Contrary to tradition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today released its mid-year assessment of the budget and economic situation. Traditionally, CBO releases its mid-year assessment after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases its statutorily required Mid-Session Review (MSR). The law requires the MSR to be produced by July 15 of each year. For example, last year the Administration almost hit the target, releasing the MSR on July 23. However, the Administration has not yet complied with the law for this year, and with August waning the …
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced yesterday that the Budget Control Act of 2011 would lead to $2.1 trillion in deficit reductions. But the CBO’s letter to congressional leaders is somewhat misleading. Table 3 of the document shows how much in discretionary and mandatory deficit reduction the CBO estimates would be produced by the legislation from fiscal years 2012 through 2021. They found about $918 billion cuts. The remaining $1.2 trillion in cuts is not predicted by year, because, as CBO notes, “The composition of the other $1.2 trillion in …
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) introduced legislation to raise the debt ceiling this week. In evaluating his plans for future government spending, it becomes clear that budgeting for prudent defense is considered just another line item. While Americans intuitively know that national security is unlike any other category of federal spending, it is often treated with inherent bias through insider budgeting methods. Congress tends to selectively ignore what are called “baselines” used for comparing different spending proposals. This is convenient if a Member of Congress wants to generate more …
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released its annual Long-Term Budget Outlook, which highlights the effects of existing policy on the federal budget. The verdict: The current trajectory is “unsustainable.” Growing federal health care spending is a major driver of future deficits. As CBO explains, “Spending for health care in the United States has been growing faster than the economy for many years, posing a challenge not only for the federal government’s two major health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, but also for state and local governments and the private …
It’s a big day in Washington for domestic and foreign news. This morning the Congressional Budget Office releases its annual Long-Term Budget Outlook. Then in the evening President Obama outlines his Afghanistan withdrawal plan in a primetime address beginning at 8. There are two noteworthy events happening at Heritage today: Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) visits at 9 a.m. to talk about making REAL ID a reality. Then at 10:30 a.m. we’ll host Arun Jaitley, leader of the Indian opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Jaitley (center in photo) will discuss how …
This is part three in a debate with liberal blogger Tim Mitchell on whether income inequality is a problem. In part one I laid out why income inequality isn’t a problem. In part two I refuted arguments made by Mr. Mitchell. In this post I show why Mr. Mitchell’s arguments continue to fall short. For part one from Mr. Mitchell, click here. For part two from him, click here. For part three from him, click here. The fundamental point about income inequality remains: All income groups have made solid economic …
When Obamacare was passed into law, its proponents touted the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis showing that it would reduce the deficit. A lot has changed since then. Heritage research reveals that “a close examination of what CBO said, as well as other evidence, makes it clear that the deficit reduction associated with [Obamacare] is based on budget gimmicks, sleights of hand, accounting tricks, and completely implausible assumptions.” Now, a recent hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health has further revealed that the cost of Obamacare will …
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has completed its initial review of President Barack Obama’s budget request and found that the White House significantly understated the cost of and red ink in its budget. While President Obama claimed his budget would produce $7.2 trillion in deficits (a staggering figure) over the next decade, CBO calculated $9.5 trillion in deficits. That is more debt than the federal government accumulated from 1789–2010 combined. Overall, CBO estimates that the national debt held by the public—40 percent of GDP before the recession—would soar past 87 …
Coloring President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2012 are the undeniable shades of masked fiscal disaster and a want of long-term solutions. According to analysis (pdf) by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the President’s budget would result in $1.43 trillion and $1.16 trillion deficits for FYs 2011 and 2012, respectively, adding two more years of annual deficits in excess of $1 trillion. Total spending would increase by 57 percent over the next decade, from $3.7 trillion this year to $5.8 trillion in 2021. Net interest alone mushrooms …
Listen to Heritage expert Bob Moffit discuss the House effort to repeal Obamacare in a newly released podcast. Currently, the president can veto any attempt at repeal, so why even bother with a repeal vote? What does the Virginia ruling on Obamacare portend for future court rulings? Why does the CBO say it will add $230 billion to the deficit if we repeal Obamacare? Well, find out all of that and more, here.
