Newsletter Archive

August 2021

A Big — but Partial — Win for Biden

Following months of negotiations between lawmakers and the White House, the Senate passed a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package Tuesday, handing President Joe Biden a major but still tentative win on his ambitious economic agenda…

Plus: Plus, yet another Senate vote-a-rama

Democrats Unveil $3.5 Trillion Budget Blueprint

Senate Democrats on Monday released a budget blueprint totaling $3.5 trillion, pushing ahead with their plan for one of the largest increases in social spending since the Great Society legislation of the 1960s.

Plus: Plus, infrastructure bill chugs toward Senate passage

A Blockbuster Jobs Report — From Before the Delta Surge

U.S. employers added 943,000 jobs in July, the most since last August, and the unemployment rate fell by half a percentage point to 5.4%, a 16-month low, providing evidence that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has some…

Plus: Plus, a critical Saturday vote in the Senate

A High-Stakes Game of Chicken on the Debt Limit

The bipartisan infrastructure bill currently under debate in the Senate would add $256 billion to deficits over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. Negotiators had claimed that the $550 billion spending package would…

Plus: Plus, the Senate infrastructure bill will add $256 billion to deficits

Defense Spending Headed for a Big Boost

The Senate Armed Services Committee, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, last month voted 23-3 to advance a $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, endorsing a $25 billion boost to the Pentagon budget compared to…

Plus: Plus, McConnell sets GOP demands for government-funding deal

One Big Accounting 'Gimmick' in the Infrastructure Bill

The bipartisan infrastructure bill is slowly making its way through the Senate. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continue to squabble over the pace of progress and the…

Plus: Plus, the expanded Child Tax Credit's economic boost

US Finally Hits a Major Covid Milestone

Now that the text of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is out — all 2,702 pages of it — the Senate will race to finish consideration of the package this week ahead of a planned August recess that could still be delayed.

Plus: Plus, putting $550 billion in new spending in context

July 2021

The Great Tax Cut Race

The Senate on Friday voted to start debate on the $550 billion infrastructure proposal negotiated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, clearing another procedural hurdle in the long and still uncertain journey to becoming law.

Plus: Plus - Trump rails against infrastructure deal

Federal Dollars Drive Huge Drop in Poverty

Step One is complete. The Senate voted 67-32 Wednesday night to open debate on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, with 17 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting to advance the package. The vote puts the Senate on track to pass the…

Plus: Plus, the economy surpasses its pre-pandemic size

Do or Die Time for Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan

President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators said Wednesday that they had resolved their major differences on a wide-ranging $1 trillion infrastructure deal, setting up a vote to advance the package as early as Wednesday evening.

Plus: Plus, can Biden forgive student debt?