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Cuts help drop federal deficit in October
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government started the first month of the 2014 budget year with a $91.6 billion deficit, signaling further improvement in the nation’s finances at a time when lawmakers are wrestling to reach a deal that would keep the government open past January. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the deficit in October […]
Program cuts eyed at Antietam National Battlefield
HAGERSTOWN — The National Park Service says federal budget cuts will likely cause reductions in ranger-led tours and monument maintenance at the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg. Park Superintendent Susan Trail told The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown Monday that programs for schoolchildren may also be reduced. She says the park’s visitor center probably won’t extend its [&hel[...]
Report: Md., Va., most vulnerable in budget fight
ANNAPOLIS — A Wells Fargo report says Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia are the most vulnerable to looming and widespread federal budget cuts. The report released Monday examines states that would feel the most pain from $85 billion in cuts that are set to automatically start taking effect March 1 without a bipartisan […]
Economists say U.S. needs more taxes, spending cuts
NEW YORK — The best way to reduce the federal deficit is through a combination of higher taxes and spending cuts, according to a group of economists. The 236 members of the National Association for Business Economics recently surveyed say the country needs more fiscal stimulus through 2013, but by 2014 it should be time […]
Senate turns to partisan fight over student loans
WASHINGTON — The Senate is the newest arena in the election-year face-off over federal student loans, and both sides are starting out by pounding away at each other. With Congress returning from a weeklong spring recess, the Senate plans to vote Tuesday on whether to start debating a Democratic plan to keep college loan interest […]
Senate sidetracks move to repeal ethanol credit
WASHINGTON — The Senate refused to kill a $5 billion annual subsidy for ethanol on Tuesday, backing continued government aid for a Farm Belt-based industry over deficit reduction in an era of record red ink. The 40-59 vote, far short of the 60 needed to advance the measure, reflected regional as well as partisan differences, […]
Obama to announce plans to cut government waste
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will announce new steps Monday to reduce government waste, arguing that inefficiency, fraud and abuse are especially troubling during tough economic times. Obama was to sign an executive order creating the Campaign to Cut Government Waste. According to a draft of the order obtained by The Associated Press, Obama will […]
Jack L.B. Gohn: Saving money is no object: Tea Party budget thinking
Arguably the most important law of them all is the federal budget. Its passage and contents are the precondition of the execution, enforcement and administration of all other federal laws and many state ones. Its provisions embody some of the most important political choices we as a nation make. So what politicians want to do […]
Economists: Tax deal will provide jump start
WASHINGTON — The tax deal struck by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans essentially gives Americans a pay raise — pumping money into the economy almost immediately and probably creating hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next two years, economists say. The compromise already has economists raising their forecasts for growth next year, mainly […]
