budget deficit by 30 percent from its March analysis and now projects the year-end deficit at $260 billion. The rosy news, however, did little to assuage analysts' concerns over fiscal challenges looming on the horizon.

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Strange Happenings at the IRS Could Affect Enforcement

This fall, the Internal Revenue Service will likely make two changes to its tax enforcement efforts that defy logical explanation. IRS Commissioner Mark Everson will soon go forward with plans to cut nearly half its staff of estate tax auditors and to create a program that would allow private companies to pursue taxpayers who owe back taxes.

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Contracts and Grants Disclosure Bill Fast-Tracked

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously passed the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) on Aug. 8. The bill would create a searchable website that provides information about all federal spending, including government contracts and grants. Following the quick committee action, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), the committee's chair and ranking member respectively, jointly requested that the bill be fast-tracked and brought to the Senate floor for a unanimous consent vote.

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