31 Search results found for: “fiscal cliff”

Obama Calls for Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

February 5, 2013

Today President Obama called on lawmakers to quickly pass a package of limited spending cuts and tax changes that can head off the automatic, across-the-board reductions — or sequester — that are set to take effect on March 1st. Obama will acknowledge that a broader budget agreement is unlikely to be reached by next month’s deadline when the cuts to domestic and military programs will go into effect, so is now urging Congress to avoid cuts in spending through a…

Sequestration Now Seems Likely

January 28, 2013

With just a month to go before sequestration is schedule to take effect, many on Capitol Hill now seem to accept that sequestration is likely to happen on March 1st.  This may be in part because Congress is also facing the expiration of the current continuing resolution (CR) just a few weeks after (March 27th), which they believe will provide an opportunity to address federal spending and maybe mitigating some of the impacts of sequestration.   And there are others who…

House GOP Proposes to Delay Debt Ceiling Fight

January 22, 2013

Amid all the pomp and circumstance yesterday, House Republicans released their proposal to postpone a fight over increasing the nation’s debt limit by suspending it until May 19th. The measure, which is expected to be considered on the House floor tomorrow, would suspend the debt limit through May 18th and then provide for an automatic increase in the current $16.4 trillion limit to match the amount of the government’s outstanding debt plus new obligations “to fund a commitment incurred by…

This Week in DC

January 14, 2013

Washington, DC is gearing up for the Presidential Inauguration, scheduled to take place on Monday, January 21st (MLK Day). The Senate will remain in recess until then (they were in recess last week as well), while the House is in session today through Wednesday. The big issues facing this new Congress continue to be fiscal in nature. Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed that the administration’s FY2014 budget proposal would be delayed until March. By law,…

Tax Reform in 2013?

January 11, 2013

Tax reform has been discussed as a probable agenda item for Congress to tackle this year.  But with the recent deal to increase tax rates for higher earners and making certain tax breaks permanent, there now seems to be waning interest in a comprehensive rewrite of our nation’s tax system.  There are several reasons why: the fiscal cliff debate has fostered more distrust between the two parties, politics have become riskier and more complicated, and – most importantly – time…