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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Airlines Get $15 Billion in Aid — or $500,000 for Each Rehired Worker
By Michael RaineyThe new Covid-19 relief package will give U.S. airlines $15 billion, with the money intended to be used to bring about 32,000 workers back onto payrolls. But the airline business is in terrible shape...
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Biden Promises to Pursue Another Big Stimulus, Including Checks
President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday praised Congress for passing the relief bill, but he said the package is “far from perfect” and reiterated that he sees it as just a “down payment” on an...
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Too Little, Too Late? Covid Relief Bill Meets Its Critics
As expected, the House and Senate both passed the $900 billion coronavirus relief package and a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill on Monday night. The House approved the measures by a 359-53 vote...
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Congress Set to Pass $900 Billion Covid Relief Deal and $1.4 Trillion Spending Package
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael RaineyMore help, at long last, is on the way. After months of partisan gridlock and inaction — even as hundreds of thousands of Americans were dying due to Covid-19 and millions more were falling into...
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Covid Relief Talks Hit Another Snag
By Michael Rainey and Yuval RosenbergCongress is cutting it close as lawmakers scramble to avoid a government shutdown just after midnight. The House on Friday evening passed a two-day stopgap measure that would prevent government...