WASHINGTON — The U.S. government started the first month of the 2014 budget year with a $91.6 billion deficit, signaling further improvement in the nation’s finances at a time when lawmakers are wrestling to reach a deal that would keep ...

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WASHINGTON — The Senate has begun laying the groundwork on a massive farm bill that would cut spending while also creating new subsidies for farmers. The Senate Agriculture Committee is considering its version of the farm bill Tuesday. The legislation ...

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Call it sequestration, the sequel. Short of a last-minute plot twist, very few are anxious to see how this storyline — involving billions of dollars in mandated federal spending cuts and layoffs and furloughs of federal employees — plays out. ...

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Plunging headlong off the so-called fiscal cliff not only spells problems for homeowners and businesses, but the local legal community is warning of the severe consequences on the court system, as well. At the end of the year, mandatory spending ...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just as the U.S. economy is making progress despite Europe’s turmoil, here come two new threats. A congressional panel is supposed to agree by Thanksgiving on a deficit-reduction package of at least $1.2 trillion. If it fails, ...

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WASHINGTON — Republicans invited to a White House meeting with President Barack Obama Wednesday are trying to build up pressure for trillions in spending cuts in exchange for any increase in the government's ability to borrow.

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WASHINGTON — The GOP-led House is poised to reject a bill Tuesday to increase the nation’s debt limit without the big spending cuts that Republicans are demanding. The move is intended as an embarrassing reminder to Democrats that increasing the government’s ability to borrow is tied to such reductions.

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ALBANY — New York court administrators are looking for spending cuts in everything from jury pools to overnight arraignments before resorting to more layoffs to reach the $70 million budget cut imposed by the governor and lawmakers.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the clock ticking to a partial government shutdown at midnight, the top Democrat in the Senate said Friday that the White House and Republicans have agreed on a spending cut of $38 billion but that a fight over federal dollars ...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Deeper spending cuts by state and local governments weighed down U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year. The government's revised estimate for the October-December quarter illustrates how growing state budget crises ...

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ALBANY (AP) — New York Gov. David Paterson says he’ll force state lawmakers to start cutting billions of dollars out of the government budget next week if they keep delaying agreement on how to reduce spending.

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