budget

College-related expenses like rent and groceries are increasing with inflation, making it difficult for some low- and moderate-income families to cover the costs. Federal cuts to university research funding and concerns about state budgets could also affect how much students pay in the coming months and years.

Idaho’s ever-growing budget surplus is trending toward a record-shattering and mind-boggling $800 million. The big reason: Individual income tax collections are ahead of forecasts by a whopping $452.2 million. We’ll know the exact surplus sometime after June 30, when the state closes the books on the 2020-21 budget year.

President Biden said on Friday that his plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour is unlikely to happen as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package.

The House quickly approved a budget resolution intended to speed the drafting of President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The Senate approved the same budget resolution early Friday morning. With the Senate evenly divided, Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote.

President Trump on Sunday night signed a massive coronavirus relief and spending package, relenting on a measure he had called a "disgrace" days earlier. The legislation, which combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with government funding through September 2021, was passed by large majorities in both houses of Congress on Dec. 21 — only to see Trump blindside legislators the next day and blast the bill.

The plan includes $26 million toward the establishment of a proposed new office to conduct investigations of police use of excessive force and $2.5 million for the state Equity Office that was created by the Legislature earlier this year. The equity office — created after voters last year reaffirmed a ban on affirmative action — will help state agencies develop and implement diversity plans across state government.

In a move not seen since the Great Recession, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday canceled pay raises for some state employees and ordered furloughs for many more through at least this fall. The move came the same day a new state revenue forecast projected an $8.8 billion drop in tax collections over the next three years.

President Trump's 2020 budget proposal, released on Monday, calls for $8.6 billion in new border wall funding, along with increased military spending and deep cuts to domestic programs.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing a hefty $10 billion increase in state spending over the next two years to maintain current services and fund new priorities, including mental health and orca recovery. To pay for it, Inslee is once again pushing for a new state capital gains tax on high income earners as well as an increase in the business and occupation tax on professional services.

President Trump complained about signing the 2,000-plus page spending bill into law, saying it was too bloated. He is not the first president to be confronted with that choice.