Tag: Huffington Post

How the Budget Deal Will Die

How the Budget Deal Will Die

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Charles Dharapak/AP

Rep. Paul Ryan began the budget conference committee last month by warning Democrats that they would sabotage the negotiations by insisting on a debate over more revenue.

“If this conference becomes an argument about taxes, we’re not going to get anywhere,” Ryan told the group on Oct. 30. It took Democrats all of one week to dismiss his advice.

Several liberal lawmakers on the committee drafted a memo last week detailing “egregious tax loopholes” that could be closed to raise revenue and help soften sequester cuts—a nonstarter for Ryan and the House Republican Conference. Continue reading “How the Budget Deal Will Die”

EPA Employees To Face Up To 13 Furlough Days

EPA Employees To Face Up To 13 Furlough Days

Posted: 03/04/2013 11:56 am EST  |  Updated: 03/04/2013 9:21 pm EST

Epa Furlough
Employees across the federal government face furloughs due to sequestration. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency may be forced to take unpaid leave for up to 13 days this year, as the federal government absorbs the $85 billion in sequestration budget cuts that went into effect on Friday.

Agency staff will begin to receive their furlough notices on Monday, according to a memo sent out to employees on Friday by Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe.

“Earlier this week you learned the details of the furloughs — up to 13 days (104 hours) until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2013 — and our plan to review our budget status in June 2013 after the first phase of four furlough days (32 hours) to determine if there may be a way to reduce the number of furlough hours that would be required in the second phase,” Perciasepe wrote in the memo, provided to The Huffington Post by an EPA spokesperson. Continue reading “EPA Employees To Face Up To 13 Furlough Days”

Unemployment Insurance To Be Extended, $30 Billion Cost Won’t Be Offset

Unemployment Insurance To Be Extended, $30 Billion Cost Won’t Be Offset

Posted: 12/31/2012 3:32 pm EST  |  Updated: 12/31/2012 3:44 pm EST

 Unemployment Insurance Extended

WASHINGTON — One of the remaining sticking points holding up a fiscal cliff deal appears to have been resolved, as negotiators have decided to extend unemployment benefits without offsetting the cost.

A source familiar with negotiations told The Huffington Post that lawmakers would treat the provision as “an emergency measure that shouldn’t be paid for.” A Senate Democratic and Republican source each confirmed the plan. Continue reading “Unemployment Insurance To Be Extended, $30 Billion Cost Won’t Be Offset”

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