November 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.

  • The Department of Defense's base budget increased by 31 percent (adjusted for inflation) between 2000 and 2014, mainly because of higher costs for military personnel and operation and maintenance.

  • The federal government influences innovation through two broad channels: spending and tax policies, and the legal and regulatory systems. Policymakers have a number of options for spurring additional innovation.

  • In 2011, households in the top, middle, and bottom quintiles received 52, 14, and 5 percent of the nation's before-tax income, respectively; the shares of federal taxes paid by those households were 69, 9, and 1 percent.

  • In fiscal year 2014, which ended on September 30, the federal budget deficit totaled $483 billion—$197 billion less than the shortfall in 2013.

  • In certain reports and for some major pieces of legislation, CBO analyzes the short- and longer-term effects on the overall economy of changes in federal tax and spending policies. This report explains the methods that CBO uses.

  • CBO projects that the Department of Defense’s plans would cost an average of $47 billion per year more from 2015 through 2021 than would be provided under the limits established by the Budget Control Act.