Monthly Archives: May 2011
- CHN: Subcommittee Gets Its Way (5/31/11)
Posted in Budget and Appropriations Comments Off
- CHN: Medicaid Program at Risk
During deficit reduction discussions about entitlement programs much attention is being paid by the media and members of Congress to Medicare and Social Security. Little is being said about Medicaid, although this program serving 58 million people has been threatened with massive cuts. Advocates are concerned that a lack of understanding about Medicaid and who Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Economy, Health, Medicaid Comments Off - CHN: Hundreds of Thousands of Small Children and Mothers Would Lose Food Aid if House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Gets Its Way
Appropriators in the House are starting to turn the cuts in total spending proposed in the House Budget Resolution into specific reductions in essential services. One of the first examples is a cut in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program (WIC) that could cause between 325,000 – 475,000 low-income young children and pregnant women to Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Food and Nutrition Comments Off - CHN: The Senate Rejects a Bunch of Budget Plans; Action on the Floor Still a Sideshow to Biden Debt Ceiling Negotiations
On May 25 the Senate took up four separate budget resolutions and voted them all down. They included the budget plan that passed the House, two more proposals by Senators Toomey (R-PA) and Paul (R-KY) that cut even more than the House budget, and the Obama budget as released last February. Under the Senate rules, Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Economy Comments Off - CHN: Congress Looking to Change Unemployment Insurance; House to Consider So-Called “Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services Act of 2011″
The House Committee on Ways and Means voted along party lines on May 11th, 2011 to dismantle the federal unemployment insurance program (UI). Although the bill was expected to come before the House Rules Committee on May 25th in order to set the terms for floor debate during the first week in June, it was Read More »
Posted in Labor and Employment, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off - CHN: Deficit Reduction and Raising the Debt Ceiling
Next week the U.S. Treasury Department is set to reach the $14.3 trillion limit on the amount the federal government can borrow, known as the debt ceiling. When spending on existing legal obligations to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments exceeds the revenues Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Economy Comments Off - CHN: Senate Budget Resolution: Maybe Next Week?
Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) has been working to secure support for his FY 2012 budget plan among committee Democrats. He needs every one of them if the budget is to pass, since no Republicans are expected to vote for it. In initial discussions, Senator Sanders (I-VT) has been prominent in seeking fewer Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Economy Comments Off - CHN: How Low Can You Go; House Appropriators Start to Carry Out FY 2012 Budget Cuts
New Table with Comparisons to FY 2010 and FY 2011. Congress’ impetus to cut spending rushed along on many fronts this week. While Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) called for $2 trillion in cuts over ten years before he would support a debt ceiling increase (see article about the debt ceiling in this issue), appropriators in the House set Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations Comments Off
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