Budget

Why a Shutdown Really Could Happen Right Before Christmas

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday to resume negotiations over funding for a border wall with Mexico. The talks will set the stage...
Trump Suddenly Wants Billions More for Defense: Report

By Michael Rainey

President Trump will request $750 billion for the next Pentagon budget, reversing course on possible defense cuts he discussed just a few weeks ago, Politico’s Wesley Morgan reported Sunday. Top...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

More than 50 House members chose not to seek re-election in 2018, and a new report from nonprofit groups Issue One and the R Street Institute examines what drove so many to that decision. The report...
Larry Kudlow Still Insists Tax Cuts Will Pay for Themselves, Deficits Will Fall 'a Lot'

By Yuval Rosenberg

Isn’t it time to admit that the tax cuts are not going to pay for themselves? Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, was asked that question Friday morning on CNBC...
How Much Would a Federal Jobs Guarantee Cost?

By Michael Rainey

One of the more provocative ideas being kicked around on the progressive left these days is a federal jobs guarantee. Proponents say that too many American workers have been left behind in an...

Shutdown Watch: Congress Passes Stopgap Deal, Postponing Wall Fight

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House and Senate on Thursday passed a two-week extension of government funding via voice votes, pushing the deadline in the ongoing fight over money for President Trump’s border wall until...
Shutdown Watch: Will Trump Play the Grinch This Christmas?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Lawmakers agreed on Monday to a two-week extension of government funding, pushing off the deadline for a partial government shutdown and an ongoing fight over money for President Trump’s proposed...
No, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a $21 Trillion Pentagon Accounting Error Can’t Pay for Medicare for All

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Newly elected representative and social media lightning rod Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sparked a round of controversy this weekend when she compared the potential cost of Medicare for All to the...
Congress Nears Deal Pushing Shutdown Deadline to Just Before Christmas

By Michael Rainey

Congress and the White House are working on a deal for a two-week extension of government funding that would push the deadline for a fight over a possible government shutdown and money for President...
Trump, After Boosting Military Budget, Calls It ‘Crazy!’

By Yuval Rosenberg

Although he has repeatedly hailed the deal he made earlier this year to increase spending on what he called a “depleted” military, President Trump on Monday declared on Twitter that U.S. defense...

How Much Climate Change Will Cost the US Economy

By Michael Rainey

The White House released the second volume of the “Fourth National Climate Assessment” last Friday, on a day when much of the country was out shopping or home recovering from the Thanksgiving holiday...
After Thanksgiving, Battle Over Trump's Border Wall Looms

By Yuval Rosenberg

Make the most of your Thanksgiving because the political atmosphere in Washington after the holiday is likely to be more strained than any family political discussion over turkey and trimmings...
Trump’s Child Separation Policy Has Cost $80 Million So Far

By Michael Rainey

The U.S. has spent about $80 million to care for children separated from their parents at the border with Mexico, The Hill reported Tuesday. The child separations occurred in the wake of the Trump...
What Will a Divided Congress Do About the Defense Budget?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Bloomberg’s editorial board weighs in on last week’s bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission report warning Congress that America’s military superiority has eroded to such an extent that the...
Medicare Improper Payments Fall to Lowest Since 2010

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Improper payments by Medicare in fiscal 2018 dropped to their lowest rate since 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Friday in a report flagged by Modern Healthcare . CMS...