Budget

Amazing Facts and Figures from the Pentagon’s Failed Audit

By Michael Rainey

To the surprise of no one, the Department of Defense announced this week that it has failed its first-ever comprehensive audit. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the outgoing chair of the House Subcommittee...
Congressional Panel Considers Budget Reforms

By Yuval Rosenberg

A bipartisan congressional panel tasked with revamping the federal budgeting process on Thursday marked up its proposed legislation ahead of a November 30 deadline. The panel, created as part of...
Pentagon Fails Its First-Ever Audit

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Defense Department has failed its first-ever comprehensive audit, Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Thursday, according to multiple reports. “We failed the audit, but we never...
The Economy’s Coming Wile E. Coyote Moment

By Michael Rainey

Most economists think that the “sugar high” in the economy produced by simultaneous tax cuts and federal spending increases this year will fizzle at some in the next few quarters, at which point GDP...
States Spent $2 Trillion in 2018. Here’s Where It Went.

By Yuval Rosenberg

The 50 states spent more than $2 trillion for the first time in fiscal 2018, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of State Budget Officers. At the same time, as the...

Securing America’s Future Requires Political Courage Now

By Russ Latino

My son is five. He plays with Legos and digs old-school video games. My daughter is three. She likes dolls and is prone to uncontrollable giggling with no apparent provocation. Neither have much...
US Military Faces a Crisis and Needs More Money, Report to Congress Warns

By Yuval Rosenberg

America’s military superiority “has eroded to a dangerous degree,” leaving the national security “at greater risk than at any time in decades,” a bipartisan commission warned Wednesday in a...
The Cost of Post-9/11 Wars Nears $6 Trillion

By Yuval Rosenberg

The total cost of post-9/11 wars will approach $6 trillion by the end of fiscal 2019, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at...
Deficit Hit $100 Billion in October

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The U.S. government spent $353 billion in October while revenues came in at $253 billion, producing a deficit of $100 billion. Receipts were 7 percent higher than a year ago, but spending was up 18...
The Pentagon's $21 Billion Rust Problem

By The Fiscal Times Staff

“Rust costs the Pentagon more money annually than many of its most expensive weapons systems—up to $21 billion per year, according to a Defense Department-commissioned audit released in March,” Next...

The Pentagon’s $71 Billion Fiscal Cliff

By Yuval Rosenberg

Late last month, President Trump signed into law a $670 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2019. Now, Travis J. Tritten writes in the Washington Examiner , the fight over the next such bill is...
Deficit Jumped to $782 Billion in 2018 – and It’s Only Going to Get Bigger

By Michael Rainey

You might have missed this with everything else going on in the world, but the Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the deficit for fiscal year 2018 rose to $782 billion, a big jump from the...
GOP Lawmakers Push Back on Trump’s Federal Pay Freeze

By Michael Rainey

Contradicting a plan announced by President Trump, Republican lawmakers have tentatively agreed to give roughly 2 million federal workers a pay 1.9 percent pay hike next year, The Washington Post...
Larry Kudlow Wants to Put a ‘Big Dent’ in Government Spending

By Yuval Rosenberg

Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, is once again talking up the economy and talking down the threat posed by rising debt and deficits. And once again, he’s...
Price Drops for Next Batch of F-35s

By Michael Rainey

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement on the financial terms for the next batch of F-35 Lightning IIs. The so-called Lot 11 production will include 141 stealth jets, with 91...