January 2014 Blog Archives


Farm Bill Passes in House; Makes Cuts to Food Stamps

House lawmakers passed a five-year farm bill this week that would cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by $800 million per year, which amounts to a 1 percent cut to the program’s $80 billion annual cost. Senate lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the bill Monday.


What President Obama's State of the Union Said about Your Priorities

Yesterday we published your priorities for the State of the Union – what you told us, by social media and e-mail, that you wanted the president to tackle in his speech. 


What You Want in President Obama's State of the Union

By e-mail and social media, we asked you to weigh in about what you think the president should cover during his speech – about what actions he should take in the coming year. Here's what you said.


Federal Spending: the Missing Money

NPP visited DC to advocate for federal spending data that captures the flow of federal money to states and communities.


Data Innovation Day 2014

NPP is proud to celebrate Data Innovation Day 2014 by highlighting our open data tools.


Unemployment Benefits On Hold As Congressional Leaders Leave Washington

Congressional leaders left Washington late last week after passing the omnibus but before they restored unemployment aid to jobless workers.


PDF Data: Set Them Free at PDF Liberation

This weekend, people around the world will gather to liberate data from PDFs. NPP's tax breaks dataset is an example of what can happen when we set information free.


Who Won and Lost in the 2014 Budget

Lawmakers have introduced a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that will finally complete the budgeting process for the federal government's fiscal year 2014.


What Is An Omnibus?

An omnibus in London/ Photo by Gene Hunt.  A $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill was unveiled last night in Congress to fund the government for the rest of this fiscal year. The bill will be voted on by the end of the week. But what exactly is an “omnibus”? In...


How the Federal Budget Becomes Law

The federal budget process, explained in one graphic.