Newsletter Archive

July 2021

Infrastructure Plans Hit Major Roadblock: Deficit Concerns

Democratic lawmakers are rushing this week to complete the blueprint for a massive, multi-trillion-dollar spending package they plan to offer alongside a smaller, bipartisan infrastructure bill, and as Politico reports Tuesday, they are…

Plus: Plus, the deficit topped $2.2 trillion in nine months

Why Biden Fired the Head of Social Security

President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul, a Trump appointee who had drawn criticism from Democrats and advocacy groups for seeking to restrict benefits and taking a staunch anti-union…

Plus: Plus, Democrats divided over size of major spending bill

Biden’s Push to Drive Down Drug Prices

President Joe Biden on Friday signed a sweeping executive order that aims to foster competition and limit or reverse corporate consolidation, steps that the president says will lower prices, increase wages and build a healthier economy for…

Plus: Plus, FDA asks for review of Alzheimer's drug approval

Conservatives Step Up Fight Against IRS Funding Boost

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday dramatically narrowed its recommended usage guidelines for Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, suggesting that only patients with milder forms of the disease should take it. The change follows sharp…

Plus: Plus, FDA’s surprising reversal on new Alzheimer’s drug

Medicare Could Save Billions by Copying Costco

Medicare could have saved billions of dollars on generic drugs in recent years if it used a streamlined distribution system like retail giant Costco, according to an analysis published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Plus: Plus, 'Tax Evasion, Plain and Simple’

McConnell Vows ‘Hell of a Fight’ on Dem Infrastructure Plans

The House Problem Solvers Caucus on Tuesday endorsed the infrastructure deal negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House, broadening the base of support for the agreement and signaling that the framework could draw…

Plus: Plus, Pentagon cancels a $10 billion contract

Deficit Will Hit $3 Trillion — Again — This Year

A group of 130 nations has agreed on the broad outlines of a global minimum tax on corporations, a major milestone in the Biden administration’s effort to overhaul the tax system and generate more revenues for domestic spending.

Plus: Plus, the House passes a huge infrastructure bill

June 2021

IRS Backlog Grows to 35 Million Tax Returns

The Internal Revenue Service ended this year’s tax filing season with a backlog of more than 35 million unprocessed returns, a four-fold increase over 2019, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in a report to Congress Wednesday.

Plus: Plus - 4 ways the infrastructure bill could play out

IRS Warns on ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Scams

President Joe Biden faces a pair of thorny math problems in trying to enact his infrastructure agenda.

Plus: Plus, Biden's 'pixie dust' problem