Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget

What Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget does

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank founded in 1981 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It educates the public, federal policymakers, and the media on U.S. fiscal policy, with particular focus on the federal budget, national debt, Social Security solvency, and Medicare sustainability. The organization serves an audience that includes Congressional members and staff, journalists covering economic and budgetary news, and the general public, and its work is repeatedly cited in connection with programs affecting tens of millions of Americans (e.g., Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries).

CRFB's core products are a suite of interactive web-based fiscal policy tools and a recurring publication franchise. The tools include the Debt Fixer (allowing users to assemble their own federal budget and debt reduction plans), the Social Security Reformer (configurable benefit, revenue, and retirement-age scenarios), the Debt Thermometer (annual tracking of legislation and executive-order impact on the debt), the How Old Will You Be? calculator, Insolvency Countdown, Budgeting for the Future, and several 'Build Your Own' tax and credit policy builders. The publication franchise centers on annual analyses of the Social Security and Medicare Trustees' Reports, state-by-state insolvency mapping, and topical policy papers (e.g., Medicaid intergovernmental transfers). All content is distributed free of charge via crfb.org under a Creative Commons license.

The business model is donation- and grant-funded nonprofit operation rather than commercial sales. CRFB does not disclose revenue or financials in the source materials; named funding includes a $450,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in June 2025. Distribution is through the organization's website, social channels (Twitter/X @BudgetHawks, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn), email newsletters, webinars, press releases, and direct Congressional engagement. The organization is governed by a board including co-chairs Tim Penny and Leon Panetta, with Maya MacGuineas serving as president and a senior policy team led by Marc Goldwein.

Name

Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget

Legal name

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Website

https://crfb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank founded in 1981 that produces interactive fiscal-policy tools, annual Trustees' Report analyses, and research papers on federal debt, Social Security, and Medicare for policymakers, media, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CRFB is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank that produces fiscal policy research, policy analysis, and interactive educational tools focused on the federal budget, Social Security, Medicare, and the national debt. Its deliverables include interactive web-based calculators (e.g., Debt Fixer, Social Security Reformer, Debt Thermometer), annual Trustees' Report analyses, policy papers, blog content, and public events. All content is provided free to the public under a Creative Commons license and is funded through donations and grants.

Product overview

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that offers a suite of interactive web-based tools and research publications focused on fiscal policy education and analysis. The core offerings include the Debt Fixer and Social Security Reformer interactive tools, which allow users to explore budget and entitlement reform scenarios. Supporting tools include the How Old Will You Be? calculator, Debt Thermometer, Insolvency Countdown, Budgeting for the Future, and tax policy builders. The organization also produces annual analyses of Social Security and Medicare Trustees' Reports and special reports like 'No State Spared.' All offerings are free public education tools focused on fiscal policy transparency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CRFB: Common abbreviation for Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget used in communications and social media
• Campaign to Fix the Debt
• FixUS
• Debt Fixer
• Social Security Reformer

Products and services

• Debt Fixer An interactive online tool that allows users to design their own plan to address federal budget and debt issues by choosing from various policy options.
• Social Security Reformer An interactive tool that enables users to build their own plan to restore Social Security solvency, showing how policy choices affect trust fund projections and solvency.
• How Old Will You Be? An interactive calculator that determines when Social Security benefits will run out based on a user's birth year and projects potential benefit reductions.
• Debt Thermometer An annual tracking tool that visualizes the fiscal impact of major legislation and executive orders, showing cumulative ten-year costs or savings to the national debt.
• Budgeting for the Future An interactive tool for exploring future budget scenarios and projections.
• Insolvency Countdown An interactive countdown tool tracking when major trust funds (Social Security, Medicare, Highway Trust Fund) will become insolvent.
• Build Your Own Tax Extensions An interactive tool allowing users to design their own tax extension policies.
• Build Your Own Child Tax Credit An interactive tool allowing users to design their own child tax credit proposals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Analysis influencing congressional action on budget and fiscal policy
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heritage Foundation: Conservative-leaning think tank producing fiscal and budget policy research and interacting with Congress; comparable to CRFB as a Washington policy research nonprofit with strong tool/publishing output.
• Tax Foundation: Independent nonprofit tax policy research organization producing fiscal and budgetary analysis; directly comparable to CRFB as a Washington, D.C.-based think tank producing public-facing budget and policy research.
• American Enterprise Institute (AEI): Washington-based nonprofit think tank conducting economic and fiscal policy research; comparable to CRFB on entitlement reform, taxation, and federal budget analysis with comparable scale and audience.
• Bipartisan Policy Center: Nonprofit, bipartisan think tank that drives policy solutions on fiscal, health, and economic issues; overlaps with CRFB in cross-partisan fiscal policy research and congressional engagement.
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Nonpartisan policy institute focused on budget and economic policy affecting low- and moderate-income Americans; highly comparable to CRFB in publishing federal budget analysis and Social Security/Medicare research.
• Urban Institute: Nonprofit research organization producing studies on economic and fiscal policy, including Social Security and health programs; comparable to CRFB in methodology, scale, and Washington policy ecosystem footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Legislative-branch agency that produces federal budget and economic projections, including Social Security and Medicare analysis; comparable to CRFB on the same subject matter but operates as a government body rather than nonprofit.
• Brookings Institution: Large, established nonprofit research organization covering economic studies, including federal budget and Social Security; broader portfolio than CRFB but overlaps heavily on fiscal policy outputs.
• Government Accountability Office (GAO): Federal agency issuing reports on fiscal health and government accountability; overlaps with CRFB on debt sustainability analysis and directly referenced in CRFB coverage of national debt reporting.

Regional players

• Peterson Institute for International Economics: Nonprofit research organization focused on international economic and fiscal policy; adjacent peer to CRFB, differing primarily in international orientation rather than direct domestic fiscal-budget focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BudgetHawks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BudgetHawks
• Facebookfacebook.com/BudgetHawks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/committee-for-a-responsible-federal-budget

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget