Points of Order – Sept. 2019
CBO: Proposed Bailout of Failing Union Pensions Funds Will Not Work, as Loans Will Go Unpaid
READ the CBO Estimate HERE WASHINGTON—Dozens of seriously under-funded trade union pension plans will not repay millions of dollars in tax-funded government loans intended to help them regain financial integrity and pay promised benefits, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). “CBO projects that about one-quarter of the affected pension plans would become insolvent in the […]
CBO: Union pensions still facing insolvency under rescue bill
READ the CBO Estimate HERE A labor-backed pension rescue measure pushed by House and Senate Democrats would only delay the projected insolvency of some ailing union retirement plans, according to new Congressional Budget Office estimates released at Senate Budget Chairman Michael B. Enzi‘s request. The bill (HR 397) passed the House 264-169 in July with 29 Republicans joining a unified Democratic caucus. […]
A first step toward budget process reform
The problems with budgeting in the United States are so well-established that one might say the dysfunction has become a feature, not a bug. Legislators do not budget according to any rules — at least not since the mid-1990s. The way the current process is supposed to work – budget, then authorize then appropriate – was established […]
Editorial misleads on tax cuts, federal budget woes
A recent editorial (“Our View: Deficit would be zero if not for tax cuts,” Aug. 11) criticizing tax relief for American families and job creators makes a number of misleading assertions and glosses over uncomfortable facts that we as a nation must confront. Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal course, but this situation did […]
Sen. Enzi: Editorial misleads on tax cuts, federal budget woes
The problem stems from an aging population and rising health care costs – not from the 2017 tax reform. BY MIKE ENZI SPECIAL TO THE PRESS HERALD A recent editorial (“Our View: Deficit would be zero if not for tax cuts,” Aug. 11) criticizing tax relief for American families and job creators makes a number […]
Pursuing Budget Process Reform
Eakinomics: Pursuing Budget Process ReformGuest authored by Gordon Gray, Director of Fiscal Policy at AAF When President Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 into law on August 2nd, Congress officially cleared the decks of much of its must-do legislating for the next 2 years. Given the dim prospects of serious policymaking during a presidential […]
Enzi: Growth in Spending Continues to Outpace Revenue
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) today said it is clear the nation has a spending problem as a recent report shows once again that high levels of federal spending continue to outpace revenue. A new report from the Department of Treasury showed that year-to-date revenues were up 3.4 percent, while […]
Senator Enzi Restarts the Discussion on Budget Reform
The problems with the current budget process are legion. The timetables established in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are rarely met, resulting in government shutdowns, omnibus budget bills, and, with the exception of a handful of years, annual deficit spending. The abomination known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 is the latest illustration […]
Congress Should Move Forward on Budget Process Reform
Last week, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) released a series of discussion drafts with proposals to reform the federal budget process. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. So far, this year has featured the longest government shutdown in history and a massive […]