Exercises in Hard Choices

In order to educate the public about the choices involved in achieving and maintaining a responsible budget, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget created the Exercise in Hard Choices ^SM. The Exercise allows participants to grapple with the same hard choices faced by the President and Congress in the annual budgeting process. The Exercise is regularly updated to reflect actual choices Congress and the President are considering in the current fiscal year or may consider in the near-term future. Many members of Congress choose to run the Exercise in their home districts both as a tool to educate their constituents and as a way to receive feedback about how national priorities should be reflected in the federal budget.

The Committee has embarked on an exciting project with the University of Akron to transform the Exercise from a paper-based simulation to an electronic version capable of interactively connecting participants from around the country in real time. This multi-year project will design, develop, and evaluate online versions of the Exercise so that it can be offered across the United States using the latest e-learning technologies.

Hard Choices in High Schools

The Committee has run a number of Exercises in high schools around the country. These have been highly successful events, allowing students to try their hand at responsible budgeting, while teaching valuable civics lessons. To learn more about the Exercise for high schools, contact the Committee.

Contact

crfb@newamerica.net
202-986-6599