Budget Battles
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Feds Misused Millions in Vaccine Research Funds: Report
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Who Gets a Relief Check? Biden Willing to Negotiate
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Dems Ready to Go It Alone on Massive Covid Relief Bill
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Republicans Hammer Biden’s Big Stimulus Plan
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Biden Unveils ‘Wartime’ Covid Response Plan
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Biden Signs 17 Executive Actions on Day 1
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Yellen Tells Congress to ‘Act Big’ to Rescue the Economy
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What Trump and Biden Would Mean for Social Security
After years of warnings about the financial challenges facing Social Security, the coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects mean that the time to get serious about ensuring that full benefits...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Plan Fizzles
President Trump’s payroll tax deferral plan is fizzling. The plan , meant to boost workers’ incomes by allowing their employers to postpone collection of the 6.2% employee share of the tax funding...
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Social Security Trust Fund Depleted by 2031: CBO
By Michael RaineyThe Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance fund will be depleted by 2031, according to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO said the surplus in the fund,...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Deferral Gets Rolling
By Michael RaineyThe IRS issued guidance late Friday that provides details on President Trump’s executive action to allow employers to stop collecting Social Security taxes for employees starting September 1 through...
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Trump’s Payroll Tax Plan Is Hung Up in a Dispute With the IRS: Report
By Michael RaineyPresident Trump’s effort to suspend employee Social Security taxes starting September 1 is hung up over a dispute over who should be responsible for making the tax payments once the suspension is...
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Terminating Payroll Tax Could Wipe Out Social Security by 2023, Chief Actuary Says
Eliminating payroll taxes could drain the Social Security trust funds within a few years if no alternative source of funding is provided, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary said in a...
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Biden Bashes Trump on Social Security, Taxes and Health Care
By Michael RaineyJoe Biden’s well-received acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night may have emphasized his differences with President Donald Trump —with a heavy focus on personal...
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What's in the GOP's New Coronavirus Relief Plan?
Congress is back in Washington this week and getting down to the difficult task of negotiating the next, and potentially final, coronavirus relief package. The parties are far apart, with House...
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Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants Next Coronavirus Bill to Address Rising Debt
Congress is likely to pass another coronavirus relief bill at some point, but doing so may require addressing the mounting deficit concerns of a bipartisan group of lawmakers. A group of 60 House...
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A Look at America’s ‘Broken Retirement System’
By Michael RaineyMillions of baby boomers are discovering that getting older isn’t getting any easier, thanks in part to a retirement system that fails to deliver security for millions of Americans. “Every day, 10,...
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What Do Maine and Florida Have in Common? Lots of Social Security Recipients
By Michael RaineyMore than 17% of Maine residents received Social Security retiree benefits in 2018, Bloomberg’s Marie Patino reports , the highest proportion in the country. Other states with a high percentage of...
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Dem Economists Push Back Against Debt Worries
By Michael RaineyJust how worried should we be about the rapidly rising national debt? Last week we told you about a budget watchdog group’s effort to raise the alarm over “debt denialism” that has taken hold in some...
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3 New Plans to Fix Social Security
By Michael RaineyAccording to the annual trustees’ report released Monday , the combined trust funds for Social Security, currently valued at $2.9 trillion, will be exhausted by 2035 (see the chart from CQ Roll Call...
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Social Security's Costs Will Exceed Its Income Starting Next Year, Trustees Say
Without congressional action, Social Security’s costs will exceed its income starting in 2020 — and they’ll stay that way indefinitely, forcing the program to fall back on its nearly $3 trillion...
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Sen. Mike Enzi: Senate Budget Is a First Step to Strengthen America’s Future
By Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)This week the Senate Budget Committee will consider a budget plan that will reduce deficits by half a trillion dollars over the next five years. The budget does not presume to solve all of our fiscal...