Tax reform in the Senate

Senator Schumer recently said the Senate Democratic majority will pass a budget resolution, in part so it can create a reconciliation instruction to pass tax reform with a simple Senate majority. This is important.

The President’s infrastructure investment argument

In his briefing yesterday White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said:

MR. CARNEY: [E]very proposal the President has put forward … has included significant investments in our economy — in infrastructure, in…

Responding to Mr. Carney

I’d like to thank White House Press Secretary Jay Carney for giving me so much material to work with in his press briefing today.

MR. CARNEY: Well, there’s a lot in your question, so let me go first to the broader fact, which is that we have seen consistent…

More on tax reform: Schumer v. Baucus

Based on some further development and feedback I’m going to update last week’s post on how Senate Democratic plans for the budget resolution interact with the prospects for enacting significant tax reform. My core projection is still quite pessimistic, but I think…

Reactions to the President’s debt limit comments

I worked on debt limit bills from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, helping enact eight of them during my time as an aide to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and as an advisor to President Bush.

Raise the debt limit and cut spending

I’d like to explain why I think “payment prioritization” proposals are bad ideas, why and how Congressional Republicans should support a debt limit increase, and why they need to be smart about how they push for spending cuts.

Definitions of fiscal deadlines and consequences

There are some technical terms being thrown around indiscriminately in the press. This is a quick clarification so you know how to distinguish among them.