BUDGET/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump asked Congress on Monday for $4 billion to support missile defense to counter the threat from North Korea, just ahead of his first visit to South Korea since taking office in January… He made his request during his maiden trip to Asia as president, featuring repeated […]
Category: Budget
10/27/2017
BUDGET: “Diane Black of Tennessee, the highly respected House Budget Committee Chairwoman, did a GREAT job in passing Budget, setting up big Tax Cuts” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 27, 2017 09:52am […]
10/27/2017
BUDGET/GOP: “Congratulations to @SpeakerRyan, @GOPLeader, @SteveScalise and to the Republican Party on Budget passage yesterday. Now for biggest Tax Cuts” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 27, 2017 06:09am […]
10/26/2017
BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS/TAXES: “House Republicans cleared a crucial hurdle in their drive to overhaul the tax code Thursday after narrowly approving the Senate’s budget. By passing the measure, 216-212, Republicans unlocked procedural powers that allow the Senate to pass a tax bill with just 51 votes — and evade Democratic filibusters. But even with the […]
10/26/2017
BUDGET: “Big news – Budget just passed!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 26, 2017 10:05am […]
10/25/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “A bipartisan bill to stabilize Obamacare would cut the federal deficit by $3.8 billion but wouldn’t do much to change health insurance premiums for 2018, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. It would not substantially change the number of people who are covered. The report is about the bipartisan bill […]
10/25/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/MICK MULVANEY: “The White House plans to ask the U.S. Congress for a third round of disaster aid in mid-November as the costs continue to pour in for helping rebuild after hurricanes, but Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has told lawmakers he wants to see spending cuts elsewhere. Mulvaney said the federal government is assessing how […]
10/21/2017
BUDGET/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Budget that just passed is a really big deal, especially in terms of what will be the biggest tax cut in U.S. history – MSM barely covered!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 21, 2017 06:52am […]
10/20/2017
BUDGET/NATIONAL DEBT/TREASURY: “The federal budget deficit widened in fiscal year 2017 to the sixth highest deficit on record as government spending growth outpaced growth in tax collections for the second year in a row, the Treasury Department said Thursday [10-19-17]. The budget shortfall rose to $666 billion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. […]
10/20/2017
BUDGET/GOP: “The Budget passed late last night, 51 to 49. We got ZERO Democrat votes with only Rand Paul (he will vote for Tax Cuts) voting against… This now allows for the passage of large scale Tax Cuts (and Reform), which will be the biggest in the history of our country!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October […]
10/20/2017
BUDGET/TAXES: “Great news on the 2018 budget @SenateMajLdr McConnell – first step toward delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for the American people! #TaxReform https://t.co/aBzQR7KR0c” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 20, 2017 12:12am […]
10/19/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/PUERTO RICO: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday [10-19-17] he will work with the U.S. Congress to approve grants and loans to help rebuild Puerto Rico after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria a month ago. Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump did not give any specifics about how much money the […]
10/19/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “Republicans are going for the big Budget approval today, first step toward massive tax cuts. I think we have the votes, but who knows?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 19, 2017 05:54am […]
10/12/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA/HOUSE OR REPS: “The House of Representatives on Thursday [10-12-17] passed legislation that would provide $36.5 billion in disaster relief for victims of recent hurricanes and wildfires, as well as emergency credit to help Puerto Rico keep its government functioning. The 353-69 vote came hours after President Donald Trump questioned in Twitter posts how long […]
10/11/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA/HOUSE OF REPS: “House Republicans released a bill late Tuesday [10-10-17] night that would provide $36.5 billion in emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief, and extend credit to Puerto Rico to help the storm-ravaged island keep its government operating. The aid is more than the $29 billion requested last week by the Trump administration, […]
10/10/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA: “Some small-business owners struggling to recover from this year’s series of brutal hurricanes said the federal government needs to beef up its response. Unlike individuals, businesses aren’t eligible for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They can receive disaster-recovery loans, but many entrepreneurs aren’t interested in taking on debt after a big storm, […]
10/10/2017
BUDGET/MIKE PENCE/NASA: “Last week, Vice President Mike Pence announced a bold new mission for NASA: creating a sustained human presence, perhaps like a lunar base, on the Moon’s surface. It’s a big change for the agency, which has been focused on going to Mars for the last seven years. But just saying NASA is going […]
10/8/2017
BUDGET/MILITARY: “The Pentagon has taken over an effort to cut the cost of the F-35 combat jet, after rejecting plans proposed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and its partners, as it tries to make a program estimated to cost $400 billion more affordable. The U.S. plans to buy more than 2,400 of the jets over the […]
10/6/2017
BUDGET: “The U.S. Postal Service said its dwindling cash cushion forced it to skip retiree payments for the fifth straight year and warned about its ability to keep raising prices. The agency is expected to soon announce price increases for 2018, but the move could be challenged since rate changes require approval of its Board […]
10/5/2017
BUDGET/NATO/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. has reached an agreement with holdout France to increase NATO funding for counterterrorism programs, clearing a significant obstacle to the Trump administration’s agenda for the alliance. Under the deal, allied diplomats said, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s total budget, now $1.6 billion, will rise next year by roughly 1%. While […]
10/4/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICS: “As Congress struggles to reauthorize the broadly popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, states are increasingly concerned lawmakers won’t act quickly enough to help them avoid budget shortfalls and possibly a shutdown of some state programs by year’s end. House and Senate committees both approved packages Wednesday [10-4-17] to renew spending on CHIP, days after […]
10/4/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/DEFENSE/MILITARY: “The extended deployment of military cargo jets and Navy ships to help with Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma relief efforts is causing military planners to scramble and recalculate future deployments all the way from Afghanistan to the Korean Peninsula, according to several defense officials familiar with discussions underway inside the Defense Department. Due to […]
10/4/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House asked Congress on Wednesday [10-4-17] to approve $29 billion in additional hurricane relief and debt forgiveness, seeking to help Puerto Rico and other battered areas and to shore up the troubled federal program that provides flood insurance to homes and small businesses. The request came nearly a month after […]
10/4/2017
BUDGET/MICK MULVANEY/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday [10-4-17] appeared to dial back President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. would help wipe out Puerto Rico’s massive debt load… Trump on Tuesday sparked confusion when he told Fox News in an interview that people are ‘going to say […]
10/3/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump commended rescue workers and passed out supplies to storm victims as he toured Puerto Rico on Tuesday [10-2-17], while also saying that the costs tied to Hurricane Maria have ‘thrown our budget a little out of whack,’ drawing rebukes from Democrats who called the remarks callous… Lawmakers last […]
10/2/2017
BUDGET/DHS/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration has proposed sharp cuts to programs that seek to prevent domestic terrorism and prepare localities to respond — a move that has come under increased scrutiny by critics in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The Department of Homeland Security says, however, that it […]
10/2/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TEXAS: “Long before Hurricane Harvey hit in late August, government engineers were working on an array of projects designed to shield this flood-prone region from high water. But the record-setting tempest—which swamped the nation’s fifth-largest metro area, killed dozens and caused tens of billions in damages—changed the future of flood prevention in the region. Officials […]
10/1/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA: “The Federal Emergency Management Agency just added another $6.7 billion to its coffers to help with hurricane relief. The money was expected. Sunday [10-1-17] kicked off a new fiscal year and brought a new round of funding for the agency. But it also comes at a crucial time for the federal government’s disaster response […]
10/1/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES/TREASURY: “Trump administration officials pushed back Sunday [10-1-17] against criticism that the emerging GOP tax plan would provide its biggest benefits to the wealthy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday news programs that key details of the plan remained undecided and thus it was too early to […]
9/29/2017
BUDGET/TAXES: “The Senate Budget Committee on Friday [9-29-17] formally unveiled a 2018 budget blueprint that would shield a tax cut of as much as $1.5 trillion from a Democratic filibuster — and could pave the way to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. The budget resolution is a critical step […]
9/29/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate Budget Committee, in a crucial step forward for tax reform legislation, on Friday [9-29-17] released a fiscal 2018 budget resolution that would allow tax cuts to lose up to $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next decade. The measure, which could be marked up for a full Senate vote next […]
9/28/2017
BUDGET/ECONOMY/STEVEN MNUCHIN/TREASURY/TAXES: “The Treasury Department has taken down a 2012 economic analysis that contradicts Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s argument that workers would benefit the most from a corporate income tax cut. The 2012 paper from the Office of Tax Analysis found that workers pay 18% of the corporate tax while owners of capital pay 82%. That […]
9/27/2017
BUDGET/EPA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator who has aggressively pushed to dismantle regulations and downsize the organization, is threatening to reach outside his agency and undermine the Justice Department’s work enforcing antipollution laws, documents and interviews show. Under Mr. Pruitt, the E.P.A. has quietly said it may cut off a major […]
9/27/2017
ABORTION/BUDGET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Nearly half of the estimated 56 million abortions performed worldwide every year are unsafe and women in poor countries face even higher risks due to U.S. funding cuts to family planning programs abroad, health experts said on Thursday [9-28-17]. U.S. President Donald Trump has reinstated a policy that requires foreign NGOs that […]
9/27/2017
BORDER/BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS/MEXICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “House Republicans on Wednesday [9-27-17] unveiled a plan to provide $10 billion for President Donald Trump’s border wall with Mexico, a bill unlikely to clear the Senate but which could fuel a shutdown fight in December. Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said his panel will vote on the […]
9/18/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “Senate Republicans are considering writing a budget that would allow for up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade, said people familiar with the discussions. Budget talks are continuing and no final decision has been reached yet. A budget that creates fiscal room for a $1.5 trillion tax cut, if adopted, […]
9/18/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/MILITARY: “The Senate on Monday [9-18-17] passed the annual defense policy bill, in a broad show of support for boosting military spending well above the current limits set by law. The measure passed overwhelmingly Monday evening, in an 89-8 vote… Mr. McCain urged lawmakers to support higher military spending not only in the defense policy […]
9/18/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “If Senate Republicans vote to repeal Obamacare before the end of the month, they’ll be flying blind — not knowing the impact their plan will have on insurance coverage or premium costs, budget scorekeepers said Monday [9-18-17]. The Congressional Budget Office will only have a bare-bones assessment of the latest GOP bill ready before […]
9/15/2017
ABORTION/BUDGET/PLANNED PARENTHOOD/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration has taken a series of steps to cut funds for abortion providers and promote conservative reproductive policies, moving toward what supporters and opponents say could be the most antiabortion presidential agenda in recent memory. A high-profile push to withhold federal Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions […]
9/14/2017
BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS: “The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.2 trillion bill to fund most government activities in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, knowing the Senate will disagree with many controversial elements and force a negotiation that could stretch into December. The bill, passed by a 211-198 vote largely along party […]
9/13/2017
BUDGET/NATIONAL DEBT/TREASURY: “The U.S. government ran a $108 billion budget deficit in August ahead of a late September deadline for Congress to raise the federal borrowing limit and authorize new spending to keep the government open. Federal government outlays last month totaled $334 billion, exceeding $226 billion in total receipts, the Treasury Department said Wednesday […]
9/12/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the top Democrat on the panel announced on Tuesday [9-12-17] night that they had reached agreement on a plan to prevent the imminent exhaustion of federal funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The current appropriation runs out at the end of this month, and many […]
9/12/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/NATIONAL DEBT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The hurricane relief and debt deal signed by President Donald Trump last Friday [9-8-17] suspends the government’s borrowing limit through Dec. 8, but the real deadline will likely be next spring, according to analysts and congressional aides, adding a new wrinkle to upcoming negotiations. The new 2018 deadline could align with […]
9/12/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “Defense Secretary James Mattis is warning Congress that a long-term continuing resolution to fund the government will lead to irrecoverable lost training time, delayed ship maintenance and critical personnel gaps. In a letter to defense committee leaders obtained by CNN, Mattis detailed the effects of a continuing resolution, which Congress frequently uses to […]
9/8/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) In accordance with section 114(c) of division D of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 (the “Act”), I […]
9/8/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) In accordance with section 114(c) of division D of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 (the “Act”), I […]
9/8/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Friday [9-8-17] afternoon signed a measure tying emergency funding for hurricane relief with measures that would raise the debt ceiling and keep the government open for three months. The measure was the result of a deal struck between Trump and Democratic leaders, to the consternation of many Republicans. […]
9/8/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “A crucial Republican senator said he could accept a tax-policy framework that would let the GOP cut taxes by about $250 billion over the next decade and possibly hundreds of billions of dollars more, staking out a position that could help shape the party’s planned tax overhaul. Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), a pivotal […]
9/7/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/DEMS/NATIONAL DEBT: “The Senate Thursday [9-7-17] advanced a contentious deal struck between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders that rolled together emergency relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey with a short-term extension of the government’s funding and its borrowing limit. In a 79-18 cloture vote that came together swiftly on Thursday, the Senate ended debate […]
9/6/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/POLITICS: “The House approved the first installment of emergency aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday [9-6-17], but partisan disagreements emerged over a plan to combine it in the Senate with an increase in the federal government’s borrowing limit. U.S. treasury officials have said Congress needs to raise the borrowing limit by the end […]
9/5/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “The U.S. policy makers on taxes known collectively as the ‘Big Six’ gathered Tuesday [9-5-17] with President Donald Trump at the White House—and they have some big decisions to make. Republicans are trying to rewrite significant portions of the tax system by year’s end, giving them little time to agree on policy changes and […]
9/5/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/HOUSE OF REPS/NATIONAL BUDGET: “House Republicans plan to pass a three-month continuing resolution to fund the government this month and will push any fight over President Donald Trump’s border wall until later this year, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday [9-5-17]… Congress needs to pass a temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown […]
9/4/2017
BUDGET/GOP/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congress returns Tuesday [9-5-17] from its summer break and, in a test of the uneasy alliance between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans, will have to grapple with keeping the federal government open, paying U.S. creditors and passing a hurricane-aid bill. The list is long, and the time is short. The Trump […]
9/4/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “A deadline for insurers to file 2018 prices for health insurance sold through Affordable Care Act exchanges arrives Tuesday [9-5-17], but state regulators are still struggling to make decisions about pricing and coverage amid uncertainty in federal health policy. The upshot is confusion in what is typically an orderly, regimented regulatory process for reviewing […]
9/1/2017
BUDGET/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “If Republicans want to try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act with just a simple majority, they only have until the end of September to do it. That’s according to Sen. Bernie Sanders, the ranking member on the Senate’s budget committee. According to Sanders, the Senate parliamentarian declared Friday that the Senate’s 2017 […]
9/1/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TEXAS/TREASURY: “Widespread support on Capitol Hill for Hurricane Harvey relief aid could help ease passage of high-stakes fiscal legislation that Congress must approve in September, lawmakers and analysts say. As Texas and Louisiana began to regroup after the storm’s record rainfalls, both Democrats and Republicans said they hoped to pass emergency relief funding quickly when […]
8/31/2017
BUDGET/CRISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In swamping large swaths of Texas and Louisiana, Hurricane Harvey also forged a new reality for President Trump and the Republicans governing Washington. Gone are the confrontational talk of a government shutdown and the brinkmanship over the debt limit. Instead, both Mr. Trump and his putative allies in Congress — many of […]
8/31/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/HHS/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s administration is cutting nearly $116 million from outreach programs aimed at signing people up for the Affordable Care Act, a move that has cheered the health law’s opponents but inflamed Democrats who fear the administration is undermining it. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to spend $10 […]
8/25/2017
BORDER/BUDGET/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The Pentagon is staring down weeks and possibly months of budget uncertainty that’s shaping up to be the most turbulent budget drama for the military in years. Once again, the US Armed Forces are caught in the middle of a bigger political fight — this time over President Donald Trump’s border wall […]
8/21/2017
BUDGET/INTERIOR: “The Interior Department has ordered a halt to a scientific study begun under President Obama of the public health risks of mountaintop-removal coal mining. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which was conducting the study, said in a statement Monday [8-21-17] that they were ordered to stop work because the Interior Department […]
8/18/2017
2016 ELECTION/BUDGET/VOTING: “Federal money set aside to help states upgrade their voting equipment is running out, at a time when many states are seeking to replace aging machines and further fortify against cyberattacks. While federal funding has gradually diminished, the 2016 fiscal year marked a new low. As of September 2016, states had collectively spent […]
8/18/2017
BUDGET/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Lawmakers and activists are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump’s administration, in its zeal to slash the federal budget, will take the rare step of deliberately not spending all the money Congress gives it — a move sure to trigger legal and political battles. The concern is mainly focused on the […]
8/15/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Premiums for the most popular health insurance plans would shoot up 20 percent next year, and federal budget deficits would increase by $194 billion in the coming decade, if President Trump carried out his threat to end certain subsidies paid to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, the Congressional Budget Office […]
8/10/2017
BUDGET/TREASURY: “The risks of a budget crisis or fiscal mishap in Washington are rising, which could weigh on financial markets in the weeks ahead. Forecasters in The Wall Street Journal’s monthly survey of economists see on average a 22% chance of the government shutting down at the end of next month and a 17% chance […]
8/8/2017
BUDGET/REBUILD OUR HIGHWAYS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s basically the opposite of a major government infrastructure program. Government spending on transportation and other public works is in decline as federal funding stagnates and state and local governments tighten their belts. Such spending equaled 1.4 percent of the nation’s economic output in the second quarter of 2017, the […]
8/2/2017
BUDGET/REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has […]
7/29/2017
BUDGET/GOP: “The very outdated filibuster rule must go. Budget reconciliation is killing R’s in Senate. Mitch M, go to 51 Votes NOW and WIN. IT’S TIME!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, July 29, 2017 06:28am […]
7/26/2017
BUDGET/STEVE MNUNCHIN/TREASURY: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday [7-26-17] his agency’s efforts to conserve cash until Congress raises the federal borrowing limit impose a ‘significant’ cost on taxpayers. Government debt hit the borrowing limit in mid-March, and the Treasury has been using these ‘extraordinary measures’ since then to raise cash to keep paying the government’s […]
7/25/2017
BUDGET/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s administration is moving ahead with a plan to accelerate the rehabilitation of Superfund sites, polluted locations designated by the government for long-term cleanup projects. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Tuesday [7-25-17] signed off on recommendations from a task force that will accelerate cleanup efforts to reduce […]
7/24/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis blasted the Pentagon bureaucracy for ‘cavalier’ spending in light of a recent report that showed as much as $28 million had been wasted in buying uniforms for the Afghan army, according to a memo obtained by USA TODAY. The report found that U.S. military officials have purchased the forest-camouflage […]
7/20/2017
BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Four months after President Trump proposed eliminating the cultural agencies altogether, a bill to continue to finance the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities won approval this week from the House appropriations committee. The House bill, part of the process of thrashing out the […]
7/19/2017
BUDGET/MILITARY/SECRET SERVICE: “The U.S. government is paying more than $130,000 a month to lease space in Trump Tower for the military office that supports the White House, even though Donald Trump hasn’t spent a night at the New York skyscraper since becoming president. The government signed a $2.39 million lease to rent a 3,475 sq. […]
7/18/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “House Republicans unveiled a 2018 budget plan Tuesday [7-18-17] that would pave the way for ambitious tax reform legislation — but only alongside a package of politically sensitive spending cuts that threaten to derail the tax rewrite before it begins. GOP infighting over spending, health care and other matters continues to cast doubt on […]
7/17/2017
BUDGET/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Budget Committee will consider a fiscal 2018 budget resolution Wednesday [7-19-17], marking a crucial but still early step in Republicans’ path to a major tax overhaul. A budget resolution approved by the House and Senate is necessary to trigger the so-called reconciliation rules that would let the GOP pass a […]
7/17/2017
BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS/VOTER FRAUD: “House Republicans are seeking to defund the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the sole federal agency that exclusively works to ensure the voting process is secure, as part of proposed federal budget cuts. The defunding move comes as the EAC is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to examine an attack […]
7/16/2017
BUDGET/CDC: “The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said she will prioritize a wide range of public health issues, from fighting infectious disease to strengthening early-childhood development, as the federal agency faces potentially substantial budget cuts. In an interview at the end of her first week on the job, Brenda Fitzgerald […]
7/14/2017
BUDGET/NATIONAL DEBT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republicans are considering tying a must-pass increase in the federal debt limit to funding for a program that lets military veterans get medical care outside of Veterans Affairs facilities, people familiar with the idea said. The legislative move, still in the early stages of discussion on Capitol Hill, would let Republicans […]
7/14/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/HOUSE OF REPS: “The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of a massive annual defense bill on Friday [7-14-17], leaving out controversial amendments on transgender troops and climate policy but backing President Donald Trump’s desire for a bigger, stronger military. The vote was 344-81 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets […]
7/13/2017
BUDGET/NATIONAL DEBT: “The Congressional Budget Office estimates President Donald Trump’s budget proposal would shrink deficits by nearly a third over the coming decade, but not nearly as much as the White House projects. Under the Trump budget, the federal deficit would total $720 billion by 2027, compared with a $16 billion surplus estimated by the […]
7/13/2017
BUDGET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Early optimism that President Donald Trump would be able to revitalize the U.S. economy is fading as Congress struggles to pass major legislation. Forecasters in The Wall Street Journal’s monthly survey of economists marked down their outlooks for growth, inflation and interest rates this month, a partial reversal of a postelection bump. […]
7/12/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/NATIONAL SECURITY: “The National Defense Authorization Act is a massive $696 billion defense policy bill that covers everything from F-35 fighter jets to Guantanamo Bay to military pay raises. It’s also a prime opportunity for Democrats to try to force politically difficult votes on Republicans dealing with President Donald Trump’s business ties, his family members […]
7/12/2017
BUDGET/GOP: “Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, argued Wednesday [7-12-17] that Congress should build President Trump’s border wall by taking money from Planned Parenthood and federal food stamps. On CNN, King said he supports the $1.6 billion in funding that the House is considering as a start for building the wall. But he said he’d add another […]
7/10/2017
BUDGET/FBI: “The federal government has canceled the search for a new F.B.I. headquarters, ensuring that the nation’s top law enforcement agency will be housed in a crumbling, cramped building in downtown Washington for years to come, according to a senior government official. For more than a decade, the government had been searching for a new […]
7/4/2017
BUDGET/COAST GUARD: “Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, commander of Coast Guard operations in the Pacific Area, has a challenge almost as vast as the ocean he patrols in search of drug traffickers, with responsibilities for an area that is twice the size of the continental United States. The Coast Guard is struggling to keep pace, seizing […]
7/4/2017
BUDGET/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Republican senators are confronting a political challenge that is increasingly hard to ignore as they engage with voters during the July Fourth recess: Under their health-care overhaul, average premiums for a midlevel insurance plan would jump by 20% next January. That means many people who don’t get insurance through work would see their premiums […]
6/30/2017
BUDGET/FOREIGN POLICY/STATE: “A government watchdog on Friday [6-30-17] criticized the State Department and the US Agency for International Development for not adequately tracking the over $30 billion they spend annually on foreign assistance, as the administration seeks dramatic cuts to its foreign aid budget. In a new report, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector […]
6/30/2017
BUDGET/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “President Donald Trump urged U.S. Republican senators on Friday to repeal Obamacare immediately if they cannot agree on a new healthcare plan to take its place. Struggling to get consensus in the party, Republican leaders have set Friday [6-30-17] as the goal for working out changes to Senate legislation that would repeal extensive parts […]
6/29/2017
BUDGET/TREASURY: “The government could run out of cash to pay its bills in early to mid-October, unless Congress raises the federal borrowing limit, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office released Thursday [6-29-17]. The Treasury Department has been using cash-conservation measures to continue meeting the government’s obligations since mid-March, when federal debt […]
6/28/2017
BUDGET/IMMIGRATION/SANCTUARY CITIES: “At stake is what amounts to a blip in the city budget. But for officials in New York, as in several other cities with large immigrant populations, it is about the principle more than the federal money they stand to lose for their so-called sanctuary city policies. On Wednesday, the office of Mayor […]
6/27/2017
BUDGET/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will delay the vote on the Republican leadership’s health care bill until after the July 4 recess. McConnell told GOP senators that he wants to make changes to the bill, get a new Congressional Budget Office score and have a vote after the holiday, two sources told CNN. McConnell […]
6/26/2017
BUDGET/GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “In dry, stark language, the Congressional Budget Office on Monday [6-26-17] punctured many of the stated goals for the Republican health care bill. The budget analysis gave Republican senators just a few happy talking points. It found that average insurance premiums would be lower in 2020 than they are today. The bill would reduce […]
6/26/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “The Senate bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act would increase the number of people without health insurance by 22 million by 2026, a figure that is only slightly lower than the 23 million more uninsured that the House version would create, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Monday [6-26-17]. Next year, 15 million […]
6/21/2017
BUDGET/INTERIOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/RYAN ZINKE: “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Tuesday [6-20-17] defended the $1.6 billion in funding cuts that President Trump has proposed for his department, telling a Senate hearing that ‘this is what a balanced budget looks like.’ But Democrats on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources took issue with the $400 million that […]
6/20/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “A growing rift among Senate Republicans over federal spending on Medicaid and the opioid epidemic is imperiling legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act that Senate leaders are trying to put to a vote by the end of next week. President Trump had urged Republican senators to write a more generous bill than a […]
6/20/2017
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration made contested payments to health insurers for the month of June, removing the possibility of an abrupt cutoff just as many insurers make decisions about coverage under the Affordable Care Act in 2018. The fate of ‘cost-sharing reduction’ payments, which reimburse health plans for lowering copays and deductibles for […]
6/13/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will defend the Trump administration’s proposal to cut almost one third of the State Department budget in the face of tough questioning from lawmakers on Tuesday and Wednesday [6-14-17]. Mr. Tillerson’s congressional appearances, beginning Tuesday morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be the first time he […]
6/6/2017
BUDGET/LOBBYING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A proposal in President Donald Trump’s budget to eliminate a regulator and cut government spending is drawing criticism from an unexpected source: Washington’s business lobby. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is expected to outline the administration’s plans for reducing spending at the agency at a budget hearing Wednesday [6-7-17]. One proposal put forth […]
6/4/2017
BUDGET/MILITARY/NUCLEAR: “When President Barack Obama’s term ended in January, he left a momentous decision to the Trump administration: whether to continue a 30-year, $1 trillion program to remake America’s atomic weapons, as well as its bombers, submarines and land-based missiles. Mr. Trump has pledged to overhaul the arsenal, which he has called obsolete. But his […]
5/30/2017
BUDGET/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s vow to massively rebuild the US armed forces comes with an interesting wrinkle in his first budget request: a call to close military bases. Trump’s Pentagon is asking for a new commission to study closing or revamping bases in its budget request, as the Defense Department says it has […]
5/24/2017
BUDGET/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE MNUCHIN: “Trump administration officials, testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday [5-23-17] on their 10-year budget plans, pointed to a more pressing fiscal problem: They could run out of room to pay the government’s bills within the next few months. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked Congress to raise the debt limit—which risks shutting […]