Reducing the Deficit: Spending and Revenue Options
Abstract
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regularly issues a compendium of budget options to help inform federal lawmakers about the implications of possible policy choices. This volume--one of several reports that CBO produces regularly for the House and Senate Committees on the Budget--presents more than 100 options for altering federal spending and revenues. Nearly all of the options would reduce federal budget deficits. From 1983 to 1997, the reports in this series were titled Reducing the Deficit: Spending and Revenue Options. In 2000, at a time of budget surpluses, the title was changed to Budget Options. This volume returns to the earlier title because the budgetary context has shifted dramatically since 2000. The report begins with an introductory chapter that describes the current budgetary picture and the uses and limitations of this volume. Chapters 2 and 3 present options that would reduce mandatory and discretionary spending, respectively. Chapter 4 contains options that would increase revenues from various kinds of taxes and fees. The options discussed in this report stem from a variety of sources, including legislative proposals, various Administrations' budget proposals, Congressional staff, other government entities, and private groups. The options are intended to reflect a range of possibilities rather than to provide a ranking of priorities or a comprehensive list. The inclusion or exclusion of a particular policy change does not represent an endorsement or rejection by CBO. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, this report makes no recommendations. Some previous reports in this series grouped spending options according to budget function (the 20 programmatic categories into which the government's activities are frequently divided).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA545408
Entities
People
- Holly Harvey
- Jean Hearne
- Jeffrey Holland
- Kim Crawley
- Peter Fontaine
- Sam Papenfuss
- Sarah Jennings
- Theresa Gullo
- Tom Bradley
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office