Government Operations

Record Federal Funding Gaps Leave Congress Without Solutions

A new Congressional Research Service report on federal funding gaps documents what is now the most chaotic appropriations year in modern U.S. history, and...

Congress

Air Force's $338.8B Budget Request Sparks Deficit Debate

Why it matters: The Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request hearing on May 20, 2026, exposed a sharp divide over whether a $338.8...

Commerce

GOP Split Over Tariffs Threatens Small Manufacturer Growth

Why it matters: The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee held a hearing on May 13, 2026, examining industrialization and the rise of small...

Legislation

Gas Tax Holiday Would Undermine Highway Funding

The politics of a federal gas tax suspension are easy. The policy is not.

Macroeconomics

Congress Lacks Tools to Combat Price Gouging

A new Congressional Research Service report on retailer inventory pricing and supply chain behavior lands at an uncomfortable moment for Washington: import...

Macroeconomics

Small Builders Squeezed Out of Responding to Housing Crisis

America's housing shortage has grown to more than 4 million units, and the small builders historically responsible for filling that gap are getting squeezed...

Politics

GOP Pushes Tax Law Benefits Before Midterms

Republicans on the House Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee are using a May 19, 2026 hearing to make the case that the "One Big Beautiful Bill," signed by...

Commerce

China's Debt Crisis Fuels Aggressive Global Economic Expansion

A new Congressional Research Service report on China economy trends lands at a pivotal moment, as Congress and the Trump administration wrestle with how...

Congress

Small Manufacturers Face Tariff Survival Threat

The Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on imported patented pharmaceuticals has set off a scramble in Washington over...

Congress

Senate Committee Examines Rising Fertilizer Costs

American farmers are heading into the 2026 growing season facing fertilizer costs that are squeezing margins and, in some cases, forcing changes to planting...

Labor and Employment

Rep Kaptur To Face a Tight Rematch

Rep. Marcy Kaptur had an active week in Ohio's 9th District, celebrating a major manufacturing investment in Toledo, standing with postal workers in...

Macroeconomics

Consequences Loom In Extending the Mandatory Spending Sequester Through 2033

A new Congressional Research Service report lands at a precarious moment for federal budgeting, detailing how the mandatory spending sequester — the...

Macroeconomics

Rules of Origin System Vulnerable to Tariff Exploitation

The Trump administration has staked its economic credibility on tariffs, "Buy American" mandates, and reshoring American manufacturing. But a recent...

Macroeconomics

General Business Credit Framework Creates Unnecessary Complexity

A quiet but consequential Congressional Research Service report published April 29 is drawing fresh attention to a tax mechanism that touches nearly every...

Finance

Court Ruling Reshapes Self-Employment Tax for Managers

A federal appeals court decision handed down in January is creating serious headaches for the IRS — and potentially opening a significant tax break for fund...

Government Operations

Congress Resists Trump's Proposed Budget Cuts

A new Congressional Research Service report reveals a widening gap between the Trump Administration's proposed spending cuts and what Congress is actually...

Legislation

House Passes Budget Blueprint And Unlocks $140B in Spending

The House passed the FY2026 budget resolution on April 29, 2026, in a floor vote that laid bare just how wide the partisan canyon has grown on federal...