The deficit is expected to swell to $960 billion this year and average $1.2 trillion in each of the next 10 years, according to congressional budget forecasters. They also expect the economy to slow.
The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the impact of lifting the $7.25 federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. The House is expected to vote next week on a bill to lift the federal minimum.
Federal deficits are now expected to average $1.2 trillion, or 4.4 percent of gross domestic product — far higher than the average over the past 50 years.
The new bill will be released Thursday and could come to the floor next week. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also delayed the Senate's August recess by two weeks.
The GOP health bills would eliminate many of the taxes that help pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Wealthy individuals stand to gain the most. And customers of tanning salons.
"I think I know the gospel pretty well," a White House spokeswoman said after the House passed a health care bill without the official legislative scoring, "and I'd say the CBO is not the gospel."
As the GOP bill to replace the Affordable Care Act begins to move through Congress, reporters for NPR and Kaiser answer your questions about what it might mean for your health plan.
Republicans' plan to replace the Affordable Care Act would reduce the federal deficit, though, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.
The plan would replace insurance subsidies for low-income families with tax credits for everyone, eliminate the requirement to buy health care, and end taxes on medical devices.
Back in the old days, say 2011, political leaders talked about, and acted upon, worries involving federal borrowing. But a new CBO report shows deficits surging — even as political attention drifts.
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