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Policy Points: Many Missed Opportunities for Congress and the President in 2007
Revised December 21, 2007
Over recent months, federal policymakers considered measures to expand children’s health coverage, strengthen Medicare, make new investments in areas like education and medical research, and extend tax relief — while maintaining fiscal discipline. Congress and the President … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein on the Congressional Budget Office’s New Long-Term Budget Forecast
December 13, 2007
The new Congressional Budget Office report shows that rising health care costs are the largest driver of the nation’s long-term budget problems. But CBO’s projections also indicate that the costs of making expiring tax cuts — such as those enacted in 2001 and 2003 … -
A Tale of Two Bills: The Labor-HHS-Education and Defense Appropriations Bills
Revised November 16, 2007
President Bush has said he will veto the appropriations bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for the coming fiscal year, while he plans to sign the bill funding the Department of Defense. The Administration says the funding Congress provides in the Labor-HHS-Education bill is … -
Labor-HHS-Education Bill – What’s at Stake
Revised November 16, 2007
Congress is poised to send the President a bill that provides funding for a broad array of domestic discretionary programs — that is, non-entitlement programs whose funding is provided each year through the annual appropriations process. The Senate on November 7 approved a bill (H.R. 3043) that includes funding for programs … -
The President’s Misleading Attack on Congress’s Appropriations Plan
November 14, 2007
In vetoing the appropriations bill funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, the President charged yesterday that Congress plans an irresponsible increase of $205 billion over the next five years in domestic discretionary spending (spending on domestic programs funded through the appropriations process) over the … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein on the President's Veto of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
November 13, 2007
We find it stunning for the President to reject a $5 billion increase for education, medical research and other priorities as unaffordable, while insisting that Congress finance the $51 billion cost of AMT relief through higher deficits instead of by closing tax loopholes exploited by multi-millionaires. The President’s action … -
House AMT "Patch" Bill is Fiscally Responsible
November 7, 2007
Later this week, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would “patch” the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2007 (H.R. 3996). This analysis highlights three praiseworthy features of the tax package, which was adopted by the Ways and Means Committee November 1. The cost of the package is fully offset. Its adoption by the … -
The House Has Complied This Year With Its New “Pay-As-You-Go” Rule: But Greater Challenges Lie Ahead
November 7, 2007
In early January, the House of Representatives established a Pay-As-You-Go rule. The rule prohibits the House from considering any tax or entitlement legislation that would increase projected deficits over the coming ten-year period. Proposed entitlement increases must be fully offset, or “paid for,” by reductions in … -
What Would It Say about Congress’s Priorities to Waive PAYGO for the AMT Patch?
November 7, 2007
In January the House of Representatives reinstated “Pay-As-You-Go” (PAYGO) budgeting rules, and in May the Senate followed suit. PAYGO requires Congress to offset the cost of any legislation that increases entitlement spending or reduces revenues. As a CBPP analysis released today explains, Congress to date has complied with the PAYGO rules.[1] Both houses of … -
Press Release: Joint Statement on the Need for Pay-As-You-Go Discipline
October 30, 2007
Issued Jointly With The four organizations joining in this statement have come together on a number of occasions in the past to express their concern about the threat that chronic deficits pose, and their support for Pay-As-You-Go rules (PAYGO) to help prevent the deficit situation from becoming worse. (See, for example, the statement of March 21, 2007 … -
The Labor – H.H.S. – Education Veto in Context
October 24, 2007
President Bush has said he will veto the appropriations bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for the coming fiscal year if Congress sends the bill to him with funding at the level either the House or Senate has approved.[i] The Administration says the funding provided in the House- and … -
President’s Attack on Congressional Appropriations Plan is Misleading
September 24, 2007
In the escalating battle over the domestic appropriations bills for fiscal year 2008, the President and senior Administration officials have charged that congressional Democrats plan an irresponsible increase of $205 billion over the next five years in discretionary spending (i.e., spending on programs funded through the appropriations process). Yet this claim — which the President repeated in … -
House SCHIP Legislation Would Repeal Dubious “45-Percent Threshold” Provision
July 30, 2007
Legislation to extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and make various changes in Medicare, which the House is scheduled to consider this week, would repeal a so-called “45-Percent Threshold” provision affecting Medicare that was slipped into the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. Some lawmakers argue … -
Testimony: Robert Greenstein on Pay-As-You-Go Discipline Before the House Budget Committee
July 25, 2007
Chairman Spratt, Congressman Ryan, and members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear hear today to explain why I think the pay-as-you-go discipline is important and appropriate, and why establishing a statutory pay-as-you-go rule to reinforce Congressional rules is a sound idea. My testimony will cover the following: … -
The 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
July 18, 2007
The Bush Administration has threatened to veto almost all appropriations bills that provide more funding than the President has requested, such as the bill funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for fiscal year 2008, which starts October 1. The President has described congressional appropriations plans as … -
Statement by James Horney, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, on OMB’s Mid-Session Review
Revised July 13, 2007
Today’s increase in estimated federal revenues for the current year, which the Administration says shows its tax cuts are boosting economic growth, isn’t surprising and doesn’t really say anything about the effects of the tax cuts on the economy. Large mid-year increases in … -
The Fight Over Appropriations: Myths and Reality
June 21, 2007
The House and Senate appropriations committees recently established funding levels for each of the 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2008, and have begun producing bills that meet these targets.[1] The Administration has charged that these funding levels represent large, fiscally irresponsible increases in federal spending that would threaten fiscal stability and the economy. It has … -
CBO Estimate Shows the Senate Immigration Bill's Budget Impact Is Very Modest
Revised June 6, 2007
Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office issued an analysis that clearly refutes claims that the immigration bill being considered by the Senate would “bust the budget” and that indicates the bill would likely have little effect on deficits. CBO’s cost estimate of the legislation concludes that “the net impact on the unified … -
The Congressional Budget Plan
Revised May 29, 2007
On May 16, House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a Congressional budget plan for fiscal year 2008 (S Con Res 21). Both the House and the Senate passed the conference report (S Rpt 110-153) the next day, and the report has now gone into effect as the approved fiscal year 2008 budget plan. This paper provides a brief overview of the conference … -
Discretionary Funding Under the New Congressional Budget Plan
May 16, 2007
On May 11, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to Congress on behalf of the Bush Administration, threatening to veto any 2008 appropriations legislation that exceeds the levels requested by President Bush. As apparent justification for the threat, the OMB letter charged that the congressional budget plans approved by the Senate … -
Forthcoming Medicare Trustees’ Report May Contain Dubious "Medicare Funding Warning"
April 20, 2007
While Medicare faces a serious long-term financing problem that must be addressed, the annual report of the Social Security and Medicare trustees to be released on April 23 may contain a dubious “Medicare Funding Warning” that is based on a deeply misleading measure of the program’s health. Under a last-minute provision slipped … -
Ryan Budget Plan Would Increase Deficits, Exacerbate Inequality
March 29, 2007
When the House of Representatives debates the congressional budget plan for fiscal year 2008, Rep. Paul Ryan, the Ranking Republican Member of the House Budget Committee, will offer a substitute for the budget plan that the Budget Committee approved on March 23, 2007.[1] This analysis focuses on four aspects of the Ryan substitute. The tax and entitlement policies in the substitute … -
Despite the Rhetoric, Budget Would Make Nation’s Fiscal Problems Worse and Further Widen Inequality
Revised March 28, 2007
The President says he wants to promote fiscal responsibility and address growing inequality, but his budget fails on both counts. In fact, it would make both problems worse. In a sign of the President’s misguided priorities, his budget puts extremely large tax cuts for the most affluent Americans ahead of the needs of low- and middle-income … -
President's Budget Calls for Deep Cuts in a Wide Range of Domestic Programs
Revised March 28, 2007
Under the Administration’s budget, domestic discretionary programs — the programs that are funded each year through the annual appropriations process, other than defense and international programs — are slated for sizable reductions over the next five years. The budget calls for these cuts to start in 2008, when domestic discretionary programs as a whole would be funded … -
The Alternative Minimum Tax, The President's Budget, and the Congressional Budget Resolutions
March 28, 2007
This week, the House of Representatives will consider the budget resolution that the House Budget Committee approved March 22. The House Budget Committee plan adheres to the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budget rules that have been in force in the House since January. These rules require that the cost of any legislation that increases entitlement spending or reduces revenue be offset. … -
Key Argument Against Applying Pay-As-You-Go To Tax Cuts Does Not Withstand Scrutiny
March 22, 2007
In early January the House of Representatives instituted a “pay-as-you-go” rule, under which entitlement expansions and tax cuts — including the extension of expiring provisions of law that expand entitlement programs or cut taxes — must be paid for through offsetting entitlement reductions or tax increases. (PAYGO rules do not … -
The House Budget Committee's Budget Plan
Revised March 22, 2007
The House Budget Committee voted early this morning along party lines to approve a budget plan that the full House is scheduled to consider next week. This budget, which is very similar to the one approved by the Senate Budget Committee last week, marks an important first step in restoring fiscal responsibility in Congressional budgeting. [1] Restoring … -
Joint Statement on the Need for Pay-As-You-Go Discipline
March 21, 2007
Issued Jointly With The four organizations joining in this statement have warned that large, chronic budget deficits pose a threat to the economic health of our nation. For that reason, we strongly support current efforts to reestablish and comply with pay-as-you-go discipline in the Congressional budget process, which would establish … -
Economic Effects of the Pay-As-You-Go Rule
March 19, 2007
The budget resolution approved March 15 by the Senate Budget Committee would reinstate in the Senate the Pay-As-You-Go budget rule that was in force during the 1990s. (The House of Representatives reintroduced the PAYGO rule several months ago.) PAYGO requires that the costs of any legislation that increases entitlement spending or decreases revenues be offset. Thus, if adhered … -
The Senate Budget Committee's Budget Plan
Revised March 19, 2007
The Senate is scheduled during the week of March 19 to consider a budget plan that the Senate Budget Committee adopted March 15 on a party-line vote. This budget marks an important first step in restoring fiscal responsibility in Congressional budgeting. Restoring Pay-As-You-Go The budget plan — known as a budget resolution — is notable for … -
Statement By Jim Horney and Robert Greenstein on the Senate Budget Committee Plan
March 14, 2007
The budget plan being unveiled today by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad represents a fundamental and important change in budget policy. In contrast to budgets of recent years that simply assumed that new entitlement spending and tax cuts would be financed by additional borrowing, … -
Administration Proposal Would Cut Over 300,000 People Off Food Stamps
Revised March 13, 2007
The President’s budget includes a provision that would cut the Food Stamp Program by $740 million over the next five years (and by $1.65 billion over ten years) by taking more than 300,000 low-income people off the program in an average month.[1] The Administration would achieve these savings by stripping states of flexibility provided in … -
How Should Policymakers Treat The Budget For Non-Defense "Discretionary" Programs?
March 13, 2007
As Congress prepares a budget resolution that will (among other things) set funding limits for discretionary programs for fiscal year 2008, it is appropriate to examine funding trends for these programs in the context of the nation’s overall budgetary situation. Discretionary programs include defense and homeland security spending, international affairs programs, and domestic programs … -
SCHIP Reauthorization: President’s Budget Would Provide Less than Half the Funds that States Need to Maintain SCHIP Enrollment
Revised March 13, 2007
The President’s fiscal year 2008 budget proposes to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for five years but provides less than half of the funding needed for states to maintain their existing SCHIP caseloads, let alone to make progress in covering more uninsured low-income children. Under the President’s … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein Regarding CBO's Preliminary Analysis of the President's 2008 Budget Request
March 2, 2007
The new CBO analysis confirms that the President’s budget is fiscally irresponsible. It finds that deficits over the next ten years will be $1.4 trillion larger under the President’s budget than if no changes in policies are made — essentially because of the … -
President's Budget Would Cut Deeply Into Important Public Services and Adversely Affect States
February 21, 2007
The Administration’s proposed budget for 2008 calls for sizable cuts over the next five years in domestic discretionary programs — the programs (other than defense and international programs) that are funded each year through the annual appropriations process. The reductions would start in 2008, when domestic discretionary programs as a whole would be funded below the levels … -
Testimony of Robert Greenstein on Funding for Domestic Discretionary Programs
February 14, 2007
I am Robert Greenstein, executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center is an independent, nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of federal and state policy issues, with particular emphasis on fiscal policies and policies affecting low- and moderate-income families. We receive no … -
Testimony of Robert Greenstein on Economic Security and Long-term Budget Projections
January 30, 2007
I appreciate the invitation to appear before you today. I direct the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on fiscal policy matters, as well as on programs and policies for low-income families and individuals. Last winter, the Center was asked by the Carnegie Roundtable on Economic … -
The Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Is Bleak
January 29, 2007
In 2006, the federal government ran a deficit of $248 billion, or about 2 percent of the economy. Deficits are projected to average about 2 percent of GDP over the next ten years, assuming the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are extended. After that, the fiscal situation is expected to deteriorate markedly. In this analysis, we present new projections for the … -
There Is No General “Entitlement Crisis”
January 29, 2007
As is well known, the United States will face grave budget challenges in coming decades. In a new set of federal budget projections through 2050, we find that if current policies remain unchanged, federal expenditures will increase substantially as a share of the economy and revenues will fall short of covering expenditures by increasing amounts, leading to exploding … -
New CBO Report Shows Only Modest Fiscal Improvement
January 24, 2007
Several key findings and conclusions emerge from the new Congressional Budget Office report on the budget and the economy issued today.[1] The CBO report shows significant improvement in the ten-year budget outlook, but the improvement is not nearly as large as a casual reader of the report might think. Part of what appears to be an … -
Statement of Robert Greenstein on Budget and Health Care Tax Issues in State of the Union
January 23, 2007
On Budget Policy In committing his Administration to a balanced budget by 2012, the President has acknowledged that deficits matter. This is progress. But there are reasons to doubt the strength of the President’s newfound interest in fiscal discipline. First, his budget is likely … -
The New Pay-As-You-Go Rule in The House of Representatives
January 12, 2007
On January 5 the House of Representatives adopted a “Pay-As-You-Go” or PAYGO Rule as part of its package of Rules for the 110th Congress.[1] This memorandum briefly describes the rule and includes some “questions and answers” about how it is intended to work. Summary of the PAYGO Rule. The new House PAYGO rule establishes a point of order in the House of … -
Factsheet: Expanded Presidential Power under Senate “Line-Item Veto” Unlikely To Improve Fiscal Discipline
January 10, 2007
In the 109th Congress, the Republican-controlled Senate Budget Committee approved the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, a variation of an Administration proposal, as part of a larger budget process bill (S. 3521). Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) intends to offer that line-item veto proposal … -
Statement by James Horney, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy on Reinstatement of the Pay-As-You-Go Rule
January 5, 2007
Today’s House vote to reinstate the pay-as-you-go rule marks a significant and welcome first step in restoring the fiscal discipline that has been sorely lacking in Washington. During the 1990s, a similar pay-as-you-go rule proved to be an important tool in turning deficits into surpluses.…
