Federal Spending

Federal spending is out-of-control and is projected to grow even faster in the future, burdening Americans and saddling future generations with a giant, unaffordable debt, and an intrusive government. Congress amassed huge amounts of debt over past decades by allowing the federal government to become bloated, overextended, and unrestrained. Spending on entitlement programs—especially Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security— is the main driver of America’s long-term spending and debt crises. Congress should cut current spending and restrict future spending through entitlement reforms, without raising taxes, and while assuring full funding for America’s defense.

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  • Issue Brief posted March 28, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen RSC Budget Has Ambitious Targets, Needs More Policy Detail

    The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has once again pushed the outside of the fiscal envelope, presenting a budget that reaches balance in just five years—twice as fast as the group’s proposal a year ago—through entitlement reforms, deep spending reductions, and no tax increases. This aggressive plan incorporates many elements of…

  • Issue Brief posted March 21, 2012 by Alison Acosta Fraser, Patrick Louis Knudsen The Ryan Budget: Confronting the Nation’s Spending Crisis

    In the few months since Washington’s dramatic debt ceiling confrontation, America’s fiscal situation has only worsened. Federal spending is set to soar past previous record-shattering levels, endangering the economic future of the nation. This is a moral issue because younger generations will be forced to bear either staggering levels of…

  • 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 March 1, 2012 by Baker Spring Obama’s Defense Budget Makes Protecting America its Lowest Priority

    Abstract: Despite Administration claims to the contrary, President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for FY 2013 would reduce national defense to the lowest of the major budget priorities of the federal government. The combination of the budget request and the Budget Control Act of 2011 would reduce the military’s personnel levels…

  • 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 2, 2012 by Alison Acosta Fraser Will Transportation Reauthorization Be Another Big Spending Boondoggle?

    As Congress gears up for another year, reining in spending and debt should top the agenda, but one issue heading squarely against that priority is reauthorization of the transportation program. The last transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, was marked by gluttonous excesses, which ranged from its porcine spending increases and wasteful spending…

  • WebMemo posted January 24, 2012 by Patrick Louis Knudsen Spending Goals for Congress and the President

    After a year of unproductive brinksmanship, Congress and the President enter 2012 facing the same intractable budget problems as before: a fourth consecutive deficit expected to be $1 trillion or higher, spending that consumes nearly one-fourth of the economy’s total output, and an entitlement-driven fiscal disaster that has drawn…

  • 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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