Budget

The White House Makes a ‘Trillion-Dollar Admission’

By Yuval Rosenberg

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday released its updated annual budget request , known as the mid-session review. The numbers don’t mean much given that the president’s budget...
Lawmakers Battle Over Veterans Health Funding

By Yuval Rosenberg

A complicated fight over spending on a veterans health program is throwing a wrench into the congressional appropriations process for 2019. The showdown could force lawmakers to fall back on another...
F-35 Price Drops Below $90 Million: Report

By Michael Rainey

The Pentagon has made a preliminary deal with Lockheed Martin for the next batch of F-35 stealth jets, according to a Reuters report from the Farnborough Airshow in England. The “handshake agreement...
The US Now Spends $1 Billion a Year Detaining Immigrant Kids

By Yuval Rosenberg

Detaining immigrant children has become a $1 billion business, the Associated Press reported Friday. Grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “for shelters, foster care and other...
Is the War on Poverty Over?

By Michael Rainey

The White House declared this week that the war on poverty “is largely over and a success” as it pushes for stiffer work requirements for recipients of federal aid. In a paper released Thursday,...

Former HHS Secretary Tom Price Wasted More Than $300,000 on Travel

By Michael Rainey

President Trump’s former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price improperly spent at least $341,000 on travel, according to an Inspector General report issued Friday. The IG reviewed 21 trips...
How Much the US Will Save by Canceling ‘War Games’ in South Korea

By Michael Rainey

When President Trump canceled joint military exercises with South Korea as part of his effort to denuclearize North Korea, he claimed that in addition to the diplomatic benefits, the move would save...
Some GOP Senators Want to Slash Gas Taxes — and Federal Highway Spending

By Michael Rainey

Republican Sens. Mike Lee, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz introduced a bill Tuesday that would dramatically reduce federal involvement in transportation systems in the U.S. The Transportation Empowerment...
Trump Wants NATO to Spend More – a Lot More – on Defense

By Michael Rainey

President Trump wasted no time Wednesday morning criticizing NATO allies for their military spending, calling for them to double their defense spending targets to 4 percent of GDP. Trump’s call came...
Democrats and the Deficit: The Intraparty Fight Ahead

By Yuval Rosenberg

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Democratic Socialist who stunned the political world and roiled the Democratic Party this month by defeating Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in a primary, believes in...

Why Some Republicans Are Resisting Trump's Spending Cuts

By Yuval Rosenberg

Democrats have taken issue with President Trump’s proposed spending cuts, and some Republicans have serious concerns as well. “We never anticipated the kind of pushback we would have in our own...
Mulvaney: Democratic Criticism of CHIP Clawbacks Is Pure Hypocrisy

By Yuval Rosenberg

Mick Mulvaney is firing back at Democratic critics of the White House’s plan to cut $15.4 billion in spending, including $7 billion in unspent funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In...
Sports Gambling May Not Be a Jackpot for States

By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Some states were getting ready to jump into sports gambling even before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it last week, lining up legislation that would allow their states to cash in as quickly as...
Rates on US Bonds Now Higher Than for Other Developed Countries

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Rising interest rates in the U.S. have pushed the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds higher than the yields for similar government bonds from seven major developed countries for the first times since...
More NATO Nations Meeting the 2% Pledge

By Michael Rainey

President Trump met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week, offering the president an opportunity to highlight recent increases in military spending in Europe. “[W]e’ve increased and...