Republicans already giving Trump’s budget a cold shoulder

President Donald Trump's budget hasn't been released yet, but that's not stopping some of Capitol Hill's most important Republicans from giving it a cold shoulder. Trump's blueprint for the 2018 budget year comes out Tuesday, and it's certain to include a wave of cuts to benefit programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, federal employee pensions and farm subsidies.

President’s 2018 budget to include paid family leave

President Donald Trump's 2018 budget proposal will require states to provide paid family leave programs, a senior budget official said Thursday. The official said the budget - set to be released Tuesday - will include a plan to provide six weeks of paid leave to new mothers, fathers and adoptive parents.

House bill would eliminate comp benefits for convicted legislators

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., on Wednesday introduced legislation that would eliminate workers compensation for members of Congress who have been convicted of a crime related to their public office. According to recent media reports, the bill is a response to a situation involving former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.

Business news in brief

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate home loans rose to 4.05 percent from 4.02 percent last week. The benchmark rate stood at 3.57 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.

6-figure salary, no severance: What an FBI director has to lose

James Comey's ouster from the top of the FBI sent shock waves through Washington, and left many wondering what happens next for him. The FBI director job was a step down in pay from his previous roles as general counsel for an aerospace giant and a hedge fund, even though the role is a level III position in the executive schedule.

Kansas City Tuesday Night Link Look

Dozens of retired teamsters held a rally Tuesday just outside the government agency tasked with overseeing retirement funds. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver joined the rally near Union Station at the Employee Benefits Security Administration Offices to raise the profile of a bill introduced Tuesday by Senator Bernie Sanders and co-sponsored by Missouri Sen. Oak Street, which lines up with the Heart of America Bridge and goes by the federal courthouse, the City Hall and Sprint Center, has seen unending construction over the years.

Colorado’s legislation session is ending. Here’s what you …

The 2017 legislative session, marked by fits and starts, gridlock and bipartisanship, comes to an end this week with consequential measures still outstanding. The divided General Assembly, with the Democratic-led House and Republican-controlled Senate, set an ambitious agenda in January: find billions of dollars for new highways, eliminate spending cuts for hospitals, balance a tenuous state budget and jump-start the slow economic recovery in rural Colorado.

Senate rejects Clifton woman’s place on civil rights commission

In a move rarely seen, Republicans in the Colorado Senate, on a party-line vote, rejected the reappointment of Clifton resident Heidi Hess, a Democrat, to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The rejection of a governor's appointment came as a surprise for most, since such things rarely occur regardless of what party controls the governor's office.

Anxiety over GOP health plan for those with severe illnesses

As Republicans move closer to dismantling Democrat Barack Obama's health care law, Americans with serious illnesses are feeling uneasy. The GOP health care bill pushed through the House on Thursday leaves those with pre-existing conditions fearful of higher premiums and losing coverage altogether if the Affordable Care Act is replaced.

Senate votes to repeal Labor Department rule on state-run retirement plans

The U.S. Senate voted narrowly on Wednesday to repeal an exemption from strict federal protections that former President Barack Obama's Labor Department had given to state-sponsored retirement savings plans for lower-income workers. The exemption, championed by states such as California but opposed by the mutual fund industry, had freed the state-run plans from the strict compliance requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA.

House GOP blocks Dem efforts to protect consumer watchdog

House Republicans on Wednesday blocked Democratic efforts to preserve the independence of a consumer watchdog created after the 2008 economic meltdown as the GOP pressed ahead with an overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory law. On the second day of a contentious, marathon session, the GOP-led Financial Services Committee rebuffed the Democratic attempts to protect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the five-year-old agency which enforces consumer protection laws and scrutinizes the practices of virtually any business selling financial products and services.