WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said President Trump has told him he will sign a spending bill to avert a government shutdown. The House is prepared to pass the legislation later Wednesday and send it to Trump’s desk. “I’m confident he will sign it. … This funds our military, this funds opioids, […]
federal budget
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Trump’s ‘An American Budget’ is not good for Maine
President Donald Trump’s “An American Budget” proposes significant cuts to the FY 2019 budgets of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The data and information generated by these agencies are used extensively by Maine decision makers, scientists and communities to better understand the rapidly changing ocean and coastal […]
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Posted inLetters, sj-web
Classist government policies
If President Trump’s proposed overhaul to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is implemented (under the guise of a “harvest box”) there will be a decrease in individual consumer autonomy which would hurt the economy. This hypocritical over-extension is a gross effort to cut the federal deficit through the wrong avenues. Instead of aiming to cut […]
Posted inNation / World
Republicans to help White House cut funds from $1.3 trillion spending deal
With the federal budget deficit expanding and congressional elections seven months away, the Trump administration plans to ask Congress for cuts in domestic programs that were part of a bipartisan $1.3 trillion spending bill that President Donald Trump signed last month. The White House doesn’t want to touch extra funding for the military, border security […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump signs $1.3 trillion budget after veto threat
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending measure Friday averting a government shutdown at midnight, acting just hours after saying he was considering a veto. Trump complained that the legislation does not fully fund his plans for a border wall with Mexico and does not address some 800,000 “Dreamer” immigrants who […]
Posted inNation / World
Congress passes budget with little time to spare
WASHINGTON — Congress cleared a sweeping $1.3 trillion spending bill early Friday that doles out enormous increases to military and domestic programs alike, as Republicans and Democrats joined to block most of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts and place obstacles in the way of his immigration agenda. The House passed the 2,232-page bill Thursday […]
Posted inBusiness
Spending bill could bar restaurant owners from taking servers’ tips
Tucked into Congress’s 2,200-plus-page omnibus spending bill are a few paragraphs that would prohibit employers from sharing server tips with others in a restaurant — including the employers themselves. Worker advocates label the provision a bipartisan rebuke to a proposed Department of Labor rule last year that could have legalized a practice now considered wage […]
Posted inNation / World
Analysis: A federal government shutdown looks unlikely
WASHINGTON — Is the government going to shut down Friday? A majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are motivated not to let what would be the third shutdown this year happen. They may not have a choice, though. We’re hours away from a midnight Friday deadline for Congress to appropriate money for […]
Posted inNation / World
Immigration, health care and a tunnel are obstacles to passing $1.3 trillion spending bill
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators struggled to finalize a $1.3 trillion spending bill to keep the government running, with several thorny issues such as health care and immigration still unresolved ahead of an end-of-week deadline. Despite hopes of reaching a deal Monday, leaders had not wrapped up the bill as of Tuesday morning. The “omnibus” spending […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Founders warned about the dangers of debt
In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare pens one of the most familiar lines — and best advice — ever written. Before Laertes leaves for Paris, his father, Polonius, tells him: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be…” We have ignored that advice for far too long, which is why the U.S. national debt is $20 trillion with more […]