Federal Budget

Budget Battles

  • Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) arrives at Democratic Party caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ File Photo

    Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

    By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...

  • FILE PHOTO - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin listens as U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a tax reform industry meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Trump Tries to Sell Tax Reform to Democrats

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump intensified his efforts to sell Democrats on his tax reform plan on Wednesday even as Senate Republicans edged closer to passing a budget measure that...

  • U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Senate Republicans Gain Crucial Support for Budget Vital to Tax Reform

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday gained crucial support for a vote on a budget resolution that is vital to President Donald Trump's hopes of signing sweeping tax reform...

  • FILE PHOTO: Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

    No Talk of Ousting Speaker Ryan, Key Conservative Says

    By Reuters

    Many Republicans are unhappy with the deal President Donald Trump reached last week with Democratic leaders to raise the government's debt ceiling and allow it to continue financing federal spending...

  • FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building is lit at sunset in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

    Congress sends Trump disaster aid, debt limit increase

    By Richard Cowan and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to provide disaster aid, extend the debt ceiling and fund the federal government for three months on Friday, delivering on...

  • Why Obama Wants to Dismiss the AT&T Antitrust Case

    By Kirk Victor, The Fiscal Times

    At first the Justice Department’s challenge to AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile looked like a renaissance of antitrust activism in the Obama administration. But the law suit has quickly...

  • Super Committee Running in Circles

    By Lori Montgomery Wp and PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

    With a Thanksgiving deadline fast approaching, a powerful congressional panel devoted to debt reduction is running in rhetorical circles, unable to break the impasse over taxes that has long blocked...

  • War-Gaming the Defense Budget as Deadline Nears

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    The military is preparing for a permanent presence in Afghanistan, which experts say could total as many as 20,000 to 30,000 troops after 2014. With Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and both sides on...

  • IRS: Budget Cuts Would Hurt Service, Raise Deficit

    By ALAN FRAM

    The Internal Revenue Service is warning that cuts Congress has proposed in the agency's budget would mean worse service to taxpayers and would cost the government $4 billion a year in lost revenue...

  • Medical Funding at Risk if Super Committee Fails

    By MARILYN WERBER SERAFINI and Mary Agnes Carey, Kaiser Health News

    Federal funding for medical research, disease prevention and a host of public health initiatives could be sharply reduced if the congressional Super Committee fails to agree on a deficit-reduction...