The Latest Breaking News from Maya MacGuineas

The federal government's budget gap widened significantly in the first nine months of the fiscal year, as tax receipts slumped and spending increased.

What is the debt ceiling? What could happen if it's not raised? Here are answers to questions you may be asking about the debt limit and the fight over it.

There could be serious economic damage in the U.S. and elsewhere if the debt ceiling fight nears the default deadline.

WASHINGTON — Unlike the annual tax-filing deadline at roughly the same time, Congress’ April 15 target date for agreeing on a joint budget resolution is set to come and go with no practical effect on the everyday lives of Americans.

Congress is set to blow past its April 15 target date for a joint budget resolution, which has been the rule rather than the exception.

We have been here before. But this time the House's new Republican majority is largely driven by a faction that says it will hold the debt limit vote as a hostage to win policy changes.

House Republicans want to leverage must-pass legislation to raise the debt limit to extract federal spending cuts, but President Biden and congressional Democrats aren't interested in negotiating.

Social Security beneficiaries are set to get the largest boost to their benefits in four decades.

The nation’s gross national debt has surpassed $31 trillion, according to a U.S. Treasury report released Tuesday

WASHINGTON — Texas Republican lawmakers have been quick to attack President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan as a heavy burden for taxpayers. However, the arguments used don’t give the full picture of the situation faced by millions of families now sorting out how the forgiveness program impacts them.

The proposal reportedly hikes taxes by over $730 billion, with $300 billion of that money to be used for reducing the federal budget deficit.