Budget Battles
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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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Dems Pledge $2,000 Checks as Biden Agenda Gets a Boost
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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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Trump Impeachment Could Delay Biden Stimulus
By Michael RaineyPresident-elect Joe Biden’s plan to pass a multi-trillion-dollar stimulus package in the early days of his administration could get caught up with the looming impeachment of President Trump. House...
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Paycheck Protection Program Restarts
The Paycheck Protection Program reopened on Monday with $284 billion in funding authorized under the coronavirus relief package passed last month and revamped rules meant to get forgivable loans to...
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Deficit Hits $572 Billion for First Three Months of Fiscal 2021: CBO
The federal budget deficit for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 totaled $572 billion, up $215 billion from the same period a year earlier, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday...
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Trump’s Risky Plan to Get $8 Billion for His Wall
He really did it. President Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in an attempt to bypass Congress and redirect existing funds toward construction of his promised wall along the southern...
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Trump on the $22 Trillion National Debt: 'Growth Will Straighten It Out'
By Michael RaineyPresident Trump was asked at his wide-ranging press conference Friday about the roughly $2 trillion increase in public debt during the first two years of his administration: Question: Let me also ask...
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The Great Debt Debate: How Dangerous Is It?
By Michael RaineyMIT economist Olivier Blanchard caused a stir in fiscal circles last month with an academic paper suggesting that current levels of public debt may be less worrisome than many experts think (see our...
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Trump to Sign Border Deal — and Declare a National Emergency, Too
Roses are red, Violets are blue, President Trump will sign the spending deal and declare a national emergency too. OK, it’s not the most romantic of gestures, but you could call it a Valentine’s Day...
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Trump’s Exploding Deficit
By The Fiscal Times StaffFederal tax revenues fell by 0.4 percent to $3.33 trillion in 2018, the first year under the new tax law, The Treasury Department said Wednesday. The drop in revenues, combined with a 4.4 percent...