Key Takeaways Several times each year, the Congressional Budget Office publishes a baseline – a policy-neutral snapshot of the federal budget meant to inform lawmakers about future trends, such as the sustained imbalance between revenues and spending. Often, the…
Every year the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issues a long-term budget outlook covering the next 30 years assuming no changes in current law. The last such report was released in June of 2019 and covered the 30 years ending…
The federal budget is more than just numbers on a spreadsheet; it reflects our priorities as a nation. The choices we make today -- or fail to…
Although Congress has yet to complete its long overdue work on spending plans for the current fiscal year, lawmakers must soon turn their attention to the budget for Fiscal 2019, which begins Oct. 1. Unfortunately, President Trump’s proposed budget fails…
Two deadlines converge by coincidence this year. They are not related to one another and the precise consequences of failing to deal with them in a timely manner are different. Missing either of the deadlines, however, has the potential to…
The United States tax system is inefficient, overly complex and does not raise enough revenue to keep pace with federal spending. The gap between tax revenue and federal spending is projected to get worse in the coming years due to…
The United States health care system is larger than the gross domestic product of all but five other nations. Over the past several decades, health care costs have outpaced economic growth, inflation and personal incomes. One out of every six…
The official federal budget process was established in 1974 by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. The budget process begins in February, when the president is supposed to submit his plan to Congress after discussions with federal department…
Federal spending falls into two basic categories: mandatory spending and discretionary spending. Programs such as Social Security and Medicare, for which benefits are awarded based on pre-determined formulas, are considered mandatory spending because once they are enacted they do not…
