Sinopsis
CQs Budget Editor Jane Norman leads a weekly conversation on how lawmakers in Congress are spending taxpayers' money and how their actions impact among other areas federal agencies, safety net programs and the presidents agenda.
Episodios
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Rough-and-tumble September
04/08/2025 Duración: 25minThe effort to avert a partial government shutdown next month could be uglier than usual after Congress left town for its August recess with partisan tensions at a fever pitch. As the Trump administration seeks to claw back funding, fights over Senate confirmations and the files of convicted sex offender Jefrrey Epstein all threaten to create a toxic brew that could derail the bipartisan appropriations process. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman outline the challenges facing Congress this fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Politics of appropriations
28/07/2025 Duración: 23minThe appropriations process is under threat from a poisonous political climate as Republicans seek cooperation from Democrats while pursuing partisan reconciliation and rescissions measures. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the state of the appropriations process at a recent webinar conducted for CQ subscribers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Big test on rescissions
14/07/2025 Duración: 21minThe Senate will take up a bill to claw back $9.4 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funds that Democrats warn would blow up the bipartisan appropriations process. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman assess the political importance of the Trump administration's rescissions package, the outlook in the Senate, and what it could mean for an already shaky appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Political fallout of 'big, beautiful bill'
07/07/2025 Duración: 27minPresident Donald Trump's new budget reconciliation law is already starting to define next year's midterm elections. CQ Roll Call's Daniela Altimari and David Lerman assess the political repercussions for both parties of the mammoth legislation and what it took to get the package across the finish line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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'Beautiful' bill picked apart
23/06/2025 Duración: 23minThe Senate parliamentarian has been busy throwing out key provisions in the GOP's reconciliation bill, ruling against measures affecting food stamps, immigration policy, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and more. CQ Roll Call's David Lerman and Aidan Quigley assess the latest condition of the reconciliation package and the fiscal 2026 appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Medicaid and 'SALT' divide GOP
17/06/2025 Duración: 26minThe release of the biggest portion of the Senate GOP's reconciliation bill triggered internal party clashes over the scope of Medicaid cuts and the size of the state and local tax deduction known as SALT, among other disputes. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Sandhya Raman and David Lerman outline the sticking points in the Senate Finance Commitee's draft text and what they mean for the effort to pass a reconciliation bill by the July Fourth recess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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'Big, beautiful' bill on the line
09/06/2025 Duración: 26minSenate Republicans are struggling to produce text of their reconciliation package this week despite disputes over Medicaid, food stamps, tax policy, Medicare and more. CQ Roll Call's Peter Cohn, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman outline the big fights that could tie up the bill and look ahead to the fiscal 2026 appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Reconciliation headaches in Senate
02/06/2025 Duración: 28minRepublican senators want changes to the "big, beautiful" House reconciliation bill, from Medicaid to tax cuts and more. And House appropriators begin writing their fiscal 2026 spending bills while the Trump administration tries to claw back already approved funding. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the fissures in the GOP reconciliation debate and the constitutional fight over the power of the purse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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'Big, beautiful' bill heads to Senate
23/05/2025 Duración: 30minThe House-passed reconciliation bill containing most of President Donald Trump's agenda won't clear the Senate in its current form. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Peter Cohn and David Lerman outline the changes that could be on the table and the competing demands among Senate Republicans that will make final passage a tough slog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Medicaid cuts in play
12/05/2025 Duración: 23minThe House Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed Medicaid cuts to help pay for the GOP's budget reconciliation bill, though the cuts are less deep than some party moderates had feared and hard-right conservatives had sought. CQ Roll Call's Sandhya Raman, Jessie Hellmann and David Lerman outline the major changes to Medicaid that Republicans have proposed, the major cuts they omitted, and whether the package will have enough political support to reach the finish line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Trump's budget ax
05/05/2025 Duración: 20minPresident Donald Trump's preliminary fiscal 2026 budget request, which takes a meat ax to domestic programs and foreign aid, is getting a frosty reception from Senate GOP appropriators and Democrats alike. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman provide an early outlook for this year's appropriations process and the likely next steps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Budget promises put to the test
14/04/2025 Duración: 30minVague promises from GOP leaders to seek deep spending cuts put down a rebellion from conservative holdouts and secured the adoption of a budget resolution this month. But now Republicans must begin writing a reconciliation bill enacting much of President Donald Trump's agenda with little sign of any resolution of the key conflicts that have divided GOP lawmakers for months. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Aidan Quigley and David Lerman assess the deal cut between leadership and Republicans rebels and what it could mean for the drafting of a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Budget battle in the House
07/04/2025 Duración: 28minSpeaker Mike Johnson faces a rebellion within GOP ranks over a budget blueprint that squeaked through the Senate. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman assess the outlook for final adoption of a budget resolution and the big fights over Medicaid cuts and whether to pay for extending tax cuts --- two key disputes that could trip up a GOP reconciliation bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Tough climate for appropriations
28/03/2025 Duración: 33minThe upcoming appropriations cycle faces some rough headwinds, as the Trump administration tries to freeze funding, fire thousands of public employees and gut federal agencies, while Republicans pursue a partisan reconciliation package that will further antagonize Democrats. Aidan Quigley, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman discuss the challenging political climate for fiscal 2026 spending bills and how the reconciliation process could interfere with that work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Spending bill's political fallout
18/03/2025 Duración: 21minThe six-month continuing resolution that avoided a partial government shutdown left Democrats deeply divided. CQ Roll Call's Mary Ellen McIntire and David Lerman explain the nature of the rift, whether it's likely to heal, and what it means for the party's ability to govern and combat the Trump administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Leadership test on spending
10/03/2025 Duración: 26minHouse GOP leaders must rally their razor-thin majority to pass a stopgap funding measure this week, while Senate Democrats must decide whether to vote against a bill they dislike and trigger a partial government shutdown. CQ Roll Call's Peter Cohn and David Lerman assess the prospects for a fiscal 2025 continuing resolution and discuss the state of play on the GOP's budget reconciliation process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Stopgap spending decision time
03/03/2025 Duración: 24minA continuing resolution to head off a partial government shutdown is caught in the political crossfire of federal employee layoffs, funding freezes and a partisan dispute over the power of the purse. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman assess the political pressures for passing a stopgap funding extension, and the state of negotiations for a budget reconciliation package. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Pivotal test for House budget
24/02/2025 Duración: 21minA House vote this week will test the unity of Republicans for a budget blueprint that would pave the way for a sweeping package of tax cuts, border security, defense funding, spending cuts and more. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the competing pressures between GOP centrists and hardcore conservatives over a budget resolution critical to President Donald Trump's agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Budget reconciliation pressures mount
19/02/2025 Duración: 23minThe Senate's plan for a slim budget blueprint focused on border security and defense could be upended by President Donald Trump's new endorsement of the House push for "one big, beautiful" reconciliation package enacting much of his agenda all at once. But the House plan faces political pressures of its own, as GOP moderates shy away from steep spending cuts to critical safety-net programs. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman discuss the latest state of play on the competing strategies for budget reconciliation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Budget reconciliation stalls
10/02/2025 Duración: 28minHouse leaders had to punt on plans for a Budget Committee markup early this week as Republicans continue to squabble over the size of a budget reconciliation package and how to pay for it. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman assess the status of budget negotiations, the timing for action, and how far Senate Republicans may get in their own alternative, slimmer reconciliation package that omits tax cuts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices