Congress

One More Try? Why Obamacare Repeal Is on the Horizon Again

By Rob Garver

The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which many assumed was dead or at least in a state of suspended animation for the foreseeable future, may be showing some stirring of life...
Trump Takes on a Powerful Leader, but This Time It’s on Capitol Hill

By Rob Garver

President Trump was obviously angry. The target of his ire was a man who has been aggravating him for a long time by ignoring his demands, refusing to work through the president’s chosen...
Heads Up: Health Care Is Still in Trouble

By Rob Garver

The issue of the US health insurance system was taken off the front burner with the evident failure of the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But while it may not be in...
Here’s How Trump Could Get Democrats’ Help on Tax Reform

By Rob Garver

The Trump administration has been reaching out to ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats to talk about possible areas of agreement on tax reform.
Congress Is Constructing a Wall, All Right. But It’s Built Around Trump

By Rob Garver

Like a body’s immune system trying to wall off an abscess, the institutions of the federal government seem to be coming together to block, or at least limit, the influence of the president on the...

The US Spends Billions on Cybersecurity — but No One Is Sure Exactly How Much

By Eric Pianin

There is no universally accepted definition of what cybersecurity actually means. Moreover, the public and even lawmakers don’t have a clue as to how much the government is actually spending overall...
How Could the VA Make $5.5 Billion in Improper Payments Last Year?

By Eric Pianin

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has been on a tear recently in going after government fraud and waste. The ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and a former state auditor in...
Congress Just Handed Trump Bragging Rights on Expanded GI Education Benefits

By Eric Pianin

For a chief executive preparing to leave town on a 17-day summer vacation after suffering a humiliating setback on health care reform, President Trump will be able to claim some bragging rights when...
Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling

By Rob Garver

When it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
Why Republicans Are Going It Alone on Tax Cuts

By Eric Pianin

Republicans made it clear on Tuesday that despite their debacle in pressing for health care reform without any Democratic assistance, they would again go their own way in drafting and passing major...

GOP Budget: Draconian or Not Draconian Enough?

By Adam Corey Ross, The Fiscal Times

Reaction to the House Republicans pledge to cut more than $32 billion out of agency budgets over the next few months spilled out from both parties Friday. Democrats called the plan draconian, while...
Economists Disagree on Debt Risk Solutions

By Michelle Hirsch, The Fiscal Times

At Thursday’s Senate Budget Committee hearing, one economist called for deep spending cuts while the other suggested cuts would be counterintuitive to the Bush-era tax cut extension signed into law...
A Budget Deal That Did Reduce the Deficit

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

Republican dogma now says that budget deals never reduce budget deficits, but the the 1990 budget deal not only reduced the deficit but gave rise to later budget surpluses.
Budget Battles Begin, Obama to Fire the First Shot

By Elaine S. Povich, The Fiscal Times

President Obama will unveil his new budget next month, including another call for a spending freeze and cuts in defense. But Congress, as always, gets last licks.
The $41,000 Toilet: Wastebook Fact or Fiction?

By Michelle Hirsch, The Fiscal Times

Senator Tom Coburn’s annual “Wastebook” has offered a valuable snapshot of government spending on projects that many feel are not worthy. But the 2010 analysis draws some questionable conclusions.

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