Government Spending & Fiscal Policy News

The Daily Signal examines federal and state spending, efforts to cut waste and deficits, and the role of the DOGE initiative, with in-depth reporting, analysis, and conservative commentary on taxpayer dollars and government efficiency.
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  • opinion

    House Spending Bills Bring Conservative Wins, But Face Thorny Path Ahead
    While Americans attempt to grapple with the ongoing chaos of the 2024 election, House Republicans have been quietly doing the work of putting together and passing spending bills for the next fiscal year. What the endgame for those bills will be remains an open and important question—one that could last into next year. With the gross national…
    David Ditch
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  • news

    EXCLUSIVE: Department of Defense Spending MILLIONS on Lab-Grown ‘Meat’
    U.S. troops could be used as “guinea pigs” in a Defense Department-funded lab-grown “meat” initiative, an environmental watchdog group warns. BioMADE, described as a “public-private bio-manufacturing consortium sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense,” announced an opportunity for alternative-protein producers and labs to qualify for a series of grants ranging from $250,000 to $2 million…
    Tony Kinnett
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  • news

    House Armed Services Panel Touts Removal of Leftist Policies From Defense Spending Bill
    Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee are touting provisions to the annual defense spending bill that would remove several left-wing policies and initiatives, according to a memo on the bill’s provisions obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Armed Services Committee passed on May 22 the draft of the National Defense Authorization Act, an…
    Jake Smith
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  • opinion

    How Federal ‘Science’ Spending Helps Radicalize College Students
    Americans are watching as hordes of anti-American and anti-Israel activists have seized public spaces, occupied university buildings, denied access to reporters, and clashed with police and counterprotesters (all while demanding free food). The latest wave of often anti-Western and antisemitic protests is more intense than the initial wave of activity during the fall in part…
    David Ditch
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  • news

    EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Roger Marshall Prescribes Solutions for Congress’ Budget Woes
    FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Nearly 40 Republican senators gathered Wednesday afternoon for a frank conversation about Congress’ broken budget process and the rapidly growing national debt. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., led the conference meeting with his GOP colleagues in hopes of offering solutions to end the cycle of emergency spending requests and massive omnibus legislation….
    Robert B. Bluey
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  • opinion

    DHS Chief Mayorkas’ Budget Request Is an Unserious Response to Threats to Homeland
    The Biden administration released its proposed budget for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2025 last month. Coming in at nearly $108 billion, the budget funds numerous aspects of the department’s efforts to secure the homeland. However, when it comes to resolving the unprecedented border crisis DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Biden…
    Rep. Mark Green
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  • opinion

    What the Conservative Defense Budget Would Prioritize
    President Joe Biden released his official fiscal 2025 defense budget request in March, and in the document, his administration’s misguided priorities are on full display. While paying lip service to the concept of China as the primary challenge for the United States, the official request fails to align spending with strategy. Most egregiously, the request…
    Wilson Beaver
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  • news

    ‘The DC Cartel Is At It Again’: GOP Lawmakers Rip $1.2 Trillion Spending Package
    House Republican lawmakers are speaking out against a $1.2 trillion spending package released early Thursday morning ahead of a potential partial shutdown of the government. The 1,000-plus-page package of bills includes funding for the State, Education, Defense, Labor, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services departments in fiscal year 2024 as well as for “general…
    Samantha Aschieris
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  • opinion

    2 Charts: Comparing Biden’s Federal Budget to Your Household Budget
    President Joe Biden’s latest budget proposes the federal government spend trillions more than it will take in, increasing the already unsustainable federal debt by $17 trillion over the next 10 years. But these 13- and 14-figure dollar amounts have little meaning for ordinary Americans whose income, spending, and debt are typically in the five- and…
    Rachel Greszler
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  • opinion

    Back in the USSR?: Biden’s Budget for Gargantuan Government
    In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. It marked the end of an experiment that lasted almost a century, testing the premise that godless secularization—turning control of people’s lives over to other people to rule them, who decide what others need and how they should live and conduct their lives—is the answer for mankind. In the…
    Star Parker
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  • opinion

    How All Americans Are Paying for San Francisco’s Pork-Barrel Spending
    Washington is once again facing a potential shutdown. Funding for the federal government will run out in early March unless the House and Senate can bridge their differences and pass spending legislation. At the same time, the city of San Francisco seems to have few problems doling out huge amounts to well-connected activist groups and…
    David Ditch
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  • opinion

    Mountain of Expenses: Denver’s Fiscal Woes Climb as Illegal Aliens Overwhelm City
    Denver is buckling under a financial crisis caused by illegal immigration. But the fault lies not in the stars, but with the city itself. “Denver will cut hours at recreation centers, end in-person vehicle-registration renewals and eliminate spring flower beds to save $5 million this year, a response to the migrant crisis that is expected…
    Jarrett Stepman
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  • news

    Mike Johnson Says He Won’t Back Out of Spending Deal Despite Freedom Caucus Opposition
    House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he will not withdraw from a controversial spending deal to avoid a government shutdown that is opposed by several members of his conference. Johnson, on Sunday, announced a deal with other congressional party leaders on a spending package of $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024, which has been attacked by members…
    Arjun Singh
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  • news

    Heritage Action Calls for Lawmakers to Oppose Spending Deal
    The budget deal reached this past weekend between Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress fails to include real spending cuts or to secure the border, warns Ryan Walker, the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America.  “The American people are begging Congress to secure the border and rein in the unprecedented government spending and…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Heritage Action President Calls on House Speaker to Prioritize Border Security in Spending Fight
    Heritage Action for America President Kevin Roberts called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to prioritize securing the border and reject additional spending for Ukraine without a “plan that defines the end goal in Ukraine,” in a letter released Tuesday. A $106 billion supplemental spending bill proposed by the White House in October includes around $61…
    Katrina Trinko
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  • opinion

    Government Keeps Lights on as Spending Fight Continues. What Happens Next?
    Congress has averted a government shutdown—for now.  The continuing resolution passed Saturday keeps government agencies funded at current levels until Nov. 17. The bill passed 335-91 in the House and 88-9 in the Senate. But it’s a short-term fix, and lawmakers remain on a tight deadline to finish passing 12 annual appropriations bills. Republicans continue…
    Virginia Allen
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  • opinion

    American Sovereignty at Stake in Budget Deal Showdown Over Border Funding
    Is the United States still a sovereign country, or not? That question simply can’t be ignored in the congressional budget fight now coming to a head. A short-term budget compromise isn’t going to fix this long-term issue as our border remains a sieve. While Democrats and the legacy media continue to do their best to…
    Jarrett Stepman
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  • opinion

    How Border Crisis Became Focus of Federal Spending Debate and What Elon Musk Has to Do With It
    The crisis at the U.S. southern border is now being closely linked to Congress passing annual spending bills.  Congress has until Saturday to pass the 12 government spending bills for fiscal year 2024, or a short-term funding bill, in order to avoid a government shutdown, but some Republican lawmakers say they won’t support funding the…
    Virginia Allen | Kristen Eichamer
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  • opinion

    With Food Stamps Work Requirement, GOP Budget Takes Important Step
    House Republicans released their budget resolution last week, and the proposal takes some important steps to advance reforms in welfare programs. One of the ways it aims to accomplish that is by inserting much-needed work requirements into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.      Such budget documents typically do not provide…
    Rachel Sheffield
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  • news

    Heritage Foundation Backs House Deal on Continuing Resolution With Spending Cuts, Border Security
    The Heritage Foundation on Monday threw its support behind a spending agreement reached as a compromise among House Republicans.  The budget deal was reached between leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group of House members that describe themselves as pragmatic conservatives.  “The proposal cuts spending and seeks…
    Fred Lucas
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