The Need to Expand the Focus of the Congressional Budget Office 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook

October 16, 2020

The Congressional Budget Office regularly provides a touch of reality regarding the trends in the U.S. federal budget and its impact on the U.S. economy. Its September 21st report on the 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook is no exception.

It provides a clear warning about the problems in civil spending, and it projects a major rise in mandatory spending after the current peak for COVID-19 related spending has passed. These are all critical issues, but so are the trends in discretionary spending, as well as in the areas like defense and foreign affairs.

This report entitled, The Need to Expand the Focus of the Congressional Budget Office 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook, is available for download at https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/201016_Cordesman_Expand_Congressional_Budget_Office.pdf

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He has served as a consultant on Afghanistan to the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of State.