Budget Battles
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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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Top CEOs Call for Covid Relief, Mask Mandate
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Biden Warns 'More People May Die' if Trump Refuses to Coordinate
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Trump Touts Covid Response as Cases Surge to New Highs
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With Trump on Sidelines, It's Now Pelosi vs. McConnell on Stimulus
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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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Mnuchin Asks Fed to Return $455 Billion in Unspent Covid-Relief Funds
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday asked the Federal Reserve to allow a number of its emergency lending programs to expire as scheduled at the end of the year and return hundreds of...
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White House Seeks Deal on Confederate Base Names: Report
By Michael RaineyLawmakers are hoping to pass the annual defense authorization bill before the end of the year, but a provision that requires the Pentagon to remove the names of Confederate leaders from military...
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250,000 Dead. Where Are Trump and Congress?
President Trump had no public events scheduled for Wednesday. It was the same on Tuesday, when The Washington Post’s Philip Bump noted that the president’s public calendar has been empty for 10 of...
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12 Million Americans Could Fall Off the ‘Jobless Benefits Cliff’: Report
By Michael RaineyAbout 12 million Americans will lose federal unemployment benefits at the end of the year if Congress fails to pass new legislation, according to a new report from the liberal-leaning Century...
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Pentagon Fails Another Audit
By The Fiscal Times StaffThe U.S. Department of Defense failed its third-ever audit, officials said Monday, and it may be years before the Pentagon can achieve a clean report. Thomas Harker, the acting comptroller, said...
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Talks to Keep the Government Open Advance, but No Signs of a Stimulus Deal
By Michael RaineyCongressional staffers are making progress in talks over an omnibus funding package for the federal government ahead of a December 11 deadline, Politico reported Tuesday. Appropriators are working on...
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Biden Calls on Congress to Quickly Pass Large Coronavirus Stimulus Bill
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to quickly pass a major coronavirus-relief bill along the lines of the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act passed by the Democratic-led House in May. “We’...
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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,...
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Trump Approves $1.8 Trillion Stimulus Offer to Pelosi
He calls her a “nut job.” She questions his mental health. Together, they have to work out a roughly $2 trillion package to rescue the economy. It might sound like a pitch for the worst rom-com ever...
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Cost of Interest on National Debt Falls Despite Surging Deficit: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe federal government estimates that it has paid billions of dollars less in interest on the national debt in the 2020 fiscal year, despite an increase in the size of the national debt on an annual...
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Layoffs Keep Coming With Jobless Claims at ‘Staggeringly High’ Levels
By Michael RaineyAbout 840,000 people filed for state unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department announced Thursday, a small decline from the week before but 20,000 more than analysts had expected. Another...
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Pelosi Plays Hardball as Coronavirus Stimulus Talks Resume
You could get whiplash following the talks on a coronavirus relief package. Just two days after President Trump said he instructed his representatives to halt negotiations , the talks are apparently...