Important COVID-19 update to SpendingTracker.org
In the last two months, multiple spending bills have been signed into law with the intention of alleviating the threat of the coronavirus pandemic and providing relief to individuals and… Read More
Presidential purse snatching
Some constitutional language is necessarily open-textured, as when it forbids the “establishment” of religion or “unreasonable” searches, or when it guarantees the “free exercise” of religion, “due process” and “equal… Read More
How Congress made the Secretary of the Treasury the boss
Meet the new boss. The most memorable official pronouncement during the financial crisis of 2008 came at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on July 15. There, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson… Read More
Could Democrats and Republicans both benefit from bringing back earmarks?
Discussions about bringing back earmarks have flared up on Capitol Hill in recent years. Democrats in particular have expressed interest in reviving procedures whereby members of the House of Representatives could… Read More
Broad coalition endorses principles for transparency and oversight of coronavirus stimulus spending
Download the letter April 6, 2020 The Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeaker of the HouseU.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20514The Honorable Kevin McCarthyMinority Leader… Read More
The exasperating politics of pensions and trust funds
Across the United States, myriad pension and trust funds are in trouble. Serious trouble. The U.S Postal Service’s retiree health benefits fund is underfunded by $70 billion, and will… Read More
Coronavirus shows why good budgeting matters
Amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak, it’s no secret that the recent flurry of emergency measures are going to drastically worsen the federal budget outlook when there already isn’t much slack… Read More
Fiscal policy in a time of crisis
Download the PDF version. Key points: 1) Congress is poised to act, but not all action will make things better2) Relief that is timely, targeted and temporary is… Read More
Creating useful transparency: How I learned to love sunlight and built the Spending Tracker
Next week is Sunshine Week, a “nationwide celebration of access to public information,” and it’s a rare point of agreement across the political spectrum that more transparency and accountability… Read More
The underfunding of the First Branch
Source: Demand Progress. From 1995 to 2020, spending on the legislative branch has lagged, according to a recent analysis by Demand Progress. Funding for Congress is a rounding… Read More