Budget

Cost of Wars Since 9/11: $6.4 Trillion and Rising

By Michael Rainey

The total cost of the wars fought since 9/11 is approaching $6.4 trillion, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown...
Fed Chief: Get the Deficit Under Control While the Economy Is Still Strong

By Michael Rainey

Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell told lawmakers Wednesday that Congress needs to get the deficit under control while the economy is still growing and the outlook remains positive. Failing to do so...
Congress Plans Stopgap Spending Bill Through December 20

By Yuval Rosenberg

Mark December 20 on your calendar. Congress plans to pass a second stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through that date, House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) told...
Verma Attacks Critics of Medicaid Work Requirement, Pushes for Tighter Eligibility

By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, Tuesday sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing...
Elizabeth Warren Says Americans Will Spend $11 Trillion on Health Care. Is That True?

By Michael Rainey

Elizabeth Warren says that Americans will spend “about $11 trillion on insurance premiums, copays, deductibles and uncovered medical expenses” over the next 10 years if the current health care system...

Mark Sanford Ends 2020 Presidential Bid Challenging Trump

By Yuval Rosenberg

Former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford suspended his longshot presidential bid on Tuesday, 65 days after he announced he would challenge President Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. A fiscal...
A Third Round of Farm Bailouts?

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump’s trade wars are hurting U.S. farmers, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is working to keep them from getting more frustrated even as he promotes President Trump’s agenda, The...
A Dam Big Problem

By Yuval Rosenberg

A more than two-year-long investigation by the Associated Press has identified 1,688 dams across 44 states and Puerto Rico that are in poor or unsatisfactory condition and could result in life-...
Sanders, Buttigieg Release Plans for Veterans Affairs

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Bernie Sanders unveiled on Monday a proposal to expand services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among numerous policy details in the proposal, Sanders said he would: Fill 50,000...
Congress Wants to Push Shutdown Deadline into December

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House will vote the week of November 18 on a short-term spending bill intended to avert a government shutdown later that week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in a letter to...

House Passes 7-Week Spending Bill, Setting Up November Shutdown Fight

By Yuval Rosenberg

The House on Thursday afternoon passed a short-term spending bill to fund the government through November 21 and avoid a shutdown when the new fiscal year starts at the beginning of October. The...
Congress Considers Another Option for Border Funding Fight: Skip It

By Yuval Rosenberg

The fight over funding President Trump’s border barriers led to a 35-day shutdown, the longest ever, last December and January. With appropriators now working on spending decisions for fiscal 20202,...
Is Trump’s Raid on Military Funds for His Border Wall Jeopardizing National Security?

By Michael Rainey

The military construction projects that are being defunded to provide $3.6 billion for President Trump’s border wall are of vital importance to the Pentagon, according to documents submitted by the...
Democratic Senators Seek to Block Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democratic senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced legislation Tuesday to block the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule . The rule, finalized last...
In Border Wall Fight, Dems Say GOP Is Pursuing Same Path That Led to Shutdown

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Senate fight over funding President Trump’s border barriers is heating up. Senate Democratic leaders are urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard...