As a nonpartisan Congressional agency, CBO does not make recommendations
about policy. Instead, the options discussed in this report stem from various
sources. They are derived from legislative proposals, the President's budget,
Congressional and CBO staff, other government entities, and private groups.
The inclusion or exclusion of a particular idea does not represent an endorsement
or rejection by CBO. The options are intended to reflect a range of possibilities;
they are neither ranked nor comprehensive. In keeping with CBO's mandate
to provide objective and impartial analysis, the discussion of each option
presents the cases for and against it.
Options to Reduce Spending |
Function 050: National Defense |
|
Forces and Weapons |
|
050-01 |
Cancel Remaining Purchases of the Javelin Missile |
050-02 |
Reverse Organizational Changes that Have Increased the
Army's Support Tail Without Increasing Its Combat Tooth |
050-03 |
Reduce the Number of Army Stryker Brigade Conversions |
050-04 |
Delay the Fielding Date of the Future Combat System from 2008 to 2010 |
050-05 |
Cancel the Army's Comanche Helicopter Program |
050-06 |
Reduce the Procurement of Virginia Class Submarines and Transfer Six
More Subs to Guam |
050-07 |
Cancel the DDX Program and Buy New Frigates Instead |
050-08 |
Eliminate Research and Development Funding for the Second Future Carrier |
050-09 |
Cancel Production of the V-22 Aircraft |
050-10 |
Reduce Purchases of the Air Force's F/A-22 Fighter |
050-11 |
Slow the Schedule of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program |
050-12 |
Substitute Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles for Manned Aircraft |
050-13 |
Accelerate Replacement of the C-5s' Engines |
050-14 |
Reduce Nuclear Delivery Platforms to Achieve the Moscow Treaty's Limits
on Operational Nuclear Warheads |
050-15 |
Reduce the Trident Submarine Force to 12 and Buy 48 Fewer D5 Missiles |
|
Manpower, Logistics, and Support |
|
050-16 |
Consolidate Military Personnel Costs in a Single Appropriation |
050-17 |
Target Pay to Meet Military Requirements |
050-18 |
Reduce Military Personnel in Overseas Headquarters Positions |
050-19 |
Replace Military Personnel in Some Support Positions with Civilian
Employees of the Department of Defense |
050-20 |
Increase the Use of Warrant Officers to Attract and Retain Personnel |
050-21 |
Reduce Recruiting Budgets |
050-22 |
Have the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs Purchase Drugs
Jointly |
050-23 |
Introduce a "Cafeteria Plan" for the Health Benefits of Family Members
of Active-Duty Military Personnel |
050-24 |
Create Incentives for Military Families to Save Energy |
050-25 |
Consolidate and Encourage Efficiencies in Military Exchanges |
050-26 |
Consolidate the Department of Defense's Retail Activities and Provide
a Grocery Allowance to Service Members |
050-27 |
Eliminate the Department of Defense's Elementary and Secondary Schools |
050-28 |
Price Military Housing According to Market Rates |
050-29 |
Change Depots' Pricing Structure for Repairs |
|
Function 150: International Affairs |
|
150-01 |
Eliminate the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation,
and the Trade and Development Agency |
150-02 |
End the United States' Capital Subscriptions to the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development |
|
Function 270: Energy |
|
270-01 |
Eliminate the Department of Energy's Applied Research for Fossil Fuels |
270-02 |
Eliminate the Department of Energy's Applied Research for Energy Conservation |
270-03 |
Eliminate the Department of Energy's Applied Research for Solar and
Renewable Energy Sources |
270-04 |
Eliminate Grant Programs That Support Energy Conservation |
270-05 |
Restructure the Power Marketing Administrations to Charge Higher Rates |
270-06 |
Sell the Southeastern Power Administration and Related Power-Generation
Equipment |
270-07 |
Eliminate Federal Funding for the FreedomCAR Partnership |
270-08 |
Reduce the Size of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve |
270-09 |
Require the Tennessee Valley Authority to Impose a Transmission Surcharge
on Future Electricity Sales |
|
Function 300: Natural Resources and Environment |
|
300-01 |
Increase Net Receipts from National Timber Sales |
300-02 |
Eliminate Federal Grants for Water Infrastructure |
300-03 |
Reauthorize Holding and Location Fees and Charge Royalties for Hardrock
Mining on Federal Lands |
300-04 |
Set Grazing Fees for Federal Lands on the Basis of State Formulas |
300-05 |
Recover Costs Associated with the Issuance of Permits by the Army Corps
of Engineers |
300-06 |
Impose Fees on Users of the Inland Waterway System |
300-07 |
Open the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Leasing |
300-08 |
Impose a New Harbor Maintenance Fee |
300-09 |
Terminate Economic Assistance Payments Under the South Pacific Fisheries
Treaty |
300-10 |
Eliminate Federal Funding of Beach Replenishment Projects |
300-11 |
Eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy-Efficiency Partnerships |
|
Function 350: Agriculture |
|
350-01 |
Eliminate the Foreign Market Development Program |
350-02 |
Eliminate the Market Access Program |
350-03 |
Reduce the Reimbursement Rate Paid to Private Insurance Companies in
the Department of Agriculture's Crop Insurance Program |
350-04 |
Impose New Limits on Farm Program Payments to Producers of Certain
Agricultural Commodities |
|
Function 370: Commerce and Housing Credit |
|
370-01 |
End the Credit Subsidy for the Small Business Administration's Major
Business Loan Guarantee Programs |
370-02 |
Eliminate the International Trade Administration's Trade Promotion Activities or Charge the Beneficiaries |
370-03 |
Eliminate the Advanced Technology Program |
370-04 |
Eliminate the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the National Quality Program |
370-05 |
Charge All Banks and Thrifts Deposit Insurance Premiums |
|
Function 400: Transportation |
|
400-01 |
Reduce Federal Subsidies for Amtrak |
400-02 |
Eliminate the Essential Air Service Program |
400-03 |
Eliminate Grants to Large and Medium-Sized Hub Airports |
400-04 |
Increase Fees for Certificates and Registrations Issued by the Federal Aviation Administration |
400-05 |
Establish Fees Based on Costs for Air Traffic Control Services |
400-06 |
Impose a User Fee to Cover the Costs of the Federal Railroad Administration's Rail Safety Activities |
400-07 |
Eliminate Funding for "High-Priority" Highway Projects |
400-08 |
Eliminate Funding for the "New Starts" Transit Program |
400-09 |
Increase Fees for Transportation Security |
|
Function 450: Community and Regional Development |
|
450-01 |
Convert the Rural Community Advancement Program to State Revolving Loan Funds |
450-02 |
Eliminate Region-Specific Development Agencies |
450-03 |
Drop Wealthier Communities from the Community Development Block Grant Program |
450-04 |
Eliminate the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation |
450-05 |
Drop Flood Insurance for Certain Repeatedly Flooded Properties |
450-06 |
Phase Out the Flood Insurance Subsidy on Pre-FIRM Structures Other Than Primary Residences |
450-07 |
Eliminate the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund |
450-08 |
Eliminate Grant Funding for Empowerment Zones |
|
Function 500: Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services |
|
500-01 |
Reduce Funding to School Districts for Impact Aid |
500-02 |
Repeal the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act |
500-03 |
Eliminate Interest Subsidies on Loans to Graduate Students |
500-04 |
Raise Interest Rates on Federal Student Loans |
500-05 |
Increase Up-Front Fees on Unsubsidized Loans to Dependent Students and Their Parents |
500-06 |
Restrict Eligibility for Subsidized Student Loans by Including Home Equity in the Determination of Financial Need |
500-07 |
Eliminate the Floor on Lenders' Yields from Federally Guaranteed Student Loans |
500-08 |
End New Federal Funding for Perkins Loans |
500-09 |
Eliminate Administrative Fees Paid to Schools in the Campus-Based Student Aid and Pell Grant Programs |
500-10 |
Eliminate the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program |
500-11 |
Eliminate the Senior Community Service Employment Program |
|
Function 550: Health |
|
550-01 |
Reduce the Enhanced Federal Matching Rates for Certain Administrative Functions in Medicaid |
550-02 |
Restrict the Allocation of Common Administrative Costs to Medicaid |
550-03 |
Reduce Spending for Medicaid Administration |
550-04 |
Convert Medicaid Payments for Acute Care Services into a Block Grant |
550-05 |
Convert Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments into a Block Grant |
550-06 |
Require All States to Comply with New Rules About Medicaid's Upper Payment Limit by 2004 |
550-07 |
Reform the Process for Listing Drug Patents in the FDA's Orange Book |
550-08 |
Eliminate the 30-Month Stay for Late-Listed Patents |
550-09 |
Reduce Subsidies for Health Professions Education |
550-10 |
Finance the Food Safety Inspection Service Through User Fees |
550-11 |
Adopt a Voucher Plan for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program |
550-12 |
Base Retirees' Health Benefits on Length of Federal Service |
|
Function 570: Medicare |
|
570-01 |
Reduce Medicare's Payments for the Indirect Costs of Patient Care That Are Related to Hospitals' Teaching Programs |
570-02 |
Reduce Medicare's Direct Payments for Medical Education |
570-03 |
Eliminate Additional Capital-Related Payments for Hospitals with Residency Programs |
570-04 |
Convert Medicare Payments for Graduate Medical Education into a Block Grant and Slow Their Growth |
570-05 |
Convert Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments into a Block Grant |
570-06 |
Expand Global Payments for Hospitals' and Physicians' Services Provided During an Inpatient Stay |
570-07 |
Further Reduce the Medicare Prospective Payment System Update Factor for Hospitals' Inpatient Operating Costs |
570-08 |
Further Reduce Medicare's Payments for Hospitals' Inpatient Capital-Related Costs |
570-09 |
Increase the Number of Postacute Care Discharges Treated as Hospital Transfers Under Medicare |
570-10 |
Reduce Medicare Payments for Currently Covered Prescription Drugs |
570-11 |
Require Competitive Bidding for High-Volume Items of Durable Medical Equipment |
570-12 |
Increase Medicare's Premium for Supplementary Medical Insurance to 30 Percent of Benefit Costs |
570-13 |
Tie Medicare's Premium for Supplementary Medical Insurance to Enrollees' Income |
570-14 |
Index Medicare's Deductible for Supplementary Medical Insurance Services |
570-15 |
Simplify and Limit Medicare's Cost-Sharing Requirements |
570-16 |
Restrict Medigap Coverage of Medicare's Cost Sharing |
570-17 |
Combine Medicare Cost-Sharing Changes with Medigap Restrictions |
570-18 |
Collect Deductible and Coinsurance Amounts for Clinical Laboratory Services Under Medicare |
570-19 |
Reduce Medicare Payments for Home Health Care |
570-20 |
Impose a Copayment Requirement on Home Health Episodes Covered by Medicare |
|
Function 600: Income Security |
|
600-01 |
Increase Payments by Tenants in Federally Assisted Housing |
600-02 |
Reduce Rent Subsidies for Certain One-Person Households |
600-03 |
Eliminate Small Food Stamp Benefits |
600-04 |
Target the Subsidy for Certain Meals in Child Nutrition Programs |
600-05 |
Reduce the $20 Exclusion for Unearned Income Under the Supplemental Security Income Program |
600-06 |
Create a Sliding Scale for Children's SSI Benefits Based on the Number of Recipients in a Family |
600-07 |
Reduce the Federal Matching Rate for Administrative and Training Costs in the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Programs |
600-08 |
Limit Some Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Retirees |
600-09 |
Modify the Formula Used to Set Federal Pensions |
600-10 |
Restructure the Government's Matching Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan |
|
Function 700: Veterans Benefits and Services |
|
700-01 |
Narrow the Eligibility for Veterans' Disability Compensation to Include Only Veterans with High-Rated Disabilities |
700-02 |
Narrow the Eligibility for Veterans' Disability Compensation to Veterans Whose Disabilities Are Related to Their Military Duties |
700-03 |
Increase Beneficiaries' Cost Sharing for Care at Nursing Facilities Operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs |
700-04 |
Establish a Realignment and Closure Commission for Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities |
700-05 |
Reduce Veterans' Disability Compensation to Account for Social Security Disability Insurance Payments |
|
Function 800: General Government |
|
800-01 |
Eliminate General Fiscal Assistance to the District of Columbia |
800-02 |
Require the Internal Revenue Service to Deposit Fees from Installment Agreements in the Treasury as Miscellaneous Receipts |
800-03 |
Eliminate Federal Antidrug Advertising |
|
Function 920: Allowances |
|
920-01 |
Charge Federal Employees Commercial Rates for Parking |
920-02 |
Raise the Threshold for Coverage Under the Davis-Bacon Act |
920-03 |
Impose a Fee on the Investment Portfolios of Government-Sponsored Enterprises |
920-04 |
Eliminate Cargo Preference |
|
Options That Affect Revenues |
Restrict Itemized Deductions, Credits, and Exclusions Under the Income Tax |
|
Option 1 |
Combine the Personal Exemption and the Standard Deduction |
Option 2 |
Eliminate the Deductibility of Interest on Home-Equity Debt |
Option 3 |
Eliminate Deferred Taxation of Like-Kind Exchanges |
Option 4 |
Limit Deductions for Charitable Gifts of Appreciated Property to the Gifts' Tax Basis |
Option 5 |
Eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit for People Who Have No Children |
Option 6 |
Include Social Security Benefits in Calculating the Phaseout of the Earned Income Tax Credit |
Option 7 |
Substitute a Tax Credit for the Exclusion of Interest Income on State and Local Debt |
|
Restrict the Tax-Favored Treatment of Nonretirement Fringe Benefits |
|
Option 8 |
Restrict the Tax Exclusion for Qualified Parking to Locations from Which Employees Commute in Vans and Carpools |
Option 9 |
Include Employer-Paid Life Insurance in Taxable Income |
|
Restrict the Tax-Favored Treatment of Certain
Household Income |
|
Option 10 |
Include Investment Income from Life Insurance and Annuities in Taxable Income |
Option 11 |
Raise the Age Limit from 14 to 18 for Taxing Investment Income Under the Kiddie Tax |
Option 12 |
Include in Adjusted Gross Income All Income Earned Abroad by U.S. Citizens |
|
Expand the Payroll Tax Base |
|
Option 13 |
Expand the Medicare Payroll Tax to Include All State and Local Government Employees |
Option 14 |
Calculate Taxable Wages in the Same Way for Both Self-Employed People and Employees |
Option 15 |
Subject All Earnings to the Social Security Payroll Tax |
|
Change Tax Rules for Income from Worldwide
Activity |
|
Option 16 |
Eliminate the Source Rules Exception for Inventory Sales |
Option 17 |
Make Foreign Subnational Taxes Deductible Rather than Creditable |
|
Curtail Special Provisions of Income Taxes
for Businesses |
|
Option 18 |
Set the Corporate Tax Rate at 35 Percent for All Corporations |
Option 19 |
Repeal the "Lower of Cost or Market" Inventory Valuation Method |
Option 20 |
Reduce Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Buildings, and Repeal the Credit for Nonhistoric Structures |
Option 21 |
Tax Large Credit Unions Like Other Thrift Institutions |
Option 22 |
Repeal the Expensing of Exploration and Development Costs for Extractive Industries |
Option 23 |
Repeal Percentage Depletion for Extractive Industries |
Option 24 |
Repeal the Tax Credit for Enhanced Oil Recovery Costs, and Eliminate the Expensing of Tertiary Injectants |
Option 25 |
Repeal the Partial Exemption from Motor Fuel Excise Taxes Now Given to Alcohol Fuels |
Option 26 |
Capitalize the Costs of Producing Timber |
Option 27 |
Tax the Income Earned by Public Electric Power Utilities |
Option 28 |
Tighten Rules on Interest Deductions for Corporate-Owned Life Insurance |
Option 29 |
Repeal Tax-Free Conversions of Large C Corporations to S Corporations |
Option 30 |
Tax the Income of Cooperatively Owned Electric and Telephone Utilities |
Option 31 |
Eliminate the Exemption of Interest Income on Debt Issued by State and Locally Owned Electric Utilities for New Generating or Transmitting Facilities |
Option 32 |
Apply the Limited Depreciation Schedule to All Business-Use Sport Utility Vehicles and Automobiles |
|
Increase Excise Taxes |
|
Option 33 |
Increase the Excise Tax on Cigarettes by 50 Cents per Pack |
Option 34 |
Increase All Alcoholic Beverage Taxes to $16 per Proof Gallon |
Option 35 |
Increase Excise Taxes on Motor Fuel by 12 Cents per Gallon |
|
Impose or Adjust Taxes That Affect the
Environment |
|
Option 36 |
Impose a Tax on Sulfur Dioxide Emissions |
Option 37 |
Impose a Tax on Nitrogen Oxide Emissions |
Option 38 |
Subject Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight of Between 6,000 and 10,000 Pounds to the Gas Guzzler Tax |
Option 39 |
Impose a One-Time Tax on Emissions of New Automobiles and Light Trucks |
Option 40 |
Eliminate Tax Credits for Producing Unconventional Fuels and for Generating Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources |
Option 41 |
Reinstate the Superfund Taxes |
|
Consolidate or Simplify Provisions of the
Tax Code |
|
Option 42 |
Consolidate Child-Related Tax Provisions |
Option 43 |
Replace Multiple Tax Rates on Long-Term Capital Gains with a Deduction of 45 Percent |
|
Modify Provisions in the Economic Growth
and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 |
|
Option 44 |
Provide Relief from the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax |
Option 45 |
Immediately Eliminate the Personal Exemption Phaseout and the Limit on Itemized Deductions |
Option 46 |
Advance the Marriage Penalty Provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 |
Option 47 |
Freeze Tax Rates and Brackets at the 2002 or 2004 Level Under EGTRRA,
and Index the Brackets' Upper Limits for Inflation |
Option 48 |
Extend or Freeze the Estate and Gift Tax Provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 |