WASHINGTON — The elections that drove Nicolas Sarkozy out of power in France and left Greece scrambling to build a coalition government pose a financial threat to the United States that could undermine President Barack Obama’s efforts to cast himself as the agent of a U.S. economic revival.
WASHINGTON — The House was poised Wednesday to reject a bipartisan budget plan mixing tax increases with spending cuts across the budget to wring $4 trillion from the budget deficit over the coming decade, paving the way for Republicans to muscle through on Thursday a stringent GOP budget that blends big cuts to safety-net programs for the poor with a plan to dramatically overhaul Medicare.
WASHINGTON — The new debt-slashing budget plan pushed by House Republicans heated up as a presidential campaign issue Sunday as the proposal’s architect, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, sparred with top Democrats over its political fallout and downplayed the possibility he could be tapped as a vice presidential candidate.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans resurrected the specter of Medicare rationing Thursday in an election-year vote to repeal cost controls in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress Tuesday that the president’s new $3.8 trillion spending plan would impose new taxes on only 2 percent of the nation’s wealthiest families and the alternative would be to seek more painful cuts in other government programs such as defense, Social Security and Medicare.
WASHINGTON — Taking a pass on reining in government growth, President Barack Obama unveiled a record $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan Monday, calling for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs. The ideas landed with a thud on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON — The top Republican in the House says a recent proposal by GOP members of a special deficit committee is a “fair offer” despite criticism from conservatives who say it breaks the party’s pledge on taxes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The special panel’s goal is lofty: concoct a deal both parties will embrace to slash federal deficits by a mammoth $1.5 trillion or more over the next decade.