Papers
View our recurring reports, which summarize and analyze the most important regular federal budget releases and reports.
Appropriations 101
What are appropriations? How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations? How does Congress allocate appropriations? How are...
Comments on Proposed Rule to Close a Medicaid Financing Loophole
On July 11, 2025 the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director Marc Goldwein and Director of...
Analysis of the 2025 Social Security Trustees' Report
The Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their annual reports today on the financial status of the programs. The Trustees find that both...
Analysis of the 2025 Medicare Trustees' Report
The Medicare and Social Security Trustees released their annual reports on the financial status of the trust funds. Our report on the Social Security...
Memo: CEA’s Flawed Analysis Does Not Show TCJA Extension Would Produce 3% Growth
Summary Points The estimates from the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) 1 imply TCJA extension would boost average annual GDP growth to 2.1 percent...
Analysis of CBO’s March 2025 Long-Term Budget Outlook
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its March 2025 Long-Term Budget Outlook, which builds off its January 2025 ten-year projections...
Government Shutdowns Q&A: Everything You Should Know
Discretionary funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 will expire on March 14, and Congress has so far enacted zero of the 12 full-year appropriations bills...
Chartbook: Reconciliation 101
On February 25, Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, gave a presentation...
FY 2025 & 2026 Budget Resolution Principles
A fiscally responsible budget resolution should abide by the following principles: Set a meaningful fiscal goal with a plan to meet that goal The...
Debt Ceiling Q&A
After being suspended by the Fiscal Responsibility Act in 2023, the federal debt ceiling was restored on January 2 and set to the outstanding debt...
Reform Needed for Medicaid DSH
Federal Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments are set to face an $8 billion annual reduction – more than 50 percent – in 2025, 2026...
Comments on Proposed Student Debt Hardship Rule
On November 27, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director, Marc Goldwein, and Senior Policy...