Mar 4, 2021 | Budgets & Projections
Analysis of CBO's March 2021 Long-Term Budget Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its March 2021 Long-Term Budget Outlook, confirming that the federal budget is on an...
Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Feb 23, 2021 | Health Care
Capping Hospital Prices
High hospital prices are a leading driver of high and rising costs in the U.S. health care system, resulting in insurance premium growth that...
Feb 23, 2021 | Health Care
Reducing Medicare Advantage Overpayments
The Medicare Advantage (MA) program, which allows Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in federally-funded private health insurance plans, is an...
Feb 23, 2021 | Health Care
Equalizing Medicare Payments Regardless of Site-of-Care
Currently, the Medicare program pays higher rates for medical services performed in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) than it pays for the...
Feb 11, 2021 | Budgets & Projections
Analysis of CBO's February 2021 Budget and Economic Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its February 2021 Budget and Economic Outlook, confirming that, despite improvements as a...
Jan 22, 2021 | Budget Process
Reconciliation 101
Reconciliation is a special legislative process created as part of the Budget Act of 1974. It is intended to help lawmakers make the tax and...
Oct 29, 2020 | Other Spending
The Cost of the Trump and Biden COVID Response Plans
The COVID pandemic has caused considerable economic damage and human suffering. Policymakers responded aggressively this spring to address the...
Oct 7, 2020 | Budgets & Projections
The Cost of the Trump and Biden Campaign Plans
Whoever is inaugurated on January 20, 2021, will face many fiscal challenges over his term. Under current law, trillion-dollar annual budget deficits...
Oct 6, 2020 | Economics
Comparing Fiscal Multipliers
The United States is currently facing one of its worst economic and public health crises as a result of COVID-19. Though substantial COVID relief...
Sep 21, 2020 | Budgets & Projections
Analysis of CBO's 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook,...
Sep 17, 2020 | Budget Process
Better Budget Process Initiative: Automatic CRs Can Improve the Appropriations Process
A government shutdown could occur at the end of this month. This year’s ...
Q&A: Everything You Should Know About Government Shutdowns
The new fiscal year (FY) will begin on October 1, 2020, and Congress has so far enacted none of the 12 appropriations bills setting discretionary...
Sep 9, 2020 | Budgets & Projections
Comparing President Trump’s Record to His 2016 Agenda
During the 2016 campaign, US Budget Watch estimated that then-candidate Donald Trump’s proposed agenda would add $4.6 trillion to budget deficits...
Sep 2, 2020 | Budgets & Projections
Analysis of CBO’s September 2020 Budget Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its updated budget outlook – the first to incorporate the effects of the COVID-19...
Aug 31, 2020 | Health Care
Understanding Joe Biden's 2020 Health Care Plan
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden has proposed a significant agenda to address health care coverage and costs. He...
Aug 4, 2020 | Other Spending
Webinar & Chartbook: Where Does the Next Phase of COVID Relief Stand?
The novel coronavirus (COVID) pandemic and resulting economic crisis has been met with an unprecedented policy response. In March 2020,...
Jul 30, 2020 | Taxes
Understanding Joe Biden's 2020 Tax Plan
Former Vice President Joe Biden – the presumptive Democratic nominee for President in the 2020 election – has put forward a variety of tax...
Jul 28, 2020 | Other Spending
Maya MacGuineas's Senate Testimony on Oversight of COVID-19 Fiscal Relief
On July 28, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget president Maya MacGuineas testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government...
Jul 8, 2020 | Budget Process
Appropriations 101
What are appropriations?
How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations...
Jun 29, 2020 | Budgets & Projections
Webinar & Chartbook: Projecting COVID's Fiscal Impact
The United States is currently experiencing one of its sharpest economic crises in modern history as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and...
