#Congress

As the Treasury resorts to “extraordinary measures” to avoid defaulting on some financial obligations, Congress has continued to struggle with the necessary but embarrassing task of raising the federal debt limit.Today the House finally took action, narrowly passing a year-long…

In her first congressional appearance as chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen this morning discussed challenges facing the central bank and noted that tightening fiscal policy had slowed economic growth last year.President Obama nominated Yellen last October to succeed…

WASHINGTON -- With the Senate this week considering repeal of the recent reduction in cost-of-living (COLA) increases for working-age military retirees, The Concord Coalition warned lawmakers that deviating from a pay-as-you-go standard for new spending and tax cuts would make…

Although President Obama’s State of the Union Address last week covered a wide array of topics, it failed to focus on the critical topic of fiscal sustainability.“When the President did mention fiscal issues in his speech it was mostly to…

The Congressional Budget Office released a new report Tuesday that includes some good short-term news on federal deficits but warns that they could add $7.9 trillion to the debt over the next decade.The CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook is “an…

The Senate passed a 5-year farm bill Tuesday 68-32, after nearly 3 years of congressional conflict over future agriculture policy. The House passed the legislation last week with a 251-166 vote, and the President is expected to sign the bill…

For those interested in a vision of fiscal sustainability, the State of the Union Address was a major disappointment. (more…)

Leaders in both parties say they don’t want to see the United States default on any of its financial obligations, but they have made no apparent progress towards raising the federal debt limit to avoid such a debacle.In a letter…