Reports by Richard Kogan
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Two Sequestrations
December 28, 2012
This report has been updated to reflect new data. A prominent part of the “fiscal cliff” is the automatic, across-the-board funding reductions known as sequestration. Required under the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA), these automatic cuts will occur in both defense and non-defense programs on January 2, 2013 — absent action by the … -
Non-Defense Discretionary Programs Will Face Serious Pressures Under Current Funding Caps
Revised December 6, 2012
President Obama and Congress achieved $1.5 trillion in discretionary program cuts over the next ten years primarily by setting tight caps on annual discretionary funding in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.[1] Congress adhered to those caps in 2012 in writing its appropriations bills for that year, but has yet to enact final … -
Deficit-Reduction Package That Lacks Significant Revenues Would Shift Very Substantial Costs to States and Localities
Updated December 5, 2012
If it fails to include significant new revenues, a major legislative package to shrink federal deficits would almost certainly make deep cuts in federal funds that support states and localities as they perform many basic public functions, including educating children, building roads and bridges, protecting public health, and providing law … -
Congress Has Cut Discretionary Funding By $1.5 Trillion Over Ten Years
Revised November 8, 2012
Policymakers and budget experts generally agree on the need to reduce projected deficits and put the federal budget on a sustainable path. They have focused less attention, however, on the amount of deficit reduction that the 112th Congress and the President have enacted. Reductions in funding for discretionary (i.e., … -
Are Low-Income Programs Enlarging the Nation’s Long-Term Fiscal Problem?
Revised November 2, 2012
Several conservative analysts and some journalists lately have cited figures showing substantial growth in recent years in the cost of federal programs for low-income Americans. A recent report the Congressional Research Service prepared for Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) provides one such set of figures.[1] These figures can create … -
$2 Trillion in Deficit Savings Would Achieve Key Goal: Stabilizing the Debt Over the Next Decade
November 1, 2012
Some budget watchers are urging the President and Congress to enact $4 trillion in savings over the next ten years in order to address the deficit problem. The $4 trillion figure has assumed something of a life of its own. In fact, there is no single magic number. For example, policymakers could achieve the most essential … -
What Was Actually in Bowles-Simpson — And How Can We Compare it With Other Plans?
October 2, 2012
Many policymakers have said that they “support,” “endorse,” or otherwise look favorably on “Bowles-Simpson” — the budget plan that Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson issued in December 2010 as co-chairs of President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.[1] But … -
Romney Budget Proposals Would Necessitate Very Large Cuts in Medicaid, Education, Health Research and Other Programs
Updated September 24, 2012
Governor Mitt Romney’s proposals to cap total federal spending at 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and boost defense spending to 4 percent of GDP would require very large cuts in other programs, both entitlements and discretionary programs. This update of an earlier analysis is based on updated economic and budget … -
Romney Budget Proposals Would Require Massive Cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Programs
Revised May 12, 2012
This report has been superseded by a new version, dated September 24, 2012, that reflects updated data and other information. Click to view the new analysis. Governor Mitt Romney’s proposals to cap total federal spending, boost defense spending, cut taxes, and balance the budget would require extraordinarily large cuts in other programs, both … -
House Budget Bills Would Target Programs for Lower-Income Families While Breaking Last Summer's Bipartisan Deal
Updated May 10, 2012
The House Budget Committee approved on May 7 a package of two bills that would alter the bipartisan deal between President Obama and congressional leaders that was reflected in last summer’s Budget Control Act (BCA). It would eliminate the “sequestration” (automatic cuts) in discretionary programs scheduled for 2013 as … -
A Closer Look at Chairman Ryan's "Sequestration" Proposal
May 8, 2012
On May 7, the House Budget Committee approved a bill designed by Chairman Paul Ryan to alter three aspects of the debt-limit agreement that the President and congressional leaders reached last summer. The bill would produce a total funding level for discretionary programs in fiscal year 2013 that exactly matches the amount in the … -
How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work
Revised April 27, 2012
A successor piece to this paper is “The Pending Automatic Budget Cuts”, which was published on February 26, 2013, ahead of the March 1st sequestration. Note: OMB issued a report on September 14 that provides initial estimates and settles some legal issues with respect to the sequestration discussed in this analysis. We intend to update this … -
President's Budget Would Reduce Pell Grant Shortfall; Ryan Budget Would Nearly Triple It
April 26, 2012
Even though its costs are expected to remain flat over the next decade,[1] the Pell Grant program, which helps students from low-income families pay for college, faces an $8 billion funding gap in fiscal year 2014 and a $58 billion shortfall through 2022 because the way Congress has funded it in recent years has made its cost appear … -
The False Choice of National Defense Versus Helping the Poor
April 20, 2012
House committees this week approved sharp cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), the elimination of the Social Services Block Grant, and other cuts that would harm large numbers of low- and moderate-income Americans.[1] Proponents claim the cuts are needed to generate enough savings … -
Are the Size and Reach of the Federal Government Exploding?
February 29, 2012
Some political figures and commentators claim that the size and reach of the federal government are exploding, citing the fact that federal spending used to average less than 21 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but has been at or above 24 percent in the last few fiscal years and is projected to remain significantly … -
President’s Budget Would Eliminate Separate Funding Caps for Defense and Nondefense Discretionary Programs
February 17, 2012
The President's budget proposes to alter the structure, although not the overall level, of the "discretionary caps" that limit annual appropriations bills. It would combine the existing caps — which separately constrain total defense and total nondefense appropriations — into a single overall cap on all discretionary … -
“Baseline Reform Act” Is a Step in the Wrong Direction
Revised January 24, 2012
On January 24, the House Budget Committee passed legislation introduced by Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), and other members that would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to assume, in constructing budget “baselines” that project funding levels for … -
House Bill Would Artificially Inflate Cost of Federal Credit Programs
Revised January 24, 2012
The House Budget Committee approved legislation on January 24 that would change the federal accounting of direct loans and loan guarantees in ways that would overstate the federal costs of those programs. As a result, the legislation also would overstate the size of federal deficits. The Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 changed … -
Requiring Joint Budget Resolution Could Lead to Gridlock on Appropriations and Shift Power to the Executive Branch
Revised January 24, 2012
Representative Diane Black (R-TN) has introduced a bill (H.R. 3575)[1] that would bar Congress from considering annual appropriations bills — or any other legislation that would affect the budget — until Congress has passed, and the President has signed, a joint budget resolution for the fiscal year, regardless of how many … -
Biennial Budgeting: Do the Drawbacks Outweigh the Advantages?
January 20, 2012
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI), and others have introduced legislation (H.R. 3577) that would move the federal budget from an annual to a biennial cycle and make other changes in the congressional budget process. House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier has introduced his own biennial … -
Coming Reductions in Discretionary Funding Will Be Larger For Non-Defense Programs than Defense Programs
January 3, 2012
Advocates of defense funding have issued many public warnings about the severity of the new, lower annual limits on defense funding for 2013-2021 resulting from the combination of the discretionary spending caps set in the Budget Control Act and the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the …
