Category: Updates

Sequestration put into place by the Budget Control Act in 2011 (BCA) is still on the books. But Congress, with the acquiescence of the President, has found a way to make that point moot. By invoking another section of budget law, section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Balanced Budget and

We are living in interesting times. In order to bring you more insight on the issues of the day, we thought we’d send out a sampling of what we’re reading in the office. There’s a lot going on in addition to the recent budget developments that Josh Huder ably covers

House and Senate leaders pushed through an omnibus spending package last week. The bill combines 11 appropriations bills for the final months of the FY2017 calendar. Democrats walked away with some big wins in the omnibus. They struck over 100 policy riders, resisted non-defense cuts proposed by President Trump, and

Next week, the government will run out of money to stay open. And in typical fashion, Congress has left itself an insanely small window to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep it functioning. (If the process plays out normally, the Senate will have approximately 5 hours to spare before

It’s a nuclear week in the Senate. Majority Leader McConnell has hinted that he has the votes to go “nuclear” on Judge Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. In effect, McConnell would invoke the same process then-Majority Leader Harry Reid used in 2013 to change the Senate’s interpretation of Rule

In all likelihood, Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch will replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. How he gets there is the question, not whether. If confirmed, Gorsuch will be a predictably conservative voice on the nation’s highest bench just like Scalia was. It’s the next vacancy

Dr. Blessing recently joined an interdisciplinary discussion of fiscal policy in the sociology journal Contexts. Her piece, “The Only Trump Pivot That Mattered”, discusses Trump’s positions on tax policy and their evolution to meet the Republican mold. It begins on page 17 of the journal’s “Chump Change” section. ​

It is with excitement that I write this note, my first of many for our GAI newsletter subscribers. On February 1, I became the Director of the Government Affairs Institute, a role I am thrilled to take on following the retirement of my predecessor, Dr. Ken Gold. So, allow me

The Senate passed a budget yesterday. It lacked some of the typical hallmarks of a budget resolution. Namely, the chamber did not debate in any great detail discretionary spending numbers. This budget is meant for one purpose and one purpose only: repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Following the campaign

When the 115th Congress convened last week it was immediately faced with a range of important issues: the promised repeal of Obamacare, the passing of an FY17 budget resolution, proposals for major tax reform, an overhaul of entitlement programs, what to do about the massive federal debt, and a full