In the wake of mounting national debt, rising interest costs, and looming trust fund insolvencies, Congress has a rare opportunity to strengthen America’s fiscal resilience before the next crisis hits. The bipartisan Fiscal Contingency Preparedness Act (S. 2492 and H.R.…
As the September 30 deadline approaches, Congress once again finds itself racing against the clock to fund the federal government. If lawmakers fail to pass the necessary appropriations bills or agree on a temporary funding measure—known as a continuing resolution—the…
America’s $37 trillion national debt is no longer a distant concern—it’s a clear and present danger. Interest payments alone now eclipse what we spend on national defense, devouring nearly 20% of every tax dollar. This debt load is choking our…
Every year, Congress is legally required to pass a budget to fund the federal government. That means approving 12 separate appropriations bills before the fiscal year begins on October 1. While these bills make up an increasingly small fraction of…
On Thursday evening, the Trump administration’s budget office notified Congress that it is cancelling $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding through a so-called "pocket rescission” – a controversial maneuver that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has indicated is illegal. This…
As Congress works through the annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2026, the pace and priorities are beginning to take shape—though progress remains uneven across both chambers. Both chambers’ Appropriations Committees create their own version of each bill, laying out…
As Social Security marks its 90th anniversary, a transformative decision about its basic character and financing is being made in silence without deliberation by elected officials or the American people. That decision is whether the program should remain self-financed –…
Congress and the President have approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which is projected to increase deficits by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. These unpaid-for tax cuts will worsen our fiscal outlook, drive up the national debt,…
We are in a period of economic and political uncertainty and instability. The jobs numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday add to these concerns. When the President responded by attacking the numbers and firing the…
As Medicare celebrated its 60th anniversary last week, much of the discussion about its financial future centered on a single, ominous metric: the depletion date of the Hospital Insurance trust fund (HI). Medicare’s Trustees say this will happen in 2033,…
Ownership of U.S. Treasury bonds is widely dispersed across foreign governments, the Federal Reserve, financial institutions, state and local entities, and individual households (see chart). This diversity may bolster market liquidity, but it also amplifies risk: federal debt is woven…
With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Congress has wrapped up this year’s budget reconciliation process. That landmark legislation added $4.1 trillion to federal deficits (including interest), underscoring just how powerful—yet risky—the reconciliation tool can be.…
