Blogs

Over the next few weeks, we will hear a lot about "emergency spending" as Congress turns to a major supplemental spending bill that will likely include funding for the war effort and other priorities. Supplemental appropriations bills provide funding in addition…

The BP oil spill reveals the risks associated with oil production, risks that translate into large social costs that are not priced into the oil market. Diane Lim Rogers, Concord’s chief economist, notes that this is a classic case of…

President Obama handed his bipartisan fiscal commission two very ambitious assignments: Find ways to balance the budget excluding interest payments by 2015 and to “meaningfully improve” the long-term fiscal outlook. (more…)

A pediatrician with a reputation for improving both the quality and efficiency of health care has been tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a job that will play a central role in implementing the new health…

The Senate Budget Committee has approved a budget resolution that calls for deficits to be reduced $671 billion below the levels in the President’s budget over five years. The resolution envisions that deficits will be reduced to 3% of GDP…

President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission will hold its first meeting on April 27. It has two very ambitious assignments -- find a way to balance the budget excluding interest on the debt by 2015 and “meaningfully improve” the long-term fiscal…

One of the first post-recess priorities for the Appropriations Committees in Congress will likely be considering legislation for “supplemental” spending in the current fiscal year. Supplemental spending bills are usually considered each spring and are intended to provide funding for…

The Treasury Department has released preliminary spending and revenue totals for the first half of the fiscal year showing a slight improvement in the deficit compared to the same period in FY 2009. However, it is too soon to know…