#Congress

An amazing thing happened in Washington recently. With the total national debt about to top $20 trillion and on an unsustainable long-term path, 376 members of the House of Representatives voted for one of two Fiscal Year 2017 budget resolutions…

Former U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, a long-time champion of bipartisan fiscal reform, died last week at age 62 after fighting pancreatic cancer. The Ohio Republican served in the House from 1995 to 2013. In 2012 he introduced a budget plan…

The overall budget picture in Washington remains bleak as lawmakers have left town without making any meaningful progress on the appropriations process. They are now anticipating a September scramble to approve a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open…

As Congress settles into a near seven-week recess, it seems increasingly likely that a stopgap Continuing Resolution (CR) will be needed before the Sept. 30 deadline for legislative action to keep government services operating. The likelihood of a CR has…

Congress continues to work on overdue spending legislation for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, with Republicans discussing the addition of policy measures that Democrats have opposed or are likely to resist. Several weeks ago Democrats and some Republicans…

It has been easy for advocates of generationally responsible tax and spending policies to look at Capitol Hill with dismay for the past few years. A few consequences of inaction and lack of bipartisanship include: A complete breakdown in the…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last week estimated that repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would increase deficits by $137 billion over the next decade and by even more after that. “A repeal would reduce deficits during the first half…

In the face of a veto threat from President Obama, the Senate is expected to vote this week on a defense authorization bill. In a statement of administration policy issued last week, the administration said the legislation lacks cost-saving reforms…