Government And Institutions

Lawmakers are trying to get economic help for business owners around Buckeye Lake who worry revenue will decrease significantly while the water is lowered and a deteriorated dam is replaced.

Republican legislators in Kansas narrowly approved tax increases Friday, responding to pleas from their leaders and a warning from GOP Gov. Sam Brownback's aides about draconian spending cuts that could result if they didn't erase a budget deficit.

Republican leaders pushed a new plan for raising taxes through the Kansas House early Friday morning, hours after top aides to GOP Gov. Sam Brownback warned them that failing to erase a budget deficit risked funding for universities and invited a downgrading of the state's bond ratings.

Gov. Dannel P.

With a deadline approaching, it appeared that fewer state employees would opt for early retirement than originally projected by Gov. Charlie Baker.

Congress gave final approval Friday to another stopgap measure to avoid a work stoppage on the over-budget veterans medical center under construction outside Denver, but it is still struggling to come up with a longer-term agreement with the Obama administration to finish the facility.

Days before the start of the U.S. Open golf tournament that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the region, some Washington state lawmakers whose temporary leases in the state capital have run out are scrambling to find places to stay as the current overtime legislative session continues.

Hackers stole personnel data and Social Security numbers for every federal employee, a government worker union said Thursday, saying that the cyber theft of U.S. employee information was more damaging than the Obama administration has acknowledged.

The IRS is joining with state and private industry to combat identity theft by sharing more data about how tax returns are filed and taking other steps, officials announced Thursday.

Union-backed Democrats launched a last-ditch effort Thursday to scuttle President Barack Obama's trade agenda by sacrificing a favored program of their own that retrains workers displaced by international trade.

The House on Thursday approved a $579 billion defense spending bill that offers a slight pay raise to U.S. troops, but reflects deep divisions on budget priorities and whether President Barack Obama needs new war powers to fight Islamic State militants.

The Alaska House on Thursday passed a compromise budget that includes money for state employee pay raises negotiated last year.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).

Measures to help Atlantic City's finances, schools and casinos are making their way through the New Jersey Legislature.

An appeals court says it won't block net neutrality rules, which will go into effect Friday as a result.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday it sees no further rise in demand for its crude this year, but it expects the current oversupply in the market to ease over the coming quarters.

The European Central Bank raised the amount of emergency funding for Greece's troubled banks by 2.3 billion euros on Wednesday, banking sources said, as negotiations between Athens and its creditors reached a critical stage.

Ford Motor Co. would have to invest $3.1 billion in Michigan over the next 10 years to qualify for the state's maximum possible tax credits to keep auto jobs in the state.

U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday as bond yields climbed for a second day.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).