Update 658 — 117th Congress Wraps:$1.7 T Budget Deal Caps Prolific Year Congress heard last night from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reminded democracies around the world that we are all In this — defense of self-government against state terrorism — together. Congress concurred and will provide $45 billion in assistance to Ukraine to repel …
Update 654 — Tax Talk of the Town:Fate of CTC and R&E Rest on FY23 Good news from Georgia — Senator Raphael Warnock has won re-election, giving Democrats 51 seats and a governing majority in the Senate (which we cover Friday). Members of Congress, staff and advocates are working feverishly to hash out a compromise …
Update 651 — Trifecta’s Final Frame:What Can Still Make it in Lame Duck? Congress returns from Thanksgiving break next Monday for a month-long lame duck session — all that remains of the 117th Congress until Christmas Eve, when you can expect adjournment — and the last shot for Democrats to make use of their fleeting …
Update 638 — Congress OKs FY23 CRFinal Budget Can Kicked to December Yesterday, the Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through mid-December, by a vote of 72-25. And just earlier this afternoon, the House passed the measure, but with much less bipartisan support, 230-201. With this must-pass item completed, Congress stands adjourned …
Update 631 — Overhaul Talks Over for Now,What’s Next on Democrats’ Tax Agenda? When Congress passed and President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, numerous tax provisions were included — increased funding for the IRS, a 15 percent corporate minimum tax, a 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks — but they did …
Update 626 — Democratic Reconciliation:IRA Secures 50 Votes, en Route to Passage Facing an August recess deadline, Democrats in Congress are on the verge of fulfilling their economic policy promise, bringing a hitherto elusive unity to a reconciliation bill and a Senate floor vote as soon as procedurally possible. The leap forward shows lessons learned: …
Update 621 — COMPETES to Pass Sans HitchHit an Obstruction Named Mitch; Now What? Two weeks ago — amid extensive conference committee deliberations — Sen. Mitch McConnell announced his intention to block bipartisan negotiations on a USICA/COMPETES bill, industrial policy legislation aimed to compete with China, if Senate Democrats continued to pursue a “partisan reconciliation …
Update 617 — Financing the Final Quit:But Are Retirement Bill Fixes Equitable? America’s population is aging. Since 2010, there has been a sizable 34 percent increase in the 65-and-older population, the fastest-growing of all age cohorts. Retired Americans receive most of their income through government-sponsored income transfers or through income tax deductions and deferral. And, …
Update 614 — Penny Wise, Pound FoolishHow Underfunding Defeats Its Fiscal Goals The unrelenting underfunding of vital federal agencies continues unabated, even as the FY23 is being negotiated on the Hill. This is thanks to fiscal policy made by default, without a fiscal policy future in mind. Rather tight domestic federal budgets fiscal and policy …
Update 610 — CBO: A Mean ReversionRapid Return to Pre-COVID Fiscal Status Yesterday’s CBO report projects this year’s deficit will fall by $1.7 trillion — the single largest nominal one-year reduction in the federal deficit in American history. The deficit this year will be lower than CBO projected it would be before the passage of the American …
