Federal Budget

WASHINGTON - The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget debuted a new tool Thursday -- a PAYGO Tracker -- to keep tabs on how well lawmakers are abiding by budget rules requiring new spending and tax cuts to be offset.... Read More

WASHINGTON - The federal deficit reached $984 billion in fiscal year 2019, with spending far out pacing revenue, according to an estimate released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office this week. This would be an increase of $205 billion over... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Blue Dog Coalition on Friday endorsed H.R. 3830, the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, a bipartisan bill that would provide Americans with more information on how federal tax dollars are being spent and help eliminate duplicative and wasteful government... Read More

WASHINGTON - A House panel charged with improving Congress's procedures and performance took a hard look Thursday at one of the government's most difficult exercises, the annual budget and appropriations process. Last year, the Joint Select Committee on Budget and... Read More

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats and Republicans reached a deal Wednesday on a stopgap spending bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown on Oct. 1, even as the threat of a closure later in the year continues to build. The short-term... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate’s appropriations process fell into disarray Tuesday after a scheduled markup was abruptly postponed in a dispute over policy riders, and a fight over the border wall threatened to hold up defense spending. Democrats were also resisting... Read More

WASHINGTON - The cost of renovating of the Cannon House Office Building could rise to $100 million more than originally planned due to the discovery of hazardous materials in the historic building and plan changes over time, the inspector general... Read More

WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington this week amid mounting pressure from Democrats and the public to enact new gun restrictions, but lawmakers from both parties say meaningful action hangs solely on President Donald Trump. Since lawmakers were last in... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Thursday that a continuing resolution will be necessary to keep the government funded past Oct. 1 and prevent the second shutdown in less than a year. In a letter to House... Read More

WASHINGTON - On the one hand, it's easy to see why some in the party would embrace so-called "free" or "debt-free" college and the forgiveness of student loans. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,  electrified younger voters with his ambitious proposals in... Read More

WASHINGTON - What it comes down to is this: Despite many in the media trumpeting the "fact" that all the momentum in the Democratic Party in 2018 was on the far-left, mid-term voters overwhelmingly endorsed moderates, rewarding their common-sense approach... Read More

WASHINGTON - The federal budget deficit is growing faster than expected and will reach $1 trillion next year, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. Worse, over the next decade, the federal government will rack up $12.2 trillion in deficits... Read More

WASHINGTON - Back home in South Carolina after a mid-week trip to New Hampshire, former Rep. Mark Sanford said Friday he was pleased with how things went in the Granite State and his decision on whether to mount a primary... Read More

The Trump administration's decision to put a temporary hold on the majority of congressionally approved foreign aid funds, drew a sharp rebuke from the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Wednesday. “This Administration's contempt for Congress is astounding,”... Read More

WASHINGTON — It’s the last federal report on honeybee populations we’ll see — at least for a while — and the numbers for California show the number of colonies are still decreasing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in July... Read More

WASHINGTON - Despite pushback from conservative Republicans, the budget and debt ceiling deal struck by the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., easily passed the Senate Thursday afternoon. Even with fears that the vote in the Senate would... Read More

WASHINGTON — The ruling that cleared Donald Trump’s administration to start using disputed Pentagon funds for fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border will “really accelerate” progress on the president’s wall project, the top Department of Homeland Security official said. Meanwhile, segments... Read More

WASHINGTON - If anyone doubted there's serious interest in getting a handle on the nation's debt and the federal budget, the standing room-only crowd that jammed a hearing room in the Longworth House Office Building Thursday afternoon would have quickly... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House on Thursday approved a deal to lift the nation's debt ceiling and raise caps set on federal spending for the next two years. But even as the votes were being cast on the measure, members of... Read More

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers expressed confidence Wednesday that the two-year budget and debt ceiling deal will pass in that chamber, though a furious whip effort was underway by both parties to clinch a strong bipartisan showing on the floor. Late... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday a bipartisan agreement on budget caps and the federal debt limits hashed out Monday night is an example of what can happen when elected officials "work together in good faith" for... Read More

WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional leaders reached a deal Monday evening to lift the nation’s debt limit and boost federal spending by about $320 billion over caps set to take effect under a 2011 budget law. The agreement,... Read More

WASHINGTON—The Blue Dog Coalition on Thursday released a comprehensive plan it believes will help restore fiscal discipline in Congress.  The Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform was developed under the leadership of Representatives Ed Case, D-Hawaii, and Ben McAdams, D-Utah,... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of Senators led by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is calling on the White House Office of Management and Budget to publish a full list of all federal programs publicly available on the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House’s top Republican suggested that lawmakers pass a 30-day extension of the debt ceiling to avoid default in early September, if Democrats and the White House can’t agree on compromise discretionary spending caps before leaving for the... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday pressing for added funds to help veterans see private doctors as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling and tight appropriations caps. Pelosi’s letter... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives voted 220--197 Friday to approve the National Defense Authorization Act, a move moderate House Democrats called "a step towards reaffirming American leadership in the world." The National Defense Authorization Act is the name... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. budget deficit increased by $140 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, rising to $747.1 billion, the Treasury Department said Thursday. The department said the deficit for the current fiscal year through... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday didn’t rule out voting on a debt limit increase before the August recess, though she indicated the need to raise the discretionary spending caps for fiscal 2020 is still an integral... Read More

WASHINGTON - As they head back to their districts for the week-long July 4 district work period, House Democrats have reason to feel proud and maybe, just a little bit tired. For the first time in 13 years, the House... Read More