Budget Matters Blog

The Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year passed quietly this year, as Congress recessed in mid-September so House and Senate members could return to their districts to campaign before the critical November elections. Members plan to return to Washington in mid-November for a “lame duck” session of Congress, during which there will be pressure to address a number of major issues.

Incidentally, if you’re wondering about the phrase, “lame ducks” are those members of Congress who lost their election (or did not seek another term), but are still in office because their term has not yet officially ...

During the upcoming presidential debates there will likely be a lot of attention paid on what the role of government ought to be. As taxpayers, you and I account for over 80 percent of the government’s annual revenues from our income taxes and our payroll tax deductions that fund Social Security and Medicare. We also contribute still more tax dollars through excise and estate taxes. In other words, regular people account for the lion’s share of the federal government's income.So, how does this money come back to us? There are four main ways:First, the federal ...

It turns out that even people who are knowledgeable about the federal budget are surprised by the potential impact of sequestration – the automatic spending cuts set to go into effect at the end of this year.This week I had the opportunity to return to Ohio, a critical swing state in the presidential elections and for determining which party will control the U.S. Senate. I was there at the invitation of the Center for Community Solutions and Cleveland Peace Action, to speak on the federal budget before the Human Service Advocates Network. The event was hosted by the Cleveland ...

Greg from Portland, Oregon e-mailed last week and asked, “The House just passed a major spending bill. Does this mean the big funding cuts for education I’ve been hearing about won’t happen? I’m a teacher, and we’ve been hearing all sorts of scary [stuff] about these cuts.”What Greg is referring to is the automatic across-the-board spending cuts – known as “sequestration” – that are scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year. The short answer to your question, Greg, is “no, the cuts may still happen.”

Here’s the longer answer. Each year Congress ...

As both political parties do as part of their party's national convention, last week the GOP adopted their "platform" – which is, in effect, a statement of principles and goals. It begins by stating "The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.”

We thought we'd take a look at some of the provisions of the 62 page document that deal with the federal budget. Here are some highlights:

Enact a Balanced Budget Amendment: The GOP platform would amend the U ...

If you remember, last weekend I was in Columbus, OH as part of the series of “Move the Money” training sessions sponsored by NPP and Peace Action. This weekend took us to Columbia, MD.And here in the shadow of our nation’s Capitol, the concerns of the people I met were very different than those of my new friends in Columbus. In Ohio, discussion focused on jobs and education. But in suburban Maryland – home to thousands of federal employees and numerous government contractors – it’s all about the federal budget. More specifically, it’s about sequestration.Unless Congress and ...

President Obama was in Columbus, OH this week, talking about funding for education. Just by coincidence, so was I.NPP, along with Peace Action, sponsored the first of our “Move the Money” training sessions where we’re gathering local activists to help them integrate information about the federal budget into the work they’re doing. We were joined by representatives of groups in the Columbus area working on health care reform, economic justice, funding for human needs programs, cutting Pentagon spending, and preserving the environment, among other issues.Not surprisingly, the #1 most important issue on the minds of everyone ...

If there was ever any doubt that the U.S. federal budget would claim center-stage in the 2012 presidential race, it vanished with Mitt Romney's selection of House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) as the GOP Vice Presidential nominee.

Although Mitt Romney has emphasized he will run on a Romney budget, not a Ryan budget, he has already endorsed central elements of Ryan's plan – such as significant cuts to Medicaid and education – and has indicated that the Congressman will play a lead role in shaping the Romney/Ryan platform.

Paul Ryan's federal budget proposal includes sweeping changes ...

On July 31 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that they had reached an agreement on a temporary spending bill – known as a “continuing resolution” (CR) – that will fund government operations for six months starting when the new fiscal year begins on October 1. According to Senator Reid the White House will support the agreement. Speaker Boehner said Congress will vote on the actual legislation in September, after the annual August recess.

Each year Congress must enact, and the President sign into law, twelve appropriations bills which provide the majority of funding for ...

NPP’s new report “The Untold Story of Deficits in Washington” has sparked a LOT of questions about federal revenues – the “budwonk” word for “taxes” – especially this one: “Is it true that half of all Americans pay no federal taxes?”Here’s the deal. Because many people don’t earn enough to owe federal income taxes, and because of deductions and credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, many Americans end up paying no income taxes, or even pay negative income taxes – that is, they actually receive a check from the U.S. Treasury.But that doesn’t mean they ...