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: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

What exactly does the term debt ceiling mean, anyway? While lawmakers struggled on Wednesday to button up an eleventh-hour bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown and avert a default on the...
Boehner Fail: Why the House Keeps Blowing Deals

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Of course, House Speaker John Boehner’s debt ceiling plan—a last minute gambit to pressure Senate Democrats—just blew up in his face.
Dems Accuse Boehner of Sabotaging the Senate Deal

By Eric Pianin

Democrats on Tuesday unleashed unusually savage attacks on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for what they termed his “sabotage” of a bipartisan Senate deal to end the government shutdown and avert a...
Could Fitch Ratings Warning Be the Jolt Congress Needs?

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Members of Congress have been warned…again. Fitch Ratings just put the U.S. government on “negative” watch. That’s not as terrible as a downgrade, which Standard & Poor’s slapped the government...
The House GOP Just Derailed a Shutdown Deal

By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

With the Senate almost on the verge of a bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown and avert a default, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) decided once again to player the spoiler. In a troubling...

Search form