Fatima Hussein, Author at The Rapid City Post

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, speaks to reporters following closed-door party meetings at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republican Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the US debt load, CBO says

June 29, 2025

The changes made to President Donald Trump’s big tax bill in the Senate would pile trillions onto the nation’s debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in health care coverage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attends a signing event for a bill blocking California's rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

GOP tax bill would cost poor Americans $1,600 a year and boost highest earners by $12,000, CBO says

June 12, 2025

The Republican tax bill approved by the House would cost the poorest Americans roughly $1,600 a year while increasing the income of the wealthiest households by an average of $12,000 annually. That’s according to a new analysis released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office. The analysis found that middle-income households would see a boost of roughly $500 to $1,000 per year. The cuts to the lowest-income households come from proposed cuts to social safety net programs including Medicaid and a food assistance program for lower-income people, known as Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Republicans have sought to discredit the CBO’s analyses of the bill.

FILE - Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., asks questions during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP File)

Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish

June 12, 2025

Former congressman Billy Long of Missouri has been confirmed to lead the Internal Revenue Service, an agency he once sought to abolish. Long’s confirmation on a 53-44 Senate vote Thursday gives the beleaguered IRS a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year’s tax filing system. Democratic senators strongly opposed Long’s nomination based on the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and on campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump picked him. While in Congress, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he’s now tasked with leading.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walks at the White House, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies

June 5, 2025

The U.S. declined to label China a currency manipulator in a new Treasury report, but accuses Beijing of standing out among America’s major trading partners for lacking transparency. Treasury’s semi-annual report to Congress comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations. A Treasury official told reporters previewing the report that the U.S. could in the future find evidence that China is manipulating its currency and will make a determination in the fall whether China has been manipulating the renminbi, also known as RMB. The U.S. labeled China a currency manipulator in 2019.

FILE - A Tariff Free sign to attract vehicle shoppers is at an automobile dealership in Totowa, N.J., on April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Trump’s tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says

June 4, 2025

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall. That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office in a letter sent to Democratic congressional leadership. Baked into the CBO analysis is a prediction households would ultimately buy less from the countries hit with added tariffs. The budget office estimates the tariffs would increase the average annual rate of inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026. The budget office’s model also assumes the Republican president’s tariffs will be in place permanently.

Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired

May 28, 2025

A group of roughly 80 fired federal employees are appealing their terminations to an administrative body in charge of protecting the rights of federal employees from partisan political practices. Notably, that board’s chairwoman was also recently fired by President Donald Trump. The 18F employees, who worked on projects such as the IRS’ Direct File, filed an appeal Wednesday at the Merit Systems Protection Board against the General Services Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. They claim that they were identified in February for a reduction-in-force because of their “perceived political affiliations or beliefs.”

IRS nominee who sponsored legislation to abolish the agency faces pointed questions

May 20, 2025

A former congressman who sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS and is now the nominee to lead that agency has faced pointed questions from senators. Billy Long of Missouri was asked at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday about his past promotion of questionable tax credits, his lack of background in tax administration and the timing of political contributions he received after being nominated to lead the agency. Long told senators he wants to make “real, transformational change to an agency that needs it more than any other.” Long’s hearing comes as the IRS has hemorrhaged employees and churned through acting leaders.

Fatima Hussein.

Republican Senate tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the US debt load, CBO says

GOP tax bill would cost poor Americans $1,600 a year and boost highest earners by $12,000, CBO says

Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish

US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies

Trump’s tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says

Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired

IRS nominee who sponsored legislation to abolish the agency faces pointed questions

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