Budget

Medicaid Work Rules Approved for South Carolina

By Michael Rainey

The Trump administration on Thursday approved South Carolina’s request to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Watchdog Questions $6.7 Billion in Medicare Payments

By Michael Rainey

Health insurance companies in the Medicare Advantage program have received billions in extra payments after making adjustments to their patient charts – changes that the Department of Health and...
Congressional Negotiators Strike Spending Deal to Avoid a Pre-Christmas Shutdown

By Yuval Rosenberg

Congressional appropriators have reportedly reached a deal “in principle” to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year and avert a potential shutdown at the end of next week. The...
Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Divert $3.6 Billion in Military Funds to Border Wall

By Yuval Rosenberg

A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s plan to divert $3.6 billion in military funds toward construction of barriers along the border with Mexico. District Court Judge...
$738 Billion Defense Bill Authorizes Space Force and New Benefits for Federal Workers

By Michael Rainey

It looks like Space Force has earned its wings. The leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees announced late Monday an agreement on the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which...

The Terrible Cost of the War in Afghanistan

By Yuval Rosenberg

The war in Afghanistan is the longest armed conflict in U.S. history, and throughout the 18 years of fighting, U.S. officials have publicly said they were making progress. Yet a new investigative...
The Fiscal Challenge for the Next Recession

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 was nearly $1 trillion. “In the next downturn, don’t be surprised if this number hits $2 trillion,” writes Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal’s...
Is Trump's $28 Billion Bailout Paying Farmers Too Much?

By Michael Rainey

The Trump administration is spending $28 billion to bail out farmers hurt by the president’s trade war with China – a huge sum that some experts say overestimates the economic losses inflicted by the...
New Trump Food Stamp Rule Will Cut 700,000 from Program

By Michael Rainey

The White House said Wednesday that it has finalized a rule that will tighten work requirements for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The new rule could result...
Navy Awards Largest Shipbuilding Contract Ever

By Michael Rainey

The U.S. Navy awarded a contract Monday worth more than $22 billion to build nine new attack submarines. The agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat includes an option for a 10 th sub, which...

Democrats Propose New Tax on Millionaires

By Michael Rainey

Two Democratic lawmakers unveiled a plan Thursday that would raise taxes on high-income households. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia are proposing a 10-percentage...
Senate Committee Approves Budget Reforms

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday approved a bipartisan bill that aims to reform the federal government’s budget process. The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act “would provide a more...
Number of the Day: Federal Salaries Lag Private Sector by 27%, Report Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

Salaries for federal employees are nearly 27% lower, on average, than those for their private-sector counterparts, according to figures reported Tuesday by the Federal Salary Council, an advisory...
Trump Open to Extending Shutdown Deadline: Report

By Yuval Rosenberg

Just two days after President Trump raised fresh concerns about the possibility of a government shutdown when stopgap federal funding expires on November 21, the White House said Tuesday that it is...
Trump Won’t Rule Out Another Shutdown

By Michael Rainey

Some of President Trump’s critics are worried that he might allow the government to shut down when funding runs out on November 21, in an effort to deflect attention from the ongoing impeachment...