Budget

Cost of Wars Since 9/11: $6.4 Trillion and Rising

By Michael Rainey

The total cost of the wars fought since 9/11 is approaching $6.4 trillion, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown...
Fed Chief: Get the Deficit Under Control While the Economy Is Still Strong

By Michael Rainey

Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell told lawmakers Wednesday that Congress needs to get the deficit under control while the economy is still growing and the outlook remains positive. Failing to do so...
Congress Plans Stopgap Spending Bill Through December 20

By Yuval Rosenberg

Mark December 20 on your calendar. Congress plans to pass a second stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through that date, House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) told...
Verma Attacks Critics of Medicaid Work Requirement, Pushes for Tighter Eligibility

By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, Tuesday sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing...
Elizabeth Warren Says Americans Will Spend $11 Trillion on Health Care. Is That True?

By Michael Rainey

Elizabeth Warren says that Americans will spend “about $11 trillion on insurance premiums, copays, deductibles and uncovered medical expenses” over the next 10 years if the current health care system...

Mark Sanford Ends 2020 Presidential Bid Challenging Trump

By Yuval Rosenberg

Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford suspended his longshot presidential bid on Tuesday, 65 days after he announced he would challenge President Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. A fiscal...
A Third Round of Farm Bailouts?

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump’s trade wars are hurting U.S. farmers, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is working to keep them from getting more frustrated even as he promotes President Trump’s agenda, The...
A Dam Big Problem

By Yuval Rosenberg

A more than two-year-long investigation by the Associated Press has identified 1,688 dams across 44 states and Puerto Rico that are in poor or unsatisfactory condition and could result in life-...
Sanders, Buttigieg Release Plans for Veterans Affairs

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Bernie Sanders unveiled on Monday a proposal to expand services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among numerous policy details in the proposal, Sanders said he would: Fill 50,000...
Congress Wants to Push Shutdown Deadline into December

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House will vote the week of November 18 on a short-term spending bill intended to avert a government shutdown later that week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in a letter to...

New Rules for 401(k)s Are Still on the Table

By Michael Rainey

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R-TX) said Wednesday that Republicans are still looking at possible changes in the tax rules for retirement accounts, suggesting he was open to...
Bipartisan Plan to Stabilize Obamacare Would Reduce the Deficit: CBO

By Michael Rainey

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) to stabilize the Obamacare markets would reduce the deficit by $3.8...
House Conservatives Get Ready to Swallow a ‘Crap Sandwich’ for the Sake of Tax Cuts

By Yuval Rosenberg

House Republicans are set to vote Thursday for a Senate budget that allows up to $1.5 trillion to be added to the $20 trillion national debt and does not include provisions from a previously passed...
Climate Change Is Costing the US Billions

By Michael Rainey

Climate change is already running up big bills for taxpayers, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Over the last decade, “extreme weather and fire events have cost the...
Why $1 Trillion Deficits Will Soon Be the New Normal

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Treasury Department announced Friday that the federal budget deficit totaled $666 billion in fiscal 2017, up $80 billion from 2016 — and the outlook for annual deficits is only getting worse...