Tag: budget

GOP may skip budget, kneecapping 2018 ambitions

The following article by Rachel Bade and Sarah Ferris was posted on the Politico website January 10, 2018:

Lacking the votes and fearing political blowback, Republicans are unlikely to deploy powerful budget procedures to enact their agenda.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also said he is prepared to wade into GOP primaries to “make every effort to make sure we have a nominee on the November ballot who can appeal to a general election audience.” | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Republican leaders are considering skipping passage of a GOP budget this year — a blow to the party’s weakened fiscal hawks that would squash all 2018 efforts to revamp entitlements or repeal Obamacare.

White House and Hill GOP leaders discussed the possibility of forgoing the painful budget process during last weekend’s Camp David legislative summit, according to four sources familiar with the talks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has argued that he cannot pass controversial deficit-reduction legislation using powerful budget procedures with his new 51-vote majority — and wasn’t even sure he could find the votes for a fiscal blueprint in the first place. Continue reading “GOP may skip budget, kneecapping 2018 ambitions”

5 Things to Watch in President Trump’s Skinny Budget

The following article by Harry Stein and Scott Nathan was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 14, 2017:

AP/Evan Vucci
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on the federal budget on February 22, 2017, in the White House.

President Donald Trump is preparing to release the first budget proposal of his administration. While this budget likely will only provide limited details on President Trump’s plans—thus why it is nicknamed the “skinny budget”—it will still give the American people a clear look at Trump’s policy agenda and the priorities of his new administration.

The skinny budget will not address taxes, and it will only address discretionary spending, the programs that Congress funds in annual appropriation bills. Discretionary spending comprises about one-third of federal spending, and it does not include major programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Continue reading “5 Things to Watch in President Trump’s Skinny Budget”