Budget Battles
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Pelosi, Mnuchin Point Fingers as Stimulus Talks Stall
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GOP Worries Mnuchin Is Giving Away Too Much
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Pelosi Says Help Is On the Way, but When?
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McConnell Warns Trump Against Pre-Election Stimulus Deal
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Pelosi Sets Deadline for Stimulus Deal
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US Deficit Soars to $3.1 Trillion
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McConnell Rejects Trump’s Call for Bigger Stimulus
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If the Recovery Is Self-Sustaining, Do We Need More Stimulus?
By Michael RaineyAs lawmakers continue to battle over the size and scope of the next coronavirus relief bill, some experts are wondering just how much help the economy really needs. While the White House continues to...
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Pelosi, Mnuchin Point Fingers as Coronavirus Stimulus Talks Stall
Satirical newspaper The Onion published a story Friday saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had announced they would be meeting to put the final touches on a 1...
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Jobless Claims Drop, but Remain Historically High
By Michael RaineyAbout 787,000 people filed initial jobless claims in state unemployment programs last week, the Labor Department announced Thursday, a drop of 55,000 from the week before and well below analysts’...
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GOP Worries Mnuchin Is Giving Away Too Much
By Michael RaineyHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said negotiators were “just about there” on the issue of funding testing and tracing programs for the coronavirus, a key provision in the relief bill she is trying...
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OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty, Will Pay $8.3 Billion
By Michael RaineyPurdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for its role in creating the opioid crisis, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The OxyContin maker will pay $8.3 billion...
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Trump’s Drug Discount Cards for Seniors Get Pushed Back
By Michael RaineyThe Trump administration plans to send $200 discount cards for prescription drugs to more than 30 million Medicare beneficiaries, but the White House is abandoning an effort to have them shipped out...
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Trump’s Farm Bailout Pumped $21 Billion Into GOP Counties
By Michael RaineyMore than 90% of the money disbursed by a program that compensates American farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs during President Trump’s trade war with China was sent to counties that voted...
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Pelosi Says Help Is On the Way, but When?
Help is on the way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, referring to the coronavirus relief package she’s been negotiating with the White House. But she...
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Two New Polls Find Trouble for Trump on the Economy
As the Trump administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) scramble to see if they can reach a roughly $2 trillion stimulus deal — while Senate Republicans look to vote on a smaller, $500...
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McConnell Warns White House Against Pre-Election Stimulus Deal: Report
By Michael RaineyHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Tuesday that lawmakers are moving ahead with a draft of a new coronavirus stimulus bill, despite a lack of agreement on some key provisions. Yet even as Pelosi...
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McConnell Shoots Down Trump’s Call for Bigger Stimulus
President Trump said Thursday he’d agree to a coronavirus relief package larger than the $1.8 trillion his administration offered last week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly shot...
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Mnuchin: Relief Bill Will Be ‘Difficult’ Before Election
In case it wasn’t already clear that a new coronavirus relief bill probably isn’t coming before the election, just take a look at what Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been negotiating the...
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Why Big Deficits Are Here to Stay (for Now)
By Michael RaineyFrom billions in income supplements for households to trillions in guaranteed loans for businesses, fiscal policy has taken a central role in the government’s response to the Covid recession...
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McConnell Plans Vote on Narrow Relief Package. Trump Says, ‘Go Big or Go Home!!!’
As the stalemate over another coronavirus relief package continues, these three things all happened on Tuesday: • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Senate will take up...
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Trump Faces a GOP Revolt Over Stimulus
The faint hopes that were raised last week for another coronavirus relief package faded very quickly, as congressional Republicans and Democrats both rejected a $1.8 trillion White House proposal,...