http://www.mail.com/subjects/2964-government-programs.html Mail.com - the best personalized free web-based Email en en http://sec-s.uicdn.com/mail.com/2.28/img/mailcom_logo_rss.png http://www.mail.com/subjects/2964-government-programs.html http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2099480-senate-to-debate-crop-insurance-farm-bill.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is debating cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program as it considers a massive farm bill this week. The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to crop insurance and farm subsidies in the legislation, which would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and would set policy for farm pro... Tue, 21 May 2013 06:59:47 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2099480-senate-to-debate-crop-insurance-farm-bill.html 2013-05-21T06:59:47Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2098798-white-house-farm-subsidy-cuts-needed.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to agriculture subsidies in a massive farm bill moving through the Senate this week. The bill would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and would set policy for farm programs and food aid. The legislation would cut about $2.4 billion annually from overall farm spe... Mon, 20 May 2013 22:14:44 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2098798-white-house-farm-subsidy-cuts-needed.html 2013-05-20T22:14:44Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/2098724-alaska-unveils-plan-to-assess-gas-oil-anwr.html JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska on Monday proposed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar plan aimed at determining the true oil and gas potential in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. State officials hope the plan will reinvigorate — and reshape — the debate over whether to drill on the refuge's coastal plain. The plan was announced at an event hos... Mon, 20 May 2013 20:15:47 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/2098724-alaska-unveils-plan-to-assess-gas-oil-anwr.html 2013-05-20T20:15:47Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2096250-making-mentally-ill-defendants-ready-trial.html KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — The judge ascended the bench. He looked down at cafeteria-style tables marked "Prosecuting Attorney" and "Defense Attorney." To his left, two men sat in a box marked "Jury." The witness stand was marked "Witness." "Sustained," proclaimed the judge, who wore a striped polo shirt, a thick goatee and a shock of greasy hair. He gave th... Sun, 19 May 2013 17:38:40 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2096250-making-mentally-ill-defendants-ready-trial.html 2013-05-19T17:38:40Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/2096216-obama-to-speak-legality-drone-program.html WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will discuss the legality of his administration's secret drone program and other counterterrorism practices during a speech Thursday, a White House official said. Obama's speech will be an attempt to fulfill his State of the Union pledge to be more "transparent" with the public about the controversial drone program... Sun, 19 May 2013 16:11:09 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/2096216-obama-to-speak-legality-drone-program.html 2013-05-19T16:11:09Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2094030-navy-pilot-earns-degree-combat-zone.html SAN DIEGO (AP) — Finals week was dangerous for Thomas Saenz. The Navy lieutenant needed armed guards and an armored car to get to an exam site, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A deadly bomb attack also caused him to his miss classes — transmitted live via the Internet — but he persevered and earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of Southern C... Fri, 17 May 2013 23:53:50 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2094030-navy-pilot-earns-degree-combat-zone.html 2013-05-17T23:53:50Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2093852-cbo-obama-budget-cuts-deficits-11t-2023.html WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress' nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday. After four straight years of annual shortfalls exceeding $1 trillion, the Congressional Budget ... Fri, 17 May 2013 21:40:38 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2093852-cbo-obama-budget-cuts-deficits-11t-2023.html 2013-05-17T21:40:38Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/2092632-rising-consumer-demands-aids-organic-industry-sway.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The organic food industry is gaining influence on Capitol Hill, prompted by its entry into traditional farm states and by increasing consumer demand. That's not going over well with everyone in Congress. Tensions between conventional and organic agriculture boiled over this week during a late-night House Agriculture Committee debate on f... Fri, 17 May 2013 15:41:20 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/2092632-rising-consumer-demands-aids-organic-industry-sway.html 2013-05-17T15:41:20Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2091378-round-house-obamacare.html WASHINGTON (AP) — One more time, with feeling! The Republican-led House voted yet again Thursday to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, knowing full well that won't stop it. Only months away from the rollout of coverage for uninsured Americans, it was the 37th attempt in a little more than two years by House Republicans to eliminate, defund o... Thu, 16 May 2013 22:46:28 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2091378-round-house-obamacare.html 2013-05-16T22:46:28Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/2091090-prison-treatment-program-idaho-monkey-killer.html BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho man convicted of breaking into a Boise zoo last fall and brutally beating to death one of two Patas monkeys has been ordered to spend up to a year in a treatment program at a state prison. Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, was sentenced Thursday for his role in the Nov. 17 crime that caused shock and outrage in Idaho's capitol c... Thu, 16 May 2013 19:48:10 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/2091090-prison-treatment-program-idaho-monkey-killer.html 2013-05-16T19:48:10Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2089620-deep-divide-congress-domestic-food-aid.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The House and Senate Agriculture Committees laid the groundwork this week for reducing the size of the federal food stamp program, approving farm bills that would shrink food aid and alter the way people qualify for it. The two chambers are far apart on how much the $80 billion-a-year program should be cut, however, reflecting a deep ide... Thu, 16 May 2013 18:42:17 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2089620-deep-divide-congress-domestic-food-aid.html 2013-05-16T18:42:17Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2086634-house-panel-oks-farm-bill-with-food-stamp-cuts.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday approved a sweeping farm bill that would trim the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program. The panel rebuffed Democratic efforts to keep the food stamp program whole, as debate on the farm bill turned into a theological discourse on helping the poor. The House bill would cut about $2.5 billion a... Thu, 16 May 2013 04:10:15 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2086634-house-panel-oks-farm-bill-with-food-stamp-cuts.html 2013-05-16T04:10:15Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2088534-penn-defends-medical-changes-report.html STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State coach Bill O'Brien is fervently disputing suggestions raised in a report that player medical care has been compromised after the team doctor was replaced. Speaking often in an angry tone that might be otherwise reserved for an argument with an official, O'Brien told reporters in a conference call that the health and sa... Wed, 15 May 2013 22:58:44 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2088534-penn-defends-medical-changes-report.html 2013-05-15T22:58:44Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2088536-senate-confirms-nurse-to-medicare.html WASHINGTON (AP) — A former intensive care nurse with a businesslike approach to a politically divisive public policy area won Senate approval Wednesday to run Medicare and other major health insurance programs. By an overwhelming 91-7 vote, the Senate confirmed Marilyn Tavenner to oversee Medicare, Medicaid, children's health insurance and coverage for th... Wed, 15 May 2013 21:43:19 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2088536-senate-confirms-nurse-to-medicare.html 2013-05-15T21:43:19Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2088232-house-panel-boosts-veterans-spending.html WASHINGTON (AP) — With no broader budget deal in sight, a key House panel responsible for implementing sweeping cuts to agency budgets moved Wednesday to exempt veterans and largely protect spending on border safety and other homeland security programs in the coming year. The strategy by the pragmatic House Appropriations Committee is to begin advancing a... Wed, 15 May 2013 19:28:29 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2088232-house-panel-boosts-veterans-spending.html 2013-05-15T19:28:29Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2083754-senate-panel-approves-massive-farm-bill.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday approved a massive five-year farm bill that would cut spending while also creating new subsidies for farmers. The legislation approved 15-5 includes concessions to Southern rice and peanut farmers, thanks to a new top Republican on the committee, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran. The bill eliminat... Tue, 14 May 2013 20:33:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2083754-senate-panel-approves-massive-farm-bill.html 2013-05-14T20:33:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2084146-fitch-upgrades-greeces-credit-rating.html ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Debt-hobbled Greece got a new morale boost Tuesday, with Fitch ratings agency upgrading its sovereign credit grade, a day after the country's European creditors backed the release of a new rescue loan payment. However, the one-notch upgrade from CCC to B- still leaves Greece's government debt six levels deep in junk status — that is,... Tue, 14 May 2013 18:12:44 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2084146-fitch-upgrades-greeces-credit-rating.html 2013-05-14T18:12:44Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2085074-89-charged-medicare-fraud-busts-8-cities.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 100 people, including 14 doctors and nurses, were charged for their roles in separate Medicare scams that collectively billed the taxpayer-funded program for roughly $223 million in bogus charges in a massive bust spanning eight cities, federal authorities said Tuesday. It was the latest in a string of similar announcements by Hea... Tue, 14 May 2013 17:38:41 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/2085074-89-charged-medicare-fraud-busts-8-cities.html 2013-05-14T17:38:41Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/2081578-euro-ministers-urge-troubled-slovenia-to.html BRUSSELS (AP) — European finance ministers on Monday urged Slovenia to move swiftly in addressing the problems in its banking sector and get its public finances under control in a bid to avoid the nation from becoming the bloc's sixth member to require a bailout. "The Slovenian government has to take swift and decisive action," said Jeroem Dijsselbloem, w... Mon, 13 May 2013 20:10:48 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/2081578-euro-ministers-urge-troubled-slovenia-to.html 2013-05-13T20:10:48Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2073498-ap-exclusive-calif-exchange-granted-secrecy.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it broad authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, potentially shielding the public from seeing how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent. The degree of secrecy afforded Covered California appears u... Thu, 09 May 2013 19:46:45 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2073498-ap-exclusive-calif-exchange-granted-secrecy.html 2013-05-09T19:46:45Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/2074394-gop-boycotts-health-care-advisory-board.html WASHINGTON (AP) — House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act. House Speaker John Boehner, who joined Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in boycotting the Independ... Thu, 09 May 2013 19:30:05 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/2074394-gop-boycotts-health-care-advisory-board.html 2013-05-09T19:30:05Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2073336-house-passes-bill-to-prioritize-us-debt-payments.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The GOP-controlled House voted Thursday to make sure U.S. bondholders and people on Social Security get paid if the government hits its borrowing limit. The move comes as Republicans grapple with the hot-potato issue of raising the government's borrowing limit later this year, one of the few must-do items on a dysfunctional Washington's ... Thu, 09 May 2013 18:13:09 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2073336-house-passes-bill-to-prioritize-us-debt-payments.html 2013-05-09T18:13:09Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2071444-high-hospital-bills-public-will-help.html WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, the government is publicly revealing how much hospitals charge, and the differences are astounding: Some bill tens of thousands of dollars more than others for the same treatment, even within the same city. Why does a joint replacement cost 40 times as much at one hospital as at another across the country? It's a myst... Wed, 08 May 2013 23:53:57 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2071444-high-hospital-bills-public-will-help.html 2013-05-08T23:53:57Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2072408-cuts-food-stamps.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's food stamp program, which helps feed 1 in every 7 America, was one of the few programs exempted from this year's automatic spending cuts. But now it is likely to get trimmed. Unresolved is by how much. The Democratic chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee is only willing to take roughly one-half of 1 percent, or ab... Wed, 08 May 2013 20:32:42 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2072408-cuts-food-stamps.html 2013-05-08T20:32:42Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2070804-uk-govt-agenda-focuses-immigration-economy.html LONDON (AP) — The message was one of thrift and austerity, but the messenger was opulence incarnate. Britain's Conservative-led government on Wednesday announced a modest program of legislation to tighten immigration rules, curb welfare expenses, encourage business and invest in infrastructure — in a speech read by a monarch on a gilded throne wearing a c... Wed, 08 May 2013 16:35:55 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2070804-uk-govt-agenda-focuses-immigration-economy.html 2013-05-08T16:35:55Z http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2069498-pessimism-abounds-annual-fiscal-summit.html WASHINGTON (AP) — On this, some of Washington's highest-ranking budget players can agree: A "grand bargain" this year to close the nation's chronic budget deficits seems like a long shot. That was the consensus at an annual Washington "fiscal summit" thrown by billionaire deficit hawk Pete Peterson, who's staked $1 billion of his fortune on a foundation a... Tue, 07 May 2013 20:44:33 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/finance/2069498-pessimism-abounds-annual-fiscal-summit.html 2013-05-07T20:44:33Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/2066248-mississippi-prepares-push-education.html CLARKSDALE, Miss. (AP) — It's early on a Friday morning, and high school chemistry students in Victoria Dawson's class are working equations at the board. Dawson is peppering the class of 11 girls and four boys with questions, trying to keep everyone focused as she helps correct mistakes. When a student gets one of the dense equations right, Dawson and th... Mon, 06 May 2013 17:52:58 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/2066248-mississippi-prepares-push-education.html 2013-05-06T17:52:58Z http://www.mail.com/news/world/2064376-pakistan-town-men-spoken-women-vote.html MATEELA, Pakistan (AP) — For decades, not a single woman in this dusty Pakistani village surrounded by wheat fields and orange trees has voted. And they aren't likely to in next week's parliamentary election either. The village's men have spoken. "It's the will of my husband," said one woman, Fatma Shamshed. "This is the decision of all the families." Mat... Sun, 05 May 2013 17:23:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/world/2064376-pakistan-town-men-spoken-women-vote.html 2013-05-05T17:23:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2062498-fear-losing-aid-uninsurables.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of people with serious medical problems are in danger of losing coverage under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul because of cost overruns, state officials say. At risk is the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a transition program that's become a lifeline for the so-called uninsurables — people with serious medi... Sat, 04 May 2013 14:45:35 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/health/2062498-fear-losing-aid-uninsurables.html 2013-05-04T14:45:35Z