Although federal deficits have shrunk markedly in recent years, growing spending for Social Security and major health care programs, along with increasing interest costs, would cause them to rise steadily over the long term. The larger deficits would cause federal debt to grow faster than the...

In certain reports and for some major pieces of legislation, CBO analyzes the short-term and longer-term effects on the overall economy of changes in federal fiscal (tax and spending) policies. This report, which is part of the agency’s ongoing effort to make its analyses transparent, explains...