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Brendan Duke

@brendanvduke.bsky.social

Fiscal policy wonk at Center on Budget & Policy Priorities| Former Biden-Harris White House National Economic Council | Former Senate Aide | CAP/JEC Alum | Brock Purdy Fan Club Founder

10,154 Followers  |  486 Following  |  787 Posts  |  Joined: 24.11.2023  |  2.6061

Latest posts by brendanvduke.bsky.social on Bluesky

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People With Low Incomes May Lose $0 Premium Plans β€” a Lifeline β€” Unless Congress Acts | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Everyone should be able to get the health care they need to thrive, and for that to happen, it must be affordable, high quality, and easily accessible for all. Premium tax credit (PTC) enhancements...

NEW from @centeronbudget.bsky.social: Without Congressional action, premium tax credit enhancements will expire, raising costs for nearly all marketplace enrollees and putting millions of those with the lowest incomes at risk of becoming uninsured when they lose $0 premium plans.

30.09.2025 15:10 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

These are all commonsense, reasonable approaches to dealing with an Administration that has broken the budget law the President signed in March and creating a pathway to reaching a bipartisan deal to fund the government for 2026.

18.09.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Administration Abused Spending Safeguards to Advance Its Agenda β€” and Illegally Hid Its Actions | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The recent release of 1,800 internal budget documents shows just how far the Trump Administration is willing to go to illegally withhold or restrict funding.

It also makes it harder for the Trump Administration to attempt illegal funding freezes, by eliminating OMB’s ability to hold up or place restrictive conditions on funding Congress has appropriated.

www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

18.09.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œPocket Rescissions” Are Illegal | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities A β€œpocket rescission” involves transmitting a rescission request so late in the fiscal year that the funds would expire before Congress acts. No such loophole exists. The Administration’s β€œpocket resc...

The bill would stop illegal unilateral rescissions, so-called β€œpocket rescissions,” by preventing the Administration from bypassing Congress and holding funding until it expires at the end of the year.

www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

18.09.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The bill would eliminate fast-track rescissions, ensuring that if 60 votes in the Senate are required to make a deal, 60 votes are required to change it.

18.09.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The Democrats' proposed short-term funding bill takes important steps to address the Administration’s abuses and ensure that, for next year’s funding, a deal is a deal. Here’s how…

18.09.2025 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Trump Administration’s continued efforts to break the 2025 funding deal reached in March are seriously undermining efforts to reach a funding agreement for 2026 because lawmakers need to know if they reach a deal, it will be kept. 🧡

18.09.2025 22:49 β€” πŸ‘ 53    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 3

The larger-than-usual downward revision last month was in large part driven by a negative skew in the job growth distribution among late reporting firms. That’s unusual, but it’s happened before when the pace of job growth slows rapidly. This print is more evidence that was the case

05.09.2025 12:42 β€” πŸ‘ 385    πŸ” 140    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 10
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NEW analysis on the GOP megabill's core policy choice: each millionaire's tax cut is paid for by taking away health insurance from 4 people while reducing health care benefits from many others.

03.09.2025 14:42 β€” πŸ‘ 877    πŸ” 438    πŸ’¬ 18    πŸ“Œ 23
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Republican Megabill’s Tax Cuts for Millionaires Are Financed by Taking Health Insurance From 4.7 Million People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Recent data confirm a key choice at the heart of the harmful Republican megabill: tax cuts for the wealthy partially paid for by taking away health care coverage from millions of people. The tax cuts....

The harmful Republican megabill will give millionaires tax cuts averaging $80,000 per household and take health insurance from 4.7 million people by 2034, trading health coverage for millions for big tax breaks for the wealthy. More from @brendanvduke.bsky.social: www.cbpp.org/blog/republi...

03.09.2025 14:47 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Republican Megabill’s Tax Cuts for Millionaires Are Financed by Taking Health Insurance From 4.7 Million People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Recent data confirm a key choice at the heart of the harmful Republican megabill: tax cuts for the wealthy partially paid for by taking away health care coverage from millions of people. The tax cuts....

All in all, ~5 million people's loss of health insurance is attributable to the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans' decision to cut taxes for millionaires.

www.cbpp.org/blog/republi...

03.09.2025 14:43 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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NEW analysis on the GOP megabill's core policy choice: each millionaire's tax cut is paid for by taking away health insurance from 4 people while reducing health care benefits from many others.

03.09.2025 14:42 β€” πŸ‘ 877    πŸ” 438    πŸ’¬ 18    πŸ“Œ 23

The Trump Administration’s new spending cuts package is clearly illegal. David Super & Sam Berger explain four reasons why.

www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

29.08.2025 14:18 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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the new BLS 'head' ... turns out he's quite the NAZI

his presentation given was in front of a multi panel painting of a ship ... a WARSHIP ...

the pride of the German Navy ... the BISMARCK

they air brushed out the German flag

12.08.2025 16:49 β€” πŸ‘ 140    πŸ” 46    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 20

An example of the explicit policy choice made by Congressional Republicans and Trump: they could have had zero cuts to Medicaid and SNAP while reducing the top 10%'s tax cut for the same fiscal cost.

The top 10% would've still gotten a tax cut.

They chose different.

11.08.2025 18:29 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Distributional Effects of Public Law 119-21 CBO estimates that as result of P.L. 119-21, resources will decrease for households toward the bottom of the income distribution, whereas resources will increase for households in the middle and towar...

CBO shows GOP megabill will make the bottom 20% of households poorer. What is impressively depressing about the GOP megabill is it *borrows money* (which the CBO analysis considers costless) and it still manages to leave millions of Americans worse off.

www.cbo.gov/publication/...

11.08.2025 18:15 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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NEW: Congressional Budget Office analysis of who wins and loses in the GOP megabill.

Top 10% gets $13,600 a year (2.7% increase in income)

Bottom 10% *loses* $1,200 a year (3.1% drop in income)

This isn't shared sacrifice--it's class warfare.

11.08.2025 18:10 β€” πŸ‘ 181    πŸ” 97    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 3
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The tradeoff at the heart of the flawed GOP megabill: cutting programs that help people afford groceries and health care in order to cut taxes for households making over $500k.

31.07.2025 13:07 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Our analysis of the full Joint Committee on Taxation tables of the flawed GOP megabill: a $1T tax cut for the top 1% and a staggering $2.4T tax cut for the top 10%.

Tax cuts of around $500B for households in the bottom 60%--the very folks who also face the brunt of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

31.07.2025 13:02 β€” πŸ‘ 30    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

I know *exactly* what you mean!

21.07.2025 19:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Let's put the $3.4 trillion cost of Republican reconciliation law in context.

Its tax cuts are so costly that Republicans could have extended all of the expiring tax cuts for families (including millionaires) without cutting SNAP/Medicaid...and it would have cost *less*.

21.07.2025 18:36 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 33    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Congressional Budget Office's final verdict: the GOP tax and spending bill will cost $3.4 trillion over ten years.

21.07.2025 18:35 β€” πŸ‘ 51    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3

Let's put the $3.4 trillion cost of Republican reconciliation law in context.

Its tax cuts are so costly that Republicans could have extended all of the expiring tax cuts for families (including millionaires) without cutting SNAP/Medicaid...and it would have cost *less*.

21.07.2025 18:36 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 33    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Congressional Budget Office's final verdict: the GOP tax and spending bill will cost $3.4 trillion over ten years.

21.07.2025 18:35 β€” πŸ‘ 51    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3
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In our analysis of the House bill, we showed how people in families with income above $500,000 have average annual incomes of $1.5 million. This bill will make our debt soar & increase inequality in every state. There's nothing beautiful about that. www.georgetownpoverty.org/issues/food-...

03.07.2025 20:50 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The big winners of the #BigUglyBill will be the small percentage of people who make over $500,000 per year, while millions will lose health care & food assistance. It's striking that this is particularly true even for some groups that disproportionately voted for Trump:

03.07.2025 20:50 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

After three months of hard work, seems like the Trump Administration has added rounding to the Liberation Day formulas.

07.07.2025 19:19 β€” πŸ‘ 557    πŸ” 142    πŸ’¬ 12    πŸ“Œ 9
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Trump Just Went Absolutely Nuclear in Screwing Over MAGA Voters He has persuaded the media and many voters that he’s different from earlier Republicans on economicsβ€”but he’s now doubled-down on the GOP’s plutocratic agenda.

For 50 years GOP has relied on 3 big scams:

*deficits pose civilizational threat (when Dem is in WH)
*tax cuts for rich pay for themselves
*safety net cuts needed to purge welfare cheats

w/this bill, Trump's "working class GOP" is supercharging all three

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/1976...

03.07.2025 17:30 β€” πŸ‘ 1829    πŸ” 720    πŸ’¬ 62    πŸ“Œ 37

As @brendanvduke.bsky.social says, this isn’t a case of shared sacrifice. The bill isn’t asking everyone to tighten their belts a little in the name of deficit reduction. Instead it’s asking the poorest to tighten their belts so the richest can loosen their belts.

That is profoundly unfair.

29.06.2025 22:41 β€” πŸ‘ 172    πŸ” 45    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0

The speed at which he’s running away from his vow to protect Medicaid…haven’t seen him run this fast since January 6, 2021.

28.06.2025 22:57 β€” πŸ‘ 251    πŸ” 37    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

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