The debt ceiling must be raised again and it could suck all the oxygen out of the political room. Technically the federal government is restricted from paying its bills once the ceiling on total federal debt is hit. Due to federal deficit spending, the ceiling must be raised periodically by Congress. The only time this
The Partnership for Public Service tracks the progress of Administration hiring. There are over 1200 positions that require an OK from the US Senate. Many of these however are somewhat less significant such as commissions, even smaller ambassadorships. But the Partnership tracks what they consider to be key appointments that include number two and three
While dealing with a debt ceiling, Congress must be on a fast track on the FY 2018 appropriations with the new fiscal year starting on October 1. To this point the dozen appropriations committees are in the first stages of hearings, something that would have taken place in February. To make matters worse, a budget
After the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued the new assessment of the American Health Care Act that showed that the amendments made to the original bill costs $32 billion more and it will reduced the number of uninsured under the original bill by only 1 million people, conversations were continuing on a Senate bill. Now
There are dozens of federal programs that need reauthorization and are not likely to get extended, at least not in this year. Some reauthorizations ran out years ago but they can still receive funding through the appropriations process. This includes the Higher Education Act, Head Start, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) which
There were a host of cuts in the President’s budget that come from cuts and the elimination of mandatory and entitlement spending. These would likely take a new reconciliation bill created out of a 2018 budget resolution. As noted both SSBG and TANF are targeted as major revenue raisers through the elimination of SSBG and
The Administration released their full 2018 budget on Tuesday, May 23, titled A New Foundation for American Greatness. The good news is that they do not propose converting Title IV-E into a block grant and most of the core discretionary funding for specific child welfare programs is at the same level as 2017. The bad
On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued the new assessment of the American Health Care Act. It showed that the amendments made to the original bill costs $32 billion more and it reduced the number of uninsured under the original bill by only 1 million people. The key points are that it saves $119
As noted both SSBG and TANF are targeted as major revenue raisers through the elimination of SSBG and a cut of $1.7 billion to TANF. There is a letter of support of SSBG that includes supporters at the national, state and local level. That letter is open for more sign-ons in support right here.
Another study has examined the losses that will be absorbed by the American Health Care Act per capita cap as well as Speaker Ryan's Better Way proposal. This study, The Impact of Per Capita Caps on Federal and State Medicaid Spending was conducted by the Urban Institute with the support of the Robert Wood