John McCosh, Georgia Recorder Congress has until at least July to broker a bipartisan debt agreement if lawmakers want to avoid a first-ever default, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan scorekeeper, which typically details how much legislation would cost, released a report Wednesday saying that U.S. lawmakers and …
Read More »U.S. Hits Debt Limit; Treasury Department Begins ‘extraordinary measures’
Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The nation reached its debt limit Thursday, beginning the uncertain process known as extraordinary measures, in which the U.S. Treasury Department uses accounting maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the debt. The often-used practice is intended to give the Republican House, Democratic Senate and Biden administration time …
Read More »U.S. To Hit Debt Limit Much Sooner Than Expected, Thrusting Congress Into Showdown
Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The U.S. government will hit its borrowing limit next week, forcing the new, divided Congress into negotiations over the debt limit much sooner than expected, though a potential date for the nation to default isn’t expected until this summer. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to Congress …
Read More »U.S. Announces Sanctions On Russian President Vladimir Putin
The United States, in coordination with the European Union and Britain, announced sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House announced Friday. “The United States, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on President of …
Read More »Maya Angelou Is First Black Woman To Be Featured On U.S. Quarter
The United States Mint announced that a new quarter featuring the late Maya Angelou entered circulation Monday, making the legendary poet and activist the first black woman to appear on the coin. The Maya Angelou Quarter is the first coin in the American Women Quarters Program. Other coins in the …
Read More »Congress Approves $2.5 Trillion Debt Limit Increase
On Tuesday, Congress voted to raise the national debt limit by $2.5 trillion and extend it into 2023, narrowly avoiding a midweek deadline that would have sent the United States into default. The House approved the measure by a 221-209 party-line vote to raise the federal government’s debt limit to …
Read More »Biden Nominates Jerome Powell For Second Federal Reserve Chair Term
President Joe Biden is nominating Jerome Powell to a second four-year term as Federal Reserve Chair, the White House said in a statement on Monday. Biden also said he would nominate Lael Brainard, the lone Democrat on the Fed’s Board of Governors and the person who had been considered a …
Read More »President Biden Signs Bill Temporarily Raising Debt Limit
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a bill raising the nation’s debt limit until early December, delaying the prospect of an unprecedented federal default that would cause economic disaster. The House passed the $480 billion increase in the country’s borrowing ceiling on Tuesday, after the Senate approved it …
Read More »Yellen ‘Confident’ Global Minimum Corporate Tax Will Pass
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that she hoped Congress would approve a key pillar of the global corporate tax deal agreed by some 136 countries and jurisdictions. “I am confident that what we need to do to come into compliance with the minimum tax will be included in …
Read More »Senate Reaches Short-Term To Extend Debt Limit To December
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that the upper chamber reached an agreement to lift the debt limit, averting the risk of a government default. “We have reached an agreement to extend the debt ceiling through early December, and it’s our hope that we can get this done as …
Read More »Biden To GOP On Debt Ceiling: ‘Get Out Of The Way’
President Joe Biden is urging Republicans not to use the filibuster to block Democrats in the Senate from raising the U.S. debt ceiling. “If you don’t want to help save the country, get out of the way, so you don’t destroy it,” said Biden during remarks delivered Monday. “We don’t …
Read More »Treasury Secretary Says Congress Must Raise Debt Limit By Oct. 18
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that Congress has until Oct. 18 to raise or suspend the debt limit before the United States is expected to default on the national debt. “We now estimate that Treasury is likely to exhaust its extraordinary measures if Congress has not acted to …
Read More »Democrats Unveil Plans To Tie Debt Limit Suspension To Spending Bill
Democratic congressional leaders on Monday unveiled plans to tie the suspension of the nation’s debt limit to a spending bill that would also fund the government through the end of the year after the current budget lapses on September 30. The fate of the plan is unclear since Republicans have vowed …
Read More »Social Security Benefits Will Have To Be Cut By 2034 Unless Congress Acts
On Tuesday, the Social Security and Medicare Trustees released an annual report that details the program’s long-term funding shortfall and how benefits will have to be cut by 2034 unless Congress acts. The report attributes the program’s issues to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession. Data from the Census …
Read More »G20 Backs Deal To Overhaul The Way Multinational Companies Are Taxed
G20 finance ministers on Saturday gave their backing to a historic deal to overhaul the way multinational companies are taxed and urged hold-out countries to get on board. Some 132 countries have already signed up to a framework for international tax reform, including a minimum corporate rate of 15 percent, …
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