Below are several developments we have been following since the last edition of the Washington Budget Report (sign up here) was published. 

As Congress returns from its July 4th recess, below are some of the budget stories we have been following since the last edition of the Washington Budget Report (sign up here) was published. 

Imagine if Congress held a vote in the next few months on a bill that cut nearly $3.7 trillion in income taxes, added $350 billion worth of loopholes and deductions to the tax code, and increased Medicare spending by $236 billion.

There might be quite an uproar. After all, we are experiencing the largest deficits in history with increasing awareness of our clearly unsustainable long-term outlook.

Last week congressional leaders confirmed what many have long suspected: Congress will not meet its obligation to pass a budget resolution for FY 2011. At a public forum, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said "It isn’t possible to debate and pass a realistic, long-term budget until we’ve considered the bipartisan commission’s deficit-reduction plan, which is expected in December." According to Hoyer, Congress w

A Washington Post editorial today sums up a bunch of different strands of thinking about the federal budget that Concord has been writing about and talking about a lot recently.

Last month I participated in a conference of mostly military officials and national security experts at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. The conference title was “Economics and Security: Resourcing National Priorities.” 

Debate on the so-called “extenders” bill has focused on the size and duration of unemployment benefits, health insurance assistance for those who recently lost their jobs, Medicare physician payments, state aid for health care and various offsets to mitigate the overall effect on the deficit.

If the Obama administration follows through on its newly announced effort to identify and weed out unproductive federal programs, it could build public confidence and support for more sweeping fiscal reforms in the future.

The Obama administration has announced a very small effort to reduce deficit spending, and yet liberal groups are attacking them for promoting a policy that will kill the economy – or at least prolong the recession. And conservatives continue to argue that any “stimulus” spending is by definition “wasteful” – especially if they don’t get how a less-idle economy might benefit themselves personally.

How large is the federal debt? That's something of a trick question in economic circles, and some analysts believe it may have already tripped up the President's fiscal commission.