The federal government shut down after a deadlocked Congress failed to pass funding for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), starting Oct. 1 at midnight. The House-passed continuing resolution funding the government until Nov. 21 was voted down in the Senate, 55-45. A continuing resolution would have steadied federal funding at current levels to keep the government [...] Read More... The post Fight Over Expiration of PPACA-Enhanced Premiums, Medicaid Cuts Key Factors in Government Shutdown appeared first...| ACA Today
Each federal agency is required to have a plan to respond to a lapse in appropriations. These plans are often referred to as “contingency plans” or “shutdown plans.” While a lapse in appropriations is often called a “government shutdown,” as the agency contingency plans show, it could be more accurately understood as a “temporary slowdown... The post Agency Shutdown Plans appeared first on EPIC for America.| EPIC for America
A Federal Government Reduction in Force A federal government reduction in force, or RIF, is the elimination of federal employee positions as authorized under federal civil service law (5 U.S.C. §§3501-3504). RIFs are typically associated with a reorganization, shortage of funds (most often the result of Congressional appropriations), or a lack of work (resulting from... The post EPIC Explainer: Reductions in Force and the Government Shutdown appeared first on EPIC for America.| EPIC for America
Some are claiming that the expiration of Biden’s expanded COVID credits in December 2025 will be the cause of increased premiums for people with Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. However, this is not the case. In reality, health insurance companies are actually reporting ACA premiums may increase by 18% on average in 2026 primarily because... The post Fast Facts: Why Are Obamacare Premiums Really Going Up? appeared first on EPIC for America.| EPIC for America
Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, released Thursday, offer a detailed view into the effects on income groups.| www.nytimes.com
Scientists play a vital role in serving communities by deepening our understanding of the world and driving advances that improve public health, safeguard the environment, enhance safety, and more. Yet recent Administration policies are placing these contributions at risk, threatening the ability of scientists in the U.S. to carry out this critical work. Scientists are not standing by. They are stepping forward to demonstrate the profound value of their research …| The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy
The day after the House of Commons resumed sitting early this month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre questioned Prime Minister Mark Carney on how large the federal deficit would be this year when the final figure is unveiled in November’s budget. Last year’s deficit turned out to be $61.9 billion when it was finally revealed last […]| Edmonton Journal
So far, the parliamentarian has determined that dozens of provisions do not pass muster to be included.| www.nytimes.com
The post Earmarks that Fail the Taxpayer appeared first on EPIC for America.| EPIC for America
The Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), released an alternative Continuing Resolution (CR) on September 17, 2025. The CR would continue discretionary appropriations through October 31, 2025.| EPIC for America
Members who make unreasonable earmark requests will apply pressure to include these projects in final FY 2026 appropriations legislation. However, Congress should prevent clearly wasteful and inappropriate spending from moving forward.| EPIC for America
Both the House and Senate have made progress on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. The Senate is proposing to increase spending by about $50 billion above the current FY 2025 levels and the House’s proposed FY 2026 bills.| EPIC for America
Congress should reform the Highway Trust Fund, end appropriations for expanding rail and transit capacity, and avoid infrastructure “stimulus” in the wake of recessions. It is possible to attain meaningful budgetary savings by focusing federal infrastructure efforts on core national systems and cutting off boondoggles once and for all.| EPIC for America
The Appropriations Committees in both houses of Congress have passed fiscal year 2026 funding bills for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (combined with funding for the Department of […]| Housing Assistance Council
The OBBB’s neutering of the CAFE standard is a win for proponents of consumer choice and deregulation.| EPIC for America
MIAMI — Republican lawmakers in the 10 states that refused the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion for over a decade have argued their conservative approach to growing government programs would pay off in the long run.| CT News Junkie
Trump’s tariffs cost taxpayers far more than his income tax cuts save them. Repealing them offers Dems a chance to deliver a major tax cut.| Washington Monthly
Congress left for August recess having accomplished a fraction of what’s needed to complete the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) appropriations process before the end of the fiscal year on 30 September 2025. The House Appropriations Committee passed 9 of its 12 bills, and the full House passed 2 of its 12 appropriations bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed 8 of its 12 appropriations bills, and the full Senate passed 3 … The post Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Update: USGS and EPA app...| The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy
Congress left for August recess having accomplished a fraction of what’s needed to complete the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) appropriations process before the end of the fiscal year on 30 September 2025. The House Appropriations Committee passed 9 of its 12 bills, and the full House passed 2 of its 12 appropriations bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed 8 of its 12 appropriations bills, and the full Senate passed 3 … The post Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Update: DOE Office of Sc...| The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy
Congress left for August recess having accomplished a fraction of what’s needed to complete the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) appropriations process before the end of the fiscal year on 30 September 2025. The House Appropriations Committee passed 9 of its 12 bills, and the full House passed 2 of its 12 appropriations bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed 8 of its 12 appropriations bills, and the full Senate passed 3 … The post Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Update: NASA, NOAA and N...| The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy
In his latest Beyond the Data column, KFF President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman examines the controversial rural hospital grant program, noting “Will the new $50 billion rural hospital grant program in the big Republican tax and spending law just amount to a bunch of ribbon cutting and big check ceremonies, or will it help rural hospitals offset coming Medicaid cuts, help them in general, or all of the above?”| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
In his latest Beyond the Data column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman discusses whether Democrats can make the Medicaid and ACA cuts a winning political issue before the midterm elections and before most people feel the cuts.| KFF
A small group of the Fordham community learned about the federal budget process at a midday lecture on April 15. Jacob Smith, an assistant political science professor, gave the talk in McMahon 109. The event was the fourth in a series of general political education programs hosted by the FitzSimons Presidential Initiative on Civics and... The post Fourth FitzSimons Civics Event Clarifies National Budget Process appeared first on The Observer.| The Observer
As the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is signed into law, and major changes are made to spending and taxes, a new survey has found that the public would create a completely different budget. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats would not extend the 2017 tax cuts for all incomes, make big cuts to Medicaid or SNAP (food stamps), nor increase spending on national defense or homeland security. On the contrary, they would raise taxes on high incomes, reduce defense spending, and keep spendi...| publicconsultation.org
A letter sent to Harvard on Friday by the Trump administration demanded that the university make a series of policy changes in order to continue to receive federal funding.| www.nytimes.com
In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF's President and CEO, examines the different counts of the number of people on Medicaid that are currently in use, which range from 69 to 83 million, and why it might matter. He also discusses other ways to assess the reach of the program: “possibly it’s useful to explain why there are different numbers out there about what seemingly is an all-time simple question: how many people are on Medicaid,” Altman says.| KFF
Bipartisan majorities favor higher not lower taxes on the wealthy, cutting defense spending not increasing it, no cuts to Medicaid, […]|
In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF’s President and CEO, discusses the limits of polling on policy, and what we have learned over more than 30 years of polling about how giving people more information and arraying tradeoffs can change opinion, including on the health policy changes and funding cuts in the current reconciliation bill.| KFF
By Susan Wright, leader of the Together Women Rise CA, Oakland chapter and member of the Together Women Rise Advocacy Group with RESULTS. Susan is also a former Peace Corps volunteer and staff member with USAID. International assistance accounts for less than 1% of the US federal budget, but it still represents an important […] The post Advocate for US funds! first appeared on Together Women Rise. The post Advocate for US funds! appeared first on Together Women Rise.| Together Women Rise
On June 4, the House Appropriations Committee released its draft funding bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2026, which begins on October 1, 2025. A subcommittee […] The post House Funding Bill for USDA Now Available appeared first on Housing Assistance Council.| Housing Assistance Council
In his latest column, President and CEO Drew Altman discusses how, with nearly half, or about 10 million MAGA supporters and Republicans receiving coverage through the ACA Marketplaces, the policy changes and cuts being considered by Republicans to the Marketplaces will directly affect their own voters. Altman writes: "Republicans are no longer interested in repealing the ACA but seem comfortable shrinking it significantly if they can, so long as they don’t touch protections for pre-existin...| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
In his latest column, President and CEO Drew Altman shows how proposals contained in the House reconciliation bill could result in a one-third reduction in ACA Marketplace enrollment. “While all eyes are on the big Medicaid cuts being proposed in the House,” he writes, “significant changes are also being proposed that together would dramatically reduce enrollment in the ACA Marketplaces.”| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman examines the implications of Secretary Kennedy’s reorganization of HHS and why it’s a sharp break from past efforts to reorganize the department.| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
In his latest Beyond the Data column, KFF’s President and CEO Drew Altman discusses how difficult it will be for states to replace lost federal Medicaid funding should Congress make significant cuts.| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
KFF’s president and CEO Drew Altman writes in a new column about the factors driving the biggest health policy decisions now—how to pay for tax cuts and whether President Trump wants another big fight about health care.| From Drew Altman Archive | KFF
In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman examines the data and history around adding work requirements to Medicaid and why the administrative burdens it imposes may offset any savings even for states that ideologically favor such an approach.| KFF
The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.| www.nytimes.com
I. What’s the Debt? How big is the U.S. national debt? Some reports say that it’s $36 trillion and others say it’s $29 trillion. The two numbers may cause some confusion but both are correct. They simply measure two different things. The larger number is the gross debt, which consists of all forms of U.S. […]| The Concord Coalition
On Tuesday night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his fourth federal budget, which, as expected, fo| Aged Care Insite
An internal GOP budget squabble has put future funding for the Old Americans Act at risk, as Trump allies mull cuts in similar programs.| Howard Gleckman
At the start of 2017, congressional Republicans often spoke about revenue-neutral tax reform. The revenue losses from tax cuts would be offset by rolling back tax breaks or introducing other taxes, most notably a destination-based cash flow tax—sometimes called the border-adjusted tax. The destination-based cash flow tax attracted intense opposition from business groups, especially retailers, and was eventually dropped. Lawmakers then pivoted to a combination tax cut and reform. The Tax Cut...| Tax Policy Center
Biden focused much of his annual speech on the mental health and well-being of children and youth.| Education Week
According to the German government’s climate finance report recently submitted to Brussels, budget allocations for climate finance in 2023 have fallen significantly compared to the previous year, now once again below the target of at least six billion euros per year. 2025 will see more troubles, as the government is planning more cuts to the […]| The German contribution to International Climate Finance
In this Bridge post, continued from our FY25 Appropriations Overview Part 1 blog, we’ll cover the House’s Interior-Environment, Energy-Water, and Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS) spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2025—detailing relevant funding levels and sharing committee report highlights that impact the Earth and space sciences. House Interior-Environment Appropriations bill and accompanying report. United States Geological Survey (USGS) FY2024 President’s Budget Reque...| The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy
A key federal funding source for schools would disappear under the conservative policy agenda.| Education Week
A conservative policy agenda could offer the clearest view yet of K-12 education in a second Trump term.| Education Week
As the nation’s English-learner population continues to grow , researchers look to the Title III for how to best support these students.| Education Week
Some Department of Housing and Urban Development programs will receive increased funding in FY24 under the final minibus appropriations bill released by congressional leaders on March 3. The bill is expected to pass […]| Housing Assistance Council