Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Abbreviation	CRFB
Formation	June 10, 1981 (1981-06-10)
Type	Public policy think tank
Headquarters	1900 M Street NW, Suite 850, Washington, D.C. 20036
Location	Washington, D.C.
President	Maya MacGuineas
Website	www.crfb.org

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is an independent, non-profit, bipartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United States Representatives Robert Giaimo (D-CT) and Henry Bellmon (R-OK), and its board of directors includes former Members of Congress and directors of the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve.^[1] CRFB was also host of the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform, which released its initial report, Red Ink Rising, in December 2009 and its second report, Getting Back in the Black, in November 2010.^[2]

Leadership

The Committee’s current President is Maya MacGuineas, who also served as Director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation. CRFB’s board of directors was previously co-chaired by William Frenzel (R-MN), Timothy Penny (I-MN), and Charles Stenholm (D-TX), all former Congressional representatives.

The organization’s activities are overseen by a 40-member board of directors made up of experts and prominent figures in federal budget, tax and fiscal policy.

A large part of the board is made up of former directors of major budget-related government offices including the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the House and Senate Budget Committees, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The group also includes numerous former Congressmen, former U.S. Comptrollers General, university and think tank experts on fiscal policy, and prominent members of the business and legal community.^[3] In July of 2015, CRFB announced Mitch Daniels, Leon Panetta and Timothy Penny as the new co-chairs of its board.^[4]

Research and publications

CRFB focuses on many issues including deficit reduction, "entitlement" reform, fundamental tax reform, improving the budget process, and other topical issues as they arise.

It is perhaps best known for the reports it produces on both current issues and long-term trends in the federal government’s finances.^[5] In the past, CRFB has produced analyses in areas including:

The stages in the annual federal budget cycle (e.g., the President’s budget submission, Congressional Budget Resolution, etc.)
Developments and changes in Congressional budget procedures and process
The status and future prospects of long-term government “entitlement” programs (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security)
The findings of regular financial and budgetary reports put out by government offices (e.g., the Congressional Budget Office’s “Monthly Budget Report” and annual “Budget and Economic Outlook”)
Tax and spending bills proposed by Congress or the President
The costs of the candidates’ campaign promises during the 2008 and 2012 Presidential Elections
The fiscal implications of the government’s actions during the Economic and Financial Crisis of 2008–2009
Major public policy initiatives (e.g., health care reform).

The organization also releases regular press releases on day-to-day news developments related to federal budget, tax, and fiscal policy.

History

The organization was founded by former representative and Chairman of the House Budget Committee Robert Giaimo (D-CT) and former representative and Ranking Budget Committee member Henry Bellmon (R-OK) on June 10, 1981. After leaving Congress, the two decided that the country needed an organization outside government committed to advocating for sound budget process, and decided to convene a group including other former Budget Committee Chairmen, former Directors of the Office of Management and Budget, leading economists, and businessmen.^[6]

The Committee’s first president was Carol Cox Wait, who served until 2003 and now sits on CRFB’s board of directors.

Based at the New America Foundation

From 2004 through 2013, the organization was based at the New America Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan, Washington, D.C.-area public policy “think tank.” Maya MacGuineas, President of CRFB, was also the Program Director of New America’s Fiscal Policy Program, and most of CRFB’s staff were also co-appointed to positions at New America.^[7] As of January 2014 the organization no longer has ties with the New America Foundation.

Projects and initiatives

Campaign to Fix the Debt

The Campaign to Fix the Debt was launched in July of 2012. According to its website: “The Campaign to Fix the Debt is a nonpartisan movement to put America on a better fiscal and economic path. We have come together from a variety of social, economic and political perspectives, around the common belief that America's growing national debt threatens our future and that we must address it now with a comprehensive, bipartisan plan. The Campaign mobilizes key communities -- including leaders from business, government, and policy -- and people all across America who want to see elected officials step up to solve our nation's long-term fiscal challenges.”^[8]

Go Big

CRFB launched the Go Big initiative after The Budget Control Act of 2011, enacted in early August to raise the debt-ceiling and avoid default, tasked a bipartisan 12-member Joint Congressional Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee) with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by November 23. If the Super Committee fails to report at least $1.2 trillion in savings, across-the-board spending cuts will be triggered, taking effect in 2013 in order to bring ten-year savings up to $1.2 trillion. Even if the Super Committee succeeds in its task of finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, that amount would be insufficient to stabilize and reduce the national debt as a percentage of GDP.^[9] For this reason, CRFB launched "Go Big" in an effort to urge the Super Committee to exceed its savings mandate of $1.5 trillion and enact a bipartisan, comprehensive fiscal reform plan.^[10]

Moment of Truth Project

In early 2011, former fiscal commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson launched the Moment of Truth Project, a non-profit, non-partisan effort that seeks to foster honest discussion about the nation's fiscal challenges, the difficult choices that must be made to solve them, and the potential for bipartisan compromise that can move the debate forward and set our country on a sustainable path. The Moment of Truth project aims to use the Fiscal Commission’s findings to spark a national discussion on the need to implement a comprehensive budget fix, and to help further develop the policy reforms ideas to improve the nation’s fiscal outlook.^[11]

Stimulus.org

In early 2009, CRFB unveiled Stimulus.org, a database which aims to track the spending and deficit impact of all major government actions taken in response to the economic and financial crisis.

On the April 5, 2009 edition of CBS’ Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer used figures from CRFB’s “Stimulus Watch” chart while questioning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about the amount of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds that remained unspent.^[12]

Budget Process Reform

In late 2008, CRFB received support from The Peter G. Peterson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts to create a new commission that would explore options for reforming the federal budget process, the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

Initially, the commission was directed by Jim Bates, former Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget, and former Associate Director of Energy, Natural Resources, Agriculture, & Science at the Office of Management and Budget. F. Steven Redburn, a former senior official in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, directed the project in 2010 and 2011. The project completed its work in 2011 and was succeeded by the Better Budget Process Initiative.^[13]

US Budget Watch

In 2008, the organization received a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to raise the public understanding of important fiscal matters facing the country during the 2008 election. This project, called US Budget Watch, was also tasked with tracking the candidates’ tax and spending promises both during and after the election.

The project’s most high-profile contribution to the public debate was its series of “Voter Guides,” which attempted to tabulate the costs of then-Senator Barack Obama’s and Senator John McCain’s campaign promises. The project's "Promises, Promises: A Fiscal Voter Guide to the 2008 Election"^[14] was widely cited in the mainstream media during the campaign. CNN called it “the most detailed analysis of McCain's and Obama's budget plans.".^[15]

On October 15, 2008, during the third debate of the 2008 presidential election, moderator Bob Schieffer asked a question citing US Budget Watch's voter guides about the effects of the candidates' proposed policies on the deficit.^[16]

In February of 2012, US Budget Watch released a report assessing the debt impact of the campaign proposals from the Republican presidential candidates.^[17] The study was preceded by a publication laying out “The 12 Principles of Fiscal Responsibility for the 2012 Campaign.”^[18]

Fiscal Roadmap Project

CRFB’s "Fiscal Roadmap Project" is an initiative seeking to outline how the U.S. can move from stabilizing the economy during financial crisis to addressing its long-term fiscal problems. The ultimate goal of the project is to show how policymakers can eventually put the country in what CRFB regards as a sounder fiscal position.^[19] The project has so far released at least two long analyses, one on deficits ^[20] and another on the activities of the Federal Reserve during the Economic and Financial Crisis of 2008-2009.^[21] The Fiscal Roadmap project was originally directed by Anne Vorce, former U.S. economic expert for the European Commission.

The Bottom Line

CRFB also publishes a blog titled The Bottom Line, which features up to date news stories, as well as opinion pieces and general information, regarding issues that affect fiscal policy. The blog is updated daily with new posts accompanied by relevant graphics and links.

Interactive Tools

CRFB has created several interactive tools to create a better understanding of the fiscal challenges facing the country and the choices required to address them. The “Stabilize the Debt” online budget simulator was launched in 2010 and challenges the user to reduce the national debt to 60% of the economy in the medium term and put it on a declining course thereafter with a variety of options available from all parts of the federal budget.^[22] Results are occasionally compiled and analyzed to highlight trends in public support for specific deficit reduction ideas.^[23] “The Reformer: An Interactive Tool to Fix Social Security” offers options to improve Social Security and put its finances on a sustainable path.^[24] The “Corporate Tax Reform Calculator allows the user to revamp the corporate tax code.^[25]

Prominent past and current board members

Barry Anderson, former acting Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Roy Ash, former OMB Director for Nixon and Ford administrations
Nancy Kassenbaum Baker, former U.S. Senator from Kansas
Henry Bellmon, former Governor of Oklahoma and U.S. Senator from Oklahoma and co-founder of CRFB
Erskine Bowles, former co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
Charles Bowsher, former Comptroller General of GAO under Reagan administration
Kent Conrad, former Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee
Dan Crippen, former CBO Director from 1999–2003
Mitch Daniels, former OMB Director and Governor of Indiana
Dick Darman, former OMB Director under George H.W. Bush administration
Vic Fazio, former U.S. Representative from California
William Frenzel, former U.S. Representative from Minnesota
Willis D. Gradison, Jr., former U.S. Representative from Ohio
William H. Gray, III, former U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve
William Hoagland, former Staff Director of the Senate Budget Committee
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Director of CBO, economic advisor to McCain 2008 presidential campaign
James Jones, former Chief of Staff to Lyndon Johnson
Lou Kerr, President and Chair of the Kerr Foundation
Jim Kolbe, former U.S. Representative from Arizona
James Lynn, former Director of OMB
Dave McCurdy, former U.S. Representative from Oklahoma
James McIntyre, Jr., former Director of the OMB
David Minge, former U.S. Representative from Minnesota
Jim Nussle, former Director of OMB under George W. Bush
Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush
June O'Neill, former Director of CBO
Marne Obernaurer, Jr., Chairman of the Beverage Distributors Company
Robert Packwood, former Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
Leon Panetta, former OMB Director and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Rudolph Penner, former CBO Director
Timothy Penny, former U.S. Representative from Minnesota
Peter G. Peterson, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and founder of Peter G. Peterson Foundation
Robert Reischauer, former Director of CBO and current President of the Urban Institute
John J. Rhodes, former U.S. Representative from Arizona
Alice Rivlin, founding Director of CBO, former member of Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Charles Robb, former U.S. Senator from Virginia
Martin Sabo, former Chairman of the House Budget Committee
Charles Schultze, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
Alan K. Simpson, former Republican Senator from Wyoming
John W. Snow, former Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush
John M. Spratt, Jr., former House Budget Committee Chairman
Elmer Staats, former U.S. Comptroller General
Charles Stenholm, former U.S. Representative from Texas
Eugene Steuerle, Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute
David Stockman, former Director of OMB under Reagan, former U.S. Representative from Michigan
Robert Strauss, former Chairman of Democratic National Committee
Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary and Director of the National Economic Council
John Tanner, former U.S. Representative from Tennessee
Tom Tauke, former U.S. Representative from Iowa
Laura Tyson, former Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
George Voinovich, former U.S. Senator from Ohio
Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve
Carol Cox Wait, former President of CRFB
David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General and Director of GAO
Joseph R. Wright, former Director of OMB under Ronald Reagan

References

External links

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