The Economic Effects of Financing a Large and Permanent Increase in Government Spending, Congressional Budget Office, CBO Working Paper 57201, March 2021 (42-page PDF) “Recommendation for New U.S. Circuit and District Court Judgeships by the Judicial Conference of the United States (117th Congress),” CRS Insight IN11639, March 26, 2021 (6-page PDF) “District of Columbia Voting … Read more
Crony Capitalism / Rent-Seeking / Corporate Welfare / Revolving Door Corporate welfare refers to subsidies and regulatory protections that lawmakers confer on certain businesses and industries. When considering budget issues, federal policymakers are supposed to have the broad public interest in mind. Unfortunately, that is not how the federal budget process usually works in practice. … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Backdoor Authority / Backdoor Spending A colloquial phrase for budget authority provided in laws other than appropriations acts, including contract authority and borrowing authority, as well as entitlement authority and the outlays that result from that budget authority. Fiscal Law #1 – Overview … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Changes in Mandatory Program Spending / CHIMPS Sessions Unveils Amendments To Combat Billions In Spending Through Waste, Gimmicks CHIMP is an acronym for a “CHange (either a cost or a savings) In a Mandatory Program” that is proposed or enacted in an appropriations … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Unemployment Rate / Employment-Population Ratio Unemployment and the Unemployment Rate As defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of people who do not have jobs but have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks and are currently available … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Baseline / Baseline Budgeting / Scorekeeping Dan Mitchell Discussing Dishonest Budget Numbers with John Stossel Baseline: Projection of future revenues, budget authority, outlays, and other budget amounts under assumed economic conditions and participation rates without a change in current policy. The Congressional Budget … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Budget Deficit / Budget Surplus Lesson 1 National Debt & Budget Deficit Explained The relationship between spending and revenues is reflected in the surplus or deficit figure. A surplus is an excess of revenues over outlays, while a deficit is an excess of … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Permanent Appropriations Permanent Appropriations: Budget authority that becomes available as the result of previously enacted legislation (substantive legislation or prior appropriations act) and does not require current action by Congress. Budget authority is considered to be “current” if provided in the current session of Congress … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Congressional Budget Office / CBO Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) principally serve congressional committees with a variety of reports. The Congressional Budget Office assists Congress in understanding the economic and fiscal environment … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Byrd Rule The term, named for Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), refers to an amendment to the Congressional Budget Act that bars the inclusion of extraneous matter in any reconciliation legislation considered in the Senate. This provision defines different categories of extraneous matter in any … Read more