Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
Oregon now shields the first $400 of weekly pay from most debt collectors
Oregon workers and retirees who receive a paycheck now have more of that pay protected from debt collectors. A state change that took effect July...
Burn-pit illness claims from veterans are still denied more than half the time on the first try
The 2022 PACT Act was supposed to close the door on decades of denied burn-pit claims. It expanded the list of illnesses the Department of...
Federal student-loan wage garnishment and tax-refund seizures are paused while borrowers choose a new repayment plan
For borrowers who have fallen behind on federal student loans, the most frightening part of default is not the balance itself. It is the collection...
New York is mailing seniors STAR property-tax checks of $700 to $1,500 this summer and fall
Older homeowners across New York are opening their mailboxes this summer and fall to find property-tax relief checks, and for many eligible seniors the amount...
Connecticut now requires companies to send yearly reminders on how to cancel auto-renewing subscriptions
Connecticut is taking aim at one of the quietest drains on a household budget: the subscription that renews year after year long after anyone still...
A new law bars streaming services from making ads louder than the show
Streaming viewers in California will no longer have to lunge for the remote when an ad break hits. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 576, a...
SNAP just ended work-rule exemptions for veterans, homeless adults and former foster youth
Veterans, adults experiencing homelessness, and young people who aged out of foster care lost their temporary protection from SNAP work-rule time limits after the One...
Montana’s new homestead tax cuts many homeowners’ property bills about 18% this year
Montana homeowners who live in their primary residence stand to see property tax bills drop by roughly 18 percent starting this year, after the 69th...
The federal flood insurance program expires September 30 unless Congress renews it
Homeowners who depend on the National Flood Insurance Program to protect their properties face a hard deadline. Federal law bars the NFIP from writing new...
Parents on SNAP lose their work-rule exemption once their youngest child turns 14
Parents who rely on SNAP to feed their families now face a sharp new deadline. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, signed...
Airlines no longer have to show checked-bag fees upfront after a July 1 rule rollback
Travelers shopping for flights online lost a key price-transparency tool on July 2, 2026, when the Department of Transportation formally rolled back a 2024 rule...
Lawmakers are floating a 10% cap on credit-card interest, now averaging about 21.5%
Americans carrying credit card balances could see their annual percentage rates cut by more than half under companion bills introduced this Congress by a bipartisan...
SNAP work rules now reach adults up to 64, and about 4 million have dropped off
Millions of adults in their 50s and early 60s who rely on food assistance are losing benefits after Congress extended SNAP work requirements to cover...
California is standardizing confusing “sell by” and “use by” food labels to cut waste
Grocery shoppers in California will no longer encounter the confusing mix of “sell by,” “best by,” and “use by” stamps that have long led people...
A House-passed bill would let banks freeze suspicious withdrawals to protect seniors from scams
Older Americans targeted by financial scams could soon gain a new layer of protection at the bank counter. The House passed H.R. 2478, the Financial...
The Education Department paused garnishing wages and Social Security checks from defaulted student-loan borrowers
Federal student-loan borrowers in default will no longer see portions of their paychecks or Social Security benefits seized, at least for now. The U.S. Department...
Connecticut now requires the full price, including every mandatory fee, up front
Consumers booking hotel rooms, buying concert tickets, or ordering restaurant delivery in Connecticut will soon see the full cost of those transactions before they reach...
The VA is now deciding disability claims in about 79 days, down from 141 a year and a half ago
Veterans waiting on disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs are getting answers faster than at any point on record. The average time to...
Gas fell in only one state this year, Indiana, after it suspended its gas tax
Drivers in Indiana are paying less for gasoline than they did at the start of the year, a distinction no other state can claim. The...
A court froze junk-food food-stamp bans in five states, including Tennessee’s July 31 rollout
Millions of SNAP recipients in five states lost clarity on what they can buy with their benefits after a federal court froze junk-food restriction waivers...