CBO releases analysis of budget deal (The Hill blog)

[pinto]

CBO releases analysis of budget deal

By Erik Wasson
December 11, 2013, 03:02 pm

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday afternoon released its analysis of the new House-Senate budget deal, and the numbers match those touted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday night.

The budget bill is headed for a Thursday vote in the House.

As expected, the deal raises the authority to spend money over 2014 and 2015 by $63 billion, resulting in discretionary outlays of $62 billion over 10 years.

The top-line spending level for 2014 is $1.012 trillion. That is $45 billion more than the $967 billion under the sequester and about $45 billion less than the $1.058 trillion level before the sequester took place.

In 2015, the top-line level is $1.014 trillion. That is $19 billion more than the $995 billion sequester level in place for 2015 and $72 billion less $1.086 trillion that would be in place without the sequester.

The CBO said the deal contains $78 billion in direct spending reduction and $7 billion in revenue. Added together, there is $23 billion in deficit reduction in the package.

The cuts and fees break down as follows, noting that the CBO counts some fees as spending cuts and increased federal pension contributions as revenue:

-- Reduce waste and fraud: $1.9 billion

-- Energy provisions including drilling in Gulf of Mexico: $4.5 billion

-- Federal and military retirement: $12.6 billion

-- Cuts to student loans: $5.1 billion

-- Aviation and shipping fees: $13.6 billion

-- Customs fees $6.7 billion

-- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation premiums: $7.8 billion

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/192826-cbo-releases-analysis-of-85-billion-budget-deal

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. I don't like the deal much

but, all things considered, it's probably the least amount of "bad" that we can expect from having to work with a right-wing House.