Brookings: Topics - Office of Management and Budget

Ben Bernanke’s Second Term and the Federal Budget Forecast

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:45:34 GMT

President Barack Obama has nominated Ben Bernanke to serve a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The nomination came on the same day the White House announced a sharp increase in projected deficits. Alice Rivlin says the deficit projections should serve as an impetus for officials to step up efforts to fix the floundering economy. She also gives the Bernanke nomination her nod of approval.

Deficit: What Caused It, Why It Matters

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

William Gale and Alan Auerbach discuss the size of the long-term budget deficit and why it must be brought under control. They urge fiscal discipline with delicate timing: imposing spending cuts and tax increases too late risks precipitating a crisis in financial markets; imposing fiscal discipline too soon risks weakening the recovery or worsening the recession, as actually happened in the United States in the 1930s. Getting this mix right will require luck, discipline, imagination and leadership.

Will Obama’s Agenda Pass Congress’s Budget Resolution?

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of President Obama’s budget proposal projects a deficit of $9.3 trillion over the next decade, thereby forcing congressional leaders to look for changes to reduce it. Although the Senate Budget Committee has not yet finished marking up its version of the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution, Democrats are likely to diverge from the president’s desires. While Congress supports most of the president’s priorities, they are poised to sideline many of the programs President Obama proposed to implement, writes William Galston.

Office of Management and Budget’s Congressional Mandates to Provide Information on Federal Spending

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In a recent National Academy of Science workshop, Andrew Reamer reviews the array of mandates that Congress has given the White House Office of Management and Budget to maintain data repositories and publish reports on federal expenditures—including grants and contracts—by geography.

Budget Chaos: What, Me Worry?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As the baby boomers begin to retire this year, the burden of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will grow relentlessly. With more people in the programs and more expensive benefits, the nation will quickly encounter a budget disaster. Bill Frenzel and Ron Haskins say that dramatic reforms are needed to avoid budget chaos for future generations.

Taking Back our Fiscal Future

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Unsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy. When the next president and Congress take office in January 2009, they will face one crucial question that has been almost absent from the current election campaign: how to close the enormous gap between projected federal spending and revenues.

An Analysis of the Tenth Government Report On the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This paper critically reviews the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's tenth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulations. The draft report is similar to previous reports, and does not break new ground.

Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007 : The Health Spending Challenge

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Exceeding $2 trillion annually, health care spending in the United States is growing significantly faster than the national economy. If left unchecked, this health spending crisis will threaten Americans' ability to pay for other essential services.

Taming the Deficit: Forge a Grand Compromise for a Sustainable Future

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Currently projected deficits are unsustainable and pose serious risks to the economy, make us dangerously dependent on other countries, impose a "debt tax" on every taxpayer, send the bill for current spending to future generations, and weaken the government's ability to invest in the future or respond to emergencies. The next President will have to act to meet the deficit challenge.

The President's New Executive Order on Regulation

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan agree that the president’s executive order on regulation is a step in the right direction, but the order should take a more significant step by subjecting all federal regulatory agencies to the same kind of discipline that the executive order requires of executive agencies.

An Analysis of the Ninth Government Report on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget’s ninth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

An Analysis of the Government’s Proposed Risk Assessment Guidelines

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Robert Hahn and Robert Litan critically review the government's proposed risk assessment guidelines.

Changing How We Discount to Make Public Policy More Responsive To Citizens’ Time Preferences

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Robert L. Axtell and Gregory J. McRae argue that exponential discounting of many benefit streams—particularly non-pecuniary ones—fails the 'data quality' test and should be abandoned in favor of empirically-observed hyperbolic discounting.

Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2005 : Meeting the Long-Run Challenge

Sun, 01 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

In this second volume of Restoring Fiscal Sanity, a group of policy experts focus on how to bring spending and revenues in line over the next decade, and even more important, how to balance them over the longer term. They suggest reforms in th

An Analysis of the Eighth Government Report On the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn, Robert E. Litan and Rohit Malik critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's eighth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

Tracking Metropolitan America into the 21st Century: A Field Guide to the New Metropolitan and Micropolitan Definitions

Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:00:00 GMT

An overhaul of the widely-recognized metropolitan classification system by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will refashion the both research and federal spending.

Counting Regulatory Benefits and Costs: Lessons for the U.S. and Europe

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan review the U.S. and European experiences with regulatory oversight and the use of formal tools to analyze regulation. They conclude that the U.S. and Europe have made some progress in improving regulatory analysis and oversight, but they can do much more.

An Analysis of the Seventh Government Report on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Sat, 15 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget’s seventh report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

Comment on Peer Review and Information Quality

Mon, 15 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan suggest meeting certain quality standards to improve the quality of regulation and make the regulatory process more transparent.

Why Congress Should Increase Funding for OMB Review of Regulations

Wed, 15 Oct 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan argue that Congress should increase funding for the Office of Management and Budget or American consumers will bear the brunt of less effective, less transparent, and more expensive regulation.

An Analysis of the Sixth Government Report on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's sixth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

Recommendations for Improving Regulatory Accountability and Transparency

Sat, 15 Mar 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan testify before the House Government Reform Committee and provide recommendations that would hold lawmakers and regulators more accountable.

A Review of the Office of Management and Budget's Draft Guidelines for Conducting Regulatory Analyses

Sat, 15 Mar 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan believe the Office of Management and Budget's draft guidelines for economic analysis represent a step forward, but that agencies should be encouraged to do benefit-cost analysis when the information is available to do it.

An Analysis of the Fifth Government Report On the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Wed, 15 May 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's fifth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

An Analysis of the Fourth Government Report On the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Sun, 15 Jul 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's fourth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.

An Analysis of the Third Government Report on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations

Tue, 15 Feb 2000 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget’s third report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation. The purpose of this analysis is to offer constructive recommendations for improving that report.

An Analysis of the Second Government Draft Report on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations

Tue, 15 Sep 1998 00:00:00 GMT

Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan critically review the draft of the Office of Management and Budget's second report on the costs and benefits of federal regulation. The purpose of this analysis is to offer constructive recommendations for improving that report.