Issue Briefs

Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare while imposing a delay on replacement plans could prove to be fiscally problematic. From strictly a budgetary perspective, the “repeal and replace” plan being floated by Republicans can be viewed as simply an immediate $680…

In selecting Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) as his budget director, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen a strong advocate of balanced budgets accomplished through deep spending cuts. It will be Mulvaney’s difficult task to craft a budget that adheres to this…

Three former congressmen and a retired U.S. ambassador warned of the difficult fiscal policy challenges facing the incoming Trump administration and congressional leaders at a forum last week in Concord, N.H. The bipartisan panel discussed issues such as the growing…

Many politicians, including the president-elect, have focused their efforts to improve federal finances on the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse. While such reforms would be woefully insufficient to address the nation’s broader fiscal challenges, a 2015 report uncovered last…

As Donald Trump prepares to become the nation’s 45th president, he must quickly turn his attention to converting campaign promises, which lacked detail, into his first budget. While presidential budgets are advisory to Congress, Republican control of both the House…

Lawmakers will face a significant fiscal workload and a limited amount of time when they return to Washington next week following a lengthy recess. (more…)

Several notable changes to the funding and benefit structure of Social Security will be coming next year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced last week. The nearly 25 percent of Americans who claim Social Security benefits will see a cost-of-living…

Economists Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Jared Bernstein said last week that the next president and Congress must address both income inequality and fiscal responsibility. They spoke at a program at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. The…