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...

  • What 50-Somethings Fear Most about Money

    By KATHLEEN KINGSBURY, Reuters

    Workers 45 and older make up a disproportionate share of the long-term unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and they have a hard time finding affordable health insurance...

  • Federal Tax Dodgers Are New Target of House Bill

    By Joe Davidson, The Washington Post

    During a period when federal employees face a third year of the freeze on their basic pay rates and furloughs that could swipe up to 20 percent of their pay, a House committee is going after the tiny...

  • House approves funding bill to avert government shutdown

    House approves funding bill to avert government shutdown

    By Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a Senate-passed bill to avert a government shutdown next week that also provides the military and some domestic agencies more...

  • Italy parties split as president seeks way out of stalemate

    Italy parties split as president seeks way out of stalemate

    By James Mackenzie, Reuters

    ROME (Reuters) - Italy's divided political parties remained far apart on Thursday as President Giorgio Napolitano tried to form a government after last month's deadlocked election left no group with...

  • Oh No! Another Costly Commission on Social Security

    By Eric Pianin

    For decades, Washington has addressed its most intractable policy deadlocks by appointing blue-ribbon commissions to try to resolve the differences – and almost always with the same disappointing...