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Report
December 15, 2015
CBO analyzes 36 policy options commonly proposed by policymakers and analysts. Most of them would improve Social Security’s long-term finances, but only a few would significantly postpone the combined trust funds’ exhaustion date.
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Report
September 25, 2015
Since 1990, real spending for child nutrition programs more than doubled—to $20 billion in 2014. CBO expects that increases in food prices and demographic changes will cause spending to rise further in the future.
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Report
September 9, 2015
CBO describes federal housing assistance to low-income households and how it has changed since 2000, provides information about the households that receive assistance, and assesses options for altering that assistance.
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Report
June 16, 2015
Letter to the Honorable Ron Johnson regarding CBO’s analyses of the long-term budget outlook and the agency’s work on policy options that would address long-term fiscal imbalances.
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Working Paper
June 10, 2015
CBO analyzed a variety of options for federal insurance against the risk of terrorism before the program was reauthorized in January 2015. This paper examines in more detail some options that might be considered in the future.
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Data and Technical Information
February 2, 2015
The table, Medicare’s Payment to Physicians: the Budgetary Effects of Alternative Policies, includes estimates for several replacement and short-term alternatives to the current rules for setting Medicare’s payment rates for physicians’ services.
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Report
January 21, 2015
This report examines spending on TANF, how TANF compares to other low-income support programs, and the effects of TANF on employment. CBO also analyzes policy options that would change the program’s funding and requirements for states.
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Report
November 20, 2014
CBO periodically issues a compendium of options—this installment presents 79—to inform lawmakers about the budgetary effects of ways to reduce the deficit. The report has both interactive and printable formats.
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Data and Technical Information
November 14, 2014
The Budgetary Effects of Alternative Policies Relative to CBO’s April 2014 Baseline updated for the Final Physician Fee Schedule Rule
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Blog Post
September 15, 2014
Last week Director Doug Elmendorf spoke at Macroeconomic Advisers’ Washington Policy Seminar and at Cornell University.
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Presentation
September 12, 2014
Presentation by Doug Elmendorf, CBO Director, at Cornell University
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Report
August 7, 2014
From 2000 to 2013, the number of veterans receiving VA disability payments rose by nearly 55 percent, and spending for those benefits almost tripled. How might changes in VA’s disability compensation program affect the federal budget?
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Blog Post
July 21, 2014
How large would federal debt be in 25 years if current laws remained generally unchanged, and what would be the consequences of large and growing federal debt?
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Blog Post
July 17, 2014
Over the next 25 years, revenues are projected to fall well short of spending if current laws stay generally the same. Why is that the case?
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Blog Post
February 28, 2014
Director Doug Elmendorf spoke yesterday about the main factors that are causing federal health care spending to grow much faster than the economy. He also summarized CBO’s analysis of a wide range of approaches to address that growth.
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Presentation
February 27, 2014
Presentation by Doug Elmendorf, CBO Director, at Williams College
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Blog Post
February 25, 2014
Revenues are projected to continue rebounding from a post-recession low of 14.6 percent of GDP in 2009 and 2010—rising to 18.2 percent in 2015. They are projected to stay between 18.0 percent and 18.4 percent of GDP from 2016 through 2024.
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Report
February 11, 2014
Testimony by Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, before the Committee on the Budget, United States Senate.
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Report
February 5, 2014
Testimony by Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives.
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Presentation
January 29, 2014
Presentation by Doug Elmendorf, CBO Director, to the Healthcare Leadership Council
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Cost Estimate
January 17, 2014
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on October 29, 2013
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Report
December 20, 2013
Federal debt is projected to rise significantly over the long term. What policy changes could reduce future deficits and thus lower the trajectory of federal debt? What criteria might be used to evaluate those policy changes?
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Blog Post
December 12, 2013
CBO examined 28 options that encompass a broad range of discretionary programs. About a third of the options would affect defense programs; the rest are for nondefense programs.
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Blog Post
December 11, 2013
CBO examined 36 options related to the following parts of the tax system: individual income tax rates, the individual income tax base, individual income tax credits, payroll taxes, and taxation of income from businesses, among others.
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Blog Post
December 9, 2013
To comply with the Budget Control Act, the DoD budget would have to be as much as 20 percent below the cost of its current plans. Such a reduction could be achieved through different approaches, some involving cutbacks in combat units.
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Blog Post
December 6, 2013
The 23 options related to mandatory spending would generally decrease the amount paid to beneficiaries, redefine the population that is entitled to benefits of various programs, or reduce payments to state and local governments.
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Data and Technical Information
December 6, 2013
The Budgetary Impact of Alternative Policies Relative to CBO’s May 2013 Baseline updated for Final Rule
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Report
December 5, 2013
This document is a reprint of Chapter 5 of CBO’s publication Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023 (November 2013).
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Blog Post
December 5, 2013
Users of our website will now be able to search for options according to major budget category (such as revenues), budget function (such as national defense or transportation), and major program category (such as housing or Medicare).
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Blog Post
December 5, 2013
Most of the 16 options that CBO examined would either decrease federal spending on health programs or increase revenues (or equivalently, reduce tax expenditures) as a result of changes in tax provisions related to health care.