On the latest Facing the Future, we took a wide-ranging tour of the fiscal policy landscape as the Biden Administration prepares to unveil new proposals that media reports indicate could cost $3 trillion or more without offsets. Our tour guide was Jon Lieber, a Capitol Hill veteran of many important budget negotiations who is now Managing Director of the Eurasia Group. Concord Coalition policy director Tori Gorman joined the conversation.

Topics included a review of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, the likelihood of another reconciliation bill later this year to pass the Biden agenda, whether offsets will be sought for at least some of the cost of this agenda, the future the Senate filibuster, the prospect of showdowns over appropriations and the debt limit, and the politics of immigration reform.

Challenges abound, made more difficult because as Lieber observed, “We’re in a situation now where even when the parties agree on policies, they find a way to disagree on how to get it done.”

Also this week, in a Looking Out commentary, titled, “There is No Deficit Vaccine,” I reviewed how some problems have been addressed over the past year, while other problems remain the same.

Hear more on Facing the Future. I host the program each week on WKXL, NHTalkRadio.com (N.H.), and it is also available via podcast. Join me and my guests as we discuss issues relating to national fiscal policy with budget experts, industry leaders, and elected officials. Past broadcasts are available here. You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or with an RSS feed. Follow Facing the Future on Facebook, and watch videos from past episodes on The Concord Coalition YouTube channel.