Government Shutdown

Congress Averts Shutdown, Passes a Five Month $1.1 Trillion Spending Package

By Eric Pianin

GOP and Democratic negotiators struck a final deal over the weekend for a roughly $1.1 trillion spending package to carry the government through the remainder of the fiscal year – a plan that...
Renewed Fight Over Obamacare Could Prompt Government Shutdown

By Eric Pianin

The bitter partisan warfare over health care reform intensified on Thursday when congressional Democrats threatened to shut down the government this weekend if House Republicans try to move forward...
12 Reasons Another Government Shutdown Would Hurt the Country

By Eric Pianin

The last time the federal government was shut down nearly four years ago, hundreds of adults and children were temporarily denied access to National Institutes of Health (NIH) cancer clinical trials...
Can Trump’s Wall Really Pay for Itself Over 10 Years?

By Rob Garver

The original plan for President Trump’s border wall, repeated ad nauseam on the campaign trail, was that it would be paid for by Mexico. On Sunday, though, Attorney General Jeff Sessions floated a...
Trump Pushes Congress to the Wall to Avoid a Government Shutdown

By Rob Garver

The already-complicated effort to avert a government shutdown on April 29 is taking on another layer of complexity, with the White House demanding that any spending measure that funds the federal...

Why You Might Not Get Your Tax Refund on Time This Year

By Rob Garver

Every year, millions of Americans anxiously await the annual infusion of cash from the Internal Revenue Service when it pays back excess withholding from the previous year. However, according to the...
After Their Break, Congress Will Have 4 Days to Avoid a Shutdown

By Eric Pianin and Rob Garver

When members of the House of Representatives return to Washington from a nearly three-week break at the end of the month, they will have left themselves just four legislative days to come to some...
Trump Hands Democrats Another Reason to Shut Down the Government

By Rob Garver

With representatives of both major parties making optimistic noises about their ability to come together on a bill that would allow the government to remain open once the current temporary spending...
The Clock Is Ticking on a Government Shutdown: 5 Things You Need to Know

By Rob Garver

As Congress prepares to leave town for another break, the Senate has been focused on the effort to confirm (or deny) Neil Gorsuch as a justice of the Supreme Court. The GOP House is desperate to show...
Why Another Government Shutdown Is Suddenly in the Cards

By Rob Garver

The clock is already ticking on the Trump administration and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s next showdown with recalcitrant Republican lawmakers.

Debt Ceiling Déjà Vu: New Showdown Ahead?

By Eric Pianin

With the $1 trillion fiscal 2014 spending deal now safely behind them, Congress and the White House must once again turn to the debt ceiling. In the latest chapter of an all-too familiar ritual,...
The Word Voters Don’t Want to Hear in 2014

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

Here’s yet another cruel blow to President Obama’s signature health care law as we close out 2013 and head into 2014: More than 4 in 10 Americans, if they had their way, do not want to hear the word...
Cynical Americans Aren’t Banking on a Budget Deal

By Eric Pianin

Americans could get an early Christmas gift in the form of a budget deal from Congress that would cancel a second round of across-the-board sequester cuts and avoid the risk of another government...
Government Pensions Under Fire Once Again

By Eric Pianin

The heat is on unions again because of what many believe are overly generous benefits to government workers – especially as compared to those of private-sector workers. In Detroit, unions are up in...
House GOP Slams the Door on Immigration Reform

By Eric Pianin

With just eleven days remaining in the House legislative calendar this year, the window for any meaningful additional congressional action has been slammed shut. House Republican leaders say they won...

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