Budget

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...
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...
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...
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...
Trump Wants to Cut Off Hurricane Maria Relief Funds for Puerto Rico: Report

By Michael Rainey

President Donald Trump reportedly wants to stop providing federal relief funds to Puerto Rico for recovery efforts related to Hurricane Maria. Axios’ Jonathan Swan reports that Trump is convinced – “...

3 Areas Where Trump and Democrats Can Maybe, Possibly Work Together

By Yuval Rosenberg

Will divided government lead to anything beyond more legislative gridlock? President Trump and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive next speaker of the House, have both spoken...
5 Tax and Spending Takeaways from the Midterm Elections

By Michael Rainey

Tuesday’s election results changed the outlook for some key tax and spending proposals. Here are 5 takeaways from the midterm vote: 1. The GOP’s “tax cuts 2.0” effort is dead. The Republican plan to...
Why the Midterms Could Kill Trump's Space Force

By Michael Rainey

The fate of President Trump’s new military branch could depend on the outcomes of the midterm elections, says Joe Gould of Defense News. The Pentagon is working on a plan to create the Space Force,...
Pentagon’s Revolving Door in Full Swing

By Michael Rainey

The steady stream of top military officials moving from the Pentagon to defense contractors shows no signs of slowing down, according to a new report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO),...
How Congress Got So Broken

By Yuval Rosenberg

The founders of the United States envisioned Congress as a co-equal branch of government, but that model of government “is effectively dead,” a new analysis by The Washington Post and ProPublica...