On August 5, 2016, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its “Monthly Budget Review for July 2016.” The CBO increased its projection of fiscal year 2016 deficit by 10 percent, from $534 billion to $590 billion, in its review. The non-partisan agency attributes the deficit increase to lower-than-expected revenues. In addition to lower revenues, costs […]
IRS Undermines Congressional Budgeting
In a July 2016 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could improve its budget data in its justifications to Congress. The report found that the IRS, while it has taken steps to more effectively manage its budget, has not correlated its priorities to relevant appropriations accounts. In its […]
House Budget Committee Hearing on Unauthorized Programs and Mandatory Spending
On June 9, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Budget held a hearing titled, “The Need to Control Automatic Spending and Unauthorized Programs.” The witnesses included: the Honorable David Walker, former Comptroller General to the United States; Stuart Butler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute; and Lily Batchelder, a professor of […]
Next on Hotel Hell: City of Baltimore
For eight consecutive years, the city-owned and operated Hilton Baltimore has lost money, $5.2 million in 2015. Baltimore’s economy has not been strong recently, and the riots following the Freddie Gray incident haven’t had a positive impact on the city’s tourist business. However, the Hilton was losing money well before the recent troubles. Instead of making $7 million a […]
Senate Hearing on TSA Operations: Frustrated Travelers and Threats to Aviation
This morning, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing entitled, “Frustrated Travelers: Rethinking TSA Operations to Improve Passenger Screening and Address Threats to Aviation.” The witnesses included: The Honorable Peter V. Neffenger, Administrator, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) The Honorable John Roth, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Jennifer Grover, […]
OMB Tackles Some Low-Hanging Fruit
On January 20, 2016, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) weighed in on a request for comments from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the requirements that should be included in its guidance to federal departments and agencies for improving the management and purchasing of software assets. CAGW recommended that agencies should be required […]
Sugar, ah, Funny Money!
In a March 2013 post on Swineline, CAGW took its first crack at a parody of the 1969 bubblegum classic, “Sugar, Sugar.” Today’s title riffs on the hit song’s first verse (Sugar, ah, honey, honey!), taking the jibe one step further. Readers can decide for themselves whether the not-so-veiled indictment (“funny money”) pertains to either the $49 million in federal campaign donations (more than any other crop sector except tobacco) that keep the sweet supports in place or the exorbitant amounts of taxpayer dollars that are lost on this boondoggle.
RSC Releases Budget Proposal
On March 17, 2016, the House of Representatives’ Republican Study Committee (RSC), chaired by Rep. Flores (R-Texas), released its budget proposal.
Status Quo for Obama’s Last Budget
The record-setting $4 trillion budget proposed by President Obama for fiscal year (FY) 2017, released on February 9, 2016 contains the usual suspect spending suggestions that he has made for the past seven years, along with a list of proposed cuts.
Solar Wars: The Revenge of the Subsidies
Those who have followed the solar energy debate may be the only ones aware of “net metering.” For everyone else, it is worth understanding what it means and how it works.