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...

  • Congress Lurches Towards Another Shutdown Threat

    By ROSALIND S. HELDERMAN and PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

    Washington lurched toward another potential government shutdown crisis Friday, as the House approved a Republican-authored short-term funding measure designed to keep government running through Nov...

  • Will 'Super Committee' Resort to 'Dynamic Scoring'

    By Lori Montgomery Wp, The Washington Post

    Warring Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have little hope of drafting an ambitious plan to tame the national debt by Thanksgiving unless they can agree on an approach to rewriting the tax...

  • A Purple Plan for the Red and Blue Super Committee

    By Laurence Kotlikoff, The Fiscal Times

    Dear Super Committee members, You are six senators and six congressmen. Half are blue Democrats and half red Republicans. You know why you’re here. This summer’s debt-ceiling fight is still on. You’...

  • Fed Bashers: Take A Lesson from Milton Friedman

    By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

    On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced new measures to stimulate the economy . The stock market was not impressed and has fallen subsequently. Analysts point mainly to continuing debt problems in...

  • House GOP Disarray Again Raises Specter of Shutdown

    By ROSALIND S. HELDERMAN and PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

    The surprise defeat in the House Wednesday of a special funding measure to keep the federal government functioning past Sept. 30 was a sharp rebuke of the GOP leadership that controls the chamber and...