Four Key Takeaways From The Tax Reform Act

Aug. 20– Most people who get retirement benefits from Social Security get the bulk of their income from their monthly benefits. Because they don’t have many other sources of money to pay for living expenses, the annual cost-of-living adjustments that Social Security gives participants every January play a vital role in helping people make ends meet–…

If President Donald Trump’s last Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is any indication, his latest pick in Brett Kavanaugh will do the civil rights community no favors, National Urban League President Marc Morial said following the announcement of the president’s high court nominee. Morial wasn’t alone, as many others joined in to call on the Senate to reject…

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association issued the following news release:. Ninety-six percent of state lawmakers who voted in favor of a gas tax increase and faced reelection in 2018 primaries will advance to the Nov. 6 general election, according to new data from the American Road& Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation…

“Health insurance markets for individuals and small businesses were much more prone to abuse, including discrimination in pricing and benefits… prior to the ACA’s enactment,” the AGs wrote in their suit, noting that the American Cancer Association and the American Heart Association have raised concerns about the rule. The Connecticut Department of Insurance…

WASHINGTON- Architects and engineers are still in. With the proposed rules issued Wednesday, the Treasury Department and the IRS had worked for six months to bring clarity to Congress’ blueprint. But as with many aspects of the sweeping Republican tax law hustled through Congress last year, the requirements for the millions of “pass-through” businesses to score…

It’s certainly high on our list at the American Farm Bureau and has been for a while. We have been clear in sharing our concerns with Congress and the administration, and when you look at the Voice of Agriculture website, you can see we have been far from silent on the topic of trade this year. I invite you to take a look at Market Intel analysis from our team of…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took a step toward negotiating better deals for Medicare patients and creating competition…

July 30– The Affordable Care Act remains law, but its future will be uncertain until after the upcoming elections, University of Arizona health policy expert Dr. “Depending on what happens in the midterms, we could certainly go back to some tough times” for health economics in this state, said Derksen, who is a professor of public health policy and director of the…

Lisa Murkowski’s Washington, D.C., office on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, between Murkowski, Anchorage Daily News reporter Erica Martinson and Alaska Public Radio Network reporter Liz Ruskin, who is quoted with her permission. The discussion focused on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to the…

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she’s going to conduct a “careful, thorough vetting” of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Trump announced Monday night that he’s selected Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative judge, to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. That sets up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats who are pressuring Collins and Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to oppose any nominee who threatens Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortions legal.

July 07– The attendance of four Roman Catholic priests from Montana at President Donald Trump’s political rally in Great Falls Thursday has created a social media firestorm and apparently incurred the displeasure of the priests’ superiors in the church. Bishop Michael William Warfel, Bishop of the Great Falls- Billings diocese, answered a query about the…

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement is setting off a momentous confirmation battle for President Donald Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee that is certain to consume the Senate, inflame partisan tensions and shape the outcome of the midterm elections.

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump made a last-minute pitch Wednesday for the latest Republican immigration bill that was on track for defeat, urging GOP lawmakers to pass the legislation just days after he said they should stop wasting their time on the issue until after the November elections. On Friday he dashed off a tweet, saying Republicans should“ stop…

The Senate is assessing President Donald Trump’s choice to head the IRS: Charles Rettig, a Beverly Hills tax lawyer who would face the colossal challenge of overseeing the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades. Rettig has represented thousands of individuals and companies in civil and criminal tax matters before the agency and against it in court. He also defended Trump’s decision to break with tradition by refusing to release his personal tax filings.

Now that President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has decided not to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in court, what could change for the average person should key provisions be deemed illegal?

WASHINGTON- One and a half years into his battle-weary presidency, Donald Trump is fighting a three-front war: with Congress on immigration; our trading partners and U.S. businesses on tariffs; and special counsel Robert S. Mueller’s widening criminal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. Even the president, meeting with…

The White House announced Thursday sweeping plans to reorganize the government’s executive branch, including a merger of the Labor and Education departments. The White House said the plan would help make the federal government “more efficient, effective and accountable.” The White House said the federal government “lacks the organization and technology” to…

The Republicans want security and insist on security for our country and we will have that, “Trump told reporters at the White House. The Trump administration has been under increasing pressure from the public, religious leaders, and Democrats in Congress, as well as most Republicans to end the well-publicized practice of separating children from parents at…

Boston – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today released the following statement:…

Halfway through a news conference Wednesday, the head of the world’s most powerful central bank was asked a question weighing on the minds _ and the checking accounts _ of Americans everywhere: When will people finally start getting meaningful pay raises? Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, had no satisfactory answer. He called it a “puzzle.” And then, as if measuring his words, he said he wasn’t prepared to call it a “mystery.”

The Trump administration’s latest move against the Affordable Care Act could jeopardize legal protections on pre-existing medical conditions for millions of people with employer coverage, particularly workers in small businesses, say law and insurance experts.

The plan includes premium support, as well as the implementation of an “Innovation Fund” that states can access to mitigate the risk associated with people who suffer from costly, chronic conditions.

President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un concluded an extraordinary nuclear summit Tuesday with the U.S. president pledging unspecified “security guarantees” to the North and Kim reiterating his commitment to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” A broad agreement signed by the leaders contrasted sharply with their lofty promises to handle “a very dangerous problem” and bring “major change for the world.”

WASHINGTON- Another interest rate increase is all but certain when the Federal Reserve meets this week. What’s not so sure is whether the vigorous U.S. economy will lead the Fed to accelerate its rate hikes in the months ahead- a move that could raise the risk of a recession. The Fed has so far raised its key rate once this year, in March.

The House version also calls for a dozen new Navy ships. The Senate began debating its $716 billion defense bill on Wednesday, which highlights potential threats from Russia and China. The Senate version also includes an Army brigade permanently stationed in Poland, and calls for short-term Army capability to fill gaps in cruise missile defenses.

Key Senate Republicans are pushing longshot legislation that would require Congress to sign off on President Donald Trump’s import tariffs, a rare attempt to stand up to the administration on a bedrock issue that once defined the GOP. Congressional Republicans are mostly at odds with what they view as Trump’s protectionist instincts on trade. Despite much hand-wringing, prospects for any bill to challenge the president remain uncertain.

President Donald Trump is touting what he sees as his top accomplishments after 500 days in office. On Twitter Monday Trump says: “we have accomplished a lot – many believe more than any President in his first 500 days.”

China’s warning came after delegations led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and China’s top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, wrapped up a meeting on Beijing’s pledge to narrow its trade surplus. “Despite the potential negative repercussions for both economies, the risk of a full-blown China- U.S. trade war, with tariffs and other trade sanctions…

Ted Cruz, R- Texas, holds an 11- percentage point edge over U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D- El Paso, in the race at the top of the November ballot in Texas, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Half of Texas voters prefer Cruz in his re-election bid, compared with 39 percent for O’Rourke, the poll says.

U.S. President Donald Trump is canceling the much anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump may have been referring to comments from officials like Choe Son Hui, who slammed Vice President Mike Pence for comments on Libya and North Korea. “Whether the U.S. will meet us at a meeting room, or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is…

Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors visited Congress as midterm fever sweeps Washington.