Federal Government

Lawmakers in the region are divided over a measure to give more flexibility to the FAA while leaving strict spending requirements in place for other parts of the government.

Airport delays caused by the sequester may soon be a thing of the past.  The legislation gives the FAA flexibility so air traffic controllers can get back to work.

Critics say those budget cuts only impact a small minority of the public, like business people and lawmakers themselves, while other parts of sequestration are hitting more vulnerable populations, like low income school children.

Virginia’s senators say they aren’t giving up on efforts to pass stricter federal gun laws even as they were dealt a major setback last week.

After the amendment to put in place near universal background checks failed last week… families from Newton, Connecticut huddled together…hugging each other as tears streamed down their faces. Erica Lafferty’s mom is Dawn Hochsprung- the principal who was gunned down protecting her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

  Many Virginians are heaving a sigh of relief after getting tax returns done and in the mail, but for some the challenge of paying taxes as just begun. 

They’re the ones who get notices from the IRS.  At the very least, that’s an annoyance, and for some it’s a nightmare, but free help could be a phone call away.

Every state has at least one federally-funded office to help people having trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.  In Virginia there are two: the Community Tax Law Project in Richmond and the Tax Clinic at Washington and Lee’s School of Law. 

President Obama's new budget has of course sparked a battle on Capitol Hill.

We know Republicans aren’t happy with the president’s newly unveiled budget, but neither are some Virginia Democrats.

In his budget the President is embracing a new way to tie Social Security payments to the rate of inflation. It’s called the “Chained CPI” but let’s get past the Washington jargon. What it amounts to is less money in those Social Security checks for future generations of seniors.

A large contingent of Virginians says it will pressure congressional representatives to vote against a proposal by the Obama administration that cuts into Social Security benefits.

The AARP is part of the group that says the "Chained CPI" proposal breaks the promise made to millions of Americans. 

While the Consumer Price Index calculates inflation through the costs of basic goods, the Chained CPI factors in lower demand and the substitutions that consumers make when costs are higher.  Thus, it lowers cost-of-living adjustments for inflation.