What a year for the federal budget! In 2012, our nation tackled complicated topics ranging from tax cuts to sequestration. The November election pivoted on candidates’ federal spending and revenue plans, and highly polarized debates about the so-called “fiscal cliff” continue to rage in Washington. What's Ahead for the Fiscal ...

In the recent presidential election, were people who receive federal aid more likely to vote for President Obama? Were the wealthy more likely to vote for Mitt Romney? The Daily Beast, with an assist from NPP's Federal Priorities Database, has the answer.

There have been few outward signs of progress in recent days as Congress and the White House negotiate over the so-called fiscal cliff. (We prefer to call it a fiscal obstacle course.) Naturally that's led to speculation that lawmakers won't be able to strike a deal to avoid the looming spending cuts and tax increases.

U.S. Housing Units and U.S. Housing Owners and Renters are now current through 2011.

A reader from Shelby Township, Michigan, wrote to us to ask about the Bush-era tax cuts. "How much revenue would the federal government get," he wrote, "if taxes were raised on the people making more than $200,000 per year?" It's a very timely question. Bush-era tax cuts for high earners are the most contentious part of negotiations raging over the so-called fiscal cliff.

People, families, and children in poverty data are up to date through 2011.

I recently read an article that compared the gridlock in Washington, D.C. to living next to a railroad track with trains constantly going by – eventually you don’t even notice it. But with the fiscal cliff looming, concerns about the inability of Congress to get anything done are mounting.So it ...

We recently updated the Federal Priorities Database to look more like NPP's main site over at nationalpriorities.org. Some of the navigation has changed, but all the data is intact, and the searches work the same way. If you have any questions, get in touch at research@nationalpriorities.org.

The White House is preparing an emergency funding request to help repair the damages caused by hurricane Sandy. Although final details are not yet available, the request is expected to be for about $50 billion.This is considerably below the total amount requested by states which suffered severe damage from Sandy. ...

Last week I wrote a post called Fiscal Cliff Definition, with a simple explanation of the much-hyped, so-called fiscal cliff. (I also suggested that we call it a "fiscal obstacle course" instead of a cliff, because that's a more appropriate metaphor.) The next important question is: What's going to happen?