As tax day approaches, lawmakers in various Congressional caucuses have been unveiling their own alternatives to the President's Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal. In this week's edition of The Taxpayer's Tab, NTUF looked at proposals from the Republican Study Commission (RSC), House Republicans, House Democrats, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) -- in addition to President Obama's own budget -- to see what their policy priorities could mean for taxpayers.
- RSC: The RSC budget attempts to balance the federal budget within four years by offering lower spending caps than the ones currently on the books, as well as freezing discretionary spending at $950 billion in every year that the budget does not balance. The RSC budget also calls for a simpler tax code and cuts to non-defense discretionary programs.
- House Republicans: The Path to Prosperity put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the GOP House Budget Committee would also balance the budget, but within ten years instead of four. It would defund President Obama's signature Affordable Care Act and attempt structural reform of several mandatory entitlement programs.
- House Democrats: The Democrats' alternative represents a renewed focus on economic stimulus, offering additional funding for infrastructure & education projects as well as expanded unemployment benefits. The new spending would be offset by additional taxes.
- CPC: The CPC's Better Off Budget increases discretionary spending in order to achieve its goal of creating 8.8 million jobs by 2017. The budget would discontinue Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, and expand long-term unemployment benefits, education grants, and public works projects.
- CBC: The CBC budget emphasizes social welfare programs and anti-poverty initiatives with $3.4 trillion in budget authority for FY 2015. It would also discontinue OCO funding, and provides significant investment in community development and job training programs.
For more on these alternative budget proposals and how they compare to each other and the President's proposals, check out the online edition of The Taxpayer's Tab.