Budget Battles
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Senators Float $908 Billion Stimulus Compromise
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What Biden’s New Economic Team Says About His Agenda
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What Biden’s Pick of Yellen Means for the Economy and Stimulus
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Trump Threatens Veto of Defense Bill
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Virus Surge Could Wallop the Economy Again
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Mnuchin Pulls Plug on Emergency Covid-Relief Programs
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250,000 Dead. Where Are Trump, Pelosi and McConnell?
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Centrist Senators Float $908 Billion Stimulus Deal
By Michael RaineyIn an effort to break the stalemate over the next coronavirus relief bill, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday released the outline of an emergency spending package totaling $908 billion...
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Long Agenda, Little Time in Washington
By Michael RaineyLame-duck lawmakers returned to Washington this week with some major issues on their plate but just a few legislative days left to address them. Most pressingly, a short-term agreement to fund the...
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What Biden’s New Economic Team Signals About His Agenda
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his picks for top members of his economic team, with choices that signal a strong focus on providing relief for a Covid-stricken economy and help for the...
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What Biden’s Pick of Yellen for Treasury Means for the Economy and Stimulus
Janet Yellen has had a long and distinguished career as an economist, from the halls of academia to the White House to the Federal Reserve. Her next job, as Neil Irwin suggests at The Upshot , may be...
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Trump Threatens to Veto Defense Bill
By Michael RaineyDespite reports last week that the White House was looking to make a deal on the issue, President Donald Trump is threatening to veto the National Defense Authorization Act if it includes a provision...
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Most Americans Say the Country Needs More Covid Aid
By Michael RaineyA substantial majority of Americans think more Covid-19 aid from the federal government is needed, according to new poll data from Pew Research. In a survey of U.S. adults conducted from November 12...
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Biden Backs Pelosi on Massive Stimulus Bill as Former Treasury Heads Call for More Aid
By Michael RaineyJoe Biden is backing House Democrats in their effort to negotiate a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill, according to a Biden representative Monday. “The President-elect fully supports the...
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Mnuchin Defends Decision to End Emergency Lending Programs
By Michael RaineyTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday defended his decision to terminate more than $450 billion worth of emergency lending programs that extended credit to businesses and local governments amid...
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Virus Surge Could Wallop the Economy Again
By Michael RaineyAnalysts at JPMorgan Chase are predicting an economic contraction in the first quarter of 2021, driven by the fall surge of Covid-19 and new restrictions on businesses imposed by state and local...
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Op-Ed of the Day: The Case for Bailing Out Cities and States
Richard Ravitch helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s. He says there’s plenty of reason to now bail out cities and states facing financial crises as a result of the coronavirus...
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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...