Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
USDA’s own October example runs a two-person senior household down to $424.50 in countable net income before the 30% food benefit formula applies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes a worked SNAP example in which a two-person senior household with $1,200 in monthly gross income ends up...
The stopgap that funds the government to December 11 sets aside $130,191,781 for homeless-veteran housing services and $236,713 for rural veterans’ mental health
Two small lines in a continuing appropriations law show how veterans programs are kept running while Congress postpones its larger budget fight. Public Law 119-103...
Customs opens phase three of its tariff refund process for importers October 6, after the Supreme Court ruled the emergency law Trump used does not authorize tariffs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency commonly called Customs, is scheduled to open phase three of its tariff refund process on October 6,...
The White House said all 50 state Medicaid programs would benefit from lower drug prices, while CMS counted 40 states and Puerto Rico signed as of September 18, ahead of its September 30 deadline
On September 18, 2026, the White House announced lower drug prices for all 50 state Medicaid programs, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
Treasury and the IRS expect the new school-choice tax credit to support 600 to 700 scholarship organizations by 2030, drawing more than 11 million donors
Treasury and the IRS project that the new school-choice tax credit could support 600 to 700 scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) by 2030, with more than 11...
A tariff rebate bill introduced September 17 is still sitting in three House committees, and would pay out through the 2026 tax return
H.R.10494, the American Tariff Rebate Act, was introduced on September 17 by Rep. Valerie P. Foushee, a North Carolina Democrat, and its official record has...
Money in a Trump Account is invested in American companies and, at 18, carries the tax treatment of a traditional IRA, Treasury’s site says
The Treasury Department’s Trump Accounts site says that a child’s money is invested automatically in American companies and that, at 18, the account belongs to...
USDA will require a rural energy project to be built and paid for before the grant application
A final rule from the USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service, published in the Federal Register on Oct. 1, 2026, rewrites how the Rural Energy for America...
A bill reported 51-0 would let a bank freeze a suspicious wire and bar overdraft fees on affected customers
A House bill that would let banks and credit unions hold a suspicious wire transfer, and bar overdraft fees on affected customers, cleared the House...
TrumpRx lists Ozempic at $199 a month against a $1,028 list price
TrumpRx lists Ozempic at $199 a month against a $1,028 list price, an 81 percent markdown that the federal site presents as a “Most-Favored-Nation” price....
Guam’s food-stamp standard deduction runs from $435 to $614, double the mainland figure
Guam’s SNAP standard deduction for fiscal year 2027 runs from $435 for households of one to three people to $614 for households of six or...
A Sept. 29 executive order directs a single federal login, with passport renewal and Medicare enrollment promised later this year
An executive order signed Sept. 29 directs the federal government to build a single online front door, America.gov, with one login behind it. The order...
States will invoice drugmakers directly for extra Medicaid rebates under the new federal model
A Medicaid program that already collects statutory drug rebates is adding a second layer of billing, and the state, not Washington, holds the invoice. Under...
The rival rebate bill phases $2,000 payments out between $75,000 and $80,000 of income
A bill introduced in the House on September 17 would pay eligible taxpayers $2,000 each, but only up to an income line that sits unusually...
A bill called the Trump Tariff Rebate Act would raise the standard deduction by $4,000 instead of mailing checks
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, introduced a bill in December 2025 that borrows the language of tariff rebate checks but would never put a...
Treasury’s new Trump Account rules let a donor contribute stock, not just cash
Treasury and the IRS have written stock into the funding rules for Trump Accounts, the children’s savings accounts created under the One Big Beautiful Bill....
A household with someone 60 or older skips the food-stamp gross income test entirely
For most households applying for SNAP, income has to clear two gates: a gross limit set at 130 percent of the federal poverty level and...
Households with someone 60 or older can deduct shelter costs with no cap at all
A household with a member aged 60 or older can subtract every shelter dollar above half of its income when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program...
A five-person household subtracts $268 from income before its food-stamp benefit is figured
Before the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program decides what a five-person household receives each month, it removes a flat slice of that household’s income from the...
A veteran rated 100% disabled with a spouse is still paid $4,158.17 under rates set last December
A veteran rated 100% disabled who is married and has no other dependents is paid $4,158.17 a month, and that figure has not moved since...