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...

Warren Proposes to Increase Spending on Public Education by $800 Billion

By Michael Rainey

Sen. Warren released an education plan Monday that calls for raising federal funding for public schools to $450 billion over 10 years, roughly four times current levels, according to Bloomberg News...
A November Government Shutdown Is Growing More Likely

By Michael Rainey

The dizzying whirl of events in Washington on Wednesday – including a House vote condemning President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria and an explosive meeting at the White House...
Trump Signs Executive Order Aimed at Curbing New Agency Spending

By Yuval Rosenberg

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at cutting spending at federal agencies by requiring them to offset any increased outlays on mandatory programs with other cuts. The “...
Trump Suffers Two Legal Defeats on Immigration and Border Policies

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Trump administration suffered a pair of legal defeats on major immigration policies Friday, as a federal judge in Texas ruled that the president acted unlawfully in declaring a national emergency...
House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey Won’t Seek Reelection in 2020

By Yuval Rosenberg

Rep. Nita Lowey, the New York Democrat who chairs the influential House Appropriations Committee, announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection next year. The 82-year-old Lowey has served in...