Economic Effects of Reducing the Fiscal Restraint That Is Scheduled to Occur in 2013

Under current law, the federal budget deficit will fall dramatically between 2012 and 2013 owing to scheduled increases in taxes and, to a lesser extent, scheduled reductions in spending—a development that some observers have referred to as a “fiscal cliff.”

Today CBO released an analysis of the economic effects of reducing that fiscal restraint.

CBO's Major Budget Reports

• The Budget and Economic Outlook, published in January, includes the agency's latest economic projections and its most comprehensive set of budget projections.
• In March, CBO provided updated budget projections. These are the agency's most recent projections.
• CBO also analyzed the budgetary and the economic impact of the President's budget proposals for 2013.

Energy Security in the United States

Improving energy security — the ability of U.S. households and businesses to accommodate disruptions of supply in energy markets — requires considering policies related to the nation’s supply of and demand for oil.

Read the report
View the infographic

The U.S. Federal Budget

In December, CBO published an infographic that provided an overview of the federal budget in fiscal year 2011. The agency has released three additional infographics that provide a more detailed look at federal revenues and at mandatory and discretionary spending in 2011.

• Mandatory spending infographic
• Discretionary spending infographic
• Revenue infographic
• Federal budget overview infographic

Employment-Based Health Insurance

CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) continue to expect that the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—the health care legislation enacted in March 2010—will lead to a small reduction in the number of people receiving employment-based health insurance.