News
Experts see economic problems for U.S. as struggle over debt limit, spending cuts extends
WASHINGTON – Experts told the U.S. House Budget Committee on Wednesday the country’s economic outlook is problematic, as a fierce debate over the nation’s budget remains front and center. House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, have repeatedly rejected raising the debt limit unless President Joe Biden agrees to a series of spending […]
Citing a surplus, House Republicans propose dramatically reducing Education Trust Fund revenues
New Hampshire’s Education Trust Fund has racked up a sizable surplus recently. The fund, which pays out just over a billion dollars a year for the state’s share of public school funding, is expected to end this fiscal year with about $184 million unspent, current estimates state. The extra money is largely the result of […]
Dems oppose budget headed to the House. Will that risk state pay raises?
This story was updated on March 29, 2023 at 8 p.m. to correct the name of the Democratic House member who voted for the budget. A 10 percent pay raise for the state’s 10,000-plus workers cleared an early hurdle Wednesday. The House Finance Committee voted, 14-11, for a budget that includes $100 million for a […]
U.S. Senate in bipartisan vote repeals decades-old Iraq war authorizations
WASHINGTON – U.S. senators revoked their approval for the Gulf and Iraq wars on Wednesday, taking a broadly bipartisan vote to repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force that have stayed on the books years after the two wars ended. The 66-30 vote sends the measure to the U.S. House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy […]
Seacoast state parks get revamped parking system
With warmer weather not far around the bend, on April 1, the state Division of Parks and Recreation will launch an enhanced parking program for its metered lots along the Seacoast. It’s an easier way to pay for parking, the division says, in an area that’s flooded with tourists and locals alike come summer. The […]
USDA secretary battles with U.S. House Republicans over costs of federal nutrition programs
WASHINGTON – U.S. House Republicans tussled with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Democratic committee members over work requirements in federal nutrition programs as well as spending levels for those programs at a Tuesday hearing. Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee charged Vilsack with evading bipartisan oversight in the USDA’s 2021 redesign of the Thrifty […]
House moves toward using Medicaid data to enroll families in free and reduced-price lunch program
For families making up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level, New Hampshire public schools offer free or reduced-price lunches, a federal program intended to reduce childhood hunger among low-income residents. But first comes an application. In order to get the discounted prices for lunches, a parent or guardian must write down the income […]
Members of U.S. Senate panel press financial regulators on massive bank failures
WASHINGTON – Financial regulators promised a full review of Silicon Valley Bank’s massive failure as members of a key U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday interrogated the officials about what led to the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs asked if the Federal Reserve could […]
Infant formula crisis could recur, former FDA official tells Congress
WASHINGTON – U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services heard from two experts that while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]
Vaccine, public health bills are having a very different year
Last session, lawmakers took up nearly 60 pandemic-related health measures, more than half focused on vaccines; most failed. It’s a vastly different situation this year. Of four bills focused on vaccines or public health powers that the Bulletin is following, two have stalled. The other two land on opposite sides of the public health debate. […]
Private well users were reimbursed by the state for PFAS remediation. Then they were taxed on it.
Hundreds of private well users have been reimbursed by the state after spending their own dollars to remediate PFAS contamination. But when tax season rolled around this year, they were mailed 1099 forms, telling them the money they received is considered federal taxable income. The tax forms caused widespread confusion. Laurene Allen, a co-founder of […]
Sununu’s sweeping licensing overhaul could fail with both parties
Republican and Democratic budget writers in the House are moving to reject nearly all of the controversial and sweeping professional licensing changes Gov. Chris Sununu is seeking. This includes maintaining 31 of the 34 licenses he wants to eliminate, such as those for foresters, licensed nursing assistants, radiologists, and court reporters. The latter, who make […]