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Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage-Backed Securities [October 14, 2008]
"To address the turmoil in financial markets, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA; H.R. 1424, P.L. 110-343), enacted on October 3, 2008, authorizes purchases of 'troubled assets.' The act passed the Senate on October 1, 2008, passed the House on October 3, 2008, and was signed into law the same day. The Administration proposed using reverse Dutch auctions to purchase troubled assets -- primarily mortgage-related securities from financial institutions. In reverse Dutch auctions, a buyer purchases multiple objects from private parties at a price set by the last accepted bid. The government has used reverse auctions since the Revolutionary War. Designing efficient reverse Dutch auctions may present some tradeoffs between enhancing competition among bidders and overpaying for assets relative to their quality. Careful auction design, however, can help minimize these problems. Auctions are especially useful for selling assets whose value to potential owners is unknown to the seller. Reverse auctions are useful when a buyer does not know what value sellers place on assets. Auction results could clarify the market value of troubled assets. The price discovery properties of auctions could stimulate trading by reducing private traders' uncertainty about the value of troubled assets. A reverse auction program essentially swaps Treasury securities for troubled mortgage-backed securities. If Treasury securities are exchanged for troubled assets at prices close to those assets' current market prices, costs to the taxpayer would be minimized. Financial institutions, however, may gain some liquidity, but might not receive much additional capital. Some economists have argued that other means of injecting capital into the financial sector, such as purchases of preferred stock or capital injections balanced by equity warrants (i.e., options to claim an equity stake), might be a better strategy. Since passage of EESA, the U.S. Treasury has been working to design methods to inject capital into firms and restore market liquidity."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-10-14
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Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 [Updated September 11, 2008]
"On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The President's budget predicted a deficit of $407 billion for FY2008 and $410 billion for FY2009, up from $162 billion in FY2007. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the FY2008 deficit would total $396 billion if the President's proposals were enacted, about $39 billion more than the current-law baseline. CBO projected that the President's proposals would generate a FY2009 deficit of $342 billion. Tax rebates and business investment incentives enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which passed in January, will push up the FY2008 deficit by an estimated $152 billion. CBO estimated the on-budget deficit, which excludes Social Security surpluses, for the President's budget proposals would reach $592 billion in FY2008 and $525 billion in FY2009. Budget and economic estimates issued later in 2008 have been less optimistic. [...] On March 7, 2008, the House and Senate Budget Committees introduced budget resolutions (S.Con.Res. 70 and H.Con.Res. 312). The House passed its budget resolution on March 13 by a 212 to 207 vote. The Senate passed its version the next day. The budget conference report, H.Rept. 110-659, was filed on May 20. The Senate passed the S.Con.Res. 70 conference report on June 4, 2008, and the House passed it the next day. This report will be updated as legislative conditions warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-09-11
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Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 [Updated June 30, 2008]
"On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The President's budget predicted a deficit of $407 billion for FY2008 and $410 billion for FY2009, up from $162 billion in FY2007 due to falling federal revenues and rising security expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the FY2008 deficit would total $396 billion if the President's proposals were enacted, about $39 billion more than the current-law baseline. CBO projects that the President's proposals would generate a FY2009 deficit of $342 billion. Tax rebates and business investment incentives enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which passed in January, will push up the FY2008 deficit by an estimated $152 billion. The on-budget deficit, which excludes Social Security surpluses, for the President's budget proposals, would reach $592 billion in FY2008 and $525 billion in FY2009 according to CBO estimates. [...] On March 7, 2008, the House and Senate Budget Committees introduced budget resolutions (S.Con.Res. 70 and H.Con.Res. 312). The House passed its budget resolution on March 13 by a 212 to 207 vote. The Senate passed its version the next day. The budget conference report, H.Rept. 110-659, was filed on May 20. The Senate passed the S.Con.Res. 70 conference report on June 4, 2008, and the House passed it the next day. This report will be updated as legislative conditions warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-06-30
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Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases [May 30, 2008]
"Total debt of the federal government can increase in two ways. First, debt increases when the government sells debt to the public to finance budget deficits and acquire the financial resources needed to meet its obligations. This increases 'debt held by the public'. Second, debt increases when the federal government issues debt to certain government accounts, such as the Social Security, Medicare, and Transportation trust funds, in exchange for their reported surpluses. This increases 'debt held by government accounts'. The sum of 'debt held by the public and debt held by government accounts' is the total federal debt. Surpluses generally reduce debt held by the public, while deficits raise it. The government's surpluses during FY1998-FY2001 reduced debt held by the public by $448 billion. The debt holdings of government accounts grew by $853 billion over the same period. The total net change raised total federal debt by $405 billion."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-05-30
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Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 [Updated May 30, 2008]
"On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The President's budget predicted a deficit of $407 billion for FY2008 and $410 billion for FY2009, up from $162 billion in FY2007 due to falling federal revenues and rising security expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the FY2008 deficit would total $396 billion if the President's proposals were enacted, about $39 billion more than the current-law baseline. CBO projects that the President's proposals would generate a FY2009 deficit of $342 billion. Tax rebates and business investment incentives enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which passed in January, will push up the FY2008 deficit by an estimated $152 billion. The on-budget deficit, which excludes Social Security surpluses, for the President's budget proposals, would reach $592 billion in FY2008 and $525 billion in FY2009 according to CBO estimates. [...] On March 7, 2008, the House and Senate Budget Committees introduced budget resolutions (S.Con.Res. 70 and H.Con.Res. 312). The House passed its budget resolution on March 13 by a 212 to 207 vote. The Senate passed its version the next day. The budget conference report, H.Rept. 110-659, was filed on May 20, and the House cleared the way for consideration of the conference agreement the next day (H.Res. 1214). This report will be updated as legislative conditions warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-05-30
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Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases [April 29, 2008]
"Total debt of the federal government can increase in two ways. First, debt increases when the government sells debt to the public to finance budget deficits and acquire the financial resources needed to meet its obligations. This increases 'debt held by the public'. Second, debt increases when the federal government issues debt to certain government accounts, such as the Social Security, Medicare, and Transportation trust funds, in exchange for their reported surpluses. This increases 'debt held by government accounts'. The sum of 'debt held by the public' and 'debt held by government accounts' is the total federal debt. […] The adoption of the conference report on the FY2008 budget resolution in the spring of 2007 automatically (in the House) created and deemed passed legislation (H.J.Res. 43) raising the debt limit by $850 billion to $9,815 billion. The Senate Finance Committee approved the resolution on September 12, 2007, which was passed by the Senate September 27 and signed by the President September 29. The 2008 economic slowdown has led to sharply higher estimates of deficit spending, raising the prospect of another debt limit increase in the near to medium term. The House and Senate budget resolutions (H.Con.Res. 312 and S.Con.Res. 70) recommend spending levels that would require an increased debt limit in FY2009. This report will be updated as events warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-04-29
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Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 [March 19, 2008]
"On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The President's budget predicted a deficit of $407 billion for FY2008 and $410 billion for FY2009, up from $162 billion in FY2007 due to falling federal revenues and rising security expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the FY2008 deficit would total $396 billion if the President's proposals are enacted, about $39 billion more than the current-law baseline. The projected FY2009 deficit under the President's proposals was $342 billion. Tax rebates and business investment incentives enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which passed in January, will push up the FY2008 deficit by an estimated $152 billion. The on-budget deficit, which excludes Social Security surpluses, for the President's budget proposals, would reach $592 billion in FY2008 and $525 billion in FY2009 according to CBO estimates. […] March 2008 CBO current-law baseline projections, which incorporate costs of the Economic Stimulus Act, show a $357 billion deficit in FY2008, a $70 billion surplus in FY2013, and a $202 billion surplus in FY2018. CBO baseline projections assume that key tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 (as well as some others) expire as scheduled, real discretionary spending is fixed, and the Alternative Minimum Tax is unchanged. CBO estimated the President's budget proposals would yield a $396 billion deficit in FY2008. The revised baseline projection of the FY2009 deficit was $207 billion, much smaller than the $342 billion FY2009 deficit that the President's budget had been projected to generate. On March 7, 2008, the House and Senate Budget Committees introduced budget resolutions (S.Con.Res. 70 and H.Con.Res. 312). The House passed its budget resolution on March 13 by a 212 to 207 vote, and the Senate passed its version in the early hours of March 14 by a 51 to 44 vote. This report will be updated as legislative conditions warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-03-19
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Mandatory Spending Since 1962 [February 13, 2008]
"Mandatory spending encompasses federal government spending on entitlement programs and food stamps as well as other budget outlays controlled by laws other than appropriation acts. Entitlement programs constitute the bulk of mandatory spending. More specifically, mandatory spending programs include Social Security, Medicare, temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), supplemental security income (SSI), unemployment insurance, veterans benefits, federal employee retirement and disability, food stamps, and the earned income tax credit. Mandatory spending accounts for over half of total federal spending and almost a ninth of gross domestic product (GDP). […] With discretionary spending as a percentage of GDP reduced to historic lows, any significant reductions in federal spending may well need to come from mandatory spending. Since Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid account for most of the long-term increases in federal spending, these programs are likely to be considered for possible reductions. Focusing budget cuts on these three key programs, however, could compromise their goals: the economic security of the elderly and the poor. Fundamental reform may be proposed to eliminate the long-term fiscal strains while preserving the goals of these programs. This report will be updated annually."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2008-02-13
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Mandatory Spending Since 1962 [November 30, 2006]
"Mandatory spending encompasses federal government spending on entitlement programs and food stamps as well as other budget outlays controlled by laws other than appropriation acts. Entitlement programs constitute the bulk of mandatory spending. More specifically, mandatory spending programs include Social Security, Medicare, temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), supplemental security income (SSI), unemployment insurance, veterans benefits, federal employee retirement and disability, food stamps, and the earned income tax credit. In all, federal spending accounts for about a fifth of gross domestic product (GDP), and mandatory spending accounts for over half of total federal spending. […] With discretionary spending as a percentage of GDP reduced to historic lows, any significant reductions in federal spending may well need to come from mandatory spending. Since Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid account for most of the long-term increases in federal spending, these programs are likely to be considered for possible reductions. Focusing budget cuts on these three key programs, however, could compromise their goals: the economic security of the elderly and the poor. Fundamental reform may be proposed to eliminate the long-term fiscal strains while preserving the goals of these programs. This report will be updated annually."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Austin, D. Andrew
2006-11-30
