Budget Matters Blog


New Data: Energy Consumption

There are two new indicators available in the Federal Priorities Database, both related to state-level energy consumption: Energy Consumption by Source: fossil fuel, nuclear, and renewable-based energy consumption, as well as total energy consumption Energy Consumption Per Person: per-capita energy consumption


Environmental Data in the Federal Priorities Database

In honor of Earth Day this past Sunday, NPP’s focus this week is on the environment. The Federal Priorities Database—our collection of spending and indicators compiled into one easy-to-use, free search tool--has several data collections related to energy and the environment.  The data below have the latest available information about ...


You Ask, We Answer: Tax Subsidies for Oil Companies

Betty from Hailey, Idaho, wrote to us about subsidies for oil companies. Thanks for writing, Betty – it's an interesting subject. Warning: We may have to get a bit wonky.


Updated Data: Electric Emissions

We've updated all of our electric emissions indicators to reflect the latest available published data. In addition, we renamed the datasets from State Emissions to Electric Emissions, a name that better reflects what the numbers stand for--emissions from electric power plants. This update affects the following, which are now current through ...

Gridlock in the Budget Process

President Obama released a budget in February, the House passed a very different budget in March, and the Senate has declined to do a budget. The seeds are planted for stalemate this election year. Why can't Congress just pass a budget without all this conflict?


The Annual Budget Process – Where Are We Now?

The House and Senate return this week from their spring recess with the seeds of a summer budget stalemate already planted.As required by law, in February President Obama released the Administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2013 (which begins on Oct. 1). Although just a proposal, the annual request serves ...


New Data: Nuclear Research and Development

There's a new dataset available in the Federal Priorities Database: Nuclear Energy Research and Development: shows U.S. Federal spending (by state and by county) on research, development, and demonstration of nuclear energy and its underlying sciences.

You Ask, We Answer: Why Are There Different Versions of the Budget?

Rebecca from Lititz, Pennsylvania, asked: Why are there different versions of the budget, and who decides which one becomes the actual budget for the federal government? It’s a good question. You might have read in the news recently about the House budget introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan. And back in ...


Top Five “Fun” Facts About the IRS

When I pitched the idea for this blog to my co-workers, my research colleague Mattea quipped, “surrrrre, because when I think about the IRS, I think of fun.”That’s pretty much the sentiment of most Americans when it comes to paying taxes, which is a subject of a lot of jokes. ...


Tax Day 2012 – Those Pennies Add Up

It's tax week here at National Priorities Project. You might have seen our Tax Day numbers, or watched our Tax Day video on YouTube, or gotten your personalized tax receipt. If you did, you saw that 27 cents of every 2011 federal income tax dollar went to the military, while ...