#Discretionary Spending

In a move that many saw as inevitable unless lawmakers acted, the Department of Transportation announced recently that the dwindling Highway Trust Fund would have to begin delaying payments to state governments in August. (more…)

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently emphasized the need for lawmakers to soon address the revenue shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund, which must otherwise stop some payments for ongoing projects later this summer.Congress, however, is still struggling to find…

Today the House Budget Committee is considering Chairman Paul Ryan’s proposed budget for Fiscal 2015 -- a document that lays out Republican priorities but does not represent a realistic blueprint for progress towards a fiscal sustainability plan.Concord Coalition Executive Director…

Although elected officials must make politically difficult choices to put the government’s finances on a sustainable path, some reforms in the congressional budget process could help.And as several budget experts made clear in a recent panel discussion on Capitol Hill,…

A bad idea in both President Obama’s Fiscal 2015 budget and Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp’s (R-Mich.) tax reform plan is to use one-time revenue from changes to the corporate tax system to shore up the Highway Trust Fund.Unless…

President Obama’s budget for Fiscal 2015 includes new proposals that would exceed the discretionary spending caps that he and Congress approved only months ago. This would set a bad precedent for ignoring budget caps.The Ryan-Murray agreement in December set discretionary…

The Senate Monday voted 56-26 to confirm Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen as the Fed’s next chairman. Yellen, who will be the first woman to serve in that position, will succeed Ben Bernanke.In nominating her last fall, President Obama…

Federal investment totaled $531 billion in 2012, amounting to 15 percent of all federal spending and 3 percent of the gross domestic product, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).While such spending has kept up with…