IRS chief Frank Bisignano has largely declined to answer questions from lawmakers about unlawful releases of taxpayer data to immigration agents.

An Osprey flying as part of the presidential squadron used to ferry White House staff and government officials from an event in New York Monday was grounded due to a safety concern, with one witness reporting flames under the right engine.

Three Massachusetts lawmakers are pressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to ground the V-22 Osprey aircraft again until the military can fix the root causes of multiple recent accidents, including a deadly crash in Japan.

Former President Donald Trump’s tax returns are expected to be released by the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday.

Brady, the top Republican on the House tax-writing committee, urged the committee not to release the former president’s records just before it deliberated on what to do with them.

A congressional panel says the IRS failed to pursue mandatory audits of Donald Trump on a timely basis during his presidency.

The Treasury Department says it has complied with a court order to make former President Donald Trump’s tax returns available to a congressional committee.

Former President Donald Trump is going to the Supreme Court, again, this time to try to stop his tax returns from being handed to a congressional committee.

A federal appeals court is siding with Congress in a fight over former President Donald Trump's tax returns.

Signs of Republican resistance are mounting over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine.

The House has voted to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus.

Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package.

Democrats are blending finger-pointing, optimism and a renewed push to unstick their stalled legislative agenda as they scramble for Election Day lessons from a jolting loss in Virginia and a closer than expected win in New Jersey.

It’s big, messy and complicated as the Democratic leaders in Congress try to muscle President Joe Biden’s sweeping domestic policy package into law.

Top Democrats say a deal is within reach on President Joe Biden's big domestic bill.

President Joe Biden says he has reached a “historic” framework with Democrats in Congress on his sweeping, though scaled-back domestic policy plan.

President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill is now half its original size and being pulled apart and reconfigured as Democrats edge closer to satisfying their most reluctant lawmakers.

A deal within reach, President Joe Biden and Congress’ top Democrats have edged close to sealing their giant domestic legislation.

For more than 55 years, Medicare has followed a simple policy with covered benefits the same, no matter if you’re rich, poor, or in-between.

Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to trim back his $3.5 trillion federal government overhaul to win over holdout fellow Democrats.

Congressional Democrats face a daunting assignment.

A House committee has dealt an ominous if tentative blow to President Joe Biden’s social and environment package.

House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on big corporations and the wealthy to fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan.

House Democrats have unveiled a sweeping proposal for tax hikes on big corporations and the wealthy to fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion rebuilding plan.

Democrats are starting to push plans for providing paid family and medical leave, easing climate change and bolstering education through House committees.

Congress’ two top Democrats seem like they're leaving the door open to ultimately reducing the $3.5 trillion price tag of President Joe Biden’s plan to boost social and environment programs.

President Joe Biden is refocusing on his $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda.

Senior Democratic senators are introducing legislation that responds to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

The Justice Department says the Treasury Department must provide the House Ways and Means Committee former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, apparently ending a long legal showdown over the records.

President Joe Biden might have persuaded some of the world’s largest economies to hike taxes on corporations.

The Internal Revenue Service says it's delaying the traditional tax filing deadline from April 15 until May 17. The pandemic hit in the middle of last year's tax filing season, setting the agency back in terms of processing. Additionally, the extension gives the IRS time to issue guidance on recent tax law changes. Ad“Never before has the law changed so substantially in the middle of tax filing season," Patrick Thomas, director of Notre Dame Law School’s Tax Clinic, said in a statement. A number of lawmakers and professionals from the tax community have urged the tax filing season be extended to accommodate for these pressures.

“The scope is both impressive and much needed.”AdSeveral aspects seem targeted at restructuring the country's social safety net and actually lifting people out of poverty. “That is really going to put a dent in child poverty,” Perry said. In promoting the child tax credit expansion, Democrats rallied around an analysis that predicted it would cut nationwide child poverty by 45%. He added, “What we did is unlikely to go away.”AdAt this point, the child tax credit expansion would expire at the end of the year without some sort of congressional intervention. A study by the Tax Policy Center concluded that the relief package would reduce federal taxes in 2021 by an average of $3,000 per household.

WASHINGTON – A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshaling the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. AdThe measure addresses Democrats’ campaign promises and Biden’s top initial priority of easing a one-two punch that first hit the country a year ago. Ad“If you’re a member of the swamp, you do pretty well under this bill. According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, the relief bill is backed by 61% of Americans, including nearly all Democrats, 58% of independents and 26% of Republicans. On the relief bill, progressives had to swallow big concessions to solidify moderate support.

But it faces an all-but-certain Republican blockade in a narrowly divided Senate and is unlikely to become law. Ad“I’ve heard Democrats argue that it’s the unions that built the middle class,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the senior Republican on the House labor panel. And what this bill does is take away their freedom.”Labor unions have long been a bedrock of Democratic support. “This far-reaching legislation is nothing more than an union boss wish list,” said Foxx, who led Republican debate on the bill. Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good excoriated the bill, saying it would effectively “funnel money to Democrats” by allowing unions to collect additional dues.

But it faces an all-but-certain Republican blockade in a narrowly divided Senate and is unlikely to become law. Ad“I’ve heard Democrats argue that it’s the unions that built the middle class,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the senior Republican on the House labor panel. And what this bill does is take away their freedom.”Labor unions have long been a bedrock of Democratic support. “This far-reaching legislation is nothing more than an union boss wish list,” said Foxx, who led Republican debate on the bill. Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good excoriated the bill, saying it would effectively “funnel money to Democrats” by allowing unions to collect additional dues.

“We have no time to waste,” Biden said at the White House after the House passage early Saturday. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

The new president’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. MacDonough decided that the minimum wage provision failed that test. Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

Katherine Tai, nominee for U.S. trade representative, testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s pick to be the top U.S. trade envoy promised to work with America’s allies to combat China’s aggressive trade policies, indicating a break from the Trump administration’s go-it-alone approach. Biden and his team have not indicated — and Tai didn't say Thursday — whether they will keep Trump’s tariffs. Far from coordinating with U.S. allies on trade, Trump sparred with them instead, putting tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and threatening to target European cars, too. She handled negotiations with the Trump administration over a revamped North American trade deal.

Republicans are attacking the Democrats $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as too costly, economically damaging and overtly partisan. We’re very proud of that,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters when asked if the overall House bill would include the minimum wage increase. Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Biden’s desk by mid-March. Republicans’ amendments spotlighted what they see as political soft spots they can exploit. And while the GOP amendments were beaten back, they forced Democrats to take positions that could tee up GOP campaign ads for the 2022 elections.

The plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.”Scott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments. The $350 billion portion of the bill before the committee also includes Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, where is has been since 2009.

When JCT staffers disagree with the IRS on a decision, the review is typically kept open until the matter is resolved. Even acknowledging that Trump's taxes were before the panel is verboten. Representatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to messages for comment and confirmation that the Joint Tax Committee had reviewed Trump's taxes. Former JCT staffers would not comment on whether they remembered the dispute with Trump, citing confidentiality rules. Neal, the lead force behind a Democratic lawsuit to expose Trump’s taxes, said the Times’ reporting is proof that the documents should be given to Congress.

President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report in The New York Times. The president’s financial disclosures indicated he earned at least $434.9 million in 2018, but the tax filings reported a $47.4 million loss. Roughly half of Americans pay no income taxes, primarily because of how low their incomes are. But IRS figures indicate that the average tax filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017, about 16 times more than what the president paid. The president in 2017 paid $145,400 in taxes in India and $156,824 in the Philippines, compared to just $750 in U.S. income taxes.

“Donald Trump needs this election to be about Joe Biden as a choice," said longtime GOP consultant Alex Conant. Trump's support over the years has remained remarkably consistent, polls over the course of his presidency have found. Even today, when asked to explain their support for Trump, voters often point to his success in business as evidence of his acumen. Roughly half of Americans pay no federal income taxes, but the average income tax paid in 2017 was nearly $12,200, according to the IRS. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer tweeted an emoji calling on followers to raise their hands “if you paid more in federal income tax than President Trump.”“That’s why he hid his tax returns.

(AP) – House Democrats are going back to the drawing board on a huge COVID-19 relief bill, paring back the measure in an attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Trump administration. The Democratic-controlled chamber could also pass the $2.4 trillion measure next week if talks fall through to demonstrate that the party isn't giving up on passing virus relief before the election. The chamber passed a $3.4 trillion rescue measure in May but Republicans dismissed the measure as bloated and unrealistic. Even as Democrats cut their ambitions back by $1 trillion or so, Senate Republicans have focused on a much smaller rescue package in the $650 billion to $1 trillion range. Republicans reacted coolly, especially at the prospect of a partisan floor vote if the effort doesn't spark constructive talks.

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Wednesday proposed a bill to curb presidential abuses, a pitch to voters weeks ahead of Election Day as they try to defeat President Donald Trump, capture the Senate from Republicans and keep their House majority. Each of the bill’s provisions is a response to actions by Trump or his administration that Democrats see as abuses of presidential power. It builds on an elections and ethics reform package the House passed soon after Democrats reclaimed the majority in 2019. Congress has yet to send to the president any legislation to try to curb foreign election interference after Russia meddled on several fronts in the 2016 presidential contest. “The degradation of our democracy over the past 3 1/2 years is not the work of the president alone,'' Schiff said.

Jake Auchincloss has won a packed primary to become the Democratic nominee in the race to fill the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Joe Kennedy III in Massachusetts. Nearly 1 million voters, skittish over the coronavirus pandemic, used the mail option for Tuesdays primary. He was elected to the Newton City Council in 2015. Kennedy opted not to seek reelection so he could challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the Senate Democratic primary, but lost that bid Tuesday, becoming the first member of the Kennedy political dynasty to lose a congressional race in Massachusetts. The few other members of Massachusetts all-Democratic congressional delegation who had faced primary opponents Reps. Richard Neal, Stephen Lynch and Seth Moulton all breezed through Tuesdays runoff.

But some challengers lost, and their overall wins were a modest number compared with the 535 House and Senate members. Kessler wasn't impressed with the three progressive challengers who defeated Democratic incumbents, either. Other high-profile progressive hopefuls lost Senate Democratic primaries in Colorado, Maine and Texas, and House contests in states including Georgia, New York and Ohio. Jamaal Bowman, a Black educator raised by a single mom, defeated House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel of the Bronx and Westchester, New York. They're an effective and well-funded operation now," said Sean McElwee, who does polling and research for progressive Democrats.

Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak. The previous unemployment benefit, which expired on Aug. 1, was fully funded by Washington, but Trump is asking states to now cover 25%. In addition to the extension of some unemployment benefits, Trump's orders call for a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and efforts to halt evictions. Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year. He added that Trump "does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law.

FILE - In this March 6, 2020 file photo, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a campaign rally in Detroit. Her opponent in the primary was Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. Y'all, we about to change the world.Beyond signaling momentum, the victories are giving progressives confidence about two upcoming tests. Next week, squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will face a challenge from a well-funded opponent, Antone Melton-Meaux. In March, Marie Newman knocked off Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, an abortion opponent who compared progressive Democrats to a tea party of the left."

WASHINGTON After prodding from Democratic lawmakers, the Trump administration has agreed to give Congress but not the public complete data on the millions of small businesses that received loans from a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program. Their concession came with a warning to lawmakers not to divulge confidential loan information to the wider public. Last week, the Treasury Department and SBA relented to pressure from lawmakers and watchdogs and agreed to publicly disclose details on which businesses received loans under the program. Under the new agreement, the agencies will provide the complete data on loans of all sizes to the congressional oversight panels. Economists have said the small business loan program has helped, though its hard to know by how much.

(Leah Millis/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON Compounding the hardships of the coronavirus, some nursing homes have demanded that low-income residents turn over their $1,200 economic stimulus checks, a cash grab lawmakers want to halt. Low-income Medicaid recipients must not be coerced into wrongly handing over their checks for fear of being kicked out of their homes, wrote Neal and Pallone. We are not aware of widespread issues with resident stimulus funds," the American Health Care Association said in a statement. Generally, a Medicaid recipients taxable income is taken into account in determining their eligibility for the program. CMS chief Seema Verma tweeted on Tuesday that nursing homes engaging in this behavior will be subject to enforcement action.