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1 month ago | 
debtdispatch.substack.com | Romina Boccia |Dominik Lett
President Donald Trump has released his “skinny” budget blueprint for fiscal year (FY) 2026, three months past the statutory February deadline. The proposal calls for a significant change in discretionary spending priorities, surging funding for defense and border security while slashing spending on other nondefense programs.
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2 months ago | 
debtdispatch.substack.com | Romina Boccia |Dominik Lett
On Saturday, the Senate approved a modified budget framework, which is a betrayal of the House’s more responsible fiscal stance. The Senate’s strategy is clear. They want to jam House Republicans with a massive debt-financed tax package with zero substantive offsets.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
cato.org | Romina Boccia |Dominik Lett
Congress must act quickly to reform Social Security and avoid a fiscal crisis fueled by rising costs and demographic pressures. February 12, 2025 • Policy Analysis No. 989 Congress must act quickly to reform Social Security and avoid a fiscal crisis fueled by rising costs and demographic pressures.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
quoththeraven.substack.com | Romina Boccia |Dominik Lett
By Romina Boccia and Dominik Lett, CATO InstituteImagine a future where the average American earns $15,000 more each year because Congress reduced federal spending and national debt. Too often, spending cuts are painted as a necessary evil—painful austerity measures that slow the economy. This narrative couldn’t be further from the truth. Economic research shows that stabilizing government debt by cutting spending can unleash economic growth.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
cato.org | Dominik Lett
Imagine a future where the average American earns $15,000 more each year because Congress reduced federal spending and national debt. Too often, spending cuts are painted as a necessary evil—painful austerity measures that slow the economy. This narrative couldn’t be further from the truth. Economic research shows that stabilizing government debt by cutting spending can unleash economic growth.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
cato.org | Romina Boccia |Dominik Lett
The 2025 Fiscal Cliff Calls for Spending Restraint The 119th Congress will confront several fiscal deadlines that include reaching the federal debt limit in 2025, the expiration of statutory discretionary spending caps, expanded Obamacare health insurance subsidies, and a host of tax provisions.
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Dec 18, 2024 | 
cato.org | Dominik Lett
A government funding deadline is approaching this Friday, December 20, and congressional leadership appears poised to punt the annual funding debate to March with a stopgap funding measure. Disaster aid is at the heart of the current impasse. President Biden requested nearly $100 billion in emergency funding in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton earlier last month, plus $24 billion for Ukraine.
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Dec 17, 2024 | 
cato.org | Dominik Lett
As part of the Cato Institute Report to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), we submitted the following recommendations to address the abuse of emergency designations and advance fiscal responsibility. Emergency spending is out of control. Congress has designated nearly $12 trillion as emergency-related spending since 1992, circumventing statutory spending limits and enabling inflationary deficit spending.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
cato.org | Dominik Lett
Generated with ElevenLabs AI technology. All eyes are on the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—a Trump initiative to cut wasteful government spending spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. With dire fiscal projections threatening the American dream, efforts to curb spending and rein in administrative excess should be welcomed.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
cato.org | Dominik Lett
As Congress reconvenes post-election, a critical agenda item is likely to be an emergency funding request to replenish disaster relief funds in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund expected to run dry soon and the Small Business Administration’s disaster loans already exhausted, calls for a multi-billion-dollar emergency package are circulating.
