Blog Posts and Analysis / Revenue & Spending

Completing Appropriations to Dominate Lame Duck Session

Only twice in the last 15 years has Congress been able to complete all 13 of the annual appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year, and this year is no exception. To address this uncompleted business, the 108th Congress will reconvene Nov. 16 to begin a post-election lame-duck session.

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Election Day Ballot Initiatives Could Affect State and Local Tax Policy

Citizens across the country have been gearing up for this election week for an untold number of months. And while much of the attention has been focused on the too-close-to-call presidential election and the key House and Senate races, when voters hit the polls on Nov. 2 they will also be deciding on a number of different ballot initiatives that potentially could have significant impacts on state and local tax policy.

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Senate Pushes Through Corporate Tax Bill Over Holiday Weekend

The Senate commemorated the Columbus holiday Oct. 11 by holding a special session to pass the corporate tax bill, also known as the FSC/ETI bill. The previous week the House had passed the bill, which was designed to remove certain corporate tax subsidies on exports which had been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization two years ago. The new tax breaks hit the nation at a time when corporate tax revenue has dropped to a historic low -- and the federal deficit has climbed to an all-time high. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office reported the FY 2004 federal deficit hit a record $413 billion.

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Federal Spending Hits Ceiling Forcing Treasury to Act

Last week, federal spending again reached the debt limit put in place by Congress -- the legal amount, above which the federal government cannot borrow. If borrowing exceeds this ceiling, currently set at roughly $7.4 trillion, immediate action is necessary. Treasury Secretary John Snow was recently forced to take action to ensure that normal monetary transactions can continue.

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A Tale of Two Deficits -- Trade and Budget

In the past few days, the government released separately two numbers showing record deficits: The final fiscal year 2004 federal budget deficit of $413 billion -- the highest dollar value on record A monthly trade gap in August rising to $54 billion -- the second highest on record.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Report Again Shows Weakness

The U.S. employment situation remains weak as the Bureau of Labor Statistics September report showed an increase of just 96,000 jobs. That figure is far below the level needed to keep pace with overall population growth.

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House Committee Drops Balanced Budget Amendment -- for Now

The House Judiciary Committee convened in mid-September to consider a constitutional amendment to balance the budget but failed to make headway on the proposal. When the committee met Sept. 22 to debate and vote on the measure, Democrats clearly demonstrated their opposition and offered several amendments, including one by John Conyers (D-MI) to exempt Social Security. The committee adjourned before voting on the amendment, and upon reconvening did not have a quorum, and thus could not complete the vote. There was brief speculation that the amendment would go straight to the House floor; however, it appears House Republicans have dropped their work on the amendment for now.

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