Budget Battles
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Yellen Tells Congress to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
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Trump's Legacy: $7.8 Trillion Rise in Debt
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Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’
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Trump Impeached Again: What's Next?
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America’s Infrastructure Gap Will Hit $5.6 Trillion: Report
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Trump Impeachment Could Delay Biden Stimulus
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Biden Calls for Trillions More in Covid Relief
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Biden Signs 17 Executive Actions on Day 1, With Promise of More to Come
President Biden signed a flurry of executive orders just hours after taking the oath of office on Wednesday, hastening to enact his agenda to address the coronavirus pandemic and to reverse Trump...
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Yellen Tells Congress It’s Time to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
Incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged Congress to “act big” and deliver more relief to the pandemic-ravaged economy. As she sought to build support for the $1.9 trillion rescue...
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Poll of the Day: About Those $600 Checks
By Michael RaineyMost Americans say the coronavirus stimulus money currently being disbursed by the U.S. Treasury won’t last more than a few weeks, according to a new survey from the personal finance website Bankrate...
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Why Biden’s Ambitious Covid Relief Plan Could Get Cut in Half
By Michael Rainey and Yuval RosenbergPresident-elect Joe Biden’s plan to “rescue” the American economy proposes $1.9 trillion in federal spending to fund a national vaccine program, boost unemployment benefits, provide additional direct...
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Orszag, Rubin and Stiglitz Call for a New Fiscal Framework
The consensus on the dangers of rising debt has shifted dramatically over the last decade. Economists have been reexamining how best to spur recovery and encourage wider-spread prosperity as...
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Biden Unveils $1.9 Trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’
President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled an economic relief package that calls for $1.9 trillion in aid, including money for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans as well as $350 billion in...
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Unemployment Claims Surge Along With the Coronavirus
By Michael RaineyAbout 965,000 people filed initial jobless claims in state unemployment systems last week, the Department of Labor announced Thursday. The new filings far exceeded economists’ expectations,...
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Democrats Plan a Major End Run Around the GOP
By Michael RaineyYou’ll probably be hearing a lot about “budget reconciliation” in the coming weeks, as Democrats work to pass a substantial spending package in the early days of the Biden administration. The term...
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America’s Infrastructure Gap to Hit $5.6 Trillion by 2039: Report
The gap between America’s projected infrastructure investment needs and its likely spending on those needs is projected to top $2.6 trillion by 2029 and more than $5.6 trillion by 2039, according to...
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Trump Administration Hands Republicans a Big Win on Medicaid Funding
By Michael RaineyThe Trump administration delivered a long-sought victory to Republicans late last week by approving a request from Tennessee to receive Medicaid funding as a block grant. As part of a 10-year “...
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Biden’s Agenda Gets a Boost With Democratic Control in Washington
By Michael RaineyThe Democratic sweep of the runoff Senate elections in Georgia may not have gotten as much coverage as the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob Wednesday, but the results will have a powerful...
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Poll of the Day: 75% of Voters Say $600 Stimulus Is Too Little
Would you rather have $600 or $2,000? If that question seems like a no-brainer, you won’t be surprised by the results of a new Hill-HarrisX poll that found that 75% of registered voters surveyed said...
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2021 Deficit On Track to Total $2.3 Trillion: Budget Watchdog
The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2021 is on track to total $2.3 trillion, or 10.4% of gross domestic product, lower than the record $3.1 trillion deficit last year but higher than any other...
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Biden’s Covid Czar: We’ll Need Billions More to Fight Pandemic
By Michael RaineyPresident-elect Joe Biden has promised a more robust federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a set of ambitious goals that include delivering 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days...
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Unemployment Scams: ‘Largest Fraud Attack on the U.S. Ever’
By Michael RaineyAt least 10% of the $360 billion Congress provided for unemployment benefits in the Cares Act has been distributed improperly, mostly due to fraud, according to a preliminary analysis by the Office...