Budgets and Deficits

FILE - In this July 1, 2014 file photo, passers-by use cellphones in front of electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo. The Treasury Department on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 reported that total foreign holdings rose 0.3 percent to $5.98 trillion, up from $5.96 trillion in April. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

Foreign holdings of US Treasury debt rise in May

Paul Wiseman · July 16, 2014 2:17 pm

FILE - In this May 5, 2014, file photo, the U.S. Capitol building is seen through the columns on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington. The House is poised to act on a bill that would temporarily patch over a multibillion-dollar pothole in federal highway and transit programs while ducking the issue of how to put the programs on sound financial footing for the long term. The bill by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp cobbles together $10.8 billion in pension tax changes, customs fees and money from a fund to repair leaking underground fuel storage tanks to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund solvent through May 2015. A similar bill is pending in the Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

House passes highway bill as deadline looms

Joan Lowy · July 15, 2014 9:02 pm

Residents trained to aid Detroit’s fight on blight

Corey Williams · July 15, 2014 7:44 pm

On Monday, Detroit is expected to release the results of a vote by the state's retirees on an accepting a "grand bargain" bailout package from Michigan.ÃÂ If accepted, it would be a significant step forward for the city towards returning to a solid financial footing. (AP)

Beltway Confidential

First signs of a Detroit recovery?

Sean Higgins · July 15, 2014 6:59 pm

White House press secretary Josh Earnest speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Friday. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Josh Earnest tries to explain why the White House doesn’t blame Democrats for congressional inaction

Brian Hughes · July 15, 2014 6:19 pm

FILE- Retiree Evelyn Smith, left, protests near the federal courthouse in Detroit on July 3, 2014. Ballots submitted by city workers, retirees, pensioners and other creditors likely will determine how quickly Detroit exits its historic bankruptcy. On Monday, July 14, 2014, city lawyer Heather Lennox told federal Judge Steven Rhodes that the results of voting by retirees on a proposed bankruptcy settlement should be reported the week of July 21, 2014. General retirees would see a 4.5 percent cut and also lose annual inflation adjustments. Police officers and firefighters would lose a portion of their annual cost-of-living payment. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Detroit bankruptcy judge opens court to critics

Washington Examiner · July 15, 2014 6:05 pm

Copies of President Obama's proposed fiscal 2015 budget set out for distribution on Capitol Hill in March. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congressional Budget Office downgrades fiscal outlook, but not because of debt

Joseph Lawler · July 15, 2014 2:43 pm

Obama to press for action on transportation funds

Obama to press for action on transportation funds

Jim Kuhnhenn · July 14, 2014 10:52 pm

FILE- Retiree Evelyn Smith, left, protests near the federal courthouse in Detroit on July 3, 2014. Ballots submitted by city workers, retirees, pensioners and other creditors likely will determine how quickly Detroit exits its historic bankruptcy. On Monday, July 14, 2014, city lawyer Heather Lennox told federal Judge Steven Rhodes that the results of voting by retirees on a proposed bankruptcy settlement should be reported the week of July 21, 2014. General retirees would see a 4.5 percent cut and also lose annual inflation adjustments. Police officers and firefighters would lose a portion of their annual cost-of-living payment. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

‘Complicated’ Detroit bankruptcy vote out July 21

Ed White · July 14, 2014 10:47 pm

Democrats and Republicans are fighting over how to fund highway repair projects this summer. (Thinkstock)

White House backs GOP highway bill, putting it at odds with Democrats

Brian Hughes · July 14, 2014 10:24 pm

A U.S. veteran with post-traumatic stress sits in a segregated holding pen at the Cook County Jail after he was arrested on a narcotics charge in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

U.S. jails struggle with role as makeshift asylums

adam-geller · July 14, 2014 1:20 pm

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett fields questions from the media during a news conference Thursday, July 10, 2014, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Tom Corbett veto exposes GOP divisions in Harrisburg

Mark Scolforo · July 14, 2014 1:18 pm