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The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, analyzes the number of beneficiaries and any changes to the program. Nutrition programs make up the majority of the multi-year omnibus legislation referred to as the farm bill.

The debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy showed concessions from both sides, and preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans. Read more»

President Joe Biden greets House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he arrives to deliver his 2023 State of the Union address on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Critical of the deal on the debt ceiling that's been struck with the White House, Republican lawmakers say they can wield the same leverage they used to install Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House to strip him of his party leadership. Read more»

Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Read more»

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised his party he'd play hardball during negotiations with Joe Biden over the debt ceiling. So what's with all the Nerf? Read more»

Negotiators included a provision that would ensure there isn’t another fiscal crisis when Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills by October to keep the government funded into the next fiscal year.

House Republicans pushed the U.S. to the edge of a fiscal crisis because they wanted deep cuts in spending - but the budget was designed to appeal to enough Republicans and Democrats to get it through Congress and does hardly anything to address America’s debt problem. Read more»

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, front, with GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana at left, speaks briefly to reporters about a deal on the debt ceiling he said has been reached with the White House, on May 27, 2023.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle with President Joe Biden Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. Read more»

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, speaks with reporters about the debt limit and government funding negotiations outside the Capitol building on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. Read more»

Kevin McCarthy at a Jan. 5, 2023, press conference in the U.S. Capitol.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress brokered dozens of debt limit agreements, including several during the past decade, but House Republicans now are pushing for the federal government to spend less next year than it will this year in order for the party to move a debt limit bill. Read more»

Tucson's $2.2 billion budget tops a long list of agenda items the City Council will take up this week.

The Tucson City Council will hold a study session Tuesday to discuss, oh, just about everything they've ever thought about discussing at any particular time. Plus more in other local government meetings this week. Read more»

Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher will unveil her proposed $1.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2023-24. It could get dicey with the board.

Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher seems to want to adjust the county's base budget upward a tad after the Great Recession forced supervisors to push it down. It's part of a plan to recruit talent and invest in roads, as the surplus reaches $159 million. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Despite courting ire from members of her own party, Hobbs called the budget an example of successful across-the-aisle teamwork and reiterated her commitment to future bipartisan solutions.

With the stroke of a pen on Thursday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs approved a $17.8 billion dollar budget, despite criticism from progressive organizations and many in her own party. Read more»

Hobbs’ budget includes a historic $150 million allocation for the state’s Housing Trust Fund, and injects a one-time funding boost of $300 million into K-12 education.

Latino voters turned out in force to help deliver the state’s top position to Gov. Katie Hobbs, but pro-immigrant groups say the newly approved budget, the culmination of her first year in office, fails to live up to their hopes. Read more»

The debt ceiling is the legal amount of money the U.S. can use to pay the nation’s creditors. If Congress fails to raise the limit, the U.S. will default on its bills.

U.S. House Republicans have requested more than $10 billion in earmarks to be included in next year’s appropriations bills, despite demanding massive spending cuts as a contingent for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. Read more»

Failure to cap enrollment in Arizona’s rapidly expanding universal school voucher program, known officially as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, was a sticking point for many Democrats, who said the vouchers threatened to bankrupt the state.

The Arizona Legislature passed an almost $18 billion budget Wednesday, one that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs negotiated with Republican leaders in the House and Senate - but Democrats excoriated Hobbs for her failure to better negotiate. Read more»

The budget has not just upset ​​Democratic lawmakers but also high-profile Democrats, including Attorney General Kris Mayes.

A budget deal brokered between Republicans and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs made its way out of the Arizona Senate in the early morning hours Wednesday, though Democratic lawmakers continued to accuse Republicans of attempting to speed through the budgeting process. Read more»

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