Blogs

Insurance policies sold on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges went into effect Jan. 1 after a three-month open enrollment period marked by problems on the government’s Healthcare.gov website.The federal government is operating insurance exchanges, also called “marketplaces,” for 36…

As the country celebrated the new year, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts completed a holiday tradition of his own by calling for more funding for the judicial system.“The budget remains the single most important issue facing the courts,” he…

Residents of the Quad Cities community on the Iowa-Illinois border showed their support for improving America’s long-term fiscal outlook in two recent budget exercises hosted by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and facilitated by The Concord Coalition.As in similar exercises that…

Federal investment totaled $531 billion in 2012, amounting to 15 percent of all federal spending and 3 percent of the gross domestic product, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).While such spending has kept up with…

Hoping to meet a Jan. 15 deadline for congressional action, lawmakers responsible for appropriations and their staffs are rushing to put together detailed spending plans for the 3-month-old fiscal year.Agreement on a compromise budget plan, which President Obama signed Thursday,…

The federal debt held by investors and foreign countries amounts to 72 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Except for a short period around the end of World War II, that's the highest level in U.S. history.And although the…

Unlike the past few years, the recent budget agreement has smoothed the way for Congress to recess for its winter break well before Christmas. That has left some traditional end-of-year legislation out in the cold. (more…)

President Obama hailed the two-year budget deal reached by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) as a “good first step.” If he meant a good first step toward broader reforms needed…