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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Debating the Debt: Biden’s Team Reflects a Big Shift
Debates about the national debt and federal budget deficit dominated political and policy clashes throughout the Obama administration, but largely disappeared during President Trump’s time in 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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Why Big Deficits Are Here to Stay (for Now)
By Michael RaineyFrom billions in income supplements for households to trillions in guaranteed loans for businesses, fiscal policy has taken a central role in the government’s response to the Covid recession...
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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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Deficit Tops $3 Trillion in 2020: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe federal budget deficit rose to a record-breaking $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020, according to estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office Thursday. Even before the coronavirus crisis...
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Both Trump and Biden Plans Would Push Debt Higher: CRFB
By The Fiscal Times StaffEach set of proposals laid out in the campaigns of President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden would increase the national debt by about $5 trillion over a decade, according to a new analysis...
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‘Doomed to Fail’: Why a $4 Trillion Bailout May Not Be Enough
By Michael RaineyThe roughly $4 trillion spent in response to the coronavirus pandemic has become the costliest economic rescue effort in U.S. history, surpassing even the staggering cost of 18 years of war in...
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Debt Will Nearly Double by 2050: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe national debt will increase to about twice the size of the economy over the next 30 years, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday in its latest long-term budget outlook . Currently equal to...
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Pandemic Legislation Will Boost GDP by 4.7% This Year: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe four major laws passed by Congress to address the coronavirus pandemic will boost real domestic gross product by 4.7% in 2020 and 3.1% in 2021, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday. The “...
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Biden’s Tax Plan: Who Really Would Pay More?
Joe Biden’s tax plan would have high earners paying significantly more, with the top 1% of households shouldering 80% of the increase while those earning less than $400 would see no change on average...
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What's in the GOP's New Coronavirus Relief Plan?
Congress is back in Washington this week and getting down to the difficult task of negotiating the next, and potentially final, coronavirus relief package. The parties are far apart, with House...
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Bernanke and Yellen Urge Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits
Former Federal Reserve chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen urged lawmakers not to let enhanced unemployment benefits expire this month and to set aside deficit concerns for now to deliver the...
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Deficit Soared to $863 Billion in June, Nearly Matching 2019 Total: CBO
The federal budget deficit in June totaled $863 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimated this week. That’s up from $8 billion in the same month last year and nearly matches the fiscal gap...
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Trump Admin, Republicans Eye Narrower Coronavirus Relief Package
As Congress prepares to put together a new coronavirus relief bill, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are looking to deliver aid more narrowly and limit the overall cost of the...
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Deficits Could Average $2 Trillion a Year Over the Next Decade: Report
By Michael RaineyThe massive fiscal response to the coronavirus crisis will play a big role in driving federal deficits to an average of $2 trillion a year for the next 10 years, according to new projections from the...