The Latest

This year’s Economic Report of the President cheers 2014 as a “breakthrough year” for the country’s recovery and advocates policies that the administration says will encourage further growth and strengthen the middle class. “The unemployment rate plunged to its lowest…

Ignoring Senate doubts and presidential veto threats, the House last week moved forward with legislation to permanently extend various tax breaks that would otherwise expire. The House Ways and Means Committee has approved legislation that would increase projected deficits by…

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported improvements since 2013 in many problematic areas in the federal government but also noted growing concerns in veterans health care, information technology and tax law enforcement. The agency’s new biennial update on “high-risk”…

Des Moines – Two of the nation’s leading experts on health care policy said today that it was critical for 2016 presidential candidates to offer credible proposals to hold down health care costs -- and the federal debt -- in…

Shaun Donovan, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), last week defended the administration's proposal to reallocate the Social Security payroll as a simple step “that’s been taken on a bipartisan basis” in the past. However, this claim…

For the first time in the new Congress, House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- something they have done dozens of times in previous years. The House vote last week was 239-186, generally along party lines,…

A congressionally-appointed commission has recommended overhauling health care and retirement benefits for future members of the armed forces. The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission recently produced 15 proposals to change pay and benefits. The commission consisted of former military…

The case for broad reforms in the federal income tax has been bolstered by a recent projection that special provisions known as “tax expenditures” will drain $1.5 trillion from federal revenue this year. That figure, up from $1.2 trillion last…