Free Republic

Under the Biden administration’s tax proposal, an appreciated real estate asset owned at death could result in income taxes due that exceed the net proceeds from sale of the asset after paying existing debt. Yes, having an asset where the fair market value of the asset is greater than the debt could result in taxes at death that exceed the net value of the real estate. Currently, an individual must have net assets in excess of $11.7 million to be subject to zero estate taxes. The proposed Biden capital gains tax at death proposal would subject individuals with net assets...

What the Secret Service could learn from drunken sailors Roberto Loiederman, a merchant seaman from 1966 to 1974, is a writer in California. He co-authored “The Eagle Mutiny,” an account of the 1970 mutiny on a U.S. vessel. What happened in Cartagena, Colombia, with the Secret Service seems unsavory to me, but not for the reasons you might think. I make no judgments about men spending a night with escorts. As far as I’m concerned, those who take a holier-than-thou attitude about this are like Inspector Renault in “Casablanca” when he says he’s “shocked, shocked” to discover there is gambling...

WASHINGTON -- Congress on Tuesday cleared for President Obama's signature a $410 billion measure to fund the government, a measure denounced by most Republicans as an example of reckless spending. The Senate approved the measure by voice after it cleared a key procedural hurdle by a 62-35 vote. Sixty votes were required to shut down debate. Obama will sign the measure Wednesday, the White House said, but he will also announce steps aimed at curbing lawmakers' penchant for pet projects. The $410 billion bill is chock-full of lawmakers' pet projects and significant increases in food aid for the poor, energy...

WASHINGTON – Congress on Tuesday sent President Barack Obama a once-bipartisan bill to fund the domestic Cabinet agencies that evolved instead into a symbol of lawmakers' free-spending ways and penchant for back-home pet projects. The Senate approved the measure by voice after it cleared a key procedural hurdle by a 62-35 vote. Sixty votes were required to shut down debate. Obama is expected to sign the measure Wednesday to avoid a partial shutdown of the government. But the White House has kept the bill at arm's length, calling it last year's business. Obama is also set to announce steps aimed...

Congress on Tuesday cleared a $410 billion measure to fund the government, sending it to President Barack Obama for his signature. Most Republicans denounced it as an example of reckless spending. The Senate approved the measure by voice after it cleared a key procedural hurdle by a 62-35 vote. Sixty votes were required to shut down debate. Obama will sign the measure Wednesday, the White House said, but he will also announce steps aimed at curbing lawmakers' penchant for pet projects.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is sending President Barack Obama a massive bill funding domestic programs and awarding lawmakers their cherished pet projects after more than a week of partisan debate. Senators passed the measure by voice vote after voting 62-35 to shut down debate. The White House says Obama will sign the bill. It finishes up last year's budget business, which stalled as Democrats feuded with former President George W. Bush. The huge bill encountered unexpected difficulty in the wake of Obama's economic stimulus bill and a budget plan forecasting a $1.8 trillion deficit for the current budget year.

WASHINGTON - Congress sent President George W. Bush its most forceful rebuke Thursday by overriding his veto of a water projects bill that directs billions of dollars toward restoration of the Everglades and recovery programs for Hurricane Katrina. The Senate voted Thursday to override Bush's veto, 79-14, far more than the two-thirds majority needed to overturn Bush's veto of the $23.2-billion Water Resources Development Act. Among the senators voting for the override were 34 Republicans, including Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. The Senate vote followed a resounding 361-54 vote in the House on Wednesday. Together the two votes turned the bill...

WASHINGTON -- Despite the House of Representatives' disappointing performance on Rep. Jeff Flake's Pork-busting amendments, there are some stirrings in Congress about getting serious on spending. The most notable is Senator Judd Gregg's Stop Over Spending (SOS) Act. Although it has its shortcomings, it incorporates enough good ideas that it represents considerable improvement over the current system. Here are some highlights:

WASHINGTON -- Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn may force their colleagues to make an up-or-down public decision on proposals such as tucking $2 million for a public park in San Francisco into the nation's massive military spending bill. Last Dec. 20, this bit of pork was passed by Congress without debate and without a vote in the final version of the Defense Appropriations Act.McCain and Coburn last Wednesday proposed a revolutionary change in the way Congress has done more and more of its business over the past two decades. They announced their intention to "challenge" future earmarks as a...

To hear the nation's governors talk, these are the worst of times for state governments. The sluggish economy has dried up revenues and blown huge holes in their budgets. According to the National Governors Association, states face the deepest fiscal crisis since World War II. Hard times have forced ''substantial cuts'' in spending, governors say, and prompted many to raise taxes. On Tuesday, Michigan's state representatives were ordered to take a 3% pay cut. Despite such actions, billion-dollar budget gaps loom for many states. Congress is listening to their pleas. This week it is considering whether to include $30 billion...