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...

  • If 2013 Budget Talks Fail, Top Credit Rating May Fall

    By Steven C Johnson and DANIEL BASES, Reuters

    The United States may lose its top credit rating if next year's budget talks do not produce policies that gradually decrease the country's debt, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. The warning...

  • Germany says U.S. debt levels "much too high"

    Germany says U.S. debt levels "much too high"

    By Reuters

    BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble questioned on Tuesday how the United States could deal with its high levels of government debt after November's presidential election. In...

  • Riches or Retaliation Await Whistleblowers

    By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

    A former employee of the Swiss bank UBS AG this week collected $104 million for blowing the whistle on major tax fraud by the mega-bank. After passage of Dodd Frank in 2010, the number of...

  • GOP Lawmakers Can Swing the Vote...to Obama

    By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

    Congress returns to a transformed landscape since the August recess and political conventions, with President Obama enjoying a bounce after the Democrats' gathering in Charlotte and Republican Mitt...

  • Defense Supply Chain Threatened by Spending Cuts

    By The Fiscal Times Staff

    Declines in U.S. and European defense spending are putting heavy pressure on thousands of small and mid-sized companies that together build about 70 percent of major weapons systems, top defense and...