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Podcast: How the budget mess in Congress hurts all of us

Podcast: How the budget mess in Congress hurts all of us

This year the federal government is expected to collect more than $3.5 trillion in taxes— a vast amount of money by any measure. One of the key functions of Congress is to pass a budget. But often that seems close to impossible.


Lack of agreement over federal spending regularly threatens to bring about government shutdowns that have a negative impact on millions of Americans. Yet few of us can even begin to understand the byzantine budget process.
Both of our guests in this episode have worked with other policy experts to make the budget process function better, with greater efficiency and transparency.



Alison Acosta Winters is a fiscal conservative and was most recently a senior policy fellow at Americans for Prosperity. Emily Holubowich is vice president for federal advocacy at the American Heart Association, and often supports more government spending.


Brought together by Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, Alison, Emily and other stakeholders from diverse backgrounds spent months working together to come up with several major proposals for overhauling the budget process.

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What War Powers?
white concrete dome buildings

What War Powers?

This week the House has cut its session to just Weds-Thurs while the Senate has its standard Monday evening - Thursday schedule.

There's the usual mix in the House of some bills likely to pass with large majorities and and a couple that will probably be party-line or close to.

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Senators Express Support, Criticism of Future Military Action in Iran

Sen. Chuck Schumer criticized the Iran War on Tuesday. Republicans and Democrats are mostly split along party lines in support and criticism of the war.

(Marissa Fernandez/MNS)

Senators Express Support, Criticism of Future Military Action in Iran

WASHINGTON — Senators seemed split along party lines over future military action in the Middle East after a classified intelligence briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Democrats called for increased clarity on the objectives and justifications for attacks, while Republicans supported the Trump administration’s current plan.

The conflicting reactions came as both the House and the Senate are scheduled to vote on a war powers resolution on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. If passed, the resolution would limit further military actions in Iran without congressional approval.

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Tony Evers’ Final Mission as Governor: End Partisan Gerrymandering for Good

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers will call special sessions to ban partisan gerrymandering via constitutional amendment, as national redistricting battles intensify.

IVN Staff

Tony Evers’ Final Mission as Governor: End Partisan Gerrymandering for Good

MADISON, Wis. - In his final State of the State address, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced that he plans to call a special legislative session in the Spring to put an end to partisan gerrymandering “once and for all.”

And he will keep calling lawmakers into session until happens.

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Crowd waving flags
Crowd waving flags
(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Government We Value Is Fading

What's happening in our country? Americans are living through a political transformation we did not vote for, did not debate, and did not consent to — and it is happening in real time. [NPR]

America was built on a radical idea: that a diverse people could govern themselves, that power would be shared, and that no leader could ever place himself above the law. The framers designed a Constitution that divided authority, checked ambition, and protected the voices of ordinary citizens. They feared concentrated power. They feared silence. They feared exactly what we are witnessing today.

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