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The Concord Coalition is urging the Commission on Presidential Debates to devote a significant portion of debate time next year to the candidates’ plans for dealing with the nation’s growing fiscal difficulties. While the United States faces many challenges, Concord…

Although Congress managed to keep the government open as Fiscal 2016 began last Thursday, lawmakers quickly received a troubling reminder of another approaching fiscal crisis: A letter from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew saying the government could face default in early…

The administration is threatening to veto defense policy legislation that House and Senate lawmakers recently negotiated because it includes nearly $40 billion in additional war funding that the military did not request. The negotiations took place after each chamber passed…

Ed Rendell, former Pennsylvania governor, and Paul Stebbins, former chairman of World Fuel Services Corp., recently stressed in Iowa the importance of the public and presidential candidates focusing on the nation’s fiscal challenges. “I firmly believe that if you give…

The Republican presidential candidates all say they favor a balanced budget. But Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby notes that over five hours of televised debate earlier this month, not one of the candidates was asked to explain how…

Following up on his retirement announcement Friday, House Speaker John Boehner expressed frustration this week with the “unrealistic” views of Republican critics who say their congressional leaders should be more confrontational. Noting that the Bible warns against “false prophets,” Boehner…

Although the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced last week that the Highway Trust Fund will not be exhausted until mid-2016, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is warning lawmakers not to get complacent about fixing the fund. The $8 billion that Congress…

Old habits die hard; for the House Ways and Means Committee, the pesky habit is trying to extend expired tax breaks without paying for them. Last week the committee approved permanently adding several expired breaks to the tax code, which…