Budget

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...
On Congress’s To-Do List: Prevent a Shutdown in 18 Days

By Yuval Rosenberg

Congressional appropriators back from their Thanksgiving recess have just three weeks to hammer out details on dozens of policy differences over federal funding for fiscal year 2020, which started on...
Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate

By Michael Rainey

The extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...

Trump Scores a Win From NATO, but Fireworks Ahead

By Michael Rainey

Ahead of NATO’s 70th-anniversary meeting in London this week, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced last Thursday that the U.S. will contribute less to the alliance’s relatively small central...
Congress Makes a Deal on 2020 Spending, but the Budget Battle Is Far from Over

By Michael Rainey

Lawmakers took a big step over the weekend toward reaching a spending deal for the 2020 fiscal year, though a major hurdle — funding for President Trump’s border wall — remains in place. On Saturday...
States Boost Spending at Fastest Pace Since Great Recession

By Yuval Rosenberg

U.S. states increased spending in fiscal year 2019 at the fastest clip since the end of the Great Recession, according to a new report from the National Association of State Budget Officers. Total...
Secret Service Spent $254K at Trump Properties in His First Five Months in Office

By Yuval Rosenberg

It’s a shocker, we know: Newly released documents raise fresh concerns about the extent to which President Trump is personally profiting from his public office, showing that the Secret Service spent...
Public Investment Is the Key to Avoiding Economic Stagnation: Report

By Michael Rainey

Economic stagnation on a global scale is a growing threat, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The group’s November economic outlook...

Two Takes on Republican Debt Hypocrisy

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal deficit for fiscal 2019 was nearly $1 trillion, and the national debt is going to hit $23 trillion within a matter of days. President Trump once said he would eliminate the national debt...
Biggest Contract Yet for the F-35

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The Pentagon is close to a final agreement with Lockheed Martin for the largest batch of F-35 stealth jets, Bloomberg’s Julie Johnsson and Anthony Capaccio reported Monday. The contract for 478 jets...
US Navy Can’t Afford a 355-Ship Fleet: Admiral

By Michael Rainey

In 2016, the U.S. Navy set a goal of growing its fleet to 355 ships, but a high-ranking admiral said Friday that there isn’t enough money in the budget to reach that target. “Will we get to 355-ships...
Does Impeachment Mean Nothing Else Gets Done in Washington This Year?

By Michael Rainey

Some lawmakers are expressing concerns that the unfolding impeachment process is putting a halt to the legislative agenda for the foreseeable future, The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports. “The House...
Budget Deficit Rose 26% in 2019, to Near $1 Trillion: Treasury

By Michael Rainey

The federal government’s budget deficit grew to $984 billion in fiscal year 2019, the U.S. Treasury announced Friday. The final tally for 2019 is $205 billion larger than in 2018, a 26% increase. As...