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...

  • Outrageous Cost to Taxpayers of Government Loans

    By Knowledge Wharton, Knowledge@Wharton

    While all eyes are on the U.S. government's enormous debt, few have focused on the massive costs and risks embedded in another of the government's financial functions: its role as lender rather than...

  • Cliff? Ha! A Fiscal Mountain Range If Medicare Isn’t Cut

    By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

    Already exhausted by the fiscal cliff drama? Then pray for a major entitlement overhaul, otherwise the forecasted explosion in Medicare and Medicaid will continually destabilize the government’s...

  • Monti government at risk after Berlusconi withdraws support

    Monti government at risk after Berlusconi withdraws support

    By Giuseppe Fonte and Barry Moody, Reuters

    ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday, raising the risk of a snap election in Italy, but President Giorgio Napolitano said he...

  • Why Obama Can’t Bring Back the 90s Economic Boom

    By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

    When selling his tax hike to the public, President Obama often advertises the economic gravy train that chugged through the Clinton era as proof that higher taxes won’t derail growth. But affluence...

  • The Hidden Flaw in Obama’s and Boehner’s Cliff Plans

    By Eric Pianin

    While President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner generally agree on the need for $4 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade as part of a fiscal cliff deal, both back plans that likely...