Federal Budget
  • 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...

  • OMB’s Fiscal Tricks Can Delay a ‘Cliff’ Recession

    With time running out for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, federal agencies are bracing for deep automatic spending cuts in defense and domestic programs next month that many experts say could help...

  • Can Budget Crisis Talks Get Back on Track?

    By Richard Cowan and Mark Felsenthal, Reuters

    Efforts to prevent the U.S. economy from going over a "fiscal cliff" stirred back to life Wednesday with less than a week to go before potentially disastrous tax hikes and spending cuts kick in at...

  • Government About to Hit $16.4 Trillion Debt Limit

    By Zachary A Goldfarb, The Washington Post

    The U.S. government will hit the $16.4 trillion federal debt limit on Monday and turn to “extraordinary measures” to continue borrowing, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, beginning a countdown...

  • Money Moves to Make Before the Year-End Cliff

    By Linda Stern, Reuters

    By now, we thought the path forward would be clear and the usual six-day flurry of tax-focused check writing and income-shifting could commence. But we're still in wait-and-see mode when it comes to...

  • Why Democrats Now Support Most of the Bush Tax Cuts

    By Zachary A Goldfarb, The Washington Post

    Democrats are pushing the permanent extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, which they once staunchly opposed, in order to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.