Congressional Budget Office

WASHINGTON — The House gave final approval Tuesday night to a bill to rescind tax increases for the vast majority of Americans, but only after a day of closed-door debate among Republicans, who were forced to allow a vote on a compromise many in...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end "fiscal cliff" were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break. "God only knows" how a deal can be reached now, House Speaker John Boehner declared....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in many parts of the country and traditionally, that's when we could expect lawmakers in our nation's capital to be wrapping up several pieces of legislation so they could spend holiday time with their own...

Medicare may not be the third rail of American politics -- that distinction belongs to Social Security -- but politicians who alter it put their careers at risk. For proof, just look at how Republicans lost a congressional seat in a conservative upstate...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans aren't budging on tax rates, and Democrats are resisting steps like raising the eligibility age for Medicare. Negotiations on averting a year-end fiscal train wreck combining big automatic tax hikes and sweeping...

Past its own New Year’s deadline, a weary Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national ‘‘fiscal cliff’’ of middle class tax increases and spending cuts late Tuesday night in the culmination of a...

A bipartisan plan to avoid federal spending reductions and tax increases that would hit Maryland especially hard won final approval Tuesday night in the House of Representatives even as outside groups warned that the bill would simply delay difficult...

Budget discussions in Washington these days always seem to deteriorate into arguments over what government is supposed to do for its citizens, and what should be left aside. Is the reach of government strictly defined in the Constitution? Or tradition?...

WASHINGTON -- The "fiscal cliff" is a massive failure of presidential leadership. The tedious and technical negotiations are but a subplot in a larger drama. Government can no longer fulfill all the promises it has made to various constituencies. Some...

The good news for the U.S. economy as we enter 2013 is that the election's over. The bad news is that the election's over. What's good about it is that both parties in Washington can shed their preoccupation with the campaign theatrics that dominated...

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending. Sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry...

Washington -- It's crunch time for avoiding the fiscal cliff as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner and their aides hold private talks on issues that will impact every American. Three weeks remain to cut a deal before the automatic...