Blogs

Congressional negotiators are reportedly moving towards a limited budget agreement that would avoid another government shutdown but generally fails to pursue substantial fiscal reforms.A budget conference committee was given until this Friday to come up with a belated compromise plan…

In addition to making short-term budget decisions, elected officials must do a better job than they have this year in confronting the nation’s larger, long-term fiscal challenges.Budget experts, lawmakers and former members of Congress expressed that theme as they discussed…

If the recent past is any indication of how elected officials will deal with the country’s short- and long-term fiscal challenges, Americans – and especially younger ones – are in trouble. Washington will have to step up its game. And…

Although health care costs continue to rise, their slowing growth rate offers some hope for the future. A new report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors naturally tries to put the administration’s efforts on health care reform in the…

A recent report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) reviewing the recent slowdown in health care costs examined its potential causes, its sustainability and the economic impact going forward. (more…)

A recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the Pentagon’s latest five-year plan would cost substantially more than the funding allowed under the sequester caps.Each year the Department of Defense provides Congress with its “Future Years Defense…

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the budget conference committee, on Tuesday released a proposal that replaces roughly half of the sequestration scheduled through 2021 with savings from mandatory spending and revenue from ending corporate tax expenditures. (more…)

The federal deficit totaled $91.6 billion in the first month of Fiscal 2014, down from $120 billion a year earlier, according to the Treasury Department. This follows a total deficit for Fiscal 2013 of $680 billion -- the first time…