The federal debt limit restricts the total amount of money the Treasury Department can legally borrow. In recent years, the debt limit has become a political flashpoint and the government has frequently been forced to rely on accounting maneuvers called “extraordinary measures” to meet its financial obligations. But those measures are limited and temporary. The date on which they are exhausted and the Treasury Department’s cash-on-hand runs out is called the “X Date.” BPC is the only group outside government that consistently projects when this “X Date” will arrive and the government will default on its obligations. This projection relies on publicly-available information and historic trends in government revenues and outlays.
Economy
We advance prudent economic policies that expand opportunity and financial security for workers, families, and retirees.
The Latest
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ExplainerThe 2025 Tax Debate: Who Benefits from Tax Cuts?
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ExplainerWhat’s in the FY2025 Budget Resolution
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ReportStrengthening Unemployment Insurance
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ExplainerThe 2025 Tax Debate: Charitable Giving
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ExplainerThe 2025 Tax Debate: Dynamic Scoring
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ExplainerWhy the National Debt Matters for the U.S. Bond Market and the Economy
Economic Policy
The Current State
U.S. economic policy must remove obstacles to economic growth and improve shared prosperity for all.
BPC Events
View Past Events
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April 8, 2025Tariffs, Tweets, and Trade: Decoding the Trump Administration’s Global Economic Playbook
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March 18, 2025New Insights on SECURE 2.0: Charting the Path for Retirement Policy Opportunities
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May 2, 2024Small Businesses Matter: A Bipartisan Agenda for 2024 and Beyond
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March 27, 2024Lessons Learned, Paths Forward: Modernizing Unemployment Insurance
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February 27, 2024Promoting Health Equity Through Economic Opportunity
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January 26, 2024Building Greater Economic Security for Working Families
About Us
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Debt Limit
The federal debt limit restricts the total amount of money the Treasury Department can legally borrow. In recent years, the debt limit has become a political flashpoint and the government has frequently been forced to rely on accounting maneuvers called “extraordinary measures” to meet its financial obligations. But those measures are limited and temporary. The date on which they are exhausted and the Treasury Department’s cash-on-hand runs out is called the “X Date.” BPC is the only group outside government that consistently projects when this “X Date” will arrive and the government will default on its obligations. This projection relies on publicly-available information and historic trends in government revenues and outlays.
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Funding Our Future
Funding Our Future is an alliance of organizations dedicated to making a secure retirement possible for all Americans. The alliance informs the public about the barriers to retirement security and calls on policymakers to make strengthening retirement policies a top priority.
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America Forward
The COVID-19 pandemic is focusing overdue attention on economic inequity and public health disparities. Our nation faces hard times ahead but can emerge from this crisis with an economy that is more dynamic, fair, and secure. The Bipartisan Policy Center is developing politically viable solutions that confront barriers to shared prosperity and advance opportunity and resiliency for American workers.
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Paid Family Leave
BPC’s paid family leave effort is committed to developing a policy roadmap for bipartisan, common-sense solutions that support America’s working families and promote America’s economic success. Americans overwhelmingly support the idea of paid family leave, whether to care for a new child, one’s own illness, or a sick family member. Republicans and Democrats have come a long way toward finding agreement on this issue, but Congress has yet to turn that growing consensus into actionable, bipartisan policy. BPC’s Task Force on Paid Family Leave seeks to take that next step.
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Retirement Security
Too many American households face uncertain prospects when it comes to their financial security in retirement. Many individuals lack access to a simple method of saving through their place of work. Of those who do have access, many are not contributing enough and are at risk for outliving their savings. As a result, millions of Americans are approaching retirement with inadequate funds to maintain their standards of living. BPC’s work on retirement security focuses on policies that expand access to well-designed retirement savings vehicles, help Americans preserve their retirement income, and resolve Social Security’s structural imbalance to avoid harmful and abrupt benefit cuts when the program’s trust fund is depleted.
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Finance
The financial system serves a critical role in allocating capital, facilitating payments, and managing risks in the economy. The American economy is served best when the financial system is robust, resilient, and effective. Financial regulation, the rise of AI, and reference rate reform are bringing new challenges to the forefront. BPC believes that managing and properly addressing these challenges will be critical to promoting a financial system that best serves Main Street businesses and consumers.
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Budget
The federal government is on a path toward trillion-dollar budget deficits, with total debt held by the public heading into uncharted waters. This worrying trend has continued during the longest period of economic expansion in modern American history. If left unchecked, the nation’s fiscal path could burden future generations through massive interest payments on the debt or even a fiscal crisis. BPC continues to sound the alarm on the unsustainable debt and the budget while developing bipartisan solutions for fiscal sustainability.
Working on durable policy? We can help.
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Jack MaldeAssociate Director, Human Capital
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Aaron TillSenior Policy Analyst
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Fredrick HernandezPolicy Analyst
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Caleb QuakenbushAssociate Director
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Upamanyu LahiriPolicy Analyst
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Sanya BahalResearch Analyst
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Douglas BesharovSenior Fellow
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Andrew LautzAssociate Director, Economy
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Chintal ShahProject Manager
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Lettie NoceraDirector, ASEC
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Emerson SprickAssociate Director
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