From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), July 18, 2025. CBO was asked to assess the effects of a permanent 10 percent reduction in NIH funding and a nine-month increase in FDA review times of new drug applications. SUMMARY STATEMENT: “CBO provides information about how changes to funding for the National…
Articles Posted in U.S. Federal Government Information
H.R. 1 (119th Cong.): Summary of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” *
On July 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed into law H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted as Pub. L. No. 119–21, 139 Stat. ___ (2025). Passed through the budget reconciliation process under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this comprehensive legislation represents a central pillar of…
Congress, the Constitution, and Command: Lawmaking and War Powers in a Divided Government
The legislative branch of the United States government (embodied in Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate) is the cornerstone of the federal lawmaking process and a central pillar of the constitutional system of checks and balances. Through its exclusive powers to enact laws, oversee the…
Federal Mandatory Spending for Means-Tested Programs and Tax Credits
In this June 18, 2025 Report, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides information concerning outlays for the government’s major mandatory programs and tax credits that are primarily means-tested and provide assistance to people with relatively low income or few assets. Summary: House Budget Committee Chairman Arrington has asked CBO to…
How H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Would Affect the Distribution of Resources Available to Households
From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), June 12, 2025:* OVERVIEW: “This interactive tool illustrates the distributional effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It allows users to explore how H.R. 1, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025, would affect the economic resources…
Transparency at CBO: Plans for 2025 and a Review of 2024
Congressional Budget Office’s transparency efforts are intended to promote a thorough understanding of its work, help people gauge how estimates might change if policies or circumstances differed, and enhance the credibility of its analyses and processes SUMMARY: Transparency is a top priority for the Congressional Budget Office, and the agency…
Is the Balance of Power Shifting? Rethinking Separation of Powers in the U.S. Government
The U.S. Constitution enshrines a system of separation of powers, ensuring that legislative, executive, and judicial branches operate independently while keeping one another in check. This structure is meant to prevent the concentration of power and to safeguard individual liberty. But in recent years, many legal scholars, judges, and concerned…
Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Law Firm Susmann Godfrey, DOJ Bans it’s Attorneys From Participating in ABA Events, and More
April 10, 2025 From The Legal File by Reuters Legal. The rundown on the top legal news of the day.
Tariffs as an Emergency Power?
From VERDICT, Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia, 27 March 2025. SUMMARY: NYU Law Professor Samuel Estreicher and JD candidate Andrew Babbitt analyze President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) during his second administration to impose and threaten tariffs on several countries. They highlight how this…
CBO Workbook on How Changes in Economic Conditions Might Affect the Federal Budget: 2025-2035
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)* has created a workbook to allow users to define and analyze alternative economic scenarios by specifying differences in the values of four economic variables relative to the values underlying CBO’s January 2025 projections. SUMMARY: This workbook allows users to define and analyze alternative economic scenarios…