FISCAL BLOG

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are discussing a range of policies under what’s known as reconciliation. To their credit, they have pledged to offset the cost of the legislation, so that the bill won’t add to the country’s already unsustainable debt and deficits.

Several federal programs that are governed by trust funds are facing serious funding shortfalls. As a result, such trust funds, including the retirement portion of Social Security, Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and the Highway Trust Fund, are projected to be exhausted in the near future.

The federal government has enacted five pieces of legislation that provide relief to individuals and corporations that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To finance those provisions, the Treasury Department has ramped up its borrowing.

Housing insecurity is an ongoing issue for millions of American families. COVID-19 and its economic impact exacerbated an existing shortage of affordable housing that far predated the pandemic.

The possibility of raising the corporate tax rate has spurred a debate among economists and policymakers about the optimal corporate income tax rate to balance revenue generation and U.S. competitiveness.

A continuing resolution is a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to fund the federal government for a limited amount of time.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has been both a public health and an economic crisis. In particular, the closure of many businesses has resulted in an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims in the United States.

SNAP is the largest federal program aimed at combating hunger and food insecurity among low-income Americans.

Democratic leaders this week for the first time revealed specific details for how they intend to pay for, or offset, the approximately $3.5 trillion of spending in their reconciliation bill.

Many Americans, young and old, may be confused by the complex set of issues that comprise how the government raises revenues and allocates them.