CRFB

It will be some time before officials will be able to fully assess the amount of disaster relief funding that will be necessary in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but it is already becoming clear that the costs of responding to Katrina will vastly exceed any previous natural disaster in the U.S. Though the specifics of any one disaster cannot be anticipated, they are an unfortunate, costly, and regular reality. Budgeting for disasters is part of being prepared for these… more

The Congressional budget resolution increased the deficit relative to the CBO baseline by $200 billion from FY 2005 through FY 2010. Since passing the budget resolution, Congress has approved several bills that would increase spending above the limits in the resolution. Making matters worse, Congress is poised to take actions this fall that would result in further increases to the deficit beyond those already assumed in the budget resolution.

In this update, we examine the impact of Congressional actions on… more

Being a budget watchdog generally involves a healthy degree of pessimism and the last few weeks have provided plenty of reminders why. It was encouraging to see the appropriations process moving forward within the tight spending limits set by the budget resolution. That is, until a political firestorm over veterans benefits erupted, leading to pressure for increased spending. While efforts to achieve the modest savings in mandatory spending programs are moving forward slowly, momentum is growing for further tax cuts… more

At the beginning of this year there were some indications that the era of "deficits don't matter" rhetoric was being replaced by a renewed concern about deficits, at least rhetorically. Unfortunately, the actions since then have shown no indication that policymakers have the stomach to match that rhetoric with actions.

The budget resolution conference agreement leads to higher deficits than current law in each of the next five years, with the costs of additional tax cuts and increased spending for defense and homeland security assumed in the resolution… more

The President’s budget projects a gradually reduced deficit over the next five years, from the $412 billion deficit in fiscal year 2004 (3.6% of GDP) to $207 billion in 2010 (1.3% of GDP). This decline mirrors the decline in the deficit projected under current law as the near-term budget outlook improves modestly. In fact, the President’s policies would actually increase the deficit over the five-year window. Furthermore, the budget relies on unrealistic assumptions and gimmicks to limit the size of… more

Please see the attached PDF version of this document.

CRFB's suggested questions on the deficit, federal debt, allocation of resources, Social Security, Medicare and the overall size of government. For the full list, please see the attached PDF file.

Please see the attached PDF version of this document, which outlines the key numbers and long-term implications of the latest Congressional Budget Office baseline estimates.