Budget Process

HIGHLIGHTS

Reining in Runaway Spending and Deficits
The Obama Administration has used the recession as an excuse for a historic and permanent expansion of government and deficits. Only during the height of World War II has Washington matched current levels of spending (25% of GDP) and deficits (10% of GDP). Read More.

Our Research & Offerings on Budget Process

Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by Ryan T. Anderson The Budget and Religion: Principles for Informing Policy
House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) is being criticized by the secular and religious left for comments he made about the role his Catholic faith played in crafting his budget. The most outrageous criticism is that it played any role at all. The reactions to…
Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters
The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…
Issue Brief posted March 14, 2012 by David Addington Federal Budget: What Congress Must Do to Control Spending and Create Jobs
As the national debt races toward $17 trillion and nearly 13 million Americans search fruitlessly for work, America needs bold changes from its leaders. Congress must get federal spending and borrowing under control and get out of the way of job creation in the private sector. …
Issue Brief posted February 29, 2012 by Curtis Dubay Obama’s Budget Badly Undercounts Tax Hikes
President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal explicitly claims a $1.561 trillion tax hike over 10 years, as reported by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[1] This is a vast understatement, because that figure fails to account for all of the President’s tax increases and…
Backgrounder on February 28, 2012 President Obama’s 2013 Budget Delivers Tax Hikes, More Spending, More Debt
Abstract: The President’s 2013 budget, released on February 13, repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years. The Administration’s apparent vision is one of bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling…
Commentary posted February 15, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Obama’s Budget Disregards Lessons of Debt-Ceiling Debate
In his first budget following last year’s debt-ceiling clash, President Obama has either forgotten or ignored the point of that entire confrontation: that runaway federal spending threatens to bury the country in debt and must be reversed. Instead, when it comes to higher spending, the president who insists “We Can’t…
WebMemo posted February 9, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen President Obama’s Budget: What to Watch For
The President’s post-debt-ceiling, election-year budget will provide a good test of whether he is serious about facing up to the country’s looming fiscal crisis and driving spending down. At this critical moment for the nation’s fiscal and economic health, he should seize the opportunity to change the course of fiscal…
WebMemo posted February 8, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen FY 2012 Spending Blows Through Cap, CBO Shows
As House appropriators begin hearings on fiscal year (FY) 2013 spending,[1] a second look at last week’s Congressional Budget Office report shows they already have exceeded their official Budget Control Act limits for the current year by a stunning $156 billion. Although some of this overrun reflects justifiable…
WebMemo posted February 1, 2012 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. CBO Baseline: A Few Quirks Do Not Distract from a Dismal Picture
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its baseline budget outlook through fiscal year 2022 on January 31. The analysis is as creditable to the CBO as its message is daunting to the nation. After squandering three years in which the signal consequences have been persistent high unemployment coupled with an…
WebMemo posted December 8, 2011 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Chairman Ryan’s Proposals for Fixing the Budget Process
To say “the budget process is broken,” as many Members of Congress like to complain, is a little misleading. The regular order of the budget process has not been employed for the past several years[1]—and mostly because of Congress’s inability or unwillingness to use it. But if not…

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Backgrounder posted March 16, 2009 by Brian Riedl The Obama Budget: Spending, Taxes, and Doubling the National Debt
During his presidential campaign, President Barack Obama promised the American people a "net spending cut."1 Instead, he signed a "stimulus" bill that spends $800 billion, and he has proposed a budget that would: Increase spending by $1 trillion over…
Special Report posted May 10, 2011 by Stuart Butler, Ph.D., Alison Acosta Fraser, William Beach Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity
Saving the American Dream is The Heritage Foundation’s plan to fix the debt, cut spending and, above all, restore prosperity. It balances the nation’s budget within a decade—and keeps it balanced. It reduces the debt and cuts government…
Backgrounder on February 28, 2012 President Obama’s 2013 Budget Delivers Tax Hikes, More Spending, More Debt
Abstract: The President’s 2013 budget, released on February 13, repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years. The Administration’s apparent vision is one of bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling…
Issue Brief posted March 14, 2012 by David Addington Federal Budget: What Congress Must Do to Control Spending and Create Jobs
As the national debt races toward $17 trillion and nearly 13 million Americans search fruitlessly for work, America needs bold changes from its leaders. Congress must get federal spending and borrowing under control and get out of the way of job creation in the private sector. …
Backgrounder posted October 28, 2010 by Brian Riedl How to Cut $343 Billion from the Federal Budget
Abstract : Federal spending is on an unsustainable path that risks disaster for America. Runaway spending has increased annual…
WebMemo posted November 10, 2010 by Alison Acosta Fraser Bowles–Simpson Commission Co-Chair Report: A Good and Welcome First Step
Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, co-chairs for the President’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released a co-chairs’ report today. Since it is a preliminary report from the chairs, it should be viewed as a model for discussion and seeding ideas for the final commission report. As such,…
Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by Ryan T. Anderson The Budget and Religion: Principles for Informing Policy
House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) is being criticized by the secular and religious left for comments he made about the role his Catholic faith played in crafting his budget. The most outrageous criticism is that it played any role at all. The reactions to…
Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters
The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…
Education Notebook on November 9, 2006 The Facts on Federal Education Spending
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: The Facts on Federal Education Spending November 9, 2006 Sweeping victories in the midterm elections have put Democrats in charge of the 110th Congress. After twelve years out of power, what will Democrats seek to accomplish in federal education policy? One common theme in their recommendations has been to increase spending on both K-12…
Backgrounder posted January 25, 2005 by Brian Riedl What's Wrong with the Federal Budget Process
The current federal budget process is failing to meet its most basic obligations. The process is supposed to provide an orderly roadmap for determining the nation's annual spending and revenue priorities, but instead it stifles debate, prevents cooperation, and frequently breaks down. Created in 1974, the current process has been…

Find more work on Budget Process

Issue Brief posted May 8, 2012 by Ryan T. Anderson The Budget and Religion: Principles for Informing Policy
House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) is being criticized by the secular and religious left for comments he made about the role his Catholic faith played in crafting his budget. The most outrageous criticism is that it played any role at all. The reactions to…
Issue Brief posted May 7, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Why Budget “Reconciliation” Matters
The spending reduction plan in the U.S. House of Representatives takes an important step toward fixing two huge budget and policy dilemmas facing Congress: the crude, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by last year’s debt ceiling agreement, and the unsustainable growth of entitlement spending, which threatens to overwhelm the budget and…
Issue Brief posted March 14, 2012 by David Addington Federal Budget: What Congress Must Do to Control Spending and Create Jobs
As the national debt races toward $17 trillion and nearly 13 million Americans search fruitlessly for work, America needs bold changes from its leaders. Congress must get federal spending and borrowing under control and get out of the way of job creation in the private sector. …
Issue Brief posted February 29, 2012 by Curtis Dubay Obama’s Budget Badly Undercounts Tax Hikes
President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal explicitly claims a $1.561 trillion tax hike over 10 years, as reported by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[1] This is a vast understatement, because that figure fails to account for all of the President’s tax increases and…
Backgrounder on February 28, 2012 President Obama’s 2013 Budget Delivers Tax Hikes, More Spending, More Debt
Abstract: The President’s 2013 budget, released on February 13, repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years. The Administration’s apparent vision is one of bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling…
WebMemo posted February 9, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen President Obama’s Budget: What to Watch For
The President’s post-debt-ceiling, election-year budget will provide a good test of whether he is serious about facing up to the country’s looming fiscal crisis and driving spending down. At this critical moment for the nation’s fiscal and economic health, he should seize the opportunity to change the course of fiscal…
WebMemo posted February 8, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen FY 2012 Spending Blows Through Cap, CBO Shows
As House appropriators begin hearings on fiscal year (FY) 2013 spending,[1] a second look at last week’s Congressional Budget Office report shows they already have exceeded their official Budget Control Act limits for the current year by a stunning $156 billion. Although some of this overrun reflects justifiable…
WebMemo posted February 1, 2012 by J.D. Foster, Ph.D. CBO Baseline: A Few Quirks Do Not Distract from a Dismal Picture
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its baseline budget outlook through fiscal year 2022 on January 31. The analysis is as creditable to the CBO as its message is daunting to the nation. After squandering three years in which the signal consequences have been persistent high unemployment coupled with an…
WebMemo posted December 8, 2011 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Chairman Ryan’s Proposals for Fixing the Budget Process
To say “the budget process is broken,” as many Members of Congress like to complain, is a little misleading. The regular order of the budget process has not been employed for the past several years[1]—and mostly because of Congress’s inability or unwillingness to use it. But if not…
WebMemo posted December 6, 2011 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Appropriations Endgame: One Last Shot at Fiscal Credibility
With the collapse of the deficit reduction “super committee,” a year that began with promise is degenerating into another late-December budgetary scramble on Capitol Hill. Along with certain necessary decisions by Congress on tax policies, unemployment insurance, and the “doc fix,” nine of the 12 annual spending bills are still…