The Federal Budget and Sequestration

On Topic

Congress and the White House continue to struggle over how to best reduce the federal deficit and were unable to come to a new agreement to avoid across-the-board sequestration, leading to reductions for most federal agencies. Brookings experts have a long history of analyzing the federal budget and providing recommendations for long-term fiscal responsibility.

A long line of passengers wait for security at checkpoint before boarding their aircraft at Reagan National Airport in Washington (REUTERS/Larry Downing).

Opinion

How to Avoid Another FAA Fiasco

May 8, 2013, Clifford Winston

The United States will experience more costly disruptions to its transportation system, such as the recent air traffic control cuts unless its deficits are curbed by efficient policy reforms or by privatization, writes Clifford Winston.

Recent Activity

Refine by: U.S. Economic Performance | U.S. Budget Deficit | Fiscal Policy | Taxes

Interview | NPR

As 'Devastating' as Sequester is, not 'Immediate Catastrophe'

March 3, 2013, Thomas E. Mann
In the News

What has a chance of going somewhere if the president and the Congress can get back together is some version of a grand bargain, and a grand bargain means we have to slow the growth of the entitlements, especially Medicare and Medicaid. We have to put Social Security back on a firm foundation. And we have to reform our tax code so it raises some more revenue. We need to do that and stop fooling around with this counterproductive thing called the sequester, which is bad macro policy, it would reduce employment when we don't want to.
February 23, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, CNN
In the News

There's a defense wing of defense hawks, and they've been pretty vocal about the impact on the Defense Department and national security, generally. And we know there's a hard-core group as well that's opposed to any and all revenue increases. And between the two of those, there's no agreed-upon path of what to do, and so it looks like they may prefer the sequester to any alternative — certainly the alternatives the Democrats are offering up.
February 21, 2013, Sarah A. Binder, National Public Radio
Podcast

Real Specifics: 15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget

February 20, 2013, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney
In the News

The important shift seems to be the [Obama] administration is not waiting for the legislature, [but is] maximizing the things they can do themselves. [More private capital into infrastructure investment] is not going to solve all our infrastructure problems—we still have a long way to go. [However,] this will go a long way.
February 19, 2013, Robert Puentes, New York Times
In the News

The steps that I think are most promising are really about changing payment methods to reward providers for better health outcomes.
January 21, 2013, Mark B. McClellan, Financial Times
In the News

In watching Congress for more than 40 years I've never seen such a total mess. We really are entering the worst of all worlds. The result is awful. The process is a disgrace. The Democratic and Republican leaders are talking at each other, not with each other. And we have a president who doesn't want to lead on fiscal matters. I don't see how this ends well.
January 15, 2013, Bill Frenzel, MNI
In the News

[The fiscal cliff negotiations are] very bad for the economy and for our image in the world. We don't look like a country in charge of its own destiny. That's hard to quantify but it's bad.
January 2, 2013, Alice M. Rivlin, Reuters
In the News

Cities and metros are getting the picture that the federal government is not a reliable partner. The federal government is supposed to provide a safety net. But the U.S. is operating with a federal government that doesn't have clear vision.
December 21, 2012, Bruce Katz, The Atlantic
Interview | Bloomberg TV

United States Must Invest in Infrastructure

December 7, 2012, Bruce Katz