The words debt and deficit come up frequently in debates about the policy decisions that lawmakers face. The two concepts are similar, but are often confused.
CUTGO is short for “cut-as-you-go,” and it is an internal rule used by the House of Representatives, meaning that it does not apply to consideration of legislation in the Senate.
Cracking down on the tax gap would not only introduce more fairness into the system, but it could be a big help for our nation’s fiscal imbalance — to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
There’s no doubt America’s fiscal problems are serious and significant, but CBO’s assortment of options offers lawmakers a deep playbook of spending and revenue changes that would put us on a better path.