Blogs

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson bolsters the case for tax reform in her annual report to Congress, calling the complexity of the U.S. tax code – which now weighs in at nearly four million words -- a “significant, even…

President Obama last week praised White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, his nominee for Treasury secretary, as someone who has his “complete trust” and has “built a reputation as a master of policy who can work with members of…

Although recession-related pressures on state budgets may be easing, governors and other state officials around the country are worried about the potential impact of Washington’s fiscal difficulties. State finances are “modestly recovering in step with the slowly improving national economy,”…

Over the weekend, President Obama signed legislation to provide an initial $9.7 billion in disaster relief funding for states recovering from Hurricane Sandy. The funding will provide additional borrowing authority to enable the Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue processing…

On his way out the door, retiring Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had a lot to say. It was a final reminder -- he called it a challenge -- from one of the Senate’s foremost deficit hawks of…

As they continue wrestling with the nation’s fiscal and economic challenges, elected officials in Washington would do well to keep the example of the late Warren Rudman in mind. (more…)

After months of debate and negotiation, Congress on Tuesday approved legislation to avoid the most immediate consequences of the “fiscal cliff” but that falls far short of the more comprehensive reforms that many advocates of fiscal responsibility had hoped to…

Once again we have a political punt. With no time left on the clock, Senate Democrats and Republicans have approved a deal to avoid the most immediate consequences of the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The defining feature of the deal, however,…