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- Report
CBO estimated the budgetary impact of the activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac using the methodology specified in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.
- Blog Post
In September 2008, the federal government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that provide credit guarantees on more than half of the outstanding residential mortgages in the United States. Although they are not legally federal agencies, the government operates them to fulfill the public purpose of supporting the housing and mortgage markets. Therefore, CBO believes that it is appropriate to include the GSEs’ financial transactions in the federal budget.
- Report
CBO anticipates that starting in 2016, if current laws remain in place, the program's annual spending will regularly exceed its tax revenues.
- Blog Post
Social Security is the federal government’s largest single program, and as the U.S. population grows older in the coming decades, its cost is projected to increase more rapidly than its revenues. That trend, in combination with the rising cost of the government’s health care programs, will lead to sharp increases in government spending relative to the size of the economy, placing the federal budget on a path that is unsustainable over the long term.
- Report
The Budgetary Impact and Subsidy Costs of the Federal Reserve's Actions During the Financial Crisis
- Blog Post
Over the past several years, the nation has experienced its most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. To stabilize financial markets and institutions, the Federal Reserve System used its traditional policy tools to reduce short-term interest rates and increase the availability of funds to banks, and created a variety of nontraditional credit programs to help restore liquidity and confidence to the financial sector. In doing so, it more than doubled the size of its asset portfolio to over $2 trillion and assumed more risk of losses than it normally takes on.
- Report
This CBO study compares the budgetary and fair-value costs of the federal student loan programs. It also looks at several options for modifying those programs.
- Blog Post
The federal government helps students finance higher education through two major loan programs—one that guarantees loans made by private lenders, and one that makes loans directly to borrowers. Between 2000 and 2009, the volume of outstanding federal student loans more than quadrupled, from about $149 billion to about $630 billion.
- Report
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives
- Report
Letter to the Honorable Judd Gregg