Issue 1

Budget Study Centre Issue 1
October 12, 2017

CPDI BUDGET WATCH

Fortnightly Budget News Alerts
 

Trump’s New Budget Threatens to Kick Millions Off Food Stamps

The Root (October 09, 2017)

Although Donald Trump ran as a champion of the poor and working class (and many whites in those socioeconomic groups voted for him), the only thing the “president” seems to be draining is the federal budget for his golf outings. Adding insult to injury, a new budget resolution put forth by Trump and passed by the House of Representatives this week will push millions off of food stamps, leaving our most vulnerable-children and the elderly-food insecure, or even hungry. Newsweek reports that over $150
Read More

CSOs & citizens trained in skills to improve local governance


The News (October 07, 2017)

PESHAWAR: Members of several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and citizens were trained in leadership and advocacy skills, citizen report card and budget tracking at a capacity building workshop arranged here to improve local governance. The Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) arranged the workshop under a European Union-funded project. Titled “Democratic Local Governance for Development in Pakistan”, the project is jointly implemented by CPDI and Friedrich …
Read More

CBO: Federal budget deficit rises to $668 billion


The Spokesman (October 06, 2017)

WASHINGTON – The federal government ran a $668 billion budget deficit for the just-completed 2017 fiscal year, according to a new government report. That’s $82 billion more red ink than the government produced last year. The Congressional Budget Office based its findings on preliminary Treasury reports. The worsening deficit picture comes as Congress digs into its pockets for tens of billions of dollars more for hurricane relief. Lawmakers are also working toward a round of tax cuts that
Read More

Budget plan sets the stage for Republican tax reform


The CS Monitor (October 06, 2017)

Washington – The House has passed a $4.1 trillion budget plan that promises deep cuts to social programs while paving the way for Republicans to rewrite the tax code later this year. The 2018 House GOP budget reprises a controversial plan to turn Medicare into a voucher-like program for future retirees as well as the party’s efforts to repeal the “Obamacare” health law. Republicans controlling Congress have no plans to actually implement those cuts while they pursue their tax overhaul. That’s especially so in
Read More

House Approves Budget Plan that Would Cut Federal Employee Benefits


Government Executive (October 05, 2017)

House lawmakers voted 219-206 Thursday to approve a resolution outlining the body’s fiscal 2018 budget priorities, which include a number of controversial cuts to federal employees’ retirement and benefits programs. The House’s budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71) asks 11 committees to come up with a total of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts through budget reconciliation, setting the stage for Republicans’
Read More

Morneau prepares fall update as PBO report shows improving federal finances


The Globe and Mail (October 06, 2017)

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is preparing a fall update that is expected to show the federal fiscal landscape is improving along with the strengthening economy. Mr. Morneau met with private-sector economists Thursday in Toronto to hear their assessments and recommendations. While they did not release their numbers, the consensus forecasts for GDP growth have increased to about 3 per cent for 2017, up from the
Read More

CPEC toll income to be thrice the budget of Pakistan: BoI


The News (October 05, 2017)

LAHORE: Only the toll income generated by the route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), after the completion of the project by 2030, will be three times of the national budget of Pakistan, an official said on Wednesday. “It is on top of the business, economic, and employment creating activities of special economic zones (SEZs), and other industries,” Zulfiqar Ali, director Board of Investment (BoI) said while briefing Lahore Economic Journalist
Read More

Senate Budget Committee advances 2018 budget plan


Washington Times (October 05, 2017)

The Senate Budget Committee advanced its 2018 fiscal blueprint on Thursday, moving forward on Republican plans to fast- track a tax reform package hours after the full House passed its own 2018 spending outline. The approximately $1 trillion spending plan for 2018 that advances to the Senate floor projects a $641 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, but
Read More

Lawmakers Urge Cuts That Have Least Impact on Services


The US News (October 05, 2017)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A legislative committee is asking Montana’s governor to make budget cuts that have the least impact on services to vulnerable citizens. The Legislative Finance Committee met this week to review $227 million in proposed cuts
Read More

House Passes Budget Blueprint, Taking Step Toward Tax Overhaul


The New York Times (October 05, 2017)

WASHINGTON – The House took the first major legislative step Thursday toward enacting a promised overhaul of the tax code, approving a budget blueprint that would allow a future tax bill to pass Congress without any Democratic votes.
Read More

Karak nazmi’s claims of budget approval contested


The Dawn (October 04, 2017)

KARAK: District nazim Dr Umer Daraz Khattak on Tuesday claimed that a provincial committee headed by local government minister Inaytullah Khan had accorded approval to the budget of Karak for 2017-18
Read More