Faced with a New Year’s deadline, Congress and the White House reached an last-minute agreement to avert the impending tax hikes and spending cuts collectively known as the fiscal cliff. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending the tax cuts without limiting spending will add $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, as outlined above. read more...
The Supreme Court’s decision to largely uphold the health care law protects the many provisions already in effect and clears the way for full implementation over the next several years. read more...
If the Supreme Court strikes down the entire health care law later this month, Congress will likely feel intense pressure to set aside party differences and preserve some of the law’s popular provisions that have already gone into effect. One of these provisions closes the so-called “donut hole” in the Medicare prescription drug program, a coverage gap that has required seniors to pay for all of their own drugs out of pocket when their annual costs fall between certain limits. read more...
Government spending on Social Security and Medicare combined are projected to outstrip all discretionary spending in fiscal 2013, according to forecasts made in President Obama’s budget request earlier this month. read more...
Alaska Senator Mark Begich, a Democrat, is in a tough race for reelection this year, and…
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