Government & Policy
Legislation, executive orders, regulatory changes, and government actions that directly impact personal finances, taxes, benefits, or the economy.
Latest in Government & Policy
Social Security’s $37.6 million reporting-tool project was cancelled after six years
The Social Security Administration spent $37.6 million on a business intelligence tool, and when the project ended its own review could not say why. The...
A debt-management system Social Security began in 2016 has cost $71.8 million and sits on hold
The Debt Management Product is one line in a ledger of discontinued Social Security Administration technology, and it is a striking one: more than $71.8...
The fraud-detection rebuild Social Security abandoned had already cost $34.4 million
The Social Security Administration spent $34.4 million between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2022 on a rebuilt integrity review process called rCIRP, then put it on...
Living organ donors can now claim up to $6,000, including elder care and lost wages
The Health Resources and Services Administration has finalized new eligibility guidelines for its Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program, widening the list of costs a living...
Brokers who first registered to sell Obamacare plans in 2026 break the rules three times as often
Insurance agents and brokers who first registered for plan year 2026 break Exchange conduct rules about three times as often as longer-registered peers, a finding...
New mileage rules take effect Nov. 30 and set a 2031 fleet target near 34.9 mpg
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has finalized a rule resetting federal fuel economy standards for model years 2022 through 2031, and it takes effect...
Canadian dairy, liquor and large motorcycles were barred from entry at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 29
Certain Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles with engines above 800 cc were barred from entering the United States at 12:01 a.m. eastern time...
Automatic enrollment in Trump Accounts began Oct. 1 and covers 73 million children in 44 million families
The Treasury Department began creating Trump Accounts for children automatically on October 1, 2026, under temporary regulations that took effect the day before. The Internal...
Whole soybeans were left off China’s tariff-cut list in Trump’s trade deal and still face a 10% tariff
China’s tariff-cut list under the new U.S.-China trade framework covers soybean seed, flour, oil cake and residues, but it leaves out the whole soybeans that...
The White House says Medicare enrollment will move to America.gov later this year under Trump’s new order
The executive order itself never mentions Medicare. The White House fact sheet does: it says later this year Americans will be able to complete tasks...
The stopgap Trump signed keeps the government open through Dec. 11
Federal agencies start fiscal year 2027 on Thursday, Oct. 1, with funding already in place, because President Trump signed H.R. 6500 on Sept. 2 to...
Fertility, orphan and gene-therapy drugs from 19 trading partners became tariff-free Sept. 29 under Trump’s drug tariff rules
At 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 29, imported specialty drugs from 19 eligible trading partners and jurisdictions became tariff-free under Commerce Department guidance, a carve-out...
Texas gets $51 million for 68 rural hospital districts and South Dakota $13 million for crisis care under Trump’s rural health fund
Texas is receiving $51 million for 68 rural hospital districts and authorities, and South Dakota $13 million for a 24/7 mobile crisis response service, in...
Christmas ornaments, fireworks and soccer balls are on a list of 77 Chinese goods recommended for lower U.S. tariffs under Trump’s China deal
Fireworks, tableware, dolls, puzzles, glass and wooden Christmas ornaments and soccer balls are among 77 categories of Chinese goods that the two governments have recommended...
Trump’s fuel-economy rule will cut the average new car’s price by $1,300, his Transportation Department says
A $1,300 cut in the average new vehicle’s price is the central promise of the fuel-economy rule the Transportation Department finalized on Sept. 28, alongside...
A federal court permanently blocked USDA from penalizing states over SNAP guidance on some lawfully residing immigrants
A ruling issued September 17 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon vacated a year-old USDA guidance memo that had cut some...
The Senate’s veterans’ COLA bill has 15 original cosponsors but has not moved since May 11
Fifteen senators, split across both parties, signed on as original cosponsors when Sen. Jerry Moran introduced a bill in May to raise veterans’ disability compensation...
Trump administration agrees to rescind its shutdown layoff policy after unions challenged about 4,200 federal layoff notices
About 4,200 federal Reduction-in-Force notices went out this fall under a policy that treated layoffs as exempt from ordinary shutdown rules, and the Trump administration...
TrumpRx lists a fertility drug at $1,450 a pen in the U.S., against $310 in Germany
Two prices for the same fertility drug sit side by side on TrumpRx.gov: a $1,450 pen of Gonal-F for a buyer in the United States,...
The bill that sets veterans’ 2027 disability raise has not passed the House or Senate, though the increase is meant to start December 1
A bill that would raise veterans’ disability compensation for 2027 has cleared neither the House nor the Senate, even though the increase it authorizes is...