CONGRESS PASSES FY 2010 BUDGET RESOLUTION
On April 29, Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution. The fiscal plan preserves the major priorities in President Obama’s budget. It invests in energy, education, and health care – laying a new foundation for our nation’s economy. It provides significant middle-class tax relief, directed at families with incomes under $250,000. And it begins to put the country back on a more fiscally responsible path by cutting the deficit in half by 2012 and by two-thirds by 2014 – bringing the deficit down to three percent of GDP. Passage of the budget marks the third straight year the Democratically-controlled Congress has adopted a budget.
SENATE PASSES FY 2010 SENATE BUDGET RESOLUTION
On April 2, the Senate passed the FY 2010 Senate Budget Resolution. The resolution takes an important step toward adopting the core priorities laid out in President Obama’s budget plan. It reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign energy, supports excellence in education, facilitates reform of our health care system, and provides significant middle-class tax relief. It also cuts the deficit in half by 2012 and by two-thirds by 2014 – bringing the deficit down to just 2.9 percent of GDP.
CHAIRMAN’S MARK FOR FY 2010 SENATE BUDGET RESOLUTION
The Chairman’s Mark for the Fiscal Year 2010 Senate Budget Resolution is a fiscally responsible budget plan that addresses the fiscal and economic crises inherited by the Obama Administration and lays the foundation for long-term economic security. It preserves the major priorities in President Obama’s budget: reducing our dependence on foreign energy; striving for excellence in education; and reforming our health care system. It provides significant middle-class tax relief, directed at families with incomes under $250,000. And it cuts the deficit in half by 2012 and by two-thirds by 2014.
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FY 2010 BUDGET
President Obama’s FY 2010 budget blueprint, “A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise,” takes important steps toward reducing our dependence on foreign energy, striving for excellence in education, and reforming our health care system. And it cuts the deficit by more than half by 2012.
CBO JANUARY BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK SHOWS OBAMA BEING HANDED FISCAL DISASTER
CBO's January 2009 Budget and Economic Outlook shows that President-elect Obama is being handed a fiscal disaster. CBO is now showing a deficit of approximately $1.2 trillion in 2009, more than two-and-a-half times last year's record deficit. And notably, CBO's estimate does not include the cost of the economic recovery package being considered. CBO's ten-year outlook confirms that with current policies we will see record deficits for years to come. And over the long-term, the combination of the retiring baby boom generation, rising health care costs, and inadequate revenues will make matters even worse – exploding deficits and debt to clearly unsustainable levels.
CONGRESS PASSES FINANCIAL RESCUE PLAN
On October 1 and 3, the Senate and House, respectively, passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, a bipartisan plan to rescue the nation's failing economy. The plan includes a number of critical taxpayer protections that were not included in President Bush's original proposal. Notably:
• Taxpayers will receive an equity stake in companies participating, so they have a potential to profit when markets recover.
• Funding will be released in three installments, instead of a lump sum, to allow for additional Congressional review.
• An oversight board will ensure that the Treasury actions protect taxpayers.
• No ‘golden parachutes' will be allowed – with executive compensation capped for companies participating.
• And the FDIC insurance cap will be raised to $250,000 per bank account.
CBO BUDGET UPDATE SHOWS FISCAL MESS BEING HANDED OFF TO NEXT ADMINISTRATION
The next President will be inheriting a budget and economic outlook that is far worse than most people realize. CBO's summer budget update confirms that President Bush and his Republican colleagues are handing off a fiscal mess to the next Administration. They have plunged our nation into a chasm of deficits and debt. And their irresponsible fiscal policies are leaving behind an economy that is weak and getting weaker.
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