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.
CBO Blog
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.
In this report, CBO provides background on the methods used to estimate the costs of antifraud legislation.
The federal government ran a budget deficit of $486 billion in fiscal year 2014, CBO estimates—$195 billion less than the shortfall recorded in fiscal year 2013, and the smallest deficit recorded since 2008.
Loan guarantees made in the FHA's single-family mortgage program between 1992 and 2013 are now projected to generate small costs over their lifetimes rather than the significant savings that were originally recorded in the federal budget.