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Elected officials still seem locked into their negotiating positions on the federal debt limit, leading Moody’s to warn that it could soon consider downgrading the government’s credit rating “due to the very small but rising risk of a short-lived default.”The…

The punch line of an old joke aptly describes the status of budget negotiations in Washington: you can’t get there from here. It’s not the “there” that is the problem; it’s the “here.”Broad bipartisan consensus exists on two points. The…

Elected officials often approach discussions about deficit reduction as a zero-sum game in which compromise amounts to defeat. But as various experts and bipartisan groups have demonstrated, certain policy options could bring results that should please both parties.“The best ideas…

Six diverse organizations offered proposals for broad fiscal reform last week at the second annual “Fiscal Summit” in Washington hosted by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.Although the plans differed in a variety of ways, all called for substantial changes in…

Later today House Republicans plan to vote down an initial request from the administration to approve an increase in the federal debt limit without spending reductions. The vote will be largely symbolic, coming after several weeks of negotiations between the…

By Rebecca Williams A viable plan to reduce our country’s mounting deficits and debt will be built on painful choices that include revenue increases and cuts to all government spending, including entitlements and defense. With such thorny issues at stake, it…

Prospects for fiscal reform efforts by the “Gang of Six” senators were left uncertain after one of the Republicans, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, walked away from the talks last week, saying he was on “sabbatical.”On Sunday Sen. Majority Whip…

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) announced last week that the committee would not consider the FY 2012 budget resolution until the bipartisan negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden are complete. Conrad said “The results of those negotiations…