President Obama today released his $3.9 trillion fiscal 2015 budget proposal, a plan that includes new manufacturing institutes, job training, and the president’s signature initiative of universal pre-kindergarten education. Here are the highlgihts of what the budget contains.

Yesterday Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gave a major speech at the Pentagon, and a bold headline ran in The New York Times announcing that the Pentagon would shrink the Army to pre-World War II levels. While the speech did announce cutbacks in a number of military programs, the Pentagon isn’t planning any major reductions in spending any time soon.

Next week on March 4, President Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget will be released. Here’s what will -- and what won’t -- be in his budget request.

February 22 is International Open Data Day. Celebrate by checking out some of NPP's open data tools.

National Priorities Project has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize by the International Peace Bureau.

The battle to pass a debt ceiling suspension bill is finally over. Earlier this week, lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed a suspension of the debt ceiling until March 15, 2015. Yesterday, after a dramatic vote to end debate on the bill, Senate leaders voted 55-43 to pass the House version of the debt ceiling suspension. 

Will lawmakers act in time to avoid the dangerous debt ceiling limit?

Late last week, Senate lawmakers failed to reach an agreement to restore jobless aid to 1.7 million unemployed workers. The Senate voted 58-40 Thursday on a proposal that would have reinstated unemployment insurance benefits through the end of March, just two votes shy of the 60 votes needed to end debate on the bill.

A few glimmers of hope came from Washington in recent months. Lawmakers agreed on a bipartisan budget resolution. 

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.