Budget Battles
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Trump Promises More Bailout Cash for Farmers
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Elizabeth Warren Won the Debate. Will It Matter?
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How Medicare for All Is Tearing Democrats Apart
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Mike Bloomberg's Plan to Boost Social Security
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Court Strikes Down Trump Admin’s Medicaid Work Rules
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Pete Buttigieg’s Deficit Talk Scares the Left
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Deficit Soars 25% Over First Four Months of Fiscal 2020
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Trump Promises More Bailout Cash for Farmers
By Michael RaineyThe Trump administration has allocated $28 billion in aid for farmers hurt by the president’s trade war, with $12 billion set aside in 2018, followed by an additional $16 billion last year. On Friday...
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Census Bureau Spending Millions to Reassure Immigrant Communities
By Michael RaineyThe Census Bureau is spending $500 million over the next five months to boost awareness of and encourage participation in the national 2020 headcount. Some of the money is being spent to reassure...
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Point-Counterpoint: Bernie Sanders’ Big Spending Plans
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has proposed ambitious plans — most notably, a transition to a Medicare-for-All system — that would...
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Court Strikes Down Trump Administration’s Medicaid Work Requirements
By Michael RaineyA federal appeals court on Friday struck down the Trump administration’s approval of work requirements in the Arkansas Medicaid program, delivering a serious blow to the effort to impose more...
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Pentagon to Divert Another $3.8 Billion to Pay for Trump’s Border Wall
By Michael RaineyThe Trump administration plans to use billions of dollars intended to purchase combat equipment – including F-35 stealth jets, transport aircraft and an amphibious assault ship – to fund construction...
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Which States Rely Most on Federal Money?
By Michael RaineyAbout 23% of total state revenues came from federal grants in the 2017 fiscal year, contributing to programs that touch on a range of issues including health care, education and infrastructure. This...
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Deficit Soars 25% Over First Four Months of Fiscal 2020
The federal budget deficit over the first four months of fiscal year 2020 totaled $389 billion, up more than 25% from the same period last year, according to data released Wednesday by the Treasury...
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The $844 Billion Mystery in Trump’s Budget
Unlike in previous years, the White House budget proposal released Monday didn’t include a detailed plan to replace major portions of Obamacare. It did include what Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the...
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In Search of the ‘Disappearing Corporate Income Tax’
By Michael RaineyLawmakers clashed on Tuesday over the performance of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing titled “The Disappearing Corporate Income Tax,” with Democrats arguing...
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Trump’s $4.8 Trillion Fiscal Fantasy
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael RaineyThe Trump White House on Monday released a $4.8 trillion budget for 2021 that calls for steep reductions in spending on safety net programs including Medicaid while proposing greater outlays for the...
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Congressional Negotiators Strike Spending Deal to Avoid a Pre-Christmas Shutdown
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...
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Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Divert $3.6 Billion in Military Funds to Border Wall
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...
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$738 Billion Defense Bill Authorizes Space Force and New Benefits for Federal Workers
By Michael RaineyIt 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...
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The Terrible Cost of the War in Afghanistan
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...
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The Fiscal Challenge for the Next Recession
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...