Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
Veterans’ September disability pay lands October 1, paid a month in arrears
September’s VA disability compensation lands on October 1, 2026, because the Department of Veterans Affairs pays this benefit a month behind rather than in the...
SNAP’s 80-hour-a-month work rule reaches more recipients this fall as temporary state waivers expire, putting food aid at risk
SNAP’s requirement that able-bodied adults without dependents log 80 hours a month of work, training, or volunteering to keep their food assistance is landing on...
Refugees, asylees and other lawfully present immigrants lose federally funded Medicaid on October 1, and six-month eligibility reviews begin in 2027
Beginning October 1, 2026, federal funding for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program stops covering refugees, asylees, and several other categories of lawfully present...
About 7 million student-loan borrowers lose their SAVE-plan payment pause by September 29, and anyone who doesn’t pick a new plan is dropped into the most expensive one
About 7 million federal student-loan borrowers still parked in the SAVE plan’s payment pause are set to lose that protection by September 29, 2026, the...
Wartime veterans who need daily help can add hundreds a month to a VA pension through Aid and Attendance
A wartime veteran already collecting a VA pension can add roughly $971 a month — nearly $11,650 a year — simply by documenting that someone...
Combat-injured veterans can receive tax-free special compensation on top of their retirement pay
Military retirees who claim VA disability compensation almost always take a cut on the Pentagon side of their check first: federal law forces a dollar-for-dollar...
A surviving spouse of a veteran who died of a service-connected condition can draw a monthly tax-free payment
A surviving spouse whose husband or wife died from a service-connected injury or illness can draw $1,699.36 a month, tax-free, for the rest of their...
Severely disabled retired veterans can now collect both military retirement pay and VA disability at the same time
Military retirees rated 50 percent or more disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs can now keep their full retired pay alongside their VA disability...
Veterans groups warn a congressional proposal could cut disability benefits for 1.5 million veterans
Disabled American Veterans, the nation’s largest disabled-veterans advocacy organization, is warning that a sweeping congressional package could reduce disability compensation for as many as 1.5...
A stalled bill would add $833 a month to the checks of the most severely disabled veterans
A bill that would add $833.33 a month to the checks of the most severely disabled veterans in the country has been sitting in a...
The new law extends food-stamp work requirements to Americans up to age 65, and the current exemption clock runs out September 30
Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 who receive food stamps without dependent children are now subject to a work requirement that exempted their...
Medicaid’s new 80-hour work rule starts January 1, but pregnant women, caregivers and the medically frail are exempt
Beginning January 1, 2027, adults enrolled in Medicaid through the program’s expansion group will have to document at least 80 hours a month of work,...
Trump has now struck drug-pricing deals with 26 companies, adding nine more this week in exchange for tariff protection
President Donald Trump has now reached most-favored-nation drug-pricing agreements with 26 pharmaceutical manufacturers, after adding nine mid-sized companies this week in deals that carry a...
The White House plans to freeze pay for about 2 million federal workers in 2027 while the military gets a raise of up to 7%
The White House has told Congress it plans to freeze base and locality pay for roughly 2 million civilian federal employees in 2027, canceling an...
Total unemployability can pay some disabled veterans at the full 100% rate
A veteran with a single service-connected disability rated at 60%, or two or more disabilities combining to at least 70% with one rated 40% or...
A Veterans Pension pays low-income wartime veterans a tax-free monthly benefit
A wartime veteran with limited income can qualify for a Veterans Pension without ever having a service-connected disability — the benefit turns on age or...
VA Aid and Attendance adds to a veteran’s pension when daily care is needed
A veteran already receiving a VA pension can see that monthly payment rise substantially once a doctor documents that they need daily help bathing, dressing...
Veterans’ disability pay rose 2.8% for 2026, and a new tier can raise checks for the most severely disabled
Veterans receiving VA disability compensation saw their monthly checks rise 2.8% starting with the December 31, 2025 payment, the same cost-of-living adjustment percentage the Social...
The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs, but the White House has kept most in place under a different law
The Supreme Court struck down the tariffs at the center of President Trump’s trade agenda on February 20, 2026, ruling 6-3 that the law he...
Medicaid’s new 80-hour-a-month work rule takes effect January 1, and federal estimates say up to 3.3 million could lose coverage
A new federal work requirement for Medicaid takes effect January 1, 2027, requiring millions of adults in the program’s expansion group to document 80 hours...