Congressional Budget Office

By Tom Philpott Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the furlough of 680,000 civilian employees for one day a week, from early July through September, to avoid taking deeper cuts in training and maintenance, which could have degraded readiness to the...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama’s proposed mix of tax hikes and spending cuts would reduce future budget deficits more quickly than under current laws, according to a report issued Friday that could rekindle the dormant budget wars in Washington....

WASHINGTON (AP) — The days of fixed-rate student loans could be coming to a close, with House Republicans on Thursday advancing a proposal that would link rates to financial markets. The GOP-led House Education and the Workforce Committee sent to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities rose to a record level in March, signaling further confidence in U.S. debt. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that total foreign holdings increased 0.7 percent in March from...

WASHINGTON — The federal deficit is shrinking more quickly than expected, and the government's long-term debt has largely stabilized for the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday in a report that could strengthen the Obama...

The Senate Judiciary Committee took up comprehensive immigration reform late last week. And, as expected, opponents are already rushing to derail it, arguing that any bill that legalizes the vast majority of undocumented immigrants in the United States...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced legislation that would modify crop insurance premium assistance for insured crops grown on native sod converted to cropland and land that a producer cannot...

WASHINGTON - Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said April 25 that she plans to hold a markup of a new farm bill in May, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., signaled that he intends to bring it to the Senate floor...

Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, in her May 8 letter to the editor, makes the statement: "Florida is simply unable to pay for its overwhelming demand and costs for public health care." She implies that the answer to Florida's pressing need for added health care...

WASHINGTON -- It's the great moral imperative behind the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"): People should not be denied health care because they can't afford insurance. Health status and insurance are assumed to be connected, and opponents have often been...

WASHINGTON -- The bipartisan Senate immigration proposal would provide a boost to the Social Security fund, its chief actuary said Wednesday, as more immigrants come out of the underground economy and begin paying taxes. The assessment of the bill’...

Over the last few years the Republican Party has campaigned hard against comprehensive immigration reform and in favor of tougher internal enforcement and beefed-up security along the U.S. border with Mexico. Now the GOP leadership is hoping to persuade...