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House Approves $50 billion in Sandy Relief
Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved an additional $50.5 billion in disaster funding for areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy by a 241-180 vote. Congress had previously approved $9.7 billion...
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How Much Is the Economy Contributing to Deficits?
Last Friday, the CBO released a report showing how much the business cycle has affected budget deficits since 1960. The report shows the effect that automatic stabilizers -- features of the budget that...
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Expanding Principal Writedowns to Fannie and Freddie
Sometimes, the timing of things can really work out in Washington. Yesterday, President Obama nominated Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to be the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the agency in...
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The $21 Billion TARP
Yesterday, the CBO released its latest estimate of the subsidy cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The estimate serves as a demonstration of how little of TARP is still operating in a...
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On the President's Proposed "Grand Bargain"
The talk of the town in recent days has been President Obama's new plan to combine corporate tax reform with public investments in what President Obama calls a "grand bargain for middle class jobs."...
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The President's Housing Reform Proposals
Yesterday in Phoenix, one of the hardest hit areas by the housing bust, President Obama gave a speech that laid out his plan to strengthen the housing market. This was the second speech in a series...
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Treasury Set to Exit GM By Year's End
The New York Times is reporting that the Treasury Department will sell its remaining shares in General Motors, bringing to an end its five-year involvement in the company. Treasury's holdings of GM...
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Like Other Extenders, Unemployment Benefits Should Be Offset
Recently, several Members of Congress and outside groups have called for continuing extended unemployment benefits to allow the unemployed to collect for up to 73 weeks instead of 26. When Congress...
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The FOMC Tapers, But That's Not All!
In a move that has been discussed and anticipated for months, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee announced that it would slightly scale back its current quantitative easing program...
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Stopgap Unemployment Benefit Extension Should Be Offset
At the end of 2013, Congress allowed extended unemployment benefits to expire, and as a result the maximum number of weeks for collecting benefits has declined from 73 to 26. While the White House and...
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Unfinished Business for the New Year
The passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act was a positive move away from governing by crisis, and a demonstration that policymakers can meet self-imposed legislative deadlines. Yet substantial unfinished...
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Offsetting A Long-Term UI Extension
The unemployment insurance saga continues. Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) proposed an alternative unemployment benefit extension which would run through mid-November, in place of the...
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UI Offsets a Good Start, But Fall Short
Today, the Congressional Budget Office released their score of the proposal from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to renew extended unemployment benefits in concert with other reductions in spending....
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Explaining the "Double-Dipping" Provision
As the Senate looks for offsets for an unemployment insurance extension, there is one provision that has gotten some attention: ending "double-dipping" for those receiving both UI and federal...
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There They Go Again: More Timing Gimmicks Being Used as Offsets
It seems to be Gimmick Week in DC. After twoof the Medicare physician payment bills offset their costs with gimmicks, the recently announced bipartisan Senate agreement on extending unemployment...
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CBO's Latest Estimate of TARP: $27 Billion
Caught up in the release of CBO's baseline and its analysis of the President's budget last week was another CBO update of their estimate of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The subsidy...
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Senate to Consider Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform Bill
The push among lawmakers to reform housing finance has picked up lately, as proposals have been emerging in recent weeks. The most prominent one in the Senate has been proposed by Banking Committee...
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Fed and Treasury 'rowing in opposite directions'
The Federal Reserve's efforts to help the economy recover through quantitative easing (QE), twisting, and tapering have made front page news without fail. Although it has gotten less attention, the...
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Are Accelerated Write-Off Provisions Effective?
Two of the biggest items among the tax extenders that Congress may consider before the end of the year are two provisions that allow accelerated write-offs of investments: section 179 expensing and...
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CBO Closes the Book on the 2009 Stimulus
CBO unofficially closed the books on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, or the 2009 stimulus), putting out its final report on the economic and fiscal effects of the legislation. ARRA...
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