Budget Battles
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Republicans Hammer Biden’s Big Stimulus Plan
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Biden Unveils ‘Wartime’ Covid Response Plan
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Biden Signs 17 Executive Actions on Day 1
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Yellen Tells Congress to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
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Trump's Legacy: $7.8 Trillion Rise in Debt
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Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’
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Trump Impeached Again: What's Next?
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The Battle Over Biden’s Big Stimulus Plan
President Biden’s flurry of first-week executive orders comes as his $1.9 trillion proposal for the next coronavirus relief package faces intense Republican opposition, including from moderates whose...
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Yellen Tells Congress It’s Time to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
Incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged Congress to “act big” and deliver more relief to the pandemic-ravaged economy. As she sought to build support for the $1.9 trillion rescue...
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Orszag, Rubin and Stiglitz Call for a New Fiscal Framework
The consensus on the dangers of rising debt has shifted dramatically over the last decade. Economists have been reexamining how best to spur recovery and encourage wider-spread prosperity as...
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Deficit Hits $572 Billion for First Three Months of Fiscal 2021: CBO
The federal budget deficit for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 totaled $572 billion, up $215 billion from the same period a year earlier, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday...
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2021 Deficit On Track to Total $2.3 Trillion: Budget Watchdog
The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2021 is on track to total $2.3 trillion, or 10.4% of gross domestic product, lower than the record $3.1 trillion deficit last year but higher than any other...
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CBO Report Lists 83 Options for Reducing the Deficit
The federal budget deficit in October and November, the first two months of fiscal year 2021, totaled $430 billion, an increase of $87 billion, or 25%, over the same period last year, the...
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Debating the Debt: Biden’s Team Reflects a Big Shift
Debates about the national debt and federal budget deficit dominated political and policy clashes throughout the Obama administration, but largely disappeared during President Trump’s time in the...
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What Biden’s New Economic Team Signals About His Agenda
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his picks for top members of his economic team, with choices that signal a strong focus on providing relief for a Covid-stricken economy and help for the...
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Why Big Deficits Are Here to Stay (for Now)
By Michael RaineyFrom billions in income supplements for households to trillions in guaranteed loans for businesses, fiscal policy has taken a central role in the government’s response to the Covid recession...
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Cost of Interest on National Debt Falls Despite Surging Deficit: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe federal government estimates that it has paid billions of dollars less in interest on the national debt in the 2020 fiscal year, despite an increase in the size of the national debt on an annual...
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The Race Is On to Avoid a Debt Ceiling Crisis
Eager to avert a debt ceiling crisis, the White House is pushing lawmakers to agree to a budget deal and raise the nation’s borrowing limit within a few weeks — and is signaling a willingness to...
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Can Lawmakers Avoid a Fiscal Fiasco?
Congress has until the end of September to fund the government for the next fiscal year and avoid another shutdown. It might have even less time to raise the government’s borrowing limit and avoid a...
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Larry Kudlow Again Says That US Debt Isn’t a Problem
By Michael RaineyLarry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said Tuesday that in his view the $22.5 trillion national debt is not a pressing issue. "I don't see this as a huge problem at all right now...
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Kamala Harris Smacked Down a Question on How to Pay for Progressive Agenda
Sen. Kamala Harris shook up the Democratic presidential primaries with her debate performance Thursday night. She’s widely seen as the clear winner from the second night of the debates, having...
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Zero Interest Rates Ahead?
By Michael RaineyReflecting on the latest budget projections from the Congressional Budget Office, which show relentlessly rising debt and interest costs over the next 30 years, Bloomberg’s Noah Smith says that one...