During the weeks before fiscal year (FY) 2015 ended on September 30, 2015, many in Washington and across the nation braced for the potential of a “government shutdown.” But, on that last day of FY 2015, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that avoided a shutdown and funded the government through December 11. On October 2, President Obama vowed to veto any further short-term funding bills. With the specter of the second government shutdown in three years looming for the holidays, it is helpful to understand how a shutdown works and what the consequences might be.
The Need for More Spectrum Auctions
A May 11, 2015 report from the Brattle Group estimates the value of the 645.5 MHz of licensed spectrum currently in use at almost $500 billion. Beyond the monetary value of this spectrum are the services provided to consumers using licensed spectrum through their mobile devices. According to the report, economists have estimated that the […]
Spending Caps: To Bust or Not To Bust?
On May 5, 2015, the Senate followed the House’s lead and voted 51-48 to approve the conference report accompanying the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Budget Resolution. In other words, Congress did its job and passed a joint budget plan for the first time since 2009.
A Budget Reconciliation Primer: No Peaches & Herb
The term “reconciliation” tends to evoke feelings of rapprochement and reunion. But unlike Peaches & Herb’s 1979 chart-topping hit, “Reunited (and it Feels So Good),” reconciliation has no romantic meaning when it pertains to the Federal budget.
End the Pentagon Slush Fund
Created in 2001 to fund the war in Afghanistan and other associated costs of the Global War on Terror, the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account was intended to be a one-time emergency supplemental. Instead, it has been used as an annual funding measure, including in 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq.
Keep the Caps
Based on all of the bloviating around Washington, D.C., about how sequestration is inflexible and unworkable, one would assume that the entire federal budget process is about to explode. In reality, the caps on federal discretionary spending are scheduled to increase every year through fiscal year (FY) 2021; just not by as much as some would like.
GAO Cites Billions Left on the Chopping Block
The prevailing wisdom inside the Beltway and especially among big-government politicians and bureaucrats is one that was espoused by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2013. Flummoxed by a reporter’s question on budget cuts, she literally threw up her hands and exclaimed, “The cupboard is bare! There’s no more cuts to make!”
Prime Cuts 2015: Bipartisan Proposals Included
After expanding control of the House of Representatives and taking over the Senate in the November 2014 elections, Republicans have a clear mandate to reduce spending.
CAGW Reaction to SOTU 2015: The President Is in an Alternate Universe
The President’s State of the Union Address would have made a good episode of “The Twilight Zone.” In “The Obama Zone,” the following is true, because he either never mentioned the subject matter or failed to properly state the facts…
Sequestration-sensitive Pentagon Misses $145M in Improper Payments
Not all improper payments are fraudulent (inadvertent expenditures are all too common in the federal government, but many are “honest mistakes” without nefarious intent), but all fraud should be considered improper.