The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual Budget and Economic Outlook report this week, and their projections for the next ten years won't inspire much confidence for those concerned with the country's debt and deficits. In the latest edition of The Taxpayer's Tab, NTUF delves into the CBO's report and offers an analysis of the long-term trends they predict, which include steadily increasing deficits after next year and a publicly-held debt topping 79 percent of GDP by the end of the next decade.
Also featured this week:
- Most Expensive: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Small Business Innovation Act of 2013. S. 1285 would provide $1 billion over the next five years ($200 million annually) to various financial stimulus programs within the Small Business Administration.
- Least Expensive: Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced the Steps Toward Access and Reform (STAR) Act of 2013 in order to reform the current medical malpractice system. S. 1860 would save $18 billion over the next five years by capping the amount that doctors can be sued for over noneconomic damages and limiting the timeframe during which a lawsuit can be filed.
- Most Friended: In order to address concerns over whether Healthcare.gov offers adequate protection of users' personal information, Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-PA) drafted the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act of 2014. H.R. 3811 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to notify users of any security breach within two days.
The full issue, with more information on these bills and the CBO report, is available online.