Press Releases

Washington, DC – The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan group of some of the most highly respected budget experts in the United States that includes former directors of the Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Budget Office, and Government Accountability Office, as well as many former members of Congress, today launched US Budget Watch, a critically important new effort to force the 2008 presidential candidates to pay attention to the deteriorating federal budget situation.

US… more

Congress appears poised to move forward with a fiscal stimulus package. In theory, a mixture of monetary and fiscal policy is generally most appropriate to help a slowing economy; in practice however, fiscal policy becomes politicized so easily that it is often ineffective, and is sometimes even counterproductive. Too often in the past, stimulus bills have been poorly timed, poorly targeted, and larded up with unrelated items.

If Congress moves forward with a stimulus package, the Committee for Responsible Federal… more

This morning, the Congressional Budget Office released its annual Long-Term Budget Outlook, which paints a grim picture of the nation’s long-term fiscal situation.  Among its predictions are that, under current law, spending will increase from 20% of GDP to 44% in 2082, while revenues will increase to 26% of GDP, leaving an unsustainable fiscal gap and reflecting a tremendous growth in the size of government. 

The growing fiscal gap is driven primarily by rapidly increasing healthcare costs and an aging… more

Today, Leon Panetta, Co-Chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and former White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) proposal to form a Bipartisan Task Force on Responsible Fiscal Action. Panetta warned that “Our children are facing a reduced standard of living. We cannot invest in their future by borrowing from their future.”

The task force would be made up of… more

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget joined with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CED, and The Concord Coalition to release this joint statement today.

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,… more

Today, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget welcomed the announcement of a third consecutive annual decline in budget deficits, but warned that the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook remains grim.

At a press conference this afternoon, President Bush announced that the deficit for 2007 was $163 billion, down from $248 billion in 2006.  As a result of economic growth and spending constraints in Congress, the deficit is now just 1.2 percent of GDP, the lowest ratio since 2001.

“Any reduction in… more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauded the effort by Congressmen Wolf (R-VA) and Cooper (D-TN) to form a commission to reform tax and entitlement policies.

“The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget supports efforts to deal responsibly with the country’s fiscal challenges, and we particularly support those that rely on bipartisan cooperation, which will ultimately be necessary to make real progress,” said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “The… more

Today, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauded the effort by Senators Conrad (D-ND) and Gregg (R-NH) to form a Bipartisan Task Force on Responsible Fiscal Action.

“This is precisely the type of bipartisan collaboration we need to jumpstart the discussion of how to confront the nation’s fiscal challenges,” said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “Bringing together sitting Members of Congress and representatives from the Administration to discuss these daunting challenges and evaluate… more

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget strongly urges Congress not to eliminate the Medicare trigger—one of the few remaining statutory budget controls in place.

The Medicare trigger was created as part of the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003. It is pulled when for two consecutive years the program’s trustees estimate that general revenue funding will exceed 45 percent of Medicare’s total funding in any year within the next seven years. In the spring of 2007, the trustees pulled the… more

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned Congress not to bypass pay-as-you-go rules or use gimmicks to avoid the choices inherent in the PAYGO principle.

PAYGO requires that the costs of new tax cuts or mandatory spending programs be offset. The Committee praised Congress for sticking to PAYGO when it was developing the budget. However, we also warned that there would be ongoing pressures to bend, ignore, and waive the rule as the time for tough choices arrived.… more

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 hurdles that make it more difficult to enact fiscally irresponsible policies.  This week the Senate is considering a budget resolution that would reinstate a pay-as-you-go rule in the Senate that would require any… more

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expressed support today for the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rule offered as part of the Houserules package.Establishing a PAYGO rule is an important first step in establishing fiscal discipline. Highlighting a commitment to PAYGO sets an encouraging tone that the Committee hopes will guide the entire legislative session. Budget rules are meaningful only if there is a commitment to comply with the spirit as well as the letter of the rule.… more

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expressed dismay todaythat Congress has delayed efforts to comply with the budget process or address the nation’s fiscal challenges until after the November elections.

Congress will enter the new fiscal year on October 1 with no budget in place. It is unlikely that more than two appropriations bills will pass before the end of the year. Instead of dealing with the fiscal challenges facing our nation, Congress is focused on politically… more

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expressed concern over the state of the nation's fiscal affairs, even in light of the improvements in the budget projections released today by the Office of Management and Budget.

For the full press release, please see the attached PDF file.

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget congratulated Congress on limiting the costs of the emergency supplemental spending bill to $94.5 billiion, given that there had been considerable pressure to spend more. However, the Committee expressed tremendous concern over the ongoing and growing abuse of the entire supplmental process....

The complete press release is available below in PDF format.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expressed dismay over the growing use of gimmicks to circumvent budget rules, citing both the pending emergency supplemental bill and the tax reconciliation legislation as problematic.

For the complete release, please see the attached PDF version.

Please see the attached PDF version below. 

Congress is contemplating a gimmick that would circumvent existing budget enforcement rules in the Senate and increase long-term deficits.

House and Senate conferees on the reconciliation tax bill are considering a proposal to offset part of the short-term revenue loss (in 2011 through 2015) from one tax cut by enacting another tax cut. The proposal would induce taxpayers to move savings from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, which would generate additional revenues in the short run, but would… more

WASHINGTON -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is pleased to announce that the Honorable Douglas Holtz-Eakin has joined the Committee's Board of Directors. All of the past Directors of the Congressional Budget Office serve on the Committee's Board.

For the full release, please see the attached PDF file. 

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget called on the Senate to adhere to the limited pay-as-you-go rules currently in place.

Specifically, the Senate should not credit the "paygo scorecard" with the savings from spending reconciliation. Doing so would allow for larger tax cuts rather than ensuring that the savings be used for deficit reduction. The Committee also recommended that if Congress completes action on tax legislation early next year as Congressional leaders have stated they plan to,… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget urged Congress to hold off on passing the tax cuts permitted in this year’s budget.The current budget resolution calls for $35 billion in savings from entitlement programs and allows for tax cuts of $106 billion, including $70 billion under fast-track reconciliation procedures. The Committee has recommended that Congress instead proceed with passage of at least the level of spending reductions in the budget resolution and preferably increase the level… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauded efforts in the House and Senate to proceed with reconciliation legislation achieving savings in mandatory spending programs for the first time in eight years, while calling on Congress to impose discipline on the revenue side of the budget as well.

The Committee has suggested that Congress proceed with at least the level of planned spending reductions in the budget resolution and preferably increase the level, as the House is considering,… more

WASHINGTON, DC – As Congress considers changes to the budget adopted earlier this year, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget urged Members to go forward with the spending cuts in the budget resolution and also considering additional savings, while holding off on the tax cuts planned for the coming year. The Committee reiterated its support for a revised budget resolution to reflect changes.

For the full press release, please see the attached PDF file.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauds the efforts in the House and Senate to improve budget process and reduce deficits following Katrina.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle has suggested that Congress adopt an amended budget resolution to offset the costs of hurricane relief. As it became clear that the costs of responding to Hurricane Katrina would exacerbate the nation’s already unhealthy fiscal condition, the Committee called on Congress to pass a new budget… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recommends that Congress pass a new budget resolution reflecting the changes in the budget outlook and national priorities as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Before Katrina, there were overruns in the budget in the areas of defense, transportation, energy, agriculture, and veterans’ healthcare. Along with Katrina disaster relief efforts, costs could easily grow to $250 billion beyond what is assumed in the current budget resolution.

For the full press release, please… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released a statement expressing concern about several pieces of legislation Congress is expected to consider before the August recess which will further increase the deficit.

Congress is poised to approve three conference reports – the highway bill, energy bill, and Interior appropriations bill with supplemental funding for veterans – that would exceed the limits in the budget resolution and increase the deficit. The administration has indicated support for all three measures… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget applauded statements by White House staff reiterating the President’s commitment to comprehensive Social Security reforms that addresses the financial challenges facing the system.

"President Bush deserves credit for calling attention to the financial challenges facing Social Security and acknowledging that there is no free lunch in Social Security reform"said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

In recent weeks, serious discussions about restoring Social Security solvency have… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget expressed concern over the shift the appropriations process appears to be taking.

The Committee applauded the House for passing all eleven appropriations bills prior to the Fourth of July recess and managing to keep within the tight spending limits contained in the budget resolution, with relatively few gimmicks.

For the full press release, please see the attached PDF file.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned that the lower-than-anticipated budget deficit for fiscal year 2005 should not be taken as a sign that the country is on a fiscally sustainable course.

The Office of Management and Budget will issue its mid-session review of the budget today. The report will lower OMB's deficit projection significantly as a result of higher-than-anticipated revenue growth.

For the full press release, please see the attached PDF file.… more

WASHINGTON, DC -- Maya MacGuineas, Executive Director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, released a statement in response to the Congressional Budget Office releasing its new report on the long-term outlook for Social Security this morning.

The report mirrors the Social Security Trustees' findings that projected revenues will be unable to pay for scheduled benefits. There are differences  between the projections made by CBO and SSA, which are primarily due to differing economic and earnings assumptions, MacGuineas said.

For the… more

Growing concerns that large chronic budget deficits once again threaten our economic future have led Members of Congress to consider whether to reinstate the pay-as-you-go rule (PAYGO) and, if so, whether to include an exemption for tax cuts. Our organizations strongly believe that PAYGO should be renewed in its original and successful form -- applying it without exceptions to both entitlement expansions and tax cuts. This budget-wide constraint was an effective part of past bipartisan efforts to bring deficits under… more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, co-chaired by Leon Panetta and Bill Frenzel, and directed by Maya MacGuineas released the following statement in support of Congressional reinstatement of PAY-GO (no increases in entitlements and no additional tax cuts without offsets) rules and caps on discretionary spending:

The CRFB has strongly supported the budget reforms of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and believes that both PAY-GO and caps on discretionary spending should be reinstated. For maximum… more