Take a look at the articles on fiscal policy from the latest edition of our e-newsletter, The Watcher.

White House Attempts To Entrench PART At Federal Agencies
The White House issued an executive order (E.O. 13450) on Nov. 13 that would attempt to entrench the administration's controversial Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) within federal agencies long after President Bush leaves the White House. The order would create a point person within agencies responsible for program performance, allow the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) more leverage over specific aspects of program implementation and solidify the PART program review process as the evaluator of government programs.

Republicans Keep Obstructing Common-Sense Investment Initiatives
Over the past few months, an intransigent president and a conservative coalition in Congress have waylaid a host of common-sense, progressive spending initiatives, including the reauthorization of the nutrition section of the Farm Bill, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and funding for domestic priorities in the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education.

The Real Long-Term Health Challenge
Recently, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has been issuing reports challenging the conventional thinking about the long-term fiscal problem facing the nation, which was once believed to be primarily related to the influence of demographic changes on Social Security and Medicare. These reports draw on the results of other researchers and writers who found that long-term fiscal challenge is almost entirely unrelated to demographics and Social Security, and it is mostly confined to inefficiencies in the private and public health care system.

Estate Tax Repeal No Longer On The Table
On Nov. 14, the Senate Finance Committee dedicated time to a hearing to investigate uncertainty in estate tax law, despite a plethora of more pressing fiscal issues facing the current Congress.

AMT: Mother of All Tax Bills and Progeny
On Oct. 25, after a gestation period of nearly nine months, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) finally unveiled the Tax Reduction and Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 3970), his self-described "mother of all tax bills." The Rangel bill is a $930 billion, multi-faceted tax reform package that seeks to abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) on a revenue-neutral basis. The measure redistributes the tax burden away from lower- and middle-class taxpayers and toward the wealthy beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003.

Congress to Send Labor/HHS Appropriations to President While SCHIP Conflict Continues
President Bush is soon expected to veto a congressionally approved version of the Labor/Health and Human Services/Education (Labor/HHS) appropriations bill, which funds an array of human needs programs. It is still uncertain if there is enough support in the House to override the president's veto. Meanwhile, enough Republican opposition remains to a proposed reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that the months-old conflict over the program drags on.