#Budget Process

The administration has notified members of Congress that because they apparently will not raise the federal debt limit by May 16 – when the limit is expected to be reached -- the Treasury Department will begin implementing “extraordinary measures” to…

Tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on budget enforcement mechanisms, a topic that has become popular as members of both parties have recently offered proposals to reduce the deficit by changing the budget process.The proposals…

Congressional leaders have completed their appointments to a deficit-reduction panel proposed by President Obama but the group will have little time to develop a long-term plan, and some of those named have not shown great enthusiasm for the broad-based approach…

If President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress hope to build consensus around a plan for fiscal sustainability, they are off on the wrong track. They seem instead to be sharpening their differences.A meaningful long-term plan will require compromises in…

President Obama has jumped into the debate over long-term fiscal responsibility with a plan that differs sharply from the one unveiled earlier this month by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Budget Committee. In a welcome move, Obama…

Here is a trivia question: Under which scenario would Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up the larger share of non-interest (i.e. “primary”) federal government spending?A. President Obama’s budgetB. Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget (House Budget Committee)The answer is B.Under Ryan’s…

With a potential government shutdown hours away on Friday, President Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reached a last-minute agreement to continue funding government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year.Under the…

The Treasury Department now estimates that the federal government will reach its legal debt limit no later than May 16, although it could use “extraordinary measures” to avoid default through July 8.Some members of Congress have suggested that refusing to…