Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
More than 4 million people have dropped off SNAP under new work rules, with Arizona losing over half its recipients
More than 4 million people have lost access to federal food assistance after expanded work requirements took effect under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,...
Pennsylvania raised its rebate income limit to $48,110, opening $1,000 property-tax checks to more seniors
Older Pennsylvanians living on fixed incomes got a wider path to property-tax relief after the state raised the top income threshold for its rebate program...
New SNAP rules strip work-requirement exemptions from veterans, the homeless and former foster youth
Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults who aged out of foster care now face a three-month countdown on their food assistance. Public Law 119-21,...
Georgia and Wisconsin Medicaid enrollees must log 80 work hours a month starting in 2027
Adults enrolled in Medicaid in Georgia and Wisconsin will need to complete 80 hours of work, education, community service, or job training each month to...
The FTC is mailing $2.7 million to 62,893 Handy workers automatically, with no claim to file
Nearly 63,000 gig workers who cleaned homes and assembled furniture through the Handy Technologies platform are receiving refund checks this month, with no paperwork required....
Michigan is sending expanded earned-income-credit payments averaging $550 a family
Roughly 700,000 Michigan households began receiving supplemental checks averaging $550 each after the state retroactively raised its earned income tax credit for tax year 2022....
Connecticut’s new law caps what residents pay out of pocket for prescriptions
Connecticut residents who pay cash for lower-cost prescriptions will now see those purchases count toward their insurance deductibles, a change that could reshape how thousands...
A bipartisan Senate bill would raise base VA disability pay for millions of veterans in late 2026
Millions of veterans who receive monthly VA disability checks could see their payments rise by the end of this year under a bipartisan Senate bill...
Pennsylvania paid $226 million in property-tax rebates worth up to $1,000 to 376,000 seniors
Nearly 376,000 Pennsylvania seniors, widows, widowers, and people with disabilities began receiving property-tax and rent rebates on July 1, with payments totaling $226.4 million for...
A new federal rule bars banks from closing accounts over politics or industry
Gun dealers, oil drillers, and private-prison operators can no longer be turned away by their banks simply because regulators considered those industries a reputational liability....
About 54,000 combat-injured veterans could finally collect both retirement and disability pay, roughly $1,200 more a month
A long-running gap in military retirement law is edging closer to closing. For decades, a group of combat-wounded veterans has had their military retired pay...
Iowa now lets insurers freeze suspicious transactions to stop elder fraud, after halting $2.59 million last year
Iowa has given its insurers and financial firms a new power aimed squarely at protecting older residents from fraud. Under a law that took effect...
Maine is sending $300 payments and expanding a property-tax credit for older homeowners this year
Maine is putting money back in the hands of residents this year through two separate channels, and older homeowners are among those best positioned to...
Wartime veterans and their surviving spouses can draw $1,500 to $2,900 a month from an underused VA pension
There is a Department of Veterans Affairs benefit built specifically for older wartime veterans and their surviving spouses who need help getting through the day,...
A Senate bill would send $1,200 tariff-rebate payments to couples earning under $180,000, plus $600 per child
The idea is simple enough to fit on a bumper sticker: if tariffs raise the price of goods for American families, send some of that...
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...