Blogs

The special congressional committee on deficit reduction recently heard testimony from the leaders of two prominent bipartisan panels that developed sweeping proposals that could cut federal borrowing by $4 trillion or more in the next decade -- well above the…

On Capitol Hill last week, attention turned to Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations as the House and Senate convened a formal conference on a “minibus” bill which combines three appropriations bills: Agriculture; Commerce, Justice, Science; and Transportation, HUD. The meeting was…

The Concord Coalition this week recognized Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) for their leadership of the "Gang of Six" in the search for bipartisan fiscal reform. Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), a member of Concord's board of directors,…

Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, last week outlined some of the difficulties facing lawmakers as they weigh further cuts in the “discretionary” spending that Congress approves on an annual basis. Though defense and non-defense discretionary spending account…

Republicans and Democrats on the congressional super committee proposed two widely divergent deficit-reduction plans last week, with each side suggesting that the other had fallen far short of what was required.With the committee operating largely behind closed doors, many details…

In addition to the political challenges facing the “super committee” on deficit reduction, it is running short of time. It has a historic opportunity to move beyond partisanship to forge a comprehensive plan for fiscal reform, but under the debt…

The Concord Coalition has updated its popular collection of educational exercises that highlight the importance of fiscal responsibility and the choices that must be made to put the country on a more responsible course.These exercises put some of the most…

As elected officials weighed reforms that could put the federal budget on a sustainable track, the AARP last week reiterated its opposition to even including Social Security and Medicare in the discussion. The organization’s recent explanations for what appears to…