Today CBO released an updated report on the treatment of federal receipts and expenditures in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs).The Congress, executive branch agencies, and the press generally focus on the accounting of government finances presented in the Budget of the United States Government, which is prepared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
June 2009
Last week CBO released the Long-Term Budget Outlook. Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path: projected spending rises well above projected revenue, producing growing budget deficits and accumulating debt. Almost all of the projected growth in spending relative to GDP (other than interest payments on the debt) is attributable to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Regarding the proposed cap-and-trade program being considered by the House of Representatives, a number of people have inquired as to whether it is correct to say, as is currently being circulated, that "the Congressional Budget Office estimates that cost impacts could be as much as $.77 per gallon for gasoline, $.83 per gallon for jet fuel, and $.88 per gallon for diesel fuel, all ultimately borne by the consumer."
Yesterday CBO released the Long-Term Budget Outlook. Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable pathmeaning that federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run.
Today CBO released the second of our statutory reports on transactions undertaken as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The assessment discusses the costs of purchases and guarantees of troubled assets taken to date, as well as the information and valuation methods used to calculate those costs.
Today CBO released the Long-Term Budget Outlook. Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable pathmeaning that federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run. Although great uncertainty surrounds long-term fiscal projections, rising costs for health care and the aging of the U.S. population will cause federal spending to increase rapidly under any plausible scenario. Unless tax revenues increase just as rapidly, the rise in spending will produce growing budget deficits and accumulating debt.
Last Friday, CBO released an analysis of the average cost per household that would result from the greenhouse-gas (GHG) cap-and-trade program in the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454). In that analysis, CBO examined the effects of the bill as it would apply in 2020 but described those effects in the context of the current economy: that is, as if the 2020 policy were in effect in 2010. Describing the effects in 2010 allows a more direct comparison of the costs with current household incomes.
While not working hard to produce estimates of varying kinds for the U.S Congress, the Congressional Budget Offices staff often uses its formidable energies to help charitable organizations. As part of their ongoing commitment to the fight against breast cancer, members of our staff, friends, and family members participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure by walking or running the 5K race around the National Mall or by making pledges to the team or to individual team members.
Today CBO released an updated report on theeffects of the business cycle on the federal budget.
For example, during recessions, the budget deficit tends to increase because of the automatic stabilizers built into the budget: tax revenue tends to decline and certain forms of government spending, such as outlays for food stamps and unemployment benefits, tend to increase.
Yesterday,CBO released an analysis that examines the average cost per household that would result from the greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454, as it was reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce) and how that cost would be spread among households with different levels of income.