Budget on CrossGov.com

CRS Report on Appropriations for Rural Development Programs, Proposals for FY2027

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office report examined appropriations proposals for Rural Development programs for fiscal year 2027. These programs are administered by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Utilities Service, and Rural Housing Service within the Department of Agriculture. Congress funds these programs through annual appropriations acts.

GAO Findings on RUS Programs

Appropriations for water and waste disposal programs administered by RUS decreased from $478.5 million in FY2025 to $445.9 million in FY2026. Loan authority for these programs rose from $910 million in FY2025 to $1.1 billion in FY2026. The President’s FY2027 budget requested lower levels for both appropriations and loan authority compared to FY2026. H.R. 8646 proposed decreasing overall appropriations for rural water programs by $385.3 million in FY2027 versus FY2026. Congress may consider the role of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending in project selection for these programs.

$872.5 Million From DOE to Triad National Security Tops Federal Contract Actions for October 25 to 31, 2026

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ten largest federal contract actions recorded for the week of October 25 to 31, 2026 added up to $4.3 billion. The biggest was $872.5 million from the Department of Energy to Triad National Security, LLC, under modification P00262 of an existing contract.

Three agencies made the top ten: Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Veterans Affairs. Defense Department contracts reach USAspending only after a 90-day delay, so they are not in these lists.

CRS Report on FY2026 District of Columbia Budget and Appropriations

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office report covered the FY2026 District of Columbia Budget and Appropriations. The report examined how congressional approval affects the local operating budget and legislation for the District of Columbia. This process involves federal payments and controls on DC funds through annual appropriations legislation.

District of Columbia Budget Process

The Trump Administration submitted a discretionary budget request for FY2026 on May 2, 2025. This request included a proposed $728.5 million in federal payments to the District of Columbia. The DC government passed a budget of $22 billion in gross funds on September 4, 2025. In the House, a bill providing $823.9 million for DC was reported on September 5, 2025. A continuing resolution provided funding through January 30, 2026. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 provided $879 million in federal payments for DC.

$372.5 Million From DOE to Fluor Marine Propulsion Tops Federal Contract Actions for October 18 to 24, 2026

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ten largest federal contract actions recorded for the week of October 18 to 24, 2026 added up to $861.3 million. The biggest was $372.5 million from the Department of Energy to Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC, under modification P00151 of an existing contract.

Four agencies made the top ten: Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Defense Department contracts reach USAspending only after a 90-day delay, so they are not in these lists.

CRS Report on Equity and Good Conscience Debt Waiver Statutes

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Research Service report examines federal debt waiver statutes, known as equity and good conscience (EGC) authorities. These laws allow agencies to waive debts owed to the U.S. when enforcing collection would violate fairness or public policy considerations. The report covers dozens of such statutes, detailing their similarities and differences, and how they are implemented by various agencies.

Overpayments in Government Programs

The federal government spends trillions of dollars annually through various programs. This money is used for hiring staff, renting offices, buying goods or services from private firms, and providing grants, loans, and direct payments to beneficiaries. Sometimes these payments are made incorrectly, meaning the recipient was not eligible for all or part of what was paid. Overpayments can be due to fraud by recipients or errors within the government itself, such as incorrect calculations in determining payment amounts.

CRS Report on Foreign Relations Reauthorization, Background and Issues

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Research Service report on Foreign Relations Reauthorization covers the constitutional powers of Congress to provide funding and authorize programs related to foreign policy. This report highlights how Congress uses authorizing bills to address policies, make changes, and establish reporting requirements, emphasizing the role of congressional committees in budgetary decisionmaking.

Congressional Powers and Appropriations

Congress has the power to provide funding, authorize programs, and oversee foreign policy implementation as outlined in the Constitution. To manage these powers effectively, Congress passes laws requiring that appropriations for foreign affairs be authorized before spending can occur. This includes specific sections of law such as Section 504(a)(1) from the National Security Act of 1947, Section 15 from the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and others. These laws help Congress control how foreign affairs are funded and managed by setting guidelines for spending and oversight.

FinCEN Finds $270 Million in Suspicious Activity Tied to Federal Student Aid Fraud

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said on October 19, 2026, that it had found about $270 million in suspicious financial activity that may be tied to fraud against federal student aid programs. It has passed the findings to federal investigators.

The number comes from banks. In July FinCEN asked financial institutions to watch for student aid fraud and report it. Since then they’ve filed nearly 100 suspicious activity reports. FinCEN’s review of those reports turned up more than 20,000 potentially suspicious transactions going back to February 2026. Treasury’s release says the reports don’t give a complete picture of the activity, and the referrals are leads for investigators, not charges.

OMB and OPM Withdraw Shutdown Layoff Guidance Under a Union Settlement Ahead of the December 11 Deadline

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OMB and OPM have formally withdrawn the 2025 guidance that let federal agencies start layoffs during a government shutdown. Memo M-27-01, dated October 23, 2026, is the notice a union settlement required, with funding set to lapse after December 11.

The memo is short. OMB Director Russell Vought and OPM Director Scott Kupor tell agency heads and chief human capital officers that three documents are rescinded in full and no longer operative: OMB’s September 24, 2025 email on the possible lapse in appropriations starting October 1, 2025, and OPM’s two shutdown documents from the same week, its “Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs” and its “Special Instructions for Agencies Affected by a Possible Lapse in Appropriations Starting on October 1, 2025.” Those documents had told agencies to consider reduction-in-force notices for employees in programs without funding, and treated the work of running layoffs as an excepted activity that could go on while most staff were furloughed.

USDA Announces $8 Billion in Harvest Fuel Relief and $573 Million for Fertilizer Plants Weeks Before the Midterms

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

USDA announced $8 billion in one-time Harvest Fuel Relief payments to farmers on October 19 and about $573 million for eight fertilizer plants on October 22, both drawn on the Commodity Credit Corporation. Neither program comes from a new appropriation. Both use USDA’s standing authority to borrow from the Treasury through the CCC, the same route the department took for the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance payments earlier this year.

Government Shutdowns Turn Aviation Workers Into Washington's Financial Shock Absorbers

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Washington has developed a peculiar approach to essential public services: declare the work too important to stop, then interrupt the pay of the people doing it. In aviation, that contradiction reaches well beyond federal offices. It follows passengers through security checkpoints, into departure lounges and onto aircraft waiting for clearance. A government shutdown may begin as a dispute over appropriations, but its consequences travel.

CBO Says Rates 1.5 Points Higher Would Add $6 Trillion to Deficits by 2036, With the 10-Year Yield Already at 5.2%

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Budget Office published two higher-interest-rate scenarios on October 8, and the bond market is already more than halfway to the worse one. CBO’s February baseline assumed the 10-year Treasury yield would average 4.3% from 2026 to 2036. The yield closed at 5.2% on October 1.

A scenario that looked like a stress test in February now sits close to where the market trades.

We covered the headline numbers when they came out, in our post on interest costs topping defense and Medicare. This post looks at how the scenarios are built, what the market has already priced, and what Treasury’s final numbers for fiscal 2026 add.

GAO Sets AI and Fiscal Oversight Priorities Through 2032 With No Confirmed Comptroller General and a House Bill Cutting Its Budget 25%

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office released its strategic plan for 2027 to 2032 last week, setting out how Congress’s main watchdog means to spend the next six years. It puts artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the federal fiscal outlook near the top. It was signed by an acting head, at an agency the House wants to cut by a quarter.

GAO writes a new plan every few years. It’s the document that tells committees what kind of work to expect and tells GAO’s own staff where hiring and training will go. This one comes at an awkward moment for the agency.

Social Security Sets a 3.6% COLA for 2027, the Largest Since 2023, as CBO Puts the Retirement Fund Out of Money in 2032

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Social Security Administration announced on October 14 that benefits will rise 3.6% in 2027, the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 2023. The increase applies to about 72 million Social Security beneficiaries from January and to about 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income from December 31. Counting people who get both, SSA puts the total at about 76 million Americans.

For the average retired worker, the monthly check goes from $2,095 to $2,170, a rise of $75. An aged couple both receiving benefits goes from $3,238 to $3,355. The SSI federal payment standard rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.

The Iran War Cost Dispute Is Becoming a Test of Congressional Oversight

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fight over the cost of the Iran war has reached a basic question of government accountability: should Americans be allowed to see the financial damage from a military campaign they are paying for? Five Democratic senators have written to CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper demanding public disclosure of estimated damage to American military bases and facilities. Their intervention follows a classified briefing in which Cooper supplied damage estimates to lawmakers. The information exists, in other words. The dispute is over why the public cannot see an unclassified accounting of it.

Fed's Williams, Collins and Waller Signal One More Rate Hike, Not a Series, as Waller Blames Part of High Yields on US Debt

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Four Federal Reserve officials spoke on October 13, and their message was more measured than the hawkish calls of the previous week. New York Fed President John Williams, the Fed’s vice chair for monetary policy, said one more increase “may be appropriate in 2026,” but he saw no need for increases in 2027 and expects inflation near 2% next year as the effects of tariffs and energy prices fade. The economy is “not overheating,” he said.

IMF Warns Sovereign Bond Yields Could Rise in a 'Disorderly Fashion' as It Puts US Growth at 2.3% and Oil at $96

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The International Monetary Fund published its World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report on October 13 at its annual meetings in Bangkok. It forecast US growth of 2.3% in both 2026 and 2027, and global growth of 3.1% this year, a little higher than in July. Global inflation is forecast at 4.7% in 2026, easing to 4.1% next year.

The stability report carries the sharper warning. It says inflation, government debt and heavy borrowing by AI companies are straining sovereign bond markets, and that “sovereign bond yields could rise in a disorderly fashion.” The “impact could be severe given the foundational importance of sovereign bond markets,” it says. An IMF deputy director, Athanasios Vamvakidis, said: “The market is concerned about absorption potential of the huge issuance.”

Judge Blocks USDA From Relocating About 2,600 Staff, Citing Limits Congress Wrote Into Spending Law That Run to December 11

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Judge Vince Chhabria of the federal district court in San Francisco on October 13 blocked the Agriculture Department from moving about 2,600 employees out of Washington and other offices under its reorganization plan.

The judge relied on limits Congress wrote into appropriations law, which bar USDA from using funds to relocate staff or close offices without notifying and consulting the appropriations committees. Those provisions are in the continuing resolution that funds the government until December 11. The order lasts at least as long as the limits remain in force.

Trade Court Certifies a Class for IEEPA Tariff Refunds, Putting About $30 Billion Owed to Small Importers in Play as DOJ Appeals

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Court of International Trade has certified a class of importers who paid the emergency tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act between February 1, 2025, and February 19, 2026, the day before the Supreme Court struck them down. Importers who have filed their own suits are excluded. The court held a closed conference with the parties on October 13, and proposed schedules are due on October 22.

Bessent Skips the IMF Meetings in Bangkok During the US G20 Presidency as Warren Presses Him on 5% Treasury Yields

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent won’t attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bangkok, which run from October 12 to 18, Reuters reported. Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke and Under Secretary for International Affairs Erin Browne lead the US delegation. A US official cited “domestic engagements.”

The absence stands out because the US holds the G20 presidency this year. Bessent was expected to chair the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bangkok on Thursday. He also skipped the 2025 G20 meetings in South Africa. Treasury says it will push for “greater transparency and more effective approaches to sovereign debt” and wants the IMF and World Bank to stick to their core mandates.

Fed's Hammack Says Rates Need to Be Higher as Hawks Line Up Before September CPI and the October 27 to 28 Meeting

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on October 12 that “interest rates need to be higher.” Inflation is “too high with the Fed having missed its 2% target for five and a half years,” she said, and “demand-side pressures from AI are not self-correcting.” She said she prefers smaller rate changes made relatively quickly, and put trend inflation in the “mid-to-high 2% range.” “Biggest risk is inflationary mindset,” she said.

Hurricane Isaias: FEMA Emergency Declarations for Florida, Alabama and Georgia Cover Public Response Only, With No Help for Households Yet

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm on the evening of October 9. The same day the President approved three emergency declarations: EM-3655 for 27 Florida counties, EM-3656 for three Alabama counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and EM-3657 for 76 Georgia counties.

Florida’s declaration covers emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, at a 75% federal cost share. None of the three declarations includes Individual Assistance, the FEMA program that pays households for temporary housing and repairs. So far, families whose homes were damaged can’t apply for federal help.

Judge Orders DHS to Pull $20 Million in Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads Featuring Trump Three Weeks Before the Midterms

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On the night of Sunday October 11, US District Judge Jennifer Rochon in New York issued a two-week temporary restraining order requiring the administration to cancel its remaining taxpayer-funded television ads, including any set to air that night. The order bars the government from entering, renewing or expanding any agreement to make, place or air them.

The Homeland Security Department paid $20 million to an ad agency, LMD Agency, for a “National Media Campaign” that began in late September. One ad uses a clip of the President on the threat of communism. One replays a 2024 campaign ad. A fifth, first aired on October 6, covers the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

2026 Midterms: Democrats Lead the Generic Ballot by About 8 Points as Cook Moves 18 House Races, and What Control Means for the Budget

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Three weeks before the November 3 midterms, Republicans hold the House with 218 seats to the Democrats’ 214, plus one independent and two vacancies. They hold the Senate 53 to 47. Polling averages show Democrats ahead on the generic congressional ballot by about 8 points: RealClearPolitics had it at 50.4% to 42.2% on October 6, and Nate Silver’s average at 8.9 points on October 9. A year ago the gap was under 3.

Congress Faces a December 11 Cliff: Government Funding, the NDAA, the Farm Bill and the Cyber Sharing Law All Due After the Midterms

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When Congress comes back after the November 3 midterms, it will have about five weeks before several deadlines land on the same day. The stopgap funding law, H.R. 6500, signed on September 2, keeps the government open until December 11. The same law carries the National Flood Insurance Program, the 2015 cyber threat-sharing law, surface transportation authority and the EPA’s chemical fee program to that date.

The farm bill has already lapsed. The defense policy bill is stuck in the Senate. And a long list of health and tax items runs out on December 31.

The Pentagon's $1.5 Trillion Request Meets a Stalled NDAA and a Stopgap That Funds Defense at $838 Billion

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fiscal 2027 budget asked Congress for $1.5 trillion for national defense, a 42% jump. The Pentagon is starting the year on $838.5 billion, under a continuing resolution that runs to December 11 and bars new programs. The annual defense authorization bill, which Congress has passed every year for more than six decades, is stuck in the Senate.

The gap between what was asked and what exists is the widest in years.

Trump's War on Wind Power: $4 Billion of Taxpayer Money Spent to Cancel Electricity America Needs

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t think wind power is a moral cause. Turbines are big, they change a coastline, and some projects were signed at prices that looked generous even when they were signed. A President who wanted tougher contracts, a closer look at radar interference or a fairer deal for fishermen would have had a reasonable case to make.

That isn’t what this President has done. He has gone after wind with a hostility that no cost test, reliability test or national security test can explain.

FY2027 Appropriations: The House Has Passed 3 of 12 Bills, the Senate None, With Funding Running Out December 11

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ten days into fiscal 2027, Congress has finished none of the twelve bills that fund the government. The House has passed three: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs on May 15 by 400 votes to 15, Agriculture on June 4 by 213 to 210, and National Security and State on July 15 by 217 to 209. The Senate hasn’t marked up a single one. Everything runs on a stopgap that expires on December 11.

GAO Finds New Impoundment Violations as the House Proposes a 25% Cut to Congress's Watchdog

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On October 7, 2026, the Government Accountability Office issued two more decisions finding that the executive branch broke the Impoundment Control Act. One concerned the EPA’s Community Change Grants. The other found that HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality withheld more than $78 million that Congress had appropriated.

They join a long list. In 2025 GAO found violations involving electric-vehicle charging money under the NEVI program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Head Start, the National Institutes of Health, FEMA and, in part, a DOE school-energy program. By April 2025 it had 39 impoundment investigations open.

Iran War Costs Reach $43.6 Billion by the Pentagon's Count as Congress Stalls on Funding and Interceptor Stocks Run Low

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Pentagon’s latest estimate puts the cost of the war with Iran at $43.6 billion as of September 3. Of that, $11.2 billion has been spent on operations and $32.4 billion is the cost of replacing munitions and equipment, which hasn’t been funded. The figure leaves out repairs to bases in eight countries.

Every estimate so far has been overtaken by the next. The Defense Department’s inspector general counted $33.4 billion through June. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress in July the war would cost $37.5 billion through September. CBO, in a letter on September 15, put the cost through August 1 at about $38 billion, with $2 billion to $3 billion more each month.

After USAID: GAO Counts 6,780 Awards Ended as the State Department Takes Over $52 Billion in Foreign Aid