Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: “Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its “Options for Reducing the Deficit, 2019-2028” report, featuring 121 policy options and their ten-year budgetary effects. The report updates the last set of budget options that was released in 2016. Each option is covered in detail, with a full description of each and information on how the policy fits into the budget. The report also contains arguments for and against implementation of each option, an explanation of how the change could affect beneficiaries, and other detailed analyses.

With so many budget options, we’ve highlighted several in each category to show the savings available for lawmakers to consider. Many options are updated versions of long-standing ones in important areas like health care and Social Security, but the report also includes several new options, particularly for revenue after the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Alongside the report, CBO has also updated its interactive tool that displays the options contained in this report as well as other options CBO has analyzed in other reports. The tool allows users to search by budget area and topic as well as the date the options were produced.

At a time when debt is projected to nearly double over the next 30 years, deficit reduction is needed more than ever. CBO’s budget options provide numerous options for lawmakers to pick from to put our debt on a sustainable path. The report itself also contains a plethora of other information and is a must read for anyone interested in the budget.”