Subscribe to this feed 
Below are several developments we have been following since the last edition of the Washington Budget Report (sign up here) was published.
FY 2011 APPROPRIATIONS: Prior to departing for the August recess, the House passed the first two FY 2011 appropriations bills. The Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill passed by a vote of 411-6 and the Transportation-HUD bill passed by a vote of 251-167. House subcommittees reported the...
Below are several developments we have been following since the last edition of the Washington Budget Report (sign up here) was published.
COMMITTEES REPORT ADDITIONAL FY 2011 APPROPRIATIONS BILLS: Last week the House Appropriations Committee continued to make progress on the FY 2011 bills. The full committee reported the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill as well as the Transportation- Housing and Urban Development bill. Both bills are expected...
Last week President Obama nominated Jacob “Jack” Lew to be the new head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), replacing Peter Orszag, who is stepping down at the end of July. OMB is primarily responsible for developing the President’s budget.
If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Lew will become OMB director for the second time. He served as President Clinton’s director from 1998 through the end of the Clinton administration in 2001.
While Lew is familiar with the job, the budget picture has changed considerably. Lew was OMB director during the only four years of budget surpluses since the late 1960’s. He was also a key negotiator on the bipartisan balanced budget agreement in 1997. Now the budget environment is even more partisan and the country is experiencing the largest deficits since the end of World War II.
The change in OMB leadership provides an opportunity to review the changes that have taken place since Lew’s last stint as budget director and also gives us another chance to review the major decisions looming for the federal budget.
The final budget presented by Lew for the Clinton administration in February of 2000 (FY 2001)...
Below are several developments we have been following since the last edition of the Washington Budget Report (sign up here) was published.
2011 APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS MOVES FORWARD AS TIME STANDS STILL FOR THE 2010 SUPPLEMENTAL: Last week the House Appropriations Committee continued to make progress on the FY 2011 bills. House subcommittees reported the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Energy and Water; and...
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 White House has asked federal agencies to submit lists of the programs that are “least critical” to their missions. These programs should total at least 5 percent of each agency’s budget, according to a memo issued by Rahm Emanuel, the President’s chief of staff, and Peter Orszag, the White House budget director.
It would be easy to dismiss the administration’s announcement of this effort as simply a public relations exercise. But two points are worth noting:
