Susan Ferrechio

Sen. Ben Nelson will vote to start health care debate

A key moderate Democrat said he will vote to start debate on an $848 billion health care reform bill. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., is among a group of lawmakers in the party who have been on the fence about bringing the bill to the floor. Nelson had been hinting for days he would vote in favor of starting debate, saying it would give him an opportunity to amend the bill and improve it. Nelson is opposed to the public option in the bill and will likely want tighter restrictions on abortion funding. Democrats control 60 votes and they need every single one to block a filibuster....

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Senator Burris admonished by Senate ethics committee

The Senate Ethics Committee Friday in a three-page letter admonished Sen. Roland Burris, a Democrat, over his "shifting explanations" and "inappropriate" behavior prior to being hand picked then-Gov, Rod Blagojevich to fill the vacant Illinois senate seat. The committee, headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said it did not find that Burris broke any laws or official rules of the Senate. Burris is not running to permanently fill the seat, which was vacated by Barack Obama. burris_112009...

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Big tax hikes cast shadow over health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was trumpeting the fact that his health bill cost less than $900 billion and didn't increase the deficit. But Reid's self-declared victory comes at the cost of big new taxes and significant cuts to Medicare. A Congressional Budget Office analysis shows the bill, which expands health care to 31 million people and creates a government-run insurance program, would cost $849 billion over 10 years beginning in 2010 while trimming the deficit by $130 billion over the same period. "These are real savings for America," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., a chief architect of the plan. But Republicans have been quick to point out who will...

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Reid unveils $849 billion health care bill

Sen. Democratic leaders Wednesday night unveiled an $849 billion health care reform proposal that would expand health insurance coverage to 31 million people and reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion over the first 10 years and up to $650 billion in the following decade, according to a senior Democratic aide. The bill includes a government-run health insurance option with an opt-out provision for the states and it also includes a provision to create a privately run cooperative that would oversee health insurance exchanges. The aide said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to introduce the bill tomorrow and a vote could come as early as this weekend, although that has...

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Holder defends move to try 9/11 suspects in U.S. criminal court

Saying he did believe the United States was still "at war," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder defended his decision to move the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four of his lieutenants to a federal court in Manhattan, saying it would help produce a conviction and would not jeopardize the safety of the city or the secrecy of classified information. "Prosecuting the 9/11 defendants in federal court does not represent some larger judgment about whether or not we are at war," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We are at war, and we will use every instrument of national power -- civilian, military, law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and others --...

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Reid crows over new health bill; test is yet to come

Senate Democrats are preparing for a key vote as early as Saturday on a sweeping health-care bill paid for by a host of new fees and taxes that would cost $849 billion over the next decade and slash the deficit by $127 billion. The "Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act" includes a government-run public insurance option with an "opt out" clause for states that do not want to participate and expands health care coverage to 31 million people, totaling 94 percent of all legal residents, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also includes a litany of new taxes, including a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery, requires Americans to buy health...

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Senate Dems could meet tonight on Health Care Bill

Senate Democratic leaders have tentatively scheduled a meeting Wednesday night with their rank-and-file to unveil their health care legislation. The meeting will take place if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid receives a cost analysis today from the Congressional Budget Office. After the meeting Reid will hold a briefing on the bill for reporters, but it all depends on whether CBO is ready with their score today. The CBO has for weeks been crunching numbers on several different proposals Reid put forward weeks ago. Reid said the proposal includes a government run public health insurance plan with an "opt out" provision for the states....

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Senate in holding pattern as Reid tries to cobble together health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was still hoping to complete a health care overhaul by the end of the year, but time is running out and members of the Democratic caucus say he has all but ruled out debate beginning this week. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told reporters that Reid promised "days -- not a day or two" for lawmakers to review the yet-to-be-seen bill before attempting to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle needed to bring the legislation to the Senate floor. When asked whether debate on the bill would have to wait until next week, Casey told The Examiner, "That would be an accurate assessment. That was the implication considering the time we will...

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McCain says trying KSM in New York would be like trying Nazi in San Francisco

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is comparing the decision to decision to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorists in New York City to trying Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering in San Francisco. "It's ridiculous," McCain told me. "These are war criminals and terrorists and they should not be privy to regular courtroom...

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Dems say health-care debate still possible this week

The Senate is still aiming to take up health care reform by the end of the week, even though the text and cost analysis of the legislation has not been revealed. Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Democratic leaders have not given up on starting debate on the bill in the coming days, despite speculation that the bill will be pushed into next week or perhaps the week after Thanksgiving break. "We hope to begin debate by the end of the week," he said. Reid needs to move quickly if he wants to get a bill passed by the end of the year. There are just a few legislative work weeks left before the session officially ends in late December. The...

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As health bill battle rages, Dems try to squeeze in jobs plan

While health care remains the primary worry for Congress in the waning weeks of the session, lawmakers are also to pass the controversial plan and still have time to shift gears to job creation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he plans to clear the deck after health care passes to take up a jobs creation bill. But since Reid's health care bill has yet to emerge and the Senate is little more than a month away from closing up shop for the year, it may be a tall order. The House is already weighing a number of options to stimulate the economy, including targeted tax cuts and extending government loans to small businesses, according to senior Democratic aides. Reid has not announced...

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Bishops flex muscle in Congress and with Catholic lawmakers at home

When the House approved an amendment banning federal subsidies to insurance policies that cover elective abortions to the Democratic health care bill, it was a major victory for the Catholic Church and a stinging defeat for liberals. Now the church is now trying to use its influence to shape the outcome of the Senate bill. Of the 97 Democrats in the House who describe themselves as Catholic, 35 voted for the amendment. Without their support, the provision would not have passed. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which signed off in advance on the House amendment, put out a warning to the Senate, which takes up health care this week. "The Conference will remain vigilant and...

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More political fallout for Dems for health vote

The Cook Political Report has an interesting analysis of Saturday's House vote on a $1.2 trillion health care reform bill and its potential political fallout. House race editor Dave Wasserman calculates that out of 73 Democrats who represent seats more Republican than the national average, 38 voted for the bill, while 35 voted against it, and of those, 21 voted for the House energy and global warming bill this summer, which includes a cap and trade system. Wasserman said to expect these Democrats to be hit hard in ads next fall for voting for the measures. "It’s unlikely that health care will dominate the larger national debate next fall, but close votes on...

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Clinton tells Democrats that passing health bill soon is more important than perfection

Former President Clinton told Senate Democrats on to get behind the health care reform bill even if it was not exactly what they wanted. Clinton's pep talk came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters he planned to put the health care bill on the floor next week. Clinton told Democrats it was their responsibility as the majority party to get a bill passed and talked of "how important it was to move this year," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said. "It's not important to be perfect," Clinton said to reporters, recounting his half-hour speech to a closed-door caucus meeting. "The worst thing to do is nothing. That was my message...

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Republicans grab their first lead in 2010 generic ballot

New poll numbers show Democrats could face trouble on the ballot in 2010, particularly among independents. A new Gallup survey reveals that for the first time since the 2008 election that more voters say they would pick a Republican candidate over a Democratic candidate. Republicans took 48 percent of voters to 44 percent for Democrats. Independent voters went for the GOP by a 22-point margin. The poll was conducted during the weekend debate and passage of the $1.2 trillion health care bill in the House and signals that the GOP may be able to capitalize on voter wariness of Democratic initiatives to win back seats it lost during the landslide Democratic victories of 2006 and...

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Senate health debate could begin next week

Former President Bill Clinton told Senate Democrats to get behind the health care reform bill even if it is not exactly what they want. Clinton's pep talk came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters he plans to put the health care bill on the floor next week and win passage by Christmas. Clinton told Democrats it is their responsibility as the majority party to get a bill passed and talked of "how important it was to move this year," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said. "It's not important to be perfect," Clinton said to reporters, recounting his half-hour speech to a closed-door caucus meeting. "The worst thing to do is nothing. That was my...

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Dodd unveils financial regulatory overhaul legislation

Rep. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has just unveiled a 1,000-plus page draft of a bill to overhaul the financial regulatory system. Dodd said his bill would create an independent consumer financial protection agency whose aim would be to protect consumers. He called his bill "a sweeping, bold, long-overdue comprehensive financial reform package of legislation" that will help prevent the market meltdown that led to the current economic crisis. Dodd was joined by fellow committee Democrats but no Republicans. "I very much would like to have their input and participation in putting together this bill," Dodd said of the GOP, which is likely to oppose the bill. The bill...

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Bill Clinton to the rescue

Former President Bill Clinton will meet privately with Senate Democrats for a pep talk on health care reform today, according to a senior leadership aide. The Senate is on the verge of taking up a health care bill that will likely include a public health insurance option with an "opt out" provision for states who don't want to participate. No one has seen the language of the bill because the Congressional Budget Office is working on cost analyses of several proposals devised by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Clinton was the last president to attempt to pass health care. In the 2008 campaign, then-candidate Obama sduggested that the 42nd president's efforts failed...

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Employer taxes may spook Senate on health care

As the Senate prepares to vote on its version of health care legislation, one of the most contentious issues will be a provision requiring employers to provide insurance coverage. With the jobless rate at 10.2 percent and expected to climb, penalties for employers who don't offer insurance benefits will make it difficult for moderate Senate Democrats to support the plan. While most big companies provide workers with health insurance, many smaller employers do not, and they would end up having to come up with the money to either buy coverage or pay a penalty. "There is no question it will result in job loss and it will encourage employers not to hire employees," said John...

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Shell game on abortion language?

Liberal House Democrats are intent on stripping language from just-passed House health care legislation that would block most federal funding of abortion. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fa., told reporters on Monday that she will fight to make sure it is not included in a final compromise bill merged together by the House and Senate. "I would expect that the Senate bill would not include that language because of the dynamic in the Senate are quite a bit different," Wasserman Schultz said. "I intend to push very hard to ensure that the language is not included in the final product." House Republicans accused Democrats of playing a shell game by inserting the...

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A Senate squeeze play for Reid on health bill

Now that the House has passed major health-care legislation, the pressure is building on Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to pass a bill by President Obama's Christmas deadline. Reid has an even harder task in front of him than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did. She barely pushed her bill over the threshold late Saturday night by a vote of 220 to 215, despite holding an 81-vote majority. Pelosi lost almost 15 percent of her members. If Reid loses one member of his 60-vote majority, his bill might be doomed. But the White House is pushing hard for speedy passage of a robust plan to get President Obama's domestic agenda on track. Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly paid Reid a...

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A big win for House Democrats. Now the Senate awaits.

By a vote of 220-215, the House moved to make sweeping and historic changes to the nation's health care system. Democratic leaders overcame near-universal opposition from Republicans and 39 moderates and vulnerable freshmen within their own party to eek out a victory that may be short-lived, as the Senate is likely to pass a far different health care bill in the coming weeks. The House bill would cost $1.2 trillion and would create a government-run public health insurance option. It includes new subsidies to help people pay for insurance coverage. It is funded through tax increases, cuts to Medicare and fines for those who do not obtain insurance or provide it for employees. The bill...

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House passes Pelosi health bill

The House has approved Speaker Nancy Pelosi's health-care bill by a vote of 220 to 215. A total of 39 Democrats opposed the measure. One Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted for the...

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Democrats down to a seven-vote margin on health vote

As the House nears a vote on health care reform, Republicans are busy tallying the Democratic "no" votes and there are 34 so far, according to their estimates. Those on the list are the most moderate and also the most vulnerable in the party, including Rep. Harry Teague, of New Mexico and Travis Childers of Mississippi. The list also includes members of the conservative House Blue Dog Coalition including Allen Boyd, D-Md., and Rick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher told The Examiner the pubic option would make health care in his district "unsustainable" because the reimbursement rates for doctors and hospitals would be too low. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised the...

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Watching Virginia's delegation on health care

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who represents Northern Virginia, announced he will vote for the health care bill. Connolly had been on the fence, in part because his district is a bit purple. It voted for Republican Bob McDonnell on Tuesday by a healthy margin after being solidly Democratic in recent cycles. But Connolly, president of the House freshman class, said Saturday that the bill was needed to protect families from bankruptcy caused by catastrophic illness and being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Virginia's 11-member House delegation is getting lots of attention today as people watch for fallout from Tuesday's landslide win by McDonnell. All six Republicans...

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Health care vote set for tonight in House

It is still uncertain whether Democratic leaders will round up the 218 votes needed for passage. Many of the party's most vulnerable Democrats have already announced they will not vote for the bill, but with 258 votes, even a loss of 40 members ensures passage. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., told reporters Saturday, "I'm not going to predict" the outcome. "I know that the most powerful arguments for this bill won't be spoken on this floor, they are being lived right now, in our country, in every one of our districts and towns," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said, opening remarks on general debate. "Their stories will be with me and I know...

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Health care bill vote update

As the House gets ready to take up the $1.2 trillion sweeping health-care proposal, Democratic leaders are struggling to round up the 218 needed for passage, with the party's most vulnerable Democrats most likely to vote against it and two other factions protesting language in the bill that addresses abortion and immigration. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said a final vote on the bill may not even happen on Saturday if the GOP, which is unified in opposition to the bill, employs time-consuming parliamentary tactics. But it may not be Republicans who hold up the bill if the leadership can't round up enough votes. Democrats began announcing their official opposition on Friday....

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Unemployment numbers sharpen the debate on health care

Republicans pounced on the latest unemployment report from the Department of Labor as evidence that Democrats' $787 billion stimulus plan was a waste of money and that the House health care bill set for a vote as early as Tuesday could kill an additional 5.5 million jobs. The Department of Labor Friday announced the jobless rate has climbed to 10.2 percent, the highest level in more than 25 years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the news shows that more work needs to be done, but that Congress has taken steps "to protect the middle class and set the stage for economic growth." But House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio said the Democratic health care bill will...

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Obama, Pelosi dig for votes on health as vote looms

House Democratic leaders held last-minute negotiating sessions as they worked to round up enough support to pass a sweeping health care bill scheduled for a vote as early as Saturday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he believes there are very close to the 218 Democratic backers needed to pass the $1.05 trillion bill, which mandates health insurance coverage and creates a government-run insurance program. But several outstanding issues remain and the outcome was still uncertain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when asked by reporters Thursday whether she has the votes to pass a preliminary measure called the "rule" that would allow the health care bill to...

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Kerry and Graham whip up compromise on global warming

Even as a Senate global-warming bill remained in limbo with Democrats refusing to delay a committee vote until an economic analysis was completed, hopes rose for a potential bipartisan compromise. The Senate, meanwhile, appears to be moving away from the bill, authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., which would require a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 and would have the government sell the right to emit carbon dioxide. Even as Boxer conducted an unusual one-sided hearing on her bill in the Environment and Public Works Committee, Kerry, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., held a news conference to announce they...

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CBO: Republican health plan would reduce premiums, cut deficit

The Congressional Budget Office Wednesday night released its cost analysis of the Republican health care plan and found that it would reduce health care premiums and cut the deficit by $68 billion over ten years. The Republican plan does not call for a government insurance plan but rather attempts to reform the system by creating high-risk insurance pools, allowing people to purchase health insurance policies across state lines and instituting medical malpractice reforms. "Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care, including for those with pre-existing conditions, at a price our country can afford," House Minority Leader...

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After GOP gains, congressional Democrats debate how to confront 2010 problems

For the most vulnerable congressional Democrats, the results of Tuesday's elections signal that their 2010 re-election prospects may be even tougher than they thought. Victories by Republicans Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Christopher Christie in New Jersey were accompanied by exit poll results showing independent voters leaned heavily Republican. With independents becoming a larger part of the electorate, the news is bad for new incumbent Democrats like Tom Perriello of Virginia, who hail from Republican-leaning districts and won their seats in part by capturing the independent vote in 2008. "I think for that group of moderate Democratic members, and especially members sitting in...

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Some Democrats unhappy with pressure plays on global warming

As Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., pushes global warming legislation forward, some Democrats were showing a hint of frustration with their party's agenda. "I just don't think climate change is going to be on the floor this year," Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said. "Trying to restart our economic engine and trying to get this country back to work -- to me that is the most important issue." Republicans boycotted Boxer's Environment and Public Works Committee hearings on the climate bill, authored by Boxer and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, was the lone Republican to show up at the Environment and Public Works Committee markup. He told Boxer that...

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Health care vote may slip until next year in Senate

With the clock ticking on a health care overhaul, Democrats in the House worked furiously to win the support of a faction of moderates in their party while Senate Democrats wondered whether they would simply run out of time this year and be forced to wait until 2010 to try to pass a bill. "We're not going to be bound by any time lines," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday. "We need to do the best job we can for the American people. We want quality legislation, and we're going to do that." Reid's remarks set of a fury of speculation that the Democratic leadership was throwing up the towel on a passing a health care bill this year. While Reid...

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Read along with the Republicans

House Republicans Tuesday launched a new Website - healthcaretruth.amplify.com - that breaks down the provisions in the Democratic health care reform bill with explainer notes from GOP members. Now, this is purely GOP perspective on the bill, but the site posts the actual language so the reader can also make an independent judgement. For example, the site includes actual bill language describing an excise tax on businesses that do not provide health care coverage to employees that would amount to 8 percent of the wages earned by each non-covered worker. But it also includes a description by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who calls it "a job-killing, 8% tax on small businesses who...

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Leading anti-abortion Dem sidelined by death in family

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who has threatened to hold up the House health care bill over language he believes would permit taxpayer dollars to be spent on abortions, may not even vote on the bill if it comes to the floor for consideration this week. Stupak's mother-in-law, Elaine Olsen, died suddenly on Sunday and he is not expected to be in Washington D.C. this week. Stupak had been negotiating with Democratic leaders over adding language to the House health care bill that would require fencing off federal health care dollars so none are used to cover abortions. Stupak said he has the backing of 40 fellow House Democrats who would vote against the bill if stiffer language is not...

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House liberals' wish list for government health plan: no citizenship requirements, triggers or opt outs and more subsidies

The most liberal factions of the House sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, telling her that the House health care bill must strengthened to ensure the government-run insurance plan is not subjected to triggers or an "opt out" mechanism. The letter was signed by the chairs of the Progressive, Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Pacific Islander caucuses, whose combined membership is more than 100 members of the 256-member Democratic caucus. The group is also demanding language be added to the bill that would ensure subsidies are great enough to help those who can't afford insurance and they want a provision added to guarantee that no citizenship or residency verification is...

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After a flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up

Fraud and abuse weigh down stimulus package - Was the stimulus worth the cost? - Fraudsters made the most of homebuyer tax credits - After a flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up - White House moves to control waste and fraud The $787 billion stimulus bill was passed in...

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Fraudsters made the most of homebuyer tax credits

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit aimed at boosting home sales allows low- and middle-income earners to claim a credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time home purchase. The $13.8 billion plan was part of the stimulus package passed in February and so far the Internal Revenue Service has processed 1.5 million claims. Lawmakers are considering a plan to extend the program, set to expire at the end of the month, through March. An audit found widespread mistakes and outright fraud including: - The First-Time Homebuyer Credit IRS form did not verify eligibility and no documentation was required to substantiate home purchase; - $139 million in credits were awarded to people for more than...

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Was the stimulus worth the cost?

- The White House last week announced more than 640,000 jobs were created or saved by spending $159 billion in stimulus funds, but economists question the figure, saying it is impossible to calculate jobs that are saved. ABC News calculated each job cost taxpayers $160,000. - More than half the jobs were in education, not the private sector, as promised by the Obama administration. Just 80,000 jobs were in construction. - Nearly 690,000 cars were sold during Cash for Clunkers, but just 125,000 were purchased as a result of the program, leading analysts at Edmunds Auto Observer to calculate each car purchase cost taxpayers $24,000. - According to Brookings Institution, 85 percent of...

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Special: Stimulus boondoggle filled with fraud, abuse

Fraud and abuse weigh down stimulus package - After a flurry of stimulus spending, questionable projects pile up - Fraudsters made the most of homebuyer tax credits - Was the stimulus worth the cost? - White House moves to control waste and fraud As Congress and the White House weigh another...

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Reid: It depends on what the meaning of "bill" is

Last week, the entire Senate Republican conference sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asking to see the health care bill he submitted to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis. Reid responded Monday, sending a letter back that explained his proposal was actually more than one plan, and that a final bill would not be written until the CBO gives him a cost estimate for the multiple options he sent them. In other word, Reid said, "there is no bill to release publicly. It does not exist." Reid promised to make the bill available to the Republicans and the public "prior to its consideration" and said there would be ample time for everyone...

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One Blue Dog jumps away from Pelosi bill

Rep. Bobby Bright, D-Ala., has posted a statement on his website about the $1.05 trillion House Health Care Reform Bill, saying he can't back the legislation because it creates a government option and could hurt small businesses. In my story today, I pointed out that many Blue Dogs are undecided, and listed Bright. But Bright, a vulnerable freshman from a Republican-leaning district, has made up his mind. Here's Bright's statement: Where I Stand on Health Care Legislation: The health care bill released today does not make enough significant changes to earn my support. From the beginning of this debate, I have been opposed to the government option and any legislation that puts...

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When will Reid go public with his health bill?

Senate Republicans want to see the Democratic health care proposal written by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and sent to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring earlier this week. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and the rest of the GOP conference sent a letter to Reid, arguing that the contents of the bill should be immediately made available to them and the public, by posting the legislation on the Internet. "With an issue this large and complex, we need full transparency at every stage in the legislative process," the letter says. "President Obama was elected, in part, on his promise to bring greater transparency to the workings of the federal government." Not...

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GOP boycott could stall global warming bill

A group of Senate Republicans will "likely" boycott committee work on the chamber's global warming bill, which would block the legislation from clearing the panel. The GOP members of the Environment and Public Works Committee want to see a full economic analysis of the legislation's impact before officially drafting the bill in a markup. Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., had hoped to hole a vote next week on the bill, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020. "It is imperative the we know how much this bill will cost and how many jobs will be lost before Senators are asked to vote," said Matt Dempsey, spokesman for committee...

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Blue Dogs don't bite, but will they even bark?

For all the trouble it caused Democratic leaders over the health care reform bill, the House Democratic Blue Dog Coalition was surprisingly silent when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally dropped the 2,000-page, $1.05 trillion legislation. The 51 Blue Dog members sent a letter late Thursday to Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf, asking for him to say whether the bill would reduce the long-term costs of health care to the federal government. But the normally noisy group was hard to find after Pelosi's bill hit. The CBO estimates the cost of the legislation to be $1.05 trillion, up from the $894 billion price tag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had announced. The CBO...

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As if 435 weren't enough...

Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced a bill aimed at increasing the size of the House of Representatives, which has remained the same for the last century. Hastings wants to establish a commission that would examine whether there is an adequate number of members to meet the needs of the country, which he points out, has added four states since the the ranks of the House were increased. Interestingly, Hastings wants the commission "to explore alternatives to the current method of electing representatives," such a proportional representation or a regional primary system. This alone likely makes the bill dead on arrival, as members have been fiercely protective of the...

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House leaders prepare to unveil final health bill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is expected to reveal Thursday the final House version of sweeping health-care legislation that would create a government-run insurance plan. The bill emerges after a deal between moderate and liberal Democrats to create a government insurance benefit open to all Americans, as liberals want, but to be more generous in paying doctors and hospitals than liberals had intended. Instead of tying reimbursement rates under the public option to those of the senior citizens health program Medicare, medical service providers would be able to make their own deals with the government for payment. "It will likely be negotiated rates," a top Democratic aide said....

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Group claims Congress hid medical data damaging to donors

A watchdog group has released a report that accuses Congress of helping medical research groups conceal information after key lawmakers received big campaign donations. According to The Sunlight Foundation, Congress in 2007 voted to keep results from clinical trials for unapproved medical devices out of eyes of the public. The provision was inserted into Food and Drug Administration Amendment Act after lobbyists for medical research firms argued that making the results public would reveal proprietary information and potentially hurt business. The FDA posts information regarding ongoing trials at ClinicalTrials.gov. Using information compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics,...

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No momentum in Senate for Reid's public option plan

A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he will put forward a health care bill that includes a government-run insurance plan, Sen. Joe Lieberman threw up a roadblock, promising to stop the legislation with the help of what could be 10 or more Democrats. Lieberman told reporters on that he is opposed to the creation of a public option and will not back any bill that includes such a provision, even if it is created via a "trigger" or an "opt in" strategy. "I don't support a government-operated health insurance agency that will end up costing tax payers a lot of money," Lieberman said following a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting. Reid...

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House ethics: More oversight, less disclosure

The independent office of congressional ethics had concluded that at least one lawmaker, perhaps more, may have violated the House rules, and they believe an official investigation is warranted. If it sounds cryptic, that is because Congress wants it that way. This independent ethics board was established by House lawmakers to provide additional oversight of its members, who in recent years have been caught demanding bribes in hot tubs and stashing ill-gotten cash in frozen vegetable containers. This new ethics board, made up of non-members, puts out a quarterly report listing complaints filed against members, but it conceals just about every detail of every case. Lawmakers voted to...

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Liberals offer guarded praise for Reid's opt-out compromise

The head of the biggest and most liberal faction in the House said health care reform in Congress has "a long way to go," from the proposal announced Monday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid has written legislation that would create a government-run health insurance option that would allow states to "opt out." The House bill includes the public option, but it is not optional. Rep. Lynn Woolsey. D-Calif., and the 80-plus members of the House Progressive Caucus that she leads prefer the House version. "If we vote out a strong public option in the House, one that saves money and covers most people and ads the best competition we can find, then I...

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Senate to move ahead with public option health plan

The Senate will vote on a sweeping health care reform bill that includes a government-run insurance option, but in a nod to significant opposition among lawmakers in the Democratic party, states will have until 2014 to "opt out" of the public plan. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., gave few details about the proposal, which he has been crafting for two weeks behind closed doors with a handful of top Democrats and White House officials. The public option would be available among plans made available in health care exchanges that the government would operate. Doctors who participate in the government-run plan would have to abide by government regulations and rules...

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Reid to announce public option stance

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is planning an afternoon press conference to reveal whether the Senate health care bill will include a public health insurance option. Reid has been working for days on how to combine a moderate version of health care reform proposed by the Senate Finance Committee with a much more liberal version put forward by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel. The Finance bill proposes privately run health insurance co-operatives while the Senate HELP bill calls for a robust public option. Democratic aides say Reid is likely to go for compromise that would allow the states to "opt out" of a public option. Stay...

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Poll questions public option support

While some Democrats are suggesting an increase in support for a health care reform bill that includes a public option, the most recent polling tells a different story. Rasmussen Reports put out a new survey today showing support for President Obama's health care proposal -- which includes a public plan -- from just 45 percent of voters polled and opposition from 51 percent of respondents. The poll also found that 57 percent of voters believe their medical costs will increase under a reform plan and 53 percent think the quality of their health care will diminish if it is enacted. "Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the numbers is how stable they have been through months of...

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Democrats declare war on health insurers

Congressional Democrats have declared war on the nation's health insurers, drafting legislation to revoke the industry's 64-year-old antitrust exemption, part of what critics say is a White House effort to coerce and threaten their opponents. Democrats targeted the exemption just days after the insurance industry lobbed a bomb at their health care proposal, saying it would drive individual insurance premiums up by as much as $4,000 annually. The damning report from America's Health Insurance Plans, infuriated Democrats. Days after the report was issued, White House officials told lawmakers to fire back at the group with their biggest political weapon, legislation to revoke the antitrust...

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Who's really reading the McChrystal report?

Forget about reading legislation, how about a top general's report on Afghanistan? Gen. Stanley McChrystal's classified report on the war in Afghanistan supposedly includes his determination that as many as a half-million U.S. troops will be needed to complete the mission there over a five year period. But most lawmakers probably haven't seen that startling figure, or the rest of the classified report for that matter, because few seem to lining up to read it -- despite the fact that it has been available for weeks. Senate and House aides have declined to disclose the list of which lawmakers have signed in to read McChrystal's assessment and they would not even provide a number. Because...

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Could Health Care Slip to Next Year?

That's what some of the key players think. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both moderate Maine Republicans, were asked if the health care reform bill might have to wait until 2010 for a floor vote, even though President Barack Obama wants it done this year. "Certainly, it could," Snowe said. "It wouldn't surprise me." Senate Democratic leaders have not yet hammered out the legislative details of their plan yet, and once they do, the Congressional Budget Office will need time to determine how much it will cost before it can come to the floor (although some senate leadership aides have suggested the debate could begin while CBO is working on the score). Snowe...

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Paying for Medicare extension jeopardy

The defeat of a $247 billion provision to stave off steep cuts in doctor reimbursement rates under Medicare sent a strong signal to Democrats that their road to passing a sweeping health care bill this year will be more difficult than they anticipated. Not only did the 47-53 vote show Majority Leader Harry Reid that lawmakers in his party will not easily get in line behind his yet-to-be unveiled health care plan, the defeat may push its cost well beyond the $900 billion limit set by President Obama. "This is a budget buster," said Brian Darling, director of Senate relations at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "This is going to add to the problems they are having in...

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A word-cloud downpour of taxes.

Democrats are trying hard to keep the the revenue raisers in their health care reform bill from being labeled as tax increases, so this won't help their cause. Americans for Tax Reform, a group that advocates lower taxes, among other things, has done a word search of the 1,502 page Senate Finance Committee proposal and they found that tax" pops up 124 times and "taxable" is used 158 times. Among other findings in the word search: Excise Tax- 12 times Taxpayer - 79 times Penalty - 79 times Require - 88 Times Must - 40 times Shall - 2,585 times. The group contends that the excise tax is just one of several taxes in the legislation that violates a pledge made by Obama not...

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Concern over details complicates health effort in Senate

A half-dozen of the Senate's Democratic freshmen gave coordinated health care reform speeches on the Senate floor Wednesday, but only one lawmaker called for the creation of a government health insurance option. With Senate Democratic leaders in intense talks over how to craft a final reform bill, the lukewarm view of the public option by many in the caucus is but one of a slew of differences Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must try to iron out if he is to win a filibuster-proof 60 votes. Aside from the public option, lawmakers are worried about the expansion of Medicaid coverage. The proposed expansion would add billions to already strapped state budgets and it has sent governors...

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Millions of federal employees might be exempt from health benefits tax

Democrats are looking for ways to exclude a bevy of big groups from their proposal to tax so-called Cadillac health insurance plans. So far the list of groups seeking exclusions include labor unions, firefighters, coal miners and other high risk occupations. At this point, is there anyone else left to tax who has one of those big insurance policies? Oh right. Federal employees. Well, now some members of Congress want to carve out an exclusion for them as well. Reps. Jerry Connolly and Jim Moran, two Democrats from the federal employee haven of Northern Virginia, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressing concern that the Senate health care proposal, which...

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Alexander Warns Obama Against "Enemies List"

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. took to the Senate floor Wednesday to warn President Barack Obama not to "create an enemies list." Alexander was a young aide to President Richard Nixon when Nixon staffer Chuck Colson created a list of "persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration." The list included many members of the news media and preceded the Nixon Administration's "spiral downward," Alexander said. Alexander then drew a comparison to the Obama Administration and its latest war with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fox News and the health insurance industry. "I have an uneasy feeling, only ten months into this new...

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Post poll does little to lift public option

Hoping for new momentum for a government-run insurance program after a poll showing increased public support, Senate Democrats instead found questions about the survey's accuracy and continuing doubts among moderate members. A Washington Post/ABC poll trumpeted "clear majority support" for a public option, but Senate Democrats, who met privately to discuss health care, were still struggling to define what a government-run plan would look like. "People here are still talking about what kind of public option," Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. said. "There are those who are going to be absolutely opposed to any plan that is just a precursor to a single-payer...

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Reid's political box keeps shrinking on health care

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is caught between a divided Democratic caucus and swing voters in his home state of Nevada as he tries to balance the health care reform fight with his bid for a fifth term. So far, his political juggling act is not going well. Pollsters have moved Reid's Senate seat to the "toss up" column as he fends off attacks from the left and right. And political observers agree that if Reid is unable resolve the intraparty difference over the bill and shepherd through some kind of reform, his re-election prospects will likely be doomed. "At this point, it's about delivering," said political consultant Dan Gerstein, who helped Sen. Joe...

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Burris finally gets some respect with health care threat

For Democrats determined to get a health care bill, Sen. Roland Burris is like the house guest who couldn't be refused, won't soon be leaving and poses a plausible threat of ruining holiday dinner. Suddenly, he can no longer be ignored. The Illinois Democrat, appointed by disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, says he'll only vote for a bill to provide health care to millions more Americans as long as it allows the government to sell insurance in competition with private insurers. And he says he won't compromise. "I would not support a bill that does not have a public option," Burris, 72, said in a recent interview with the Associated Press. "That position will not...

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Congress, Pelosi, not popular in Cali, says survey

A Field Research poll finds that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not very popular in California, but that her Democratic senate counterparts are faring a little better in the eyes of voters. The survey found that 44 percent of registered voters in the state do not approve of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's job performance, up from 35 percent in March. Pelosi is a Democrat who represents the San Francisco area. It's the most negative score the Field Research poll has given her since she took the leadership post. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, on the other hand, got a disapproval rating of just 35 percent from California voters, a slight increase from 32 percent she earned in March. Sen. Barbara...

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White House has bad news for unions, tough talk for insurance companies

Democrats were so angered by last week's attack on their health care proposals by the insurance industry they have hit back hard with a threat of revoking the industry's antitrust exemption. But, how serious are they? Obama's top advisor, David Axelrod, signaled on ABC's This Week that the president is not ready to take that dramatic step, which would likely eliminate any chance of the two sides working together on health care reform. Both the Senate and House have introduced bills to revoke the exemption and the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is set to vote on legislation in his panel this week. And Obama dangled the threat over the industry in his...

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Democrats find the insurance pool too shallow

Democrats have been trashing insurance industry analyses of their health care proposals. But in the hallways of the Capitol, lawmakers concede the truth of the report's main criticism: The cost of insurance could skyrocket because the framework of the plan would bring more sick people into the system but not force enough healthy people to buy insurance. Insurance companies refer to the problem as "adverse selection," and they say the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee last week would create this troublesome situation by insuring just 93 percent of legal residents, leaving 17 million people out of the risk pool, many of them young and healthy. "Without more people in the...

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Congress swings back hard at insurance industry

The insurance companies attacked the Democratic health care reform plan this week with report saying it would raise premiums and an angry Congress is hitting back. A House committee next week will vote on a bill that would end the antitrust exemptions the health insurance industry has enjoyed since 1945. The bill aims to end price-fixing and market allocation conspiracies they say is practiced by the insurance industry. "These abuses are plainly illegal in other industries, and it does not make sense, when Congress is working so hard to bring meaningful reform to the market in health insurance, that health insurers should continue to be exempted from federal antitrust...

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Senate health plan funding in doubt

A health care funding mechanism favored by Democratic leaders in the Senate -- a tax on costly health-insurance plans -- seems to be in big trouble as members balk at the idea. But the tax pays for nearly a quarter of the $829 billion plan that provides the framework for the Democratic proposal and even a modest reduction would leave the plan billions of dollars short of being fully funded, which would be a deal breaker with moderate members. "It's a real problem, isn't it?" said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., a moderate who opposes the excise tax. The tax on "Cadillac plans" is by far one of the biggest revenue raisers in the Senate health care bill from the Finance...

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Doubts mount about the real price of health care bill

Democrats who are touting a deficit-reducing, $829 billion health care bill that won approval from a key committee are facing increasing criticism from Republicans and budget experts who say the true cost of the legislation is much higher and would in fact increase the deficit. “The reality is that entitlement spending always costs vastly more than is assumed when it is enacted and there is no reason to expect that this bill will be any different,” said Brian Riedl, senior federal budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The legislation, written by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., was given a price tag by the Congressional Budget Office, an independent...

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Former CBO boss rips Larry Summers

In a letter to GOP leaders, former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Wednesday suggested White House advisor Larry Summers "should be back at Harvard," for sending a letter to Republicans that insists the $787 billion stimulus is creating jobs. Summers last week wrote to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, in response to GOP suggestions for creating jobs that were sent to Obama. Summers' response letter to Republicans blamed the nation's economic problems on the Bush administration policies and credited Obama's stimulus plan for positive economic changes. But Holtz-Eakin said Federal Reserve Board action on monetary policies that began under...

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Senate faces tough task in melding two health bills

Even harder will be merging House, Senate versions Now that a Senate panel has won passage of a moderate health care reform bill, the real challenge lies with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who must weave it together with much more liberal legislation in a way that can win the support of at least 60 lawmakers. Given the divergent components of each bill, it promises to be a daunting if not impossible task. The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 on Tuesday to pass an $829 billion bill that expands health insurance coverage to 29 million people through billions of dollars in additional spending on Medicaid and subsidies. It requires millions of uninsured people to purchase...

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Senate Finance committee passes health care reform bill 14-9

A key Senate panel voted in favor of an $829 million health care proposal that would expand insurance coverage to an additional 29 million people and be paid for with taxes and cuts to Medicare. Much of the support from members was conditional, however, and passage by the full senate remains uncertain. The Senate Finance Committee voted 14 to 9 in favor of the bill and among those who supported it was Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, a moderate whose backing is considered somewhat of a victory for Democrats. But Snowe, along with many other members who voted for the package, said her future support will depend on how the legislation is melded with a much more liberal proposal, which...

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Snowe is a yes... but

Democrats have, for the first time, secured a Republican vote on their health care plan. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced Tuesday afternoon that she will vote in committee for a bill that would expand Medicaid coverage and provide subsidies for low-income earners to buy health insurance. The bill, which she helped draft, is set for a vote in a matter of hours and is expected to pass out of the Senate Finance Committee. Snowe, along with five other members of the panel, spent months drafting the bill, but her support was up in the air until now. She warned that it did not guarantee that she will back the final product, which will be a combination of the Finance Committee bill and a...

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Dems muster counter-offensive on skyrocketing premiums under health plan

Senate Democrats, knocked off their feet by a critical insurance-industry report about their health care reform plan, started fighting back late Monday, more than 12 hours after the report was put forward by the industry's top lobbyist, America's Health Insurance Plans. From Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev: "It is astounding that an industry which has made so many billions off the backs of hardworking American families would lecture anyone on health care costs. These insurers, and those who defend them, see the handwriting on the wall – Americans are serious about reforming health care and Congress, for the first time in 60 years, is primed to...

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Democrats face two bad options on health plan

Congress faces two politically unpalatable options on health care: Higher fines for working-class Americans who don't buy insurance or increases in spending and taxes after insurance providers predicted huge increases in premiums under the main Democratic plan. A report from America's Health Insurance Plans saying the cost of health coverage would be nearly 20 percent higher under a Senate Finance Committee plan -- $1,500 per year for an individual and $4,000 for a family -- has shaken things up in advance of a key vote scheduled for Tuesday. The report blames a "weak coverage requirement" that might encourage younger and healthier individuals to opt to pay a new federal fine...

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Summers to GOP on job creation plan: We'll get back to you on that

The House Republican leadership team sent a list of suggestions to the White House last week they said would help small businesses create jobs, such as implementing new tax breaks and allowing small businesses to pool together to purchase health insurance. On Monday, Obama advisor Larry Summers let Republicans know they have their own plans in place that they believe will one day produce jobs, including the $787 billion stimulus, which Summers said in his letter has brought "a substantial change in the trend of job loss." But Summers did promise to "continue to review" the Republican suggestions. Boehner's office responded Monday by sending out a transcript of...

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Reed warns against "simplistic" approach to Afghanistan

Senate Republicans will back a request for a surge of 40,000 troops in Afghanistan, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Sunday. McConnell said on Face the Nation that despite strong evidence that Afghanistan is being run by a "flawed administration," the country is a haven for terrorists who threaten America. "This is about protecting the United States of America," McConnell said. McConnell said if Obama asks for the troops at the behest of the U.S. military commanders, "I think Republicans almost overwhelmingly will support the president if that is his request." Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who also appeared on the show, said a troop...

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McCain argues for 40,000-troop surge, says Palin would be a "great" potential candidate

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said a Minimum of 40,000 additional troops are needed in Afghanistan to succeed in winning the war against terrorism there. McCain, appearing on CNN's State of the Union, told host John King that the greatest danger for the war in Afghanistan is not a troop pullout, but rather "a half measure...to please all ends of the political spectrum." McCain was asked by King if he believed "the United States can win in Afghanistan with fewer than 40,000 more troops," to which he responded, "No, I do not." McCain made the remark as President Obama weighs another a troop increase request by the General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of...

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Dems dig up bipartisan support in effort to attack GOP mainstream

The Democratic National Committee today plans to launch a new television ad promoting the "growing list of prominent Republicans" who they say support President Barack Obama's health care plan. Their list includes former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, of Tennessee, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Republicans point out that, with the exception of Schwarzenegger, none of the Republicans on the list are major players in politics these days, and Frist has walked back his support of an $829 billion health care bill sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.,...

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Newest GOP senator denounces Democratic health reform rush

Sen. George LeMieux, the Florida Republican who was just tapped to fill the vacancy left by Mel Martinez, gave the GOP weekly address Saturday, continuing what has become the GOP's weekly theme of attacking the Democratic plan to reform health care. This week, LeMieux acknowledged that health care needs to be reformed, but said the the Democratic plan costs too much, would raise taxes and cut Medicare. "We in the Congress have a duty to tackle this problem, but the solution we settle upon should not be rushed, and the solution should not be worse than the problem we are trying to solve," LeMieux said. LeMieux said Republicans want to take a slower, targeted approach to making...

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Can the Peace Prize winner make nice with Republicans?

A new poll suggests President Obama needs to help produce a little more peace between the Republicans and the Democrats. According to Rasmussen Reports, just 30 percent of voters surveyed by telephone believe Obama is governing in a bipartisan fashion, down 12 points from January. The poll found that 52 percent of voters believe Obama is operating like a partisan Democrat. But Congressional Democrats earned "their best marks of the year so far in terms of bipartisanship," According to Rasmussen, which found that 24 percent say congressional Democrats are acting on bipartisan basis, up three points from last month. The survey found 24 percent of voters also believe Republicans...

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Health care tab to be paid by taxpayers, businesses, seniors

A Senate plan to expand health insurance coverage to an additional 29 million people would not come cheap, with taxpayers, businesses and the elderly poised to foot most of the bill. The legislation by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., which is scheduled for a committee vote Tuesday, would cost $829 billion over the next 10 years. Yet in spite of that staggering price tag, it would slash the federal deficit by $81 billion, according to an analysis by the independent Congressional Budget Office. That's $910 billion the government would have to raise over the next decade. The bill calls for getting half of that money through various taxes and the other half by...

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Baucus health plan would save money but squeeze private insurance

A Democratic health care proposal in the Senate would trim the deficit and cost less than $900 billion, but it would result in as many as 8 million people being pushed out of private insurance. The new price tag, produced by the independent Congressional Budget Office, is good news for Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., author of the bill and head of the Senate Finance Committee. Baucus put off a committee vote on his plan at the behest of lawmakers who wanted to make sure the legislation was "deficit-neutral" before deciding whether to vote for it. The Baucus plan, which would require all Americans who could afford it to carry insurance or pay a fine, would cut the number of uninsured...

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Dems warn Pelosi on insurance excise tax

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hunts around for ways to raise enough revenue to fund the Democratic plan to reform health care, her caucus is warning her against an excise tax on luxury insurance plans. Half the Democratic caucus signed a letter sent to Pelosi Wednesday urging her to reject a plan similar to the one proposed in the latest Senate health care reform bill that would tax high-cost insurance proposals by as much as 40 percent. "Such a tax could impact regions with high health care costs in the short-term and, in the long-term, inevitably extend to more middle-income Americans across the country," wrote Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn. The letter was signed by 157...

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Democrats will move to block GOP motion to oust Rangel

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., just announced that he will move to table a forthcoming GOP resolution that would strip Rep. Charles Rangel of his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee. Republicans want Rangel to give up the gavel of the powerful tax writing panel while the House ethics committee sorts out whether he violated any rules when he failed to disclose nearly a million dollars in taxes. The ethics committee is also examining whether Rangel engaged in "pay for play" tactics involving donations to a school named after him. Republicans have tried unsuccessfully to unseat Rangel in the past, but Wednesday's resolution forces Democrats to take a...

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GOP to push 72-hour cooling off period before Senate votes

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., on Wednesday will introduce a resolution that would institute a 72 hour waiting period before the Senate can vote on a bill. This is similar to a bipartisan effort in the House, but Bunning's resolution would require not only that the bill be posted online and be accessible to the public for three days prior to a vote, but that the legislation include a pricetag from the Congressional Budget Office. Bunning last week attempted to get the Senate Finance Committee to approve an amendment to the health care bill that would require it to be posted online with a cost assessment three days prior to a committee vote. But Democrats voted down the motion (Sen. Blanche...

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New plan might allow Dems to slip public option through Senate

Senate Democrats desperate to find a way to pass a health care bill that includes a federal insurance plan may have come up with a way to do it without putting moderate members who oppose it in political jeopardy. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is weighing a plan to bring the final health care bill to the floor without a public option -- making it much easier to get the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster -- and then adding the provision later as an amendment. The public option amendment would be there waiting, but the 60-vote test would technically be on a bill without the government plan. Then moderate Democrats could drop out for the vote on the public option,...

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Bill posting promises differ from bill posting rules

In my story on congressional leaders resisting a formal rule requiring bills to be posted online for 72 hours, I left out a pledge by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to implement a three day waiting period before the House votes on health care reform legislation. My story was about the rules, not individual promises, like Pelosi's or one made by members of the Senate Finance Committee, which aren't binding. Senate leaders have no plans to wait 72 hours before voting on their health care bill, though one senior aide said it would probably be made available for "more than 24 hours but less than 72 hours." And it is not clear at all whether the legislation will be available...

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Health-care bill schedule gets murkier in Senate

Senate Democratic leaders had hoped to begin debating a health care reform bill by next week, but that may slip to the following week because one version of the bill is still stuck in the Finance Committee. The panel had planned to vote on a bill by Tuesday, but it is awaiting cost estimates for the legislation from the Congressional Budget Office. Some Democrats on the committee say their vote may depend on the final cost of the bill, which had earlier been estimated at about $850 billion by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is already working behind the scenes with the White House on merging the Finance Committee bill, which calls for...

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Congress has time for Dalai Lama when Obama doesn't

While President Obama may be strategically avoiding the Dalai Lama while he is in town this week, Congress has cleared it's schedule for the Tibetan spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama will be in the Capitol this morning, picking up an award named after the late Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will give His Holiness the Lantos Human Rights Prize, which awards those who fight human rights violations. Lantos, a human rights proponent, was the only member of Congress to survive the Holocaust. He died of throat cancer last year. The exiled Dalai Lama has spent his life fighting for human rights and world peace and won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. Obama will be the first...

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Senate looks to redefine "public option" to ease passage

Senate Democrats say they are convinced they can get enough support among lawmakers in their own party to pass a health care bill with a public option, but not the kind that liberal Democrats are envisioning. The Senate's most conservative Democrats, including Sens. Ben Nelson, of Nebraska, and Blanche Lincoln, of Arkansas, are still opposed to a pure, government-run insurance program open to all Americans, despite personal pleas from President Obama. Those moderate members are far more likely to back one of a handful of ideas now being circulated, such a a trigger-induced public option, or a system of state-run health insurance plans, but even that's not guaranteed. "I think...

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Congressional leaders fight against posting bills online

As Congress lurches closer to a decision on an enormous overhaul of the American health care system, pressure is mounting on legislative leaders to make the final bill available online for citizens to read before a vote. Lawmakers were given just hours to examine the $789 billion stimulus plan, sweeping climate-change legislation and a $700 billion bailout package before final votes. While most Americans normally ignore parliamentary detail, with health care looming, voters are suddenly paying attention. The Senate is expected to vote on a health bill in the weeks to come, representing months of work and stretching to hundreds of pages. And as of now, there is no assurance that members...

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Senate will hold hearing to probe Obama czars

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday will scrutinize the "czar" system used by President Obama and previous administrations. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who heads the Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee, said he wants to explore whether the dozens of czars appointed by the Obama administration constitute "an end run around the advice and consent process." Feingold said his probe does not involve Senate-confirmed czars such as the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair. "I am most interested in those advisors who have been given important portfolios without undergoing Senate scrutiny," Feingold said. The witness list includes Matthew...

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Obama says passing health care overhaul the key to reducing unemployment

Republicans used September's bleak employment numbers to attack Democratic efforts to expand the government and raise taxes. Rep. Candice Miller, R-MI., said in the GOP's weekly radio address that the 9.8 percent rate of unemployment announced Friday is evidence that the $787 billion stimulus passed by Democrats earlier this year has done little to help the economy. Miller, whose state suffers from a 15.2 percent unemployment rate, warned that Democrats could hurt the economy further if they pass a climate change bill that would raise electricity rates and health care reform legislation that would tax those without health insurance. "You know, Washington Democrats' job-killing...

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Congressional Record Now Environmentally Friendly

Congress will begin printing the Congressional Record on recycled paper, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Friday. This will definitely save a few trees as the Government Printing Office churns out 4,130 copies of the record every day. Pelosi says the move will reduce landfill waste and cut out 1.4 million pounds of pollution annually. The record includes every single word spoken on the floor of the House and Senate the prior day. In making the announcement, Pelosi recalled how copies of the Congressional Record were stashed under her brothers' beds so her father, five-term Democratic congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., could read them. " I had five older brothers and they used...

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Carbon regulation threat from EPA doesn't stir Congress

A move by the Obama administration to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions was intended to get Congress moving on global warming legislation, but the message was largely lost on lawmakers mired in the health care debate. Their response to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson: Climate change will take a back seat to health care. "If health care doesn't get off this table, we are never going to move on to anything else," said Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., a supporter of the House climate change bill passed last summer. Jackson announced late Wednesday a proposal to mandate new electricity plants, oil refineries and factories to acquire permits to...

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Senate blocks move to bring McChrystal to Hill

The Senate defeated on a party-line vote a move by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz to set a Nov. 15 deadline for the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and other military brass to testify before the Senate about the need for additional troops and resources to fight the war. McCain's provision, an effort to put pressure on Obama to quickly decide on a troop increase, failed 40-59, and came after the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., by a 60-39 vote, to postpone such a hearing until Obama has finished a planned review of the Afghanistan war strategy. "This is an issue that the U.S. Senate should have a role in at least being informed," McCain argued before the...

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GOP accuses Dems of trying to buy votes on global warming

Senate Democrats appear ready to follow the House playbook for passing contentious global warming legislation by trading pollution allowances for votes. But even with the aide of this tactic, the bill is unlikely to pass this year. The draft legislation circulated by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass., includes a requirement for steep emissions cuts, but does not stipulate how emission allowances will be allocated. Instead, those details will be filled in as Democratic Senate leaders work to strike deals with their moderate faction, many of whom are reluctant to support a "cap and trade" system, particularly while the jobless rate continues to climb. House...

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Rocky keeps jabbing at insurance companies

Sen. Jay Rockerfeller, D-W.Va., lost an effort Tuesday to insert a public insurance option into the Democratic health care bill, but he plans to keep fighting for a way to give the government some control over how health insurance dollars are spent. Rockerfeller made the argument to his Senate Finance Committee colleagues that his amendment would have provided much-needed competition for private insurers, who he believes are going to keep raising premiums even if the government kicks in nearly $500 billion in federal subsidies for the uninsured to get coverage, as is stipulated in the Democratic bill. In an effort to stave of price increases, Rockerfeller said he plans to introduce an...

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Reid keeps Senate at work over Columbus Day

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., just called off the weeklong Columbus Day recess Senators were planning to take to visit family and hold meetings with constituents. Reid made the announcement on the Senate floor, saying "with all the things going on here, it just would not be right for us to take that week off." Of course, Reid is referring to health care reform, and he hopes to bring a bill to the Senate floor by the end of October, perhaps even during the week of the now-cancelled recess. The Senate schedule will also be packed with votes on spending bills. But there is probably a much bigger reason Reid called off the break and his decision was politically...

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Public option fails in key committee health vote

The Senate Finance Committee gaveled a nail in the coffin of government-run health insurance, with moderate Senate Democrats casting the deciding votes to reject the proposal and sending a strong signal to Democratic leaders that the "public option" will not have enough support to clear the full Senate. The Finance Committee, which is currently drafting a bill, rejected two amendments that would have created a government-run plan, one tying doctor reimbursement rates to Medicare, the other making those reimbursement rates negotiable. The latter amendment, by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., considered more moderate because of the negotiable reimbursement rates, was an important...

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Second public option amendment defeated on more narrow vote

The Senate Finance Committee has rejected a second attempt to insert a public option into a sweeping health care reform bill the panel is drafting. The 10-13 vote was on a provision sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., which would have created a public health insurance option that allowed doctors to negotiate reimbursement rates. The vote was closer than an earlier try by Sen. Jay Rockerfeller, D-W.Va., whose provision tied reimbursement rates for doctors to Medicare. That effort failed 8-15. On both attempts, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., voted no because he said he did not believe a health care bill with a public option can pass the full Senate with the...

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First public option amendment defeated in Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee just defeated by a vote of 8-15 an amendment that would have inserted a government-run health insurance option into a Senate health care reform bill that is now being drafted in the Finance Committee. Every Republican voted against the provision, sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockerfeller, D-W.Va., as did five Democrats. The committee is now debating another public option amendment, offered by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that is similar to Rockerfeller's idea but would not tie reimbursement rates for doctors to Medicare rates. Instead, those rates would be...

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GOP turning up the heat on Obama for Afghan decision

Congressional Republicans are stepping up pressure on the White House to make a decision about whether send more troops to fight the war in Afghanistan. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on President Obama, who is reviewing the strategy in Afghanistan, to make up his mind about the matter. "The President's pick to lead our efforts in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has made clear that more forces are necessary to accomplish the mission," McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. "And while the administration hasn't yet reacted to General McChrystal's report, in my view, the President must soon explain to the American people his reasons either...

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Democrats unable to quell health care revolt among seniors

Senior citizens are putting the Democratic Party's 2010 election prospects and their health care reform proposals on a collision course. Outraged over Democratic plans to cut between $400 billion and $500 billion from Medicare in the next decade, voters over the age of 65 are poised to make the party suffer even steeper losses at the polls than have already been predicted for the midterm election. "Seniors bear the brunt of these bills as they are currently funded," said Betsey McCaughey, a former Republican lieutenant governor of New York and conservative health care policy expert. "It's a medical assault on seniors." Democrats argue that Medicare is going...

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Gates wavers on troop surge for Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Robert Gates signaled that President Obama may not be ready to send tens of thousands of additional troops to fight the war in Afghanistan, as the top military commander there has requested. Instead, Gates told ABC's "This Week," Obama will decide, within weeks, "whether or not to make adjustments in the strategy" in the wake of the country's recent election, as well as a dire new assessment of the war by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. "And that includes the question of, is McChrystal's approach, in the view of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Command commander, the right approach?" Gates...

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Gates hints at more Iran nuke sites

Defense Secretary Robert Gates strongly hinted on Sunday that Iran may be concealing other nuclear facilities in the country, beyond the uranium enrichment facility disclosed Friday by President Barack Obama and other leaders at the G-20 Summit. This Week host George Stephanopoulos asked Gates if the newly discovered site is "the only secret site that we know of." After a pause, Gates said, "I'm not going to get into that. I would just say that we are watching closely." Gates told Stephanopoulos there is "not a chance" the United States will heed the request of Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and apologize for accusing the country of trying to build a...

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Isakson says Dems are ignoring voters

Democrats are paying no attention to the public fear and resistance to their proposal to reform health care. At least that is what Republicans are saying in their weekly address. The GOP tapped Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to continue the party's drumbeat of opposition to several massive health care proposals Democrats are trying to push through congress. "Their message has been loud, and it has been clear," Isakson said Saturday. "They don't like the direction of this health care debate is headed in." Isakson honed in on the provisions in the Democratic proposals that have most stirred up the public, planned cuts to Medicare and tax increases. "If you have...

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As White House predicts swift passage of health bill, Congress bogs down

While White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel declared that health care reform would clear Congress in the next two months, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in gridlock over how to move legislation out of either chamber. Emanuel told PBS's Charlie Rose that a health care bill "will be passed before the members go home for Thanksgiving," and it will meld aspects of both the House and Senate proposals that are miles apart philosophically. Even as Emanuel predicted timely cooperation, congressional Democrats closed doors leading to compromise and remained vague about when they would actually vote on a bill. Asked on when the House would have a bill ready for a vote,...

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Porky defense bill headed for Senate vote

The Congressional agenda is packed with health care, energy and financial regulatory reform issues, but lawmakers have found plenty of time to stuff earmarks into the defense spending bill, according to the number crunchers at Taxpayers for Common Sense. The watchdog group analyzed the 2010 defense appropriations bill that will soon make an appearance on the Senate floor (as early as Thursday) and found 778 earmarks totaling $2.65 billion, with many of the big-ticket items credited to members of the appropriations committee, which is typical. Among the more costly earmarks - $20 million for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, D-Ma....

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Health plan would push millions out of Medicare program

President Obama's repeated pledge that senior citizens would not lose benefits under his proposed cuts to Medicare has been officially contradicted by an independent congressional analyst whose dire prediction could put the latest Senate health proposal in jeopardy. The $856 billion health care reform bill now being drafted in the Senate Finance Committee would be paid for in part by slashing $125 billion from the Medicare Advantage program, which is used by about 9 million people, or nearly 20 percent of all Medicare recipients. The cuts would come from the additional benefits Medicare Advantage enrollees receive, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf told the committee,...

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Dems on the defensive after report on Medicare cuts

Republicans have been busy using the Congressional Budget Office for harvesting ammunition against the Democratic health care reform plan, but so far it's not having much of an impact as Democrats try to push through their latest plan in the Senate Finance Committee. The GOP Wednesday touted the revelation made by CBO Director Doug Elmendorf that cuts to Medicare Advantage would reduce benefits, despite promises to the contrary by the Obama Administration. Later in the day, Republicans dug into a letter sent by the CBO to Democrats letting them know that the taxes they plan to impose on the insurance companies will, in fact, be passed along to policy holders to the tune of about 1...

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Bipartisan group wants mandatory waiting period to read bills

Lawmakers frequently use the excuse that they don't have enough time to read some of the massive bills put before them for a vote in Congress. Now a bipartisan group of House members is trying to force the Democratic leadership to change the rules so that any bill must be made public for 72 hours before members vote on it. Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Brian Baird, D-Wash., are collecting the signatures of House members and if they get 218, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will have to schedule an up or down vote on implementing the three-day rule. "At my public meetings and events, people always want to know: Have you read these bills? Why don't they give you time to read...

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Senate considers aiming low on health care

As a deadline to pass a health care bill gets closer with no end in sight to the discord in Congress, some lawmakers want to scrap the proposals that are now on the table and try to pass a much smaller bill. "People feel that it may be very hard to get such a large bill done this year," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., after a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats. Lieberman said many Democrats appear "open" to the idea of trying to pass a far less ambitious legislation than the $900 billion plan on the table in the Senate Finance Committee, where lawmakers have lined up more than 500 amendments in an attempt to reshape the bill. "We've never adopted a...

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DeMint wants a smelt showdown

Sen. Jim DeMint said he wants to end the drought in California's Central Valley by blocking government funds that have been used to divert water from the area to protect a 3-inch fish called the delta smelt. The South Carolina Republican will introduce an amendment to a Department of the Interior spending bill that would place a one-year ban on the federal government using money to stem the flow of water from the regions farms. For months, water that is normally pumped into the area has been diverted into the ocean, causing a severe drought that has devastated the area's farming economy and caused a steep rise in unemployment (40 percent in some areas). The government began diverting...

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Pelosi and Hoyer split on Afghanistan?

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he wants Gen. Stanley McChrystal to brief Congress about the need for more troops in Afghanistan, leaving open the possibility that he might support an increase. "I think it would be very useful at some point in the future for Gen. McChrystal to share with Congress his views, his proposals and his sense of the success the changed strategy would bring," Hoyer said on Tuesday. McChrystal, who is the top commander in Afghanistan for both the United States and NATO, warned Obama in a confidential memo that without more troops in the next year, the effort there will be a failure. Hoyer is taking a different stance on the matter than...

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Middle-class taxes deal breakers on health plan

After an uproar over the projected costs and increased deficits from health care legislation, Democrats are considering taxing middle-class Americans who don't have health insurance and taxing some health coverage to pay for a plan. But while more fiscally responsible, the ideas are proving no more popular. The disagreement could come to a head this week, when the Senate Finance Committee begins drafting the bill under the leadership of it's author, panel Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. Baucus announced he would cut some of the taxes in his bill and increase subsidies using about $28 billion in savings the Congressional Budget Office estimates his bill would save. It may take much more...

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Obama on the defensive during Sunday talk show blitz

President Obama, who saturated the airwaves to push his health care plan, found himself playing defense not only on his proposals to cut Medicare spending and make those without health insurance pay fines, but on the Afghan war, the community organizing group ACORN and a decision to prosecute CIA agents. The health care message Obama hoped to deliver by giving interviews on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Spanish-language network Univision on the same day was most diluted by the president’s hesitancy to back an increase of troops in Afghanistan that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is said to be seeking. “Until I’m satisfied that we’ve...

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White House dismisses Fox News as ‘ideological outlet,’ renewing feud

President Obama’s Sunday media blitz of five networks deliberately left out Fox News, with the administration calling it an “ideological outlet.” But by passing over “Fox News Sunday” with host Chris Wallace, Obama skipped over an audience of up to 3 million viewers who tune in regularly to watch the show and its reruns. Some political strategists are calling the move a mistake. “Cutting this network out actually sends a larger message of just how sensitive and petty the West Wing has become,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, who was a top aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. The White House indeed took aim at Fox, with a...

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Public wants ACORN funding to end

Despite its own low poll numbers, Congress is, apparently, doing something right in the eyes of voters. The public agrees with a move by both the House and Senate to cut of federal funding for the scandal-ridden community activist group ACORN, a new poll has found. Rasmussen Reports conducted a national telephone survey that found 51 percent of U.S. voters believe Congress should end all federal funding while just 17 percent want taxpayers to continue to pay for the group. The survey found that ACORN is viewed unfavorably by 67 percent of those surveyed and is viewed somewhat favorably by just 15 percent. The House voted Thursday to end federal funding for ACORN. while the Senate...

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Big changes await compromise health plan

Instead of rallying behind a compromise health care bill introduced by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., senators on both sides of the aisle were preparing significant changes for the bill. “I’m sure there will be a lot of changes we’ll be making to this initial building block,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., after leaving a closed-door meeting about the bill with Senate Democrats. That may be an understatement. With so many senators at odds with central parts of the Baucus plan, such as fines for Americans who don’t buy insurance coverage, which Republicans oppose, and the creation of an insurance exchange instead of the public option liberals want, the...

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Senate lets Murtha keep his pork project

More proof today that lawmakers are loath to tamper with the longstanding earmarking process that many of them utilize in Congress to bring home the bacon. By a vote of 43-53, the Senate defeated a measure that would have stripped federal funding from a barely-used airport named after Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. The provision was introduced by Senate anti-earmark crusader Jim DeMint, R-S.C., whose office provided "fun facts" about the alleged uselessness of the airport. "More people fly out of an airport near the north pole than do out of the John Murtha airport (last year the Murtha airport handed 6,700 passengers, compared to 37,000 at the airport in Barrow,...

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Long-awaited compromise health bill produces more discord

The Senate Finance Committee has raised the curtain on what was supposed to be bipartisan health care legislation. But rather than bridging the growing divide in Congress, the new proposal has increased discord. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., unveiled the "America's Healthy Future Act," which he said would cost $856 billion over 10 years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the cost would be $774 billion. The $82 billion discrepancy between the estimates comes from using different calculations, including the depth of cuts to existing programs and revenue the government would take in under Baucus' proposal. Senate finance bill by the numbers...

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CBO smiles on Baucus health bill

Criticism from the left and the right was heaped upon the latest Senate health care proposal much of Wednesday, but a rainbow emerged from the clouds at the end of the day in the form of a Congressional Budget Office report that found the bill would cost just $774 billion over the next decade, $82 billion less than projected by the bill's authors. The CBO offered even more good news, finding that the bill would reduce the nation's staggering debt by a $16 billion in 2019. "After that, the added revenues and cost savings are projected to grow more rapidly than the cost of the coverage expansion," wrote CBO director Doug Elmendorf. Elmendorf also found that the bill would...

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White House looks to calm anxious Democrats in Congress

Top White House adviser David Axelrod hit Capitol Hill in yet another effort to keep Democrats together on health care, but many lawmakers said they are waiting to see the bipartisan proposal under construction in the Senate Finance Committee, which is due either late Tuesday night or Wednesday. In the House, Axelrod talked with Democrats about Obama's support of the public option. But in the Senate meeting, the public option, "didn't come up," according to an attendee. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said his bill would largely mirror what President Obama outlined in his speech before Congress next week and said when it its "fully explained,"...

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House Democrats mark official disapproval of 'You lie!' outburst

House Democrats formally condemned Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., for pointing his finger and shouting "You lie!" to President Obama during his health care speech to Congress. The House voted 240 to 179, mostly along party lines, to disapprove of Wilson's actions following an hourlong debate led by former civil rights activist House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. "This resolution addresses an issue of great importance to current and former members of this august body, the proper conduct of its members," Clyburn said. "This is not about partisan politics or inappropriate comments, to the contrary this is about the rules of the House and reprehensible...

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Boehner says Dems hiding behind "You lie!" outrage

House Republicans are accusing Democrats of creating a brouhaha over Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" comment in order to distract the public from their foundering health care proposals. The House GOP leadership on Tuesday took aim at a move by Democrats to rebuke Wilson over the words, which he let fly when President Obama, appearing before Congress, said that his health care reform bill would not cover illegal immigrants. The House Tuesday afternoon will take up a resolution disapproving of Wilson's outcry. "Our economy is struggling, families are hurting, and yet, this Congress is poised to demand an apology from a man who has already apologized," Republican Conference...

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Democrats move ahead with Joe Wilson punishment

Democrats on Tuesday will introduce a resolution of disapproval against Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who last week shouted "You lie" to President Barack Obama during his health care speech to Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., initially told reporters she wanted to let the matter rest, but other Democrats in her caucus were intent on going after Wilson and after Monday night's closed-door meeting among Democratic leaders, she agreed to allow the resolution to go forward, despite the fact that it will no doubt sidetrack the House in a major way Tuesday. House rules prohibit members from making disparaging remarks against anyone while in the chamber but there isn't much...

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Health care reform faces inconvenient questions

Now that President Obama has outlined his goals for an overhaul of the American health care system, Democrats are trying to fashion new legislation that will include all of Obama's aims. The president wants a new government-run insurance program, additional regulations for the insurance industry and rules requiring all Americans to buy insurance if they can afford it or be given coverage if they can't. Obama's plan draws elements from the multiple bills in Congress. But in trying to merge the ideas into a compromise bill, Democratic leaders face a series of inconvenient questions: 1. Who would foot the bill for extending health insurance to 30 million more Americans? Obama's plan draws...

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Bipartisan concerns dog financial reform

Lawmakers from both parties are apprehensive about the financial regulatory reform plan being pushed by President Obama as a cure for meltdowns like the one that sent markets plunging last year. Obama told a Wall Street audience on Monday that he was "confident" Congress would pass a series of financial regulatory reforms that he proposed more than three months ago. But many of the president's ideas are struggling to become legislation that can pass either the House or Senate. And neither chamber has introduced bills that fully incorporate the Obama proposals. "From what we have seen over the last 45 days, I think there are members on both sides of the aisle who have...

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One of a dozen inconvenient questions on health care

In researching the story I've written for tomorrow's paper on the dozen tough-to-answer questions about the health care proposals in Congress, I was reminded that both President Obama and Democratic predecessor Bill Clinton both made efforts to cut government spending, and while their plans yielded savings, they are no where near the $500 billion Democrats hope to save on Medicare over the next decade by cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the health care industry. Obama's efforts will ultimately save about $267 million, an impressive figure but just a tiny fraction of the Medicare savings that are hoped for under the Democratic health care proposals in the House and Senate. During...

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GOP praises Obama on Afghanistan, but pans health care

Republicans on Saturday praised President Barack Obama for how he has handled the war in Afghanistan but said he's only paid "lip service" to bipartisanship when it comes to health care and has ignored "the clear wishes of the American people." The weekly GOP address was delivered by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas that acknowledged the President's big health care speech Wednesday night but said the public remains wary of the Democratic proposals because they do not spell out how the government plans to lower costs without reducing benefits, prevent waste, fraud and abuse in a big government system and slash $500 million from Medicare without reducing services to senior...

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Jimmy T back in Congress?

Former Representative and ex-felon Jim Traficant may run for Congress. Traficant told Fox News he is being encouraged to run, just days after being released from prison after a seven year stint. Traficant was convicted of public corruption (taking kickbacks and bribes, ten counts) in 2002 and was expelled by the House, but not before he gave the chamber a stern, somewhat incomprehensible lecture in a white leisure suit and trademark toupee. Traficant later made an unsuccessful bid to run as an Independent from jail in 2002. It would be difficult, but not impossible, for Traficant to win a seat in Ohio. His old seat is held by popular Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, but Traficant could...

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Bayh: "Our challenge is to produce a bill as good as his speech."

A group of 17 moderate Democrats who met with President Barack Obama late Thursday to talk about health care reform said the talks were "constructive" and Obama pledged to "live up to the promises he made in his speech" on Wednesday. The meeting seems to have done little to move the ball forward on health care, however. As I reported in my article on the Senate "Mod Squad," most are waiting for the bipartisan "gang of six" in the Senate to complete a bipartisan bill that would create a health care cooperative, not the public option in two Democratic plans now circulating. "I told the President that the primary focus for moderates is getting...

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Moderate Senate Dems still not convinced on health care

While President Obama has been talking a lot about Republican opposition to his health care plan, his biggest obstacle is more than a dozen moderate Senate Democrats who oppose much of his proposal, including mandates for insurance coverage and the creation of a government plan. A day after an address to Congress, Obama sought to rally 17 Senate moderates at a White House meeting, but these lawmakers say they won't make up their minds until they see a bipartisan Senate proposal that is still in the works. Among those who remain undecided is Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., a fiscal conservative and head of the Democratic moderate group who has questions about the size and cost of reform...

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CBO says expanding Medicaid would increase the national debt by another $1 trillion

The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday has come out with some additional analysis of the Democratic health care reform bill in the Senate and it found that expanding Medicaid to include anyone earning below 150 percent of the poverty level would increase the national debt by more than $1 trillion in the next decade. In a letter that responds to a series of questions from Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who is the top Republican on the Senate panel that wrote the bill, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf said the bill would end up hurting worker wages and employment." CBO believes that firms that are subject to the penalty but opt not to offer health insurance would pass that cost on to...

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No plans to punish Wilson for outburst

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday she has no plans to use the House rules to punish Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., for exclaiming, "You lie," during President Obama's speech Wednesday night. Wilson's made the remark, pointing his finger at the podium, when Obama told Congress his health care reform bill would not cover illegal immigrants. Obama Thursday accepted Wilson's apology, but it still left open the fact that it is against House rules to make defamatory remarks in the chamber. "Yes, there is a procedure that could have been implemented," Pelosi told reporters who pressed her on the matter. "I think that the president did the right thing, just...

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Key terms in the health-care debate

Health Insurance Mandate -- Under President Obama's plan, individuals would be required to enroll in a health insurance plan or pay a government fine and certain employers would be required to provide it to employees or pay a tax. Supporters of the mandate say it would reduce the cost of health care by providing coverage for everyone, rather than shifting the cost of paying for those without insurance onto those who have it. But many oppose the idea of mandatory insurance as unconstitutional. Others believe that the costs of providing subsidies or full coverage for those who can't afford private insurance could do further damage to the already enormous national debt. Public Option -- The...

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Obama's $900B health plan: Mandatory insurance, public option

President Obama proposed a health insurance plan that would require individuals to carry insurance, mandate large employers to provide it and subsidize coverage for those who could not afford it. Facing public confusion about his plans after months of a general sales pitch, Obama laid out his agenda before a rare joint session of Congress. Obama still spoke in unspecific terms, but he broadly sketched a plan for universal coverage based on mandatory insurance and a new government-run plan. But even as he denounced the "partisan spectacle" over health care, the House chamber seemed at times like one of the rowdy town hall meetings of the summer. When the president said his...

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What will Obama say about malpractice reform?

Republicans in the House and Senate have been telling their Democratic counterparts that they would be open to supporting a health care reform bill if it includes, among other things, medical malpractice reform. It now appears that option could be on the table. While no one knows what Obama will talk about in his speech before Congress tonight, the lead negotiator on a Senate bipartisan health care reform plan signaled that President Obama could be open to provisions aimed at reducing the number of junk lawsuits that have played a big role in driving up the cost of health care. Here's what White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had to say today on CNN: John Roberts - Is the...

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Republicans advise Obama to announce health care reform do-over

House and Senate Republican leaders have some words of advice for President Obama tonight when it comes to his big speech on health care. "I would hope he would come to the House tonight and hit the reset button," House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters. But Boehner said early reports of what Obama will say tonight leave little hope for a do-over. "It appears the president is going to double down tonight, put lipstick on this pig, and call it something else." Boehner, along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, D-Ky., said Democrats should scrap their plan and begin anew, not with a big, comprehensive proposal, but rather through a...

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Congressional leaders leave wiggle room on public option

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., emerged from a White House meeting proclaiming their commitment to and President Obama's support for a new government-run insurance program, but they seemed to leave some wiggle room for more moderate reform options that are gaining popularity. "I personally am in favor of the public option," Reid said after leaving the White House. "I can't speak for the House caucus, but if I were betting, I think the majority of them also believe in a public option. And we're going to do our very best to have a public option or something like a public option before we finish this work." Pelosi...

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Health care bills may drop more Medicaid mandates onto states

While there are vast differences among the health care proposals circulating in Congress, every one would greatly increase the number of people who would be eligible for Medicaid, a move that would almost certainly put a massive financial burden on states. State leaders, who have for months been slashing services in order to cope with budget deficits, are watching the health care debate nervously in fear of a colossal unfunded mandate. "We just went through another round of budget cuts," said Shaun Adamec, spokesman for Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. "If revenues continue to decline, then we will have to take a look at the budget again, and those Medicaid payments,...

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Blue Dog Ross a firm "no" on the public option

A key member of the conservative Democratic House Blue Dog Coalition said he will vote against a heath care bill that would create a government-run health insurance plan. Rep. Mike Ross, of Arkansas, made the announcement in a newsletter to constituents sent out Tuesday. He said he made the decision after listening to an "overwhelming number" of his constituents tell him in August they oppose such a plan. Ross had for months been a skeptic of the House Democratic proposal as he headed the Blue Dogs' health care task force, but his decision to jump off the fence into the "no" column is yet another big blow to what appears to be withering support for the public option....

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Congress looks to avoid overload as new session begins

When Congress gavels back in session Tuesday, lawmakers will be focused mainly on the effort to pass a major health care reform bill by the end of the year. But other big issues await the House and the Senate, including an unemployment rate that has grown from 9.4 percent to 9.7 percent since they left for the summer recess and new estimates that show the national debt will grow by $9 trillion in the next decade. And the congressional schedule could get even more complicated if President Obama opts to ask for more money to fund a major troop increase in Afghanistan that the military has signaled it wants. The jobless numbers alone will greatly complicate efforts in Congress to pass a...

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Trigger option might be enough to bring moderates back on board with health care

The conept of a public option that would only be triggered by stagnant privte insurance prices may be the one option that will bring in enough Democratic moderates and at least one Republican needed to pass a health care bill in the Senate with 60 votes. On CNN"s State of The Union, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, told host John King he might accept such provision. "I think Obama has to say if there's going to be a public option, it has to be subject to a trigger," Nelson said. "In other words, if somehow the private market doesn't respond the way that it's supposed to, then it would trigger a public option or a government-run option, but only as a fail safe, backstop...

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How far left will Obama have to go?

The advice from Howard Dean and other liberal leaders on today's talk shows was that in his speech on Wednesday, the president has to strongly and clearly restate his vision for overall health care reform -- including a new government-run insurance program. Others suggest that the time has come for the president to take what he can get and move on. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich recalled his advice to Hillary Clinton in 1993 that she pass eight bills in eight years as opposed to trying something comprehensive. But key administration figures like White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who hit the airwaves today in advance of the president's...

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Pelosi, Reid will pow-wow at White House Tuesday

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will meet with President Obama on Tuesday to discuss health care, leadership aides said Friday. The two congressional leaders will no doubt want to find out exactly where Obama stands on health care reform, after days of reports that he may pitch a watered-down version of the Democratic proposal now circulating in Congress. House Democrats have not been pleased with the news that the White House is negotiating with Senate Republican moderate Olympia Snowe, of Maine, to produce a proposal that would require a public option if insurance companies fail to make health care more affordable and widely...

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Snowe feels the heat for influential role on health care

The decision by the Obama administration to try to broker a deal on health care with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe is causing anger in both parties. Despite months of committee hearings, closed-door huddles and bipartisan talks on what should be included in a health care reform package, the final product may be most influenced by Snowe, of Maine, and a handful of other moderates in both parties. "It's actually the smart thing to do right now and I understand it would infuriate a lot of people who are in the majority and they are thinking huge changes are going to occur because of one person," said political scholar Norman Ornstein, of the American Enterprise Institute....

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Pelosi: Government health plan a must for House Dems

President Obama may be considering a health care bill without a public option, but it will not be acceptable in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced late Thursday. "A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House," Pelosi said in a statement. "Any real change requires the inclusion of a strong public option to promote competition and bring down costs. If a vigorous public option is not included, it would be a major victory for the health insurance industry. Pelosi said the month of August has brought distortions and distractions from those who oppose health insurance reform "to try to kill this historic legislation. According to media reports,...

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House Democrats face tough prospects in 2010

A new analysis is out today that predicts House Democrats could lose up to 25 seats in the 2010 midterm elections. According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, which has been scrutinizing campaign races since 1984, Democrats have two major factors working against them in the coming months as they fight to retain control of the House. First, according to Cook's David Wasserman, the midterm elections tend to favor older white voters. In the 2008 presidential election, just 45 percent of voters aged 65 and older backed President Barack Obama. And Second, Wasserman said, House Democrats have slid in generic ballot tests, mostly due to the unpopularity of their sweeping health care...

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Specter up, Obama and Rendell down in Pa.

A Pennsylvania poll shows Sen. Arlen Specter's re-election prospects have improved. According to Franklin and Marshall College, which conducted interviews from Aug. 25 to Aug. 31, Specter, who switched from the Republican to the Democratic party in April, trounces primary opponent Joe Sestak 37 percent to 11 percent among Democrats who were polled. In a matchup against Republican Pat Toomey, Specter prevails 37 percent to 29 percent, according to a survey of registered Republicans. Specter's lead over Toomey has increased to eight percentage points, up from just a three point lead in June. His advantage over Sestak has widened to 26 points, up from 20 points in June. But the poll found...

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Abandoning public option may not lift health care

President Barack Obama’s signal that he will not insist his health care reform plan includes a government-run insurance option may ultimately do little to help Congress find enough consensus to pass legislation this year. White House officials told reporters they were weighing a new plan to try to sell health care reform to a skeptical American public in the face of waning support and fears about the sweeping, $1 trillion Democratic proposal. But the divisions in Congress may be impossible to overcome, particularly those within the Democratic Party. While Obama may not insist on including a public options, more than 80 House Democrats will not vote for a bill that does not...

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Liberals warn Obama over dropping public plan

House Progressive Caucus Co-chairwoman Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said it would be a "grave error" for Congress to draft a health care reform bill that did not include a government-run health insurance option and she believes there are enough liberal lawmakers to block its passage. Woolsey said she was setting up a meeting with President Barack Obama, whose administration has signaled that a public option won't be necessary for a health care reform bill. Obama will likely announce a shift in policy Wednesday, when he is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on the topic of health insurance reform. A public option, Woolsey told The Examiner, "isn't just what I...

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House liberals warn Obama on public option

House Progressive Caucus co-chair Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said it will be a "grave error" for Congress to draft a health care reform bill that does not include a government run health insurance option and she believes there are enough liberal lawmakers to block its passage. Woolsey said she is setting up a meeting with President Barack Obama, who this week signaled that he would not insist that a public option be a component of the health care reform bill that is to be the crowning achievement of his first term in office. A public option, Woolsey told the Examiner, "isn't just what I want, it is what the American people want and not including the public option will be a...

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Poll finds Congress in the dumps. Again.

"Americans are extremely displeased with Congress." That's the opening line in a new poll conducted by Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The poll, released Wednesday, found that 37 percent of voters hold a favorable opinion of Congress, while 52 percent hold an unfavorable view, a 13 point decline since April. According to Pew, Congressional approval ratings are at "one of their lowest points in two decades," of their polling. What does this mean for Democrats, who lead both the House and Senate? Potentially tough midterm elections, according to Pew. Among those whose feelings have shifted the most are independent voters. Pew found that independent...

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Reid says his aren't the only low poll numbers

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently gave an interesting interview to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Reid talked about the prospects for health care reform, saying the death last week of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., will help the party pass a bill in part because his legacy will serve as an inspiration. But even more interesting were Reid's comments about his own poll numbers, which have been weak, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a paper he staunchly opposes. Reid declined to reveal to the Gazette-Journal the results of his internal polling, but said he was not the only Senate Democrat suffering. "I received information this week that my colleagues around the country, their...

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Moderates adopt 'supercautious' approach to health care

The moderate Democrats who hold the key to salvaging health care legislation in the Senate were hard to read even before the raucous town halls and sinking presidential approval ratings of August. Now, they are almost inscrutable. While these swing-state centrists managed to make it through the summer without committing to the major elements of the Democratic plan, including the creation of a public health insurance option, the vocal opposition from the public may have had a chilling effect that will make it even harder for Congress to pass a bill this year. Among those who have not committed to the Democratic plan is Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said she has received 14,000...

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Senate Democrats likely to go it alone on health plan

Faced with hardening Republican opposition to health care reform, Democrats will likely try to ram through a health care bill with just 51 votes, instead of the usual 60, when the Senate reconvenes next week. Such a move, which could be achieved through a parliamentary move called reconciliation, would spare Democrats from having to water down the $1 trillion bill in order to appease moderates in the party who oppose the bill's cost and who question its centerpiece provision, the "public option." Using reconciliation, however, would result in a weaker bill because of special rules put in place by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., that would allow the chamber's 41 Republicans to block...

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Senate delays global warming bill again

The Senate is delaying work on a global warming bill for the second time this summer. The authors of a bill aimed at addressing climate change announced Monday they would not introduce their legislation until the end of the month, instead of the Sept. 8 date they scheduled before the August recess. Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass. and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said their bill is "moving along well" but they needed "additional time to work on the final details" in part because of the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Kerry's recent hip surgery. The two said they also needed additional time to "reach out to colleagues and important stakeholders." Boxer and...

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Reid Wants his local paper to fold

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., could be facing one of the toughest re-election battles of his career and while he has pronounced himself ready and eager for the fight, there is evidence the pressure might be getting to him. Reid last week fully antagonized the Las Vegas Review-Journal Newspaper, which has been critical of him, by reportedly telling its advertising director "I hope you go out of business" while the two shook hands at a Chamber of Commerce event. Reid then delivered a speech to the Chamber in which he joked that he hopes the Review-Journal can continue to sell advertising because the paper also provides delivery of the Las Vegas Sun, which is more...

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Bipartisan support for Kennedy's widow to assume seat

While Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, has indicated she is not interested in assuming her husband's Senate seat, there is bipartisan support for her to take the job, if only temporarily. The Massachusetts state legislature is getting ready to debate a bill that would give Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick the authority to appoint an interim senator to fill the seat until a special election is held and some are suggesting the 55-year-old lawyer would be perfect for the job. "I think Vicki ought to be considered," said Orrin Hatch on CNN's "State of the Union." Hatch called Vicki Kennedy " a very brilliant lawyer" and "solid individual." Vicki...

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Kennedy motorcade will pause at Capitol

Sen. Edward Kennedy's funeral procession will stop at the U.S. Capitol tomorrow around 4:30 p.m. and pause briefly in front of the Senate, his family announced Friday. Kennedy, D-Ma., served 47 years in the chamber and employed hundreds of staffers during that time. Members of his staff past and present have been invited to pay their respects to Kennedy from the Senate steps. According to an announcement made by the family, Kennedy's motorcade will "stop at the Senate steps for a brief prayer so that Senate staff and members of the broader Senate community with whom the Senator worked can bid a final farewell." The motorcade will then travel to Arlington National Cemetery,...

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Crist taps Senate placeholder for Martinez

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has tapped his former aide and former deputy state attorney general George LeMieux to fill out the term of retiring Sen. Mel Martinez. Martinez, a Republican, announced earlier this month that he planned to leave office early, which put Crist in an awkward situation since he is planning to run to replace Martinez in 2010. Crist, a Republican, needed a placeholder, and picked LeMieux from a list of party official and state lawmakers. LeMieux is the former chairman of the Broward County Republican Party and managed Crist's 2006 campaign for governor. Martinez congratulated LeMieux and called him "bright, capable and an accomplished...

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Hoyer hits the road to help embattled House members

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has been on the road this summer trying to help take some of the pressure off new House members struggling to deal with outrage over Democratic health care proposals. Hoyer this week accompanied a first-term congressman to an editorial board meeting at a California newspaper, saying the health care discontent is a result of the struggling economy and public sentiment that "their country is not running the way it ought to run. I think what happened with health care is it has become the forum for the expression of this anger and fear." Support for their health care proposal has slipped significantly in many surveys, and opposition has...

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Dodd hopes Kennedy death will quell health care reform discontent

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said he hopes Sen. Ted Kennedy's death will "remind people to calm down," about health care reform, referring to the town hall meetings on the Democratic plan to reform health care that have drawn angry crowds. Dodd spoke to reporters Wednesday about the death of Kennedy, 77, who he referred to as his best friend in the Senate. Dodd recalled many visits to his home Kennedy and long sailing trips together, during which Kennedy would lecture Dodd about the need for health care reform. He was asked by one reporter what he believed would be the impact of Kennedy's death. "You know, I hope it would remind people to calm down," Dodd said....

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Kennedy's death may weaken Dems' health plan

The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy strips the Democrats of the 60-vote supermajority they enjoyed for a mere 51 days. But the liberal icon's demise may help pass a watered-down version of his health legislation. The loss of Kennedy leaves Senate Democrats with 59 votes, one short of the 60 they need to block a certain filibuster from Republicans. With the future of Kennedy's vacant seat up in the air, Democratic leaders will now have justification for passing health care reform in the Senate with just 51 votes through the use of a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation. Such a move would force the Democrats to break the bill up into separate, smaller bills, rather than the sweeping...

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Rangel lowballed net worth by half

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., has amended his 2007 financial disclosure forms, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously undisclosed assets. The news was first reported on the Website of Congressional Quarterly earlier today. The site reports that Rangel filed an amended financial disclosure statement earlier this month to include $250,000 in a Congressional Federal Credit Union, "land in southern New Jersey and stock in PepsiCo and fast food conglomerate Yum! Brands," CQ reports. The amended report doubles Rangel's net worth reported in the original form filed in 2008. Rangel holds the gavel of the House tax writing panel. He is...

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Hill Dems mollified by Holder's moves on CIA

The decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to start an investigation into the interrogation tactics of the CIA seems to have at least temporarily cooled the passion of Democrats in Congress for their own probes. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., once demanded Congress convene a "truth and reconciliation commission" to examine whether Bush administration officials broke the law in their approach to getting information from terrorism suspects. In the House, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation to create a similar panel and talked of criminal prosecutions for panel targets. But the two chairman softened their demands...

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Enzi Wants Obama to Withdraw Labor Pick

Sen. Mike Enzi wants the Obama administration to withdraw its nominee for Solicitor of the Department of Labor. Enzi sent a letter to President Obama accusing nominee Patricia Smith of giving "inconsistent statement and testimony" to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Enzi, of Wyoming, is the top Republican on the panel. Smith currently serves as commissioner for the New York Department of Labor and started a program in the city called "Wage Watch," which utilizes community groups to "participate in a range of activities aimed at improving labor law compliance, including holding know-your-rights training, providing employers with information...

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Reid faces political squeeze between fellow Dems and Nevada voters

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is walking a political tightrope in his home state as he tries to convince his conservative-minded constituents that he best represents their needs while at the same time promoting government-run health care and other Democratic priorities that many Nevada voters oppose. But Reid also faces pressure within his own party as his ambitious conference chairman, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushes for the Senate to jam the Democratic health care bill through without Republican, input in a move that could further hurt Reid politically. The weekend brought bad news for Reid as he faces a potentially tough fight for a fifth term in 2010. A Mason-Dixon...

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Former CBO director doubts new deficit numbers

Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin says the Obama administration's claim that the Obama's updated figures on the deficit that will be released Tuesday are "spin and nothing more." Holtz-Eakin, who was a top advisor to the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sent a memo Monday to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, accusing Obama of manipulating the numbers about future bailout costs in making the claim that the deficit will shrink by more than $260 billion from what was predicted three months ago. "Bottom line, the budget outlook is worse, and dangerous," Holtz-Eakin writes to Boehner. The White House and the CBO...

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Reid wants quicker payments on Cash for Clunkers

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to speed up to five business days the reimbursement wait-time for car dealers who have given millions of dollars in rebates to consumers as part of the administration's "Cash for Clunkers' program. Dealers have been complaining that the government has yet to make good on its promise to repay the $4,500-per-clunker voucher that dealers have given away for the past few weeks and some are refusing to participate in the program because they have no more money to hand out. LaHood has assured dealers that they will eventually get their money and President Barack Obama has indicated...

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Liberal members of congress threaten health compromise blockade

The liberal wing of the House Democratic caucus is launching a counteroffensive to efforts by the White House and Senate Democrats to back away from a health care reform bill that includes a new government-run insurance plan. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who heads the 84-member House Progressive Caucus, said she sent a letter to Heath and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius telling her that liberals would not support a bill that did not include a "robust" public option. If most of the Progressives stick with Woolsey on the threat, the House will be unable to pass a final health care reform bill without a public option, despite signals from the Obama administration that...

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Progressive, Black, Hispanic caucuses pledge more than 120 "no" votes on health co-op plan

The liberal wing of the House Democratic caucus is launching a counter-offensive to efforts by the White House and Senate Democrats to back away from a health care reform bill that includes a strong public option. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who heads the 84-member House Progressive Caucus, said she sent a letter to Heath and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius telling her that her faction will not support a bill that does not include a "robust" government-run plan. If most of the Progressives stick with Woolsey on the threat, the House would be unable to pass a final health care reform bill without a public option, despite signals from the Obama administration that it...

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Pelosi digs in on public option

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she will forge ahead with a health insurance bill that includes a robust government-run insurance plan, despite signals from Senate negotiators that they may exclude a government plan from legislation it is drafting. "There is strong support in the House for a public option," Pelosi said on Monday, referring back to a statement President Barack Obama made in March in which he declared a public option will "give consumers more choices" and "keep the private sector honest." Pelosi pointed out that a public option is the main component of all three versions of health reform legislation that are circulating in the...

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A freshman congressman faces sophomore slump

Democrat Tom Perriello finds that his constituents are irate over health care and government spending MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- In a small middle school library a man is shouting and wagging a finger at Rep. Tom Perriello. Perriello, a Democrat who represents Virginia's mostly rural 5th District extending from Charlottesville to the North Carolina border, has just embarked on his monthlong listening tour, and residents are unloading their anger about the Democratic agenda. They're mad about government spending, legislation aimed a curbing global warming and, most of all, plans to create a massive public health care system that would cover all of the nation's uninsured. "So you're...

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Looking for a winner among the wannabes

Republicans are intent on taking back the 5th Congressional District from freshman Democrat Tom Perriello, but first they have to find a candidate who has a shot at beating him. Despite losing by less than 1 percent of the vote in 2008, Republican Virgil Goode decided last month that he would not try to regain his old seat, opening up the GOP spot on the 2010 ballot to more than a dozen interested people, according to party officials. Some fear Goode's decision not to run has hurt the odds that Republicans can regain the seat. "This is a game-changer," said Hampden-Sydney College political science professor David Marion. "I think the Democrats now have a real chance of...

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Health bill proposal for 'home visitation' sparks Big Brother fears

A proposal for a government program that would send nurses into the homes of low-income women to counsel them about their pregnancies and parenting skills failed to gain support in Congress this year, but has been revived in the health care legislation. The language, buried deep in the 1,000-plus-page House health care reform bill, has bipartisan support, though it never had enough backing to pass the House or Senate on its own. On page 768 of the House bill, the language calls for "Optional Coverage of Nurse Home Visitation Services," which would aim to improve the health of pregnant women and their children under the age of 2 by "increasing birth intervals between...

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Dodd to return "in a few weeks" after cancer surgery

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.,, was operated on today to treat his early-stage prostate cancer, his office announced. Dodd's staff said the surgery "was a success" and Dodd will remain in the hospital for a few days before returning home to recuperate. "He is looking forward to getting back to work later this month on behalf of the people of Connecticut," a statement from his office said. The operation took place at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. His doctor, Peter Scardino, who is chairman of the department of surgery, said the surgery was "successful" and that Dodd can return to "full activity within a few weeks." Dodd, who is chairman...

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Health bill could allow government access to personal financial records

Privacy concerns are generating another round of complaints about health care legislation being considered in the House. The bill calls for the secretary of health and human services to be able to quickly determine a person's financial responsibility and eligibility for health care services, "which may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card." The language has been long sought after by some health reform advocates who say it will enable more streamlined and effective medical care, but the words are chilling to privacy advocates who do not want the government tracking their medical history. "That provision is extremely...

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Detroit police eye Rep. John Conyers' wife

The Detroit Police say they may investigate $21,300 in missing notebook computers, and other equipment from the office of former Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers, who is the wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich, but they called premature an earlier media report that they have begun such a probe. "Where we are right now is there has been no police complaint filed," said Second Deputy Chief John Roach told The Examiner. Roach said the police are examining a city council-ordered audit that revealed the missing items, but have begun no formal investigation. The audit was ordered when Conyers resigned her city council post on July 7 after she...

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Ted Kennedy's statement on sister Eunice's death

Sen. Edward Kennedy has put out a statement about the death of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Shriver died Tuesday morning in Cape Cod. "Eunice is now with God in heaven. My sister Jean and I, and our entire family, will miss her with all our hearts. I know that our parents and brothers and sisters who have gone before are filled with joy to have her by their side again." Kennedy, who is 77, recalled his earliest memory of his sister as a young girl "with great humor, sharp wit, and a boundless passion to make a difference," and said her compassion for people with disabilities, inspired by her disabled sister Rosemary, was instrumental in the creation of the...

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The 3-Minute Interview: Ris Lacoste

Ris Lacoste is a top D.C. chef and food writer who is building her own restaurant in downtown Washington. Lacoste trained at Anne Willan’s La Varenne — Ecole de Cuisine in Paris before starting her career in New England and then coming the Washington, where she helped open 21 Federal and Kinkead’s. Her most recent post was head chef at Georgetown’s 1789 restaurant. You were longtime friends with Julia Child. What do you think of the new movie about her life? The movie is great. Meryl Streep did an amazing job. Every now and then I had to remind myself it was actually Meryl Streep. What was your relationship like? I knew her very well, for 20 years. I saw...

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Dems get tough on health care protesters

Congressional Democrats were already struggling with health care reform before they departed for the August recess. Now a backlash against key components of the party's plan at town hall meetings could make it impossible to get legislation onto President Barack Obama's desk this year. "I think this is why the president wanted Congress to approve health care reform before the August recess because they knew there would be a lot of objection to what is in this legislation," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. "This really stunts their momentum." Democratic lawmakers are struggling to regain control of...

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Pelosi - Town Hall Protests Un-American

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., are decrying an "ugly campaign" by angry mobs who are disrupting town hall meetings to discuss health care reform. The two top House Democrats penned an op-ed piece in USA Today to promote the Health Care reform legislation that is now making its way through the Congress. The bill has a price tag of more than $1 trillion and would be funded by tax increases. It would create a massive government-run insurance plan and would cut back on Medicare expenditures. As lawmakers try to sell the plan at August town hall meetings in their districts, some have been met with angry crowds who are opposed to the...

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Controversies mount over health care proposals

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he believed the Democratic plan to overhaul the nation's health care system was "in serious trouble" and threw cold water on a bipartisan plan in the Senate to create a national insurance cooperative. McConnell, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said he believed Americans were far too skeptical of the government running their health care and that a cooperative, while less radical than a government-run insurance program, would still go too far and would be "unacceptable" to most in the Senate GOP. "It would have government money in it, and it would be guaranteed by the government," McConnell said....

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VIP loans broke no rules, ethics probe ends

The Senate ethics committee ruled Friday to drop its investigation into whether Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad violated the rules by receiving favorable interest rates from Countrywide Mortgage. In letters sent to both Senators, the committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said it conducted an extensive, year-long probe and reviewed thousands of pages of documents to reach the conclusion that neither lawmaker broke an official rule of the Senate. But the panel chastised both men, writing to each that, "the committee does believe that you should have exercised more vigilance in your dealings with Countrywide in order to avoid the appearance that you...

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Senate Putting a Chill on Health Care Reform? Pelosi thinks so

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thinks so. Pelosi, speaking to a group of reporters in her office, was asked about the slow pace of the Senate Finance Committee, which has for weeks been trying to draft a bipartisan health care bill but won't be done until September at the earliest. The House, meanwhile, has passed its health care proposal out of three committees before it adjourned for August on Friday. Pelosi pointed to an historical term that describes the senate as a cooling saucer. According to political lore, George Washington told Thomas Jefferson that the framers had created the Senate to "cool" House legislation in the same manner a saucer cooled hot tea. "There is...

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Will Dems' attack on insurance companies be a wise policy?

With health care reform at a near standstill in the House and Senate, lawmakers in are planning to target the health insurance companies, painting then as "villains" that can be struck down by a government-run health insurance plan. But poll numbers suggest the public may not be easily persuaded by that argument as they remain focused on the implications of a several health care proposals Congress is weighing. When the House adjourned Friday for the month of August, lawmakers took home a kit from the leadership, laying out how they should make the argument for the House-proposed $1 trillion health care overhaul bill, which creates a public-run insurance option. The recess...

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Dodd has prostate cancer but will stay in office

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announced he has early-state prostate cancer. Dodd has scheduled an afternoon briefing with Capitol Hill reporters to discuss the situation, but he told the Hartford Courant the cancer is not far along and he will have surgery to treat it during the August recess that begins at the end of next week. Dodd also told the Courant he plans to run for reelection in 2010. Dodd, chairman of the powerful Banking Committee, has struggled in Connecticut polls following bad publicity surrounding a favorable interest rate he received on a home loan and his role in allowing American International Group to hand out millions in bonuses after accepting accepting a hefty...

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Compromises largely symbolic on health care

As House Democrats tout compromises on health care reform and a possible committee vote, the real hurdles to a deal will come in the fall, when the final version of the legislation will be assembled. A group of liberal and moderate House Democrats met privately in a small room off the chamber Thursday afternoon, trying to decide whether to support a health care reform bill under consideration in the Energy and Commerce Committee, or stop it in its tracks when a vote takes place as early as Friday. The bill was altered substantially on Wednesday in order to appease the members of the moderate Democratic Blue Dog Coalition who sit on the panel, angering liberals. But Democratic leaders...

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Health-care delay -- Oh, so now it's our fault?

After weeks of saying they would attempt to pass by August a sweeping health care reform bill in committee if not in the full Senate, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested those assertions were merely the figment of the wild imaginations of the congressional press corps. Speaking before a packed room full of reporters, with a group of doctors as his backdrop, Reid told the media that it was responsible for the intense pressure to finish a bill by next week that some Republicans and Democrats say is hindering the creation of a bipartisan agreement. "You folks have created a deadline, we haven't, Reid said. It's true that Reid has always hedged a little when asked whether the Senate...

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Opposition to House health plan stretched beyond the Blue Dogs

House Democratic leaders made big concessions to keep the members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition from blocking a $1 trillion health care reform bill. But no sooner had the House Energy and Commerce Committee broken the Blue Dog blockade than the liberal wing of the House broke into revolt, forcing another halt to committee action. Whatever happens with the current standoff, the showdowns with the Progressive Caucus are likely only beginning. There are many moderates beyond the 52-member Blue Dog group who will have to be appeased before health legislation can pass. Among the most concerned are members of the freshman and sophomore classes. Many in this group were sent to...

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Hopes of Senate health deal dashed

A preliminary draft of a bipartisan health care plan under negotiation in the Senate would eventually decrease the deficit and substantially undercut the cost of other plans, according to an independent analysis. The news bolstered the spirits of the group of six Republican and Democratic Senate negotiators led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. Baucus emerged from another day of closed-door talks with the five other lawmakers to announce that a preliminary analysis by the Congressional Budget Office showed that not only would their bill avoid adding to the deficit, it would cut it by billions of dollars in its 10th year while providing coverage for 95 percent of...

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Liberals revolt after Blue Dog health deal

Just hours after House Democratic leaders announced a deal with their party's conservative Blue Dogs on a sweeping health care reform bill, their liberal wing is pushing back. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., postponed his panel's markup of the bill, which was to take place Wednesday afternoon, and rescheduled it for Thursday morning. The reason behind the cancellation is a lack of cooperation from the House Progressive Caucus, made up of more than 80 members. It is the most liberal faction in Congress. The group fears that the deal Democratic leaders struck with the Blue Dogs has weakened the public option too much and will water down the...

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House stalls on health; Senate compromise moves forward

Senate support is coalescing around a compromise health care bill that strips out a public insurance option cherished by the president and liberal members of Congress. The bill may be the only one that can overcome objections from moderates who could block legislation in the Senate. But it would open a new fight in the more-liberal House, where a national health plan is front and center in the stalled legislation backed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A bipartisan group of six senators on the Senate Finance Committee has been working for days behind closed doors in an effort to strike a deal that can attract some GOP lawmakers and shore up support from wavering moderate Democrats who worry...

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Dems deny memo that says they're quitting health debate this week

Democrats do not plan to vote on health care reform legislation before the recess and the House will adjourn for the break on Friday, according to a memo obtained by the Examiner. "The content of the memo is accurate," a Republican leadership aide confirmed. Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said no official announcements have been made yet about the floor schedule and the memo was "not correct." It is possible the House will remain in session over the weekend in order to let the Energy and Commerce Committee continue its work on the bill. David Cavicke, the author of the above memo, is the GOP staff director on the committee. The panel has been gridlocked because...

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Hastert's in. So who's out? -- UPDATED with photos

The House on Tuesday will unveil the official portrait of former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., in a ceremony in Statuary Hall. Hastert was speaker from 1999-2007 and held the job longer than any other Republican. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will be at the ceremony, along with Minority Leader John Boehner and former House Republican Leader Bob Michel, of Illinois. After the ceremony, Hastert's likeness will be moved to the Speakers Lobby just outside the House chamber, where reporters mill around, waiting to talk to lawmakers. The long, narrow hallway is lined with portraits of many of the 52 speakers that have held the gavel, including Thomas "Tip" O'Neill,...

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Post Office to get hit with “high risk” rating as business keeps falling

The United States Postal Service will get some bad but unsurprising news today. The Government Accountability Office is expected to add it to its list of "high risk" government operations. The GAO publishes a biennial list of high risk agencies, which they define as having "significant management challenges." It put out a list in January but is apparently updating it with the addition of the USPS in an effort to spur Congress to do something substantial to help keep it solvent. The GAO currently has a list of 30 high risk federal programs, policies and operations it says are "vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement or in need of sweeping...

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Little Suspense in Today's Sotomayor Vote

When the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the nomination today of Judge Sonya Sotomayor to be the next Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, expect a 13-6 vote, with every Democrat backing her nomination and all but one GOP lawmaker opposing it. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Monday he will vote "no" on Sotomayor, joining GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch, of Utah, John Cornyn, of Texas, Jon Kyl, of Ariz. and panel ranking member Jeff Sessions, of Ala. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has not said how he will vote, but given his significant criticism of Sotomayor during her confirmation hearings earlier this month and the fact that he is very conservative it would be downright...

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Pelosi’s new health care vote deadline: ‘Whenever’

For House Democrats, the prospects of passing a health bill before the August recess are fading fast. Leaders inched further away from their earlier commitment to pass a $1 trillion-plus health care reform bill by the end of this week, saying they are waiting for a key committee to strike an agreement on the legislation and for the Senate to finish work on a bipartisan proposal. “We are on schedule either to do it now or to do it whenever,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. In the coming days, Democratic leaders must work to persuade dozens of fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats and other centrists in their party to vote for the bill, which many oppose because...

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Defense Appropriations Subcommittee cleans up on earmarks

Taxpayers for Common Sense has been hard at work sifting through the costly pet projects stuffed into the 2010 Defense appropriations bill, a notorious earmark magnet, and their research does not disappoint. They found that 4 percent of House members got close to a third of the $2.75 billion earmarks in the bill. That 4 percent, TCS's Steve Ellis said, "just happen to be the 18 members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee." Ellis adds that since 2007, those same 18 members have taken in more than $800,000 in campaign contributions from people who benefitted from the earmarks. Of the 18 lawmakers who brought home the most bacon, 11 are Democrats and 7 are Republicans,...

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Sessions says no to Sotomayor

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Monday he will vote against confirming Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor. joining fellow Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who also sit on the panel. Their opposition can't block Sotomayor's confirmation, as Republicans are outnumbered on the committee and Democrats control 60 votes, enough to make her the first Latina Supreme Court Justice when the full Senate votes next week. Sessions said in an opinion piece in USA Today that he had a difficult time believing that Sotomayor would not be an activist judge, despite testimony in which she pledged to be objective. "In the end, her...

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Pelosi vows to press on despite bad news on health bill

Even with the latest Democratic plan to control costs in a proposed expansion of health coverage getting low marks from independent analysts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., still says she has the votes to pass a health bill. “When I take this bill to the floor, it will win,” Pelosi declared on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This will happen.” Talks broke down Friday between the House Democratic leadership and the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog coalition over costs. With 52 members in the House, the Blue Dogs could easily prevent the Democrats from passing the bill because no Republicans support it. On Saturday, the Congressional...

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House Republicans' prediction for forced health vote: Epic fail

House Republicans Friday predicted that if the health care bill skips straight to the floor without a vote from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it will fail. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the top Republican on the committee, said moderate Democratic Blue Dogs won't put up with such a maneuver, which Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is threatening. The bill is stalled in the committee because the Blue Dogs on the panel think it costs too much and punishes rural medical care. Waxman said he might pull the plug on committee action and send the bill straight to the floor. "I predict that if that happens, that the bill will fail on a rule vote," Barton said,...

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Freshman senators call for more health cost cuts

Nearly the entire freshman Democratic class in the Senate sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., telling him to keep cutting costs from his bipartisan health care plan. The letter sends a strong signal to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that any final senate bill will probably have to look a lot more like the yet-completed Baucus proposal, which is shrinking in cost, than the Kennedy bill, which has a $1 trillion price tag and calls for the creation of a massive government insurance option. The letter was initiated by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Michael Bennett, D-Colo. and included every freshman Democrat except for Al Franken,...

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Waxman threatens on health care

In a move that shouldn't surprise anyone on Capitol Hill, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said Friday that he'll move the massive health care reform bill straight to the floor if he can't get enough support to pass it out of his committee, where it is currently stalled. Time is running out for Democrats to pass a health care bill before the August recess. With the Senate deciding to punt the issue until fall, it is up to the House to keep the momentum going by passing their health care bill before members leave for a five-week recess. But they are meeting resistance from centrist Democrats who don't like the $1 trillion price tag and scope of the...

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Reid balks at Obama's health deadline

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he cannot meet President Barack Obama's August deadline for health care legislation, leaving open the prospect that an already embattled effort will die in the summer heat. Democrats, unable to muster enough support among lawmakers in their own party for sweeping health care reform legislation, pulled the plug on plans to vote on a health care reform bill in each chamber before all 535 lawmakers scatter for the monthlong August recess. It came just 15 hours after Obama reaffirmed his support for an August deadline. "It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than trying to ram something through,"...

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Day of the dueling patients on the Hill

It was a day of dueling health care patients as Democrats and Republicans tried to convince the public to see their side of the health care debate. On the Republican side, it was Shana Holmes, a Canadian woman who had to come to the United States to be treated for a brain tumor after she was told that she would have to wait months to see a neurologist in her own country. Holmes was the guest of Republican House leaders who held a news conference denouncing a Democratic proposal to create a massive government-run insurance option that might lead to Canadian-style care. "This is not what the American people want," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "We...

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Grassley on Obama/cop flap: "too often we are trying to second-guess law enforcement"

In a news conference with Iowa reporters, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley suggested perhaps President Barack Obama should have held off declaring that the Cambridge, Mass., police acted "stupidly" when they arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates after he had to wrangle with a stuck front door to get into his house. "I do think you have to have some deference to law enforcement until you know that they, in fact, have made what is termed a stupid mistake," Grassley said. Police arrested Gates for disorderly conduct, after Gates showed identification. The charges have been dropped, though the arresting officer insists he acted properly. Obama told reporters...

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Compromise would give board Medicare-cutting powers

House Democratic leaders have struck a tentative deal with their fiscally conservative members on health care reform, agreeing to a proposal that would vastly expand the powers of an independent agency to cut benefits for older Americans. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there was "no question" she now had the votes to pass a health care reform, although some Democratic moderates said there were still holdouts that could block passage. Pelosi, President Barack Obama and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., struck a deal with the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition to expand the powers of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or...

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CBO director's White House visit rankles GOP

Republicans are saying it was inappropriate for President Barack Obama to invite Congressional budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf to the White House on Tuesday. Elmendorf has vexed Democrats in recent weeks by pronouncing their health care plans to be massively expensive and incapable of lowering future health care costs. Republicans said Obama may have used the visit to pressure Elmendorf to change his stance. "The CBO is an independent, non-partisan budget analysis office for the legislative branch, not a body subject to White House supervision and intimidation," Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said. The White House has said there was nothing wrong with the visit and that...

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Pelosi says she has the votes to pass health care

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday she has "no question" that she has enough votes to pass the $1 trillion health care reform bill in the House, suggesting that she has quelled opposition from conservative Democrats and freshmen over the cost and scope of the bill. Pelosi made the announcement as House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman D-Calif., suspended his panel's work on the bill while he tries to win the support of the centrists who he met with privately on Wednesday. Pelosi and Waxman have agreed to a plan to help cut the cost of the program by giving additional powers to an independent agency that sets Medicare payment rates. But...

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As Dem bills founder, bipartisan health plan re-emerges

With Democratic health care plans in the House and Senate in disarray, senators struggling to build a bipartisan plan without a government-run option are coalescing behind a tax on employers who provide insurance policies worth more than $25,000 to their workers. The idea seems to have the crucial, though very tentative, support of key moderate Republicans and Democrats who blocked an earlier plan to tax employee health care benefits, and may deliver a compromise bill that some believe has the only real shot of making it to President Barack Obama's desk this year. "In a way, this could restrict many benefit packages from going through the roof," Senate Majority Whip Richard...

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Senate Democrats face standoff on gun vote

The Senate is headed for an interesting showdown Wednesday on a gun amendment vote. The provision, sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., would allow those with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns across state lines, which is now illegal. Liberal Democrats are vehemently opposed to the amendment and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is working hard to find enough lawmakers to defeat it. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will vote for the amendment. While Reid's support is not terribly surprising because Nevada is home to many gun owners and Reid is facing a potentially tough re-election fight this year, it pits the Democratic leaders against...

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House may halt health care until fall

While President Barack Obama declared today that he wants health care reform accomplished "now," House Democratic leaders say they may not vote on such a plan before the August recess, instead setting their sites on late September. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scrapped Tuesdays' drafting session for the massive health care reform bill winding through the chamber. Instead, members of the panel will head to the White House to meet with President Obama, who is trying to convince moderate Democrats to back the measure. Fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dogs as well as swing state freshmen Democrats, are complaining that the bill is too expensive and increases...

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Tax fight may doom summer hopes for health care

Even as President Barack Obama renews his demands for action on health care reform in Congress, conflict over tax increases continues to darken prospects for passage by the August recess. Just three weeks remain before the Senate goes home for a recess that will last until after Labor Day. The House recess begins in two weeks. While lawmakers initially planned to have passed legislation in both the House and Senate, mounting opposition by moderate Democrats may make that goal unreachable. "Anything is possible," one House Democratic leadership aide said on Monday, adding that fast action was needed because members could "lose focus," on the bill if it has to wait...

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Chamber adds to TV onslaught on health

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to join the onslaught of health care reform advertising this week. Officials from the chamber said they will unveil on Tuesday a multi-million dollar campaign "to promote health care reform that protects employer-sponsored health care, the bedrock of the nation's health care system for over 160 million Americans." The Chamber has registered opposition to the House bill over its plan to tax upper-income earners which it says will hurt small businesses. The Chamber is also opposed to the "pay or play" aspect of the bill, which would require businesses to provide employee health insurance or pay a tax. The Chamber sent a letter to...

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McConnell will vote 'no' on Sotomayor

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he will not not vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, even though he believes she is "an outstanding individual." McConnell said he can't back Sotomayor because of the things she has said repeatedly in speeches that suggest she relies on personal experiences and prejudices to govern her decisions. "Her personal views lead me to believe she lacks the objectivity you would prefer to have in the Supreme Court," McConnell said. McConnell said he is using the same argument made by then Sen. Barack Obama when he opposed the nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both appointed by President Bush....

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Three-minute interview - Steve Rothstein

Rothstein is president of the Perkins School for the Blind, which has just embarked on a partnership with Washington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library that will enable the blind and disabled to borrow its Braille books. Last month, the Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library was named library of the year by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. What is the demand like for Braille literature? For somebody who is blind, Braille means literacy. For most people, it is a critical part of their lives. You can’t go to a bookstore to buy Braille books. Is it hard to learn to read Braille? Think of Braille as any language. It’s tactile, you are...

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Congress hopes 3rd time’s a charm on health care bill

Now that two liberal House and Senate health care proposals are proving to be too costly, lawmakers this week will focus on a third, unfinished, bipartisan bill. Democrats conceded this weekend that Congress must bring down the costs of its two existing proposals to expand coverage to the estimated 47 million uninsured, plans that the independent Congressional Budget Office said would add to the deficit if either was implemented without major changes. “I think we know now that more work has to be done,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on “Meet the Press,” in response to the latest CBO analysis. Sebelius then suggested a solution might...

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Reid - no love for CBO director

The relationship between Congress and the independent Congressional Budget Office has always been tense at times, but it has really been coming to a boil over health care reform. The latest CBO analysis of the Democratic plan to overhaul health care is really causing the Democrats problems. According to the CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, the two versions winding through the House and Senate would actually cost money, not save it, after full implementation as Democrats have touted. His theory comes at a time when Democrats are struggling to get enough of their own members behind a plan that can pass both the House and Senate by August. Reid, when asked about Elmendorf's latest analysis,...

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CBO blasts health plan as budget buster

The head of the Congressional Budget Office doused renewed Democratic hopes for a massive health care overhaul, telling the Senate Budget Committee that the plans endorsed by President Barack Obama and others could drive the national debt to unsustainable levels. Director Douglas Elmendorf said proposals in the House and Senate "would be much more likely to worsen the long-run budget outlook than to improve it." The analysis, delivered to Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., undercuts the argument from Obama that health care reform will save money by lowering costs. Democratic leaders in Congress, already struggling to come up with enough votes needed within their...

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Reid says DNC health ads "a waste of money"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., seemed pretty miffed on Thursday when reporters asked him what he thinks of President Obama's grassroots organization targeting centrist Senate Democrats with televised advertisements aimed at pressuring them into supporting health care reform legislation. "I think it's a waste of money," Reid responded, arms crossed and face looking cross. Reporters pressed him further on the matter, and he said, "It's the Democrats spending money against the Democrats." Organizing for America was launched by the Obama administration shortly after Inauguration Day. It is run by the Democratic National Committee and its goal is to mobilize...

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Public health plan moves ahead in Senate with no GOP votes

After weeks of gridlock, the Democratic effort to move sweeping health care reform through Congress took a step forward after several pep talks from the Obama administration. With the hopes for a bipartisan plan fading, a Senate committee approved 13-10 along party lines a massive bill that would create a government-run health insurance option and force employers to provide coverage or pay a tax. The bill, which passed without one Republican vote, would cost more than $1 trillion to implement over the next decade and would provide coverage to millions of uninsured people. It would also shift several million people from private health care to the government-run health care wing,...

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Sotomayor dodges gun questions, cites pending cases

Republicans and some Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have been trying to pin down Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on where she stands regarding gun ownership rights, but her views remain mostly a mystery after two days of questioning. Sotomayor cited the fact that Second Amendment cases are likely to soon come before the Supreme Court and declined to answer many specific questions about whether she supported gun ownership as a fundamental right. But her past rulings have left gun rights advocates nervous. "My readers are not simply wary of this woman, they are furious, because she won't answer basic questions," said Gun Week editor Dave Workman. Legal...

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Specter dismisses Sotomayor's 'wise Latina' statement

One of the more anticipated moments in the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was when Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., got his chance to ask questions. Specter is not only a former Republican, he is the former GOP chairman of the committee, so there was some expectation that he might be a tough questioner among the Democrats on the panel, but that was not the case. Many of the Republicans in the past two days have relentlessly grilled Sotomayor on her past speeches and remarks in which she talked of using personal experiences and prejudices to make rulings and suggested the court should be setting new policy. Among her most controversial statements was one in which...

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Sotomayor regrets 'wise Latina' speeches, but promises impartiality

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor spent much of the second day of her confirmation hearings backpedaling on speeches she made suggesting a judge should view the law through the filter of personal experiences and bias. Despite efforts by Democrats to define Sotomayor as someone who relies on the law to make decisions, Republicans repeated the most controversial snippets of her speeches, and sought explanation. More often than not, Sotomayor acknowledged using a poor choice of words or said her statements were misinterpreted and tried to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee and the television viewers that she would be an impartial justice, based on her rulings on the bench for the...

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CBO says House health plan will cost $1.04 trillion, squeeze private insurance

The Congressional Budget Office has put a $1.04 trillion pricetag on a House plan to overhaul health care that it says will provide insurance by 2019 for 37 million peole who currently have no coverage. Democrats introduced an incomplete version of the the House bill, which calls for creating a robust government-run insurance option and would require employers to either provide insurance or pay a new tax. The bill is supposed to be finalized in three committees in the coming weeks. The CBO estimate confirms some of the fears of critics of the bill who say a public option would have a massive advantage over the private insurance industry and would thus threaten its existence. According to...

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Sotomayor: "wise Latina" line was a "rhetorical flourish" that didn't reflect her real views

Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor told a panel of senators at her confirmation hearing that she may have chosen her words poorly when she delivered remarks over the years suggesting that impartiality may not be possible when judging cases. Responding to a barrage of questions from Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., about some of her speeches, Sotomayor for the first time seemed to back away from her own comments, which included the declaration that "a wise Latina woman" could reach a better conclusion in a case than a white man. Sotomayor said she made the statement in an effort to inspire young Hispanic and Latino students and lawyers, characterizing them as "a rhetorical...

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Sotomayor claims ‘fidelity to the law,’ GOP still skeptical

Judge Sonia Sotomayor addressed her critics directly in the opening day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which included statements from each senator on the panel, but no questions. “In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy,” Sotomayor said in her opening remarks. “Simple. Fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law. It is to apply the law.” Republicans and Democrats alike said they were impressed with her opening remarks. “It was from the heart and direct and it made some important points,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary...

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New ethics investigations against House members

An independent ethics board has begun investigations into eight new cases involving House members, according to the panel's quarterly report issued Monday and at least one subject of inquiry is refusing to cooperate. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created by the House last year to make recommendations to the House ethics committee, which is made up of lawmakers and is the only body empowered with meting out punishment. While the ethics committee can punish members with censure to expulsion for various misdeeds, they rarely do anything at all when it comes to disciplining its own members, which is what led to the outcry for the creation of the independent ethics board. Lawmakers...

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House to unveil incomplete health bill in effort to stay on schedule

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is forging ahead on passing a massive health care reform bill even though many in the Democratic caucus oppose what the leadership is putting forward. Pelosi told reporters on Monday that the bill will be introduced on Tuesday in an incomplete form and will be drafted in detail in three different committees beginning this week. "In order for us to be on schedule, we have to roll out our legislation this week," Pelosi said, referring to her goal of having the House vote on a health care bill before leaving for the August recess that begins in three weeks. The House delayed the introduction of the bill on Friday after centrist "Blue...

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Republicans throw "red flag" on Sotomayor

Senate Republicans used their opening statements in the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor to criticize and question her rulings and speeches, white Democrats promoted her as a remarkable woman with whose history as a judge is solidly mainstream. In a hearing twice interrupted by demonstrators, Republicans would not signal whether they intended to vote for or against Sotomayor, but showed skepticism about Sotomayor's statements in which she suggested it was appropriate for judges to set policy and to use personal experiences and prejudices to guide their rulings. "I will not vote for and no senator should vote for an individual nominated by any president...

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As Sotomayor hearings begin, Democrats predict easy confirmation

As the Senate begins questioning Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, she appears all but guaranteed confirmation, but not much support from Republicans who plan to grill her on gun ownership rights and her support for racial preferences. "There is a very good chance she will get more votes than [Chief Justice John] Roberts got, which was 78," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said on NBC's "Meet the Press," talking about Roberts' 2005 confirmation. "She is going to be approved by a large margin." But Republicans were far less enthusiastic about Sotomayor, who in many speeches suggested that she uses her history as a Latina and other personal experiences and...

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Pelosi says no to Michael Jackson memorial resolution

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will not take up a resolution honoring Michael Jackson because doing so would invite a barrage of criticism about the late pop star and the controversies that plagued his life. "A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," Pelosi said. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas., announced at the Jackson memorial service that she had drafted House Resolution 600, to recognize him for his music and his humanitarian efforts. The resolution reads like a mini-biography of Jackson's life, starting with his...

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Waxman digs in against compromise health plan

While the Senate debates what kind of health care reform bill to write, lawmakers on the other side of the Capitol have put their foot down, saying the House of Representatives will not pass a bill without a strong government-run health insurance option. "I cannot see a bill passing without a public plan," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a chief architect of the House health care reform bill that will be introduced Friday. House Democrats are in no mood to compromise on health care, having just taken lots of heat from the Left for passing an energy reform bill that gave away billions of dollars in free pollution...

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Senate health bill would mandate abortion coverage

Republicans say they are outraged by a provision added to a Senate health care reform bill that would require insurance companies to pay for abortion services. The amendment was added during the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee meeting on Thursday as the panel drafts a bill authored by Sen. Edward Kennedy that would expand health insurance to millions and create a public health insurance option. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., would require health insurance companies "to contract with organizations like Planned Parenthood," according to a spokesman for the top Republican on the panel. According to the amendment language, insurers...

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Global warming bill stalled in Senate

The chair of a Senate committee in charge of writing a global warming bill said there would be no effort to draft the legislation until September because the chamber is too busy grappling with how to write a massive health care reform bill. The move could hurt President Barack Obama's efforts at the climate change summit scheduled for December in Copenhagen, where he hopes to showcase an American climate change law to the international community. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who leads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said her panel would not take up the bill this month as she had planned. Instead, Boxer said, the work would begin in September, after the Senate returns...

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Pelosi tells Michael Jackson resolution to beat it

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will not take up a resolution honoring the Michael Jackson because doing so would open up the floor to a potential barrage of criticism about the late pop star and the controversies that plagued his life. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas., announced at the Jackson memorial service that she was drafting a resolution that would recognize his humanitarian efforts. Instead, Pelosi said, those who want to praise Jackson can do so during designated times for floor speeches that usually occur at the beginning and end of the legislative day. "A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views that are not necessary at this time to...

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Accusations pile up over Panetta CIA briefing

The ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Peter Hoekstra, of Michigan, said he does not believe Central Intelligence Director Leon Panetta admitted to the panel that the spy agency had been lying to Congress, as Democrats are now claiming. Hoekstra said he was in the room when Panetta briefed the members of the committee. "I don't think Leon came in and said that," Hoekstra said. The so-called admission, Hoekstra said, was actually a disclosure of programs the CIA was planning but never put into action. "This was planning, nothing was ever implemented," Hoekstra said. "Leon said we hadn't been briefed on it." Democrats are...

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Senate health care deadlines in serious doubt

For Senate Democrats, the goal of a bipartisan health care reform bill is slipping away, leaving them with the seemingly impossible challenge of finding enough lawmakers within their own party to agree on legislation this summer. "The Senate is not going to pass a bill before the August recess," declared Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., a top Republican on the Senate health care committee. Democrats, under pressure from the Obama administration, are searching for any combination of Republicans and Democrats to "find a way to 60 votes," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., met privately with a handful of Republicans to insist that he wants a bipartisan...

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Gun rights a growing issue for Sotomayor hearings

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he plans to question Judge Sonya Sotomayor about her position on the Second Amendment and that the issue could become a focal point in the nomination hearings slated to begin on July 13. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told me: "It is a matter of great constitutional importance and it is a major issue to discuss" The National Rifle Association sent a letter to Sessions and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Leahy, D-Vt., stating they have "very serious concerns" about Sotomayor's nomination. Sotomayor ruled last year, as one of three members of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that states can ban weapons...

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Report warns health plan would push millions out of private insurance

The Congressional Budget Office Tuesday told the Senate health committee that the latest version of the panel's Democratic health care reform bill would push millions of people out of their work-sponsored health insurance plans because it would give employers a cheaper option. Phil Ellis, a senior analyst with the CBO, said a provision known as "pay or play" might backfire, because employers would have the choice of providing health care insurance or the potentially cheaper option of paying the government about $750 per full time worker, annually. "For smaller firms, with lower wage workers . . . they might well decide that they're better off paying the penalty and not...

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Boehner: Biden stimulus talk is the "greatest fabrication"

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, accused Vice President Joe Biden of being less than truthful when he said on Sunday that the Obama Administration underestimated the economic crisis. "Now this is the greatest fabrication I've seen since I've been in Congress," Boehner said after meeting with Republicans. "I sat through those meetings at the White House with the President and the Vice President. Trust me, there's not one person that sat in those rooms that didn't know how serious our economic crisis was." Republicans have been attacking the $787 billion stimulus this week, criticizing it for not producing jobs or spurring economic recovery. Democrats have...

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Public opinion may doom Dems' health benefits tax

Senate Democrats working on bipartisan health care reform legislation say they may kill a plan to tax employee health care benefits, after multiple internal polls taken last week showed significant public opposition to the idea. "When you go out and ask people across the country, they don't like it," said Kent Conrad, D-N.D. Instead, the Senate Finance Committee is weighing other ways to raise revenue beyond the confines of health care, Conrad said, including reducing tax deductions for charitable deductions, an idea President Barack Obama favors. Conrad and other members of the committee have been working for weeks to come up with a health care bill that might attract some...

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McConnell to Senate Democrats: Own It.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hinted that the Democrats should not hold their breath waiting for help from Republicans to pass the energy and health care bills they are writing with little to no GOP input, especially now that they technically have a filibuster-proof majority with the addition of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken. "Well, I would say our Democratic friends now have their long-sought 60 votes," McConnell said. "The American people will fully understand that they own the government, the executive branch, the House, and the Senate. And they're waiting to see the results of their...

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Obama warns Senate away from compromise health plan

As the Senate debates two separate health care proposals, President Barack Obama is making it known from overseas that he wants the one that creates a massive government run health care option, not the co-operative system some Democrats are considering. Obama sent out a statement letting senators know he is "pleased" with the progress but believes "as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest." He added, "I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals." The Senate Finance...

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McConnell, Leahy bracket Sotomayor

As the the July 13 confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor draws closer, Republicans are sharpening their knives while Democrats are trying to burnish her credentials. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced that Sotomayor had received the American Bar Association's highest rating. "The ABA's rating, an evaluation of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament ‚ should eliminate the doubts of naysayers who have questioned Judge Sotomayor's disposition on the bench," Leahy gushed. But Republicans are trying to build opposition to Sotomayor based on her past rulings, most notably Ricci v. DeStefano, in which she upheld tossing out...

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Man wrapped towel around woman in abduction

A 39-year-old Woodbridge man was charged in an abduction of a woman in South Arlington. The assailant followed a young woman into an apartment building on the 4200 block of South 31th Street around 3 a.m. Thursday and got into the elevator with her. As the woman got off the elevator, the man wrapped a towel around the woman's head and forced her into a nearby stairwell. The woman's boyfriend heard the struggle, chased the attacker and then was assaulted himself. Leon Lamont Lynch, 39, was charged with abduction with the intent to defile and was being held without bail. - Scott...

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Evan Bayh, the Senate's man in the middle, gains more clout

As a leader of the Senate's Democratic centrists, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., has become a critical player in the effort to pass health care reform in Congress this year and political experts believe he will make his moves very carefully as he eyes he own political future. In March, Bayh began convening a group of more than a dozen centrist Democrats who meet regularly to try put their moderate stamp on major legislation. The group includes Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who heeded moderate calls to whittle down the cost of the fiscal 2010 budget. Aides say Bayh, 53, the fiscally conservative former Indiana governor, has not made up his mind on health care reform,...

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Cantor says Biden misread stimulus, not economy

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., Monday declared the $787 billion stimulus bill to be an ineffective waste of money and said if President Obama is weighing another round of federal help, it should be focused on small businesses and working families. Cantor said he will request a meeting with Obama about "redirecting" some of the stimulus funds "that haven't worked' in helping the economy and using that money for some kind of second stimulus. "Congress, the administration, did make a mistake in passing what they hoped would be a stimulus bill," Cantor said. "It has not produced the jobs we had hoped, it has not produced the economic stimulus we had...

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Congress returns to full calendar, fast pace

The clock will really start ticking on health care reform when Congress returns this week. While there are divergent views among Democrats over how to accomplish a sweeping overhaul bill, one thing the party seems to agree on is that if it is not done fast, it might never get done. The Democrats are using a similar, if not slightly slower approach, with an energy and climate change bill. Even as senators wrangle with health care in committees in the coming week, global warming will be debated in the halls and private offices of the Senate as lawmakers rush to complete a historically large to-do list before the August break. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announced that the Senate was...

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Sessions rebukes White House on Sotomayor documents

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling "absurd" an assertion by the Obama administration that some of the documents Republicans have requested relating to Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor are not relevant to her upcoming hearings. Sen. Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, and other Republicans have accused Democrats of rushing the hearings, slated to begin July 13 in the Judiciary Committee. Republicans want more time to acquire and review documents related to Sotomayor's dozen years at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). The group delivered 300 pages of requested material in recent days and the papers, said Sessions, "may...

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Dodd details cost-savings proposals for public-option health plan

In response to staggering cost estimates for their health care overhaul proposals, Democratic Senators have whittled down the price tag of a bill introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, leaving intact the provision creating a government-run health insurance option and calling for an employee mandate or "play-or-pay" requirement for any business that employes 25 or more people. Those companies would have to pay the government $750 per full-time employee or $375 for each person working part time if they opted out of providing health insurance. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who has taken charge of the bill for the ailing Kennedy, D-Mass., said Friday his committee aims to finish...

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Unions take a back seat

Despite a high-profile role in putting Democrats in control of the White House and Congress for unions, their priorities have taken a back seat in the Obama administration, causing tension between Democrats and organized labor that came to a head with a proposal to tax employee health care benefits. The Laborers International Union of North America on Tuesday began airing advertisements in Montana and North Dakota, targeting two top Democratic senators who are writing a massive health care overhaul bill. The union, made up of 500,000 workers and affiliated with the much larger AFL-CIO, is angry that Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., appear ready to write a bill that...

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Marshals vow to catch illegal immigrant suspected of rape

U.S. marshals want to send a message to fugitives like Jose Orlando Torres, an illegal immigrant wanted on rape and weapons charges. "We will never stop looking for you," said Matt Burke, supervisory inspector with the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. "You may have hid and run for a few months or a few years, but we will be there one day, sooner or later, to bring you in." Torres is a member of The Examiner's Top 10 Most Wanted criminals in the capital region. Examiner readers have helped marshals catch violent sex offenders, con artists and kidnappers who have been on the run for years. Burke is asking for the public's help again, and he wants the victims...

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Women made vulnerable by embassy treatment

Diplomats from Middle Eastern countries serving in Washington made their household servants vulnerable to enslavement by Soripada Lubis when they slashed their workers' salaries and treated them poorly, human trafficking authorities said. According to court documents, the women enticed into Lubis' network came to the United States as domestic servants for diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and other countries. Mark Lagon, director of the Polaris Project and former head of the State Department's human trafficking office, said the women were particularly vulnerable because of their status in the diplomats' homes. "These women came into the United States legally and they...

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Franken win puts moderate Senate Dems in driver's seat

Former Sen. Norm Coleman conceded defeat in his eight-month recount battle after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled former comedian Al Franken the winner of the state's contested Senate seat, giving Democrats a 60-vote majority supermajority that could make Senate Republicans largely irrelevant. While Franken's win will allow Democrats to push some legislation through without the worry of a Republican filibuster, the party will still have to grapple with defections from its many centrists who have the power to derail key legislation, including global warming fees that just passed the House. "It's not correct to think that the caucus will be unified," said Jake Thompson, an aide...

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Reversal of Sotomayor ruling against white firefighters stokes confirmation debate

The Supreme Court ruling overturning a decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor in a racial discrimination case had Democrats scrambling to defend their nominee while it emboldened opponents to question her qualifications and potential bias. With the start of Sotomayor's confirmation hearings just two weeks away, critics of the first Latina Supreme Court nominee say Republicans were handed an opening when the Supreme Court threw out her ruling against a group of New Haven, Conn., firefighters whose promotion exams were junked because no blacks earned qualifying scores. "I think this is going to be front and center in the hearings," said Robert Alt, senior legal fellow at The Heritage...

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Now comes the hard part for cap and trade

Now that the House has narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey energy and global warming bill, it is up to Senate Democrats to either take up the bill or pass their own legislation. They are more likely to do the latter. While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday praised the House-passed bill as "a courageous step toward a safer and cleaner energy future," in the next sentence he noted that the bill is "not perfect." When asked about the House bill, Reid said he was "extremely concerned" the legislation did not include a provision to create an electricity "smart grid" which would help deliver power throughout the country from renewable sources...

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Hopes of a bipartisan health plan dim

When Congress returns from recess next week, the big debate will focus on how to create an alternative health care option that can attract at least a handful of Republicans without alienating centrist Democrats needed to pass a bill. Democratic leaders have announced that they are seriously weighing a proposal that would create health insurance cooperatives, a move that may help them reach that bipartisan goal. But an agreement may be harder to reach than initially believed. While both sides of the aisle have been willing to look at a cooperatives as an alternative to the public health care option that most in the GOP abhor, there are already big disagreements over how the nonprofit...

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Boehner lights up Dems in mini-filibuster

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio is on the House floor offering the equivalent of a filibuster, by reading parts of the thousand-plus-page energy reform bill Democrats are trying to pass before leaving for a week-long recess. Republicans are gathered in the chamber to watch the spectacle, which is allowed under a House rule permitting the speaker, minority leader and majority leader the ability to speak for unlimited periods of time. Members are periodically laughing and clapping at his performance, which is aimed a ridiculing the bill. Boehner is emphasizing the size and reach of the bill, including amendments to amend various housing acts in an effort to construct greener...

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Dems put Congressional Black Caucus member in charge of Congressional Black Caucus investigation

The House ethics committee is investigating a Caribbean trip taken last year by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, but they put a fellow CBC member in charge of the probe. Among those on the trip was House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is already the subject of an ethics probe over nonpayment of taxes and other issues. The group of members, all Democrats, said their trip was sponsored by a non-profit group, but the conservative National Legal and Policy Center, claims for-profit companies paid for the trip, which is a violation of House rules because it would give lobbyists for those companies access to members. The ethics committee has formed a...

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Democrats swap favors in bid to revive cap and trade

With Democrats falling short of the 218 votes needed to pass a sweeping global warming bill this week, President Barack Obama was trying to persuade more than a dozen Democratic members to either change their planned “no” votes or get off the fence and back the legislation. Whether the president was successful will be known Friday, when the House plans to vote on the historic measure. The bill would charge energy companies fees for credits to produce carbon dioxide. The companies could then resell the fees at a profit to other polluters. The bill also would require power companies to use wind, solar and other renewable sources in an effort to reduce the emissions that many...

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Democrats fear getting "BTU'd" on energy again

Democrats seem to have struck a deal on a massive energy and global warming bill, but some in the party are worried their politically risky vote in favor of the measure will be for nothing because once it hits the Senate, where opposition from every Republican and many centrist Democrats make passage, or even consideration, unlikely. For some House Democrats, the situation is reminiscent of at 1993, when Democrats passed a bill, pushed by then-Vice President Al Gore, that would have taxed the amount of energy used by measuring British Thermal Units, or BTUs. Many House Democrats at the time went out on a political limb to support the bill, which was pushed by then-Vice President Al...

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Bad timing on Sanford affair for congressional Republicans

For the second time in two weeks, Congressional Republicans watched a GOP sex scandal take over the news cycle. Just as Republicans were trying to put behind them Sen. John Ensign's affair with a married staffer and get the public to focus on the pitfalls of the Democratic health care plan and its sweeping global warming bill, South Carolina Republican Governor, Mark Sanford's took to the podium for a rambling televised admission of a marital affair in Argentina. Word of the scandal quickly spread on the House floor, where lawmakers were in the process of voting during Sanford's news conference.. Sanford was a member of the House from 1994 to 2000. No one from the South Carolina...

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Senate health care reform looks for GOP support

Senate Democrats said they were close to a deal on a sweeping health care reform bill, having tailored the measure to attract the most Republican support they can find — even if it is just a handful of GOP members. “We are not there yet, but we are very close,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chief negotiator. At the heart of a deal is a proposal to create a health insurance cooperative to provide health care to most of the 46 million who are uninsured, an idea that could replace the government-run option that many Democrats prefer but which would likely guarantee a “no” vote from every Republican. The leading proposal for paying for the plan centers on...

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Green Dems make more concessions to move global warming bill

House Democrats who were struggling to get consensus within their own party on a massive global warming bill, say they are so close to an agreement that a vote on the legislation may come as early as Friday. Democrats amended their proposal to quell opposition by centrist Democrats and Democrats from farming districts, but it is not clear whether the changes will be enough to sway the dozens of Democrats who may still be inclined to vote against it. No Republicans support the bill which means Democrats need at least 218 of their 256 members to pass it. “We are very close to an agreement and hopefully by [Wednesday] we will have an agreement,” said House Majority Leader Steny...

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Steny Hoyer to 'wait and see' before launching Metro investigation

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he wants to wait and see whether yesterday's deadly Metro train collision will require any congressional intervention. Hoyer said if investigators determine that a lack of funding resulted in equipment failure or breakdown that contributed to the accident, Congress would get involved. Investigators said the trains in the crash were older and less able to sustain a significant impact, which may be resulted in more deaths. "Clearly to the extent that it contributed to the injury and loss of life then we need to look at that and that will be the impetus for making those cars safer," Hoyer said. He added the the Congressional...

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Dodd and McCain trade shots on health care

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee reconvened Monday afternoon to try to hammer out the language of a health care reform bill, but like last week, it got off to a rocky start, with Republicans repeating their criticism that the bill lacks key specifics, including cost. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., who last week labeled the bill "a joke" attacked it again, telling Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who is leading the negotiations, that it will be impossible for the committee to complete work on the bill with so many missing details. "You are not addressing the essential important elements of health care reform in America, so let's not tell the American...

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Union workers would be exempt from Dem health care tax

With cost estimates already as high as $1.6 trillion, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has proposed paying for the bill in part by taxing health care benefits for workers who earn more than $100,000, or $200,000 for married couples, according to those familiar with the discussions.

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Three-minute interview - John Hanson

John Hanson is the communications director for the United Service Organizations. He travels around the world with the likes of Lance Armstrong, Scarlett Johannson and Kid Rock, bringing them to do shows for U.S. troops stationed overseas, including in the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. What does the USO do? It is an organization whose mission is to take care of American troops, U.S. military members and families around the world. We lift the spirits of the American military better than anybody else. How do you do that? We have 138 USO centers in military bases, three in Kuwait, three in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. They are places for for members of the military to get away from the...

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Green shoots or false spring for GOP?

After a long, cold winter, it wasn’t such a bad spring for Republicans. Not only did the GOP hold its own in the campaign cash contest with Democrats, but there are promising new poll numbers and signs that the public may be getting nervous about Barack Obama’s policies. But is it enough to signal a comeback? “That depends if you think Republicans have hit rock bottom or not,” said Carl Forti, a strategist and former spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee. “There are a lot of factors that will go into that determination.” The Republican Party is still viewed poorly, but a recent Gallup survey found that more Americans identify...

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Green shoots or false spring for GOP?

After a long, cold winter, it wasn’t such a bad spring for Republicans. Not only did the GOP hold its own in the campaign cash contest with Democrats, but there are promising new poll numbers and signs that the public may be getting nervous about Barack Obama’s policies. But is it enough to signal a comeback? “That depends if you think Republicans have hit rock bottom or not,” said Carl Forti, a strategist and former spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee. “There are a lot of factors that will go into that determination.” The Republican Party is still viewed poorly, but a recent Gallup survey found that more Americans identify...

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McConnell says Democrats offer turtle tunnels, not real reform

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in the GOP's weekly address that Democrats are trying to rush through a health care plan that will drive up costs and force the rationing of medical services. “Throughout this debate, the administration’s central argument has been that America needs health care reform for the sake of the economy," McConnell said. "Yet according to independent estimates, every health care proposal Democrats on Capitol Hill have offered would only hurt the economy." The Congressional Budget Office has provided cost estimates for two Democratic proposals of $1 billion and $1.6 billion. Democrats are trying to find cuts and say they can...

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Pelosi hopeful about health care reform

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday said the House health care bill will include a strong public option, despite opposition from Republicans and some moderate Democrats that threatens the bill's survival in the Senate. "We will have a public option in the House that will be real," Pelosi said. "If it's not real, it's no use doing. And if we don't do a public option, I'm not sure that we have as effective a public health care reform as we wish." Pelosi said she was not worried about the disagreements over the bill. "The give and take, the back and forth of different ideas, you may call them snags, we call them the legislative process," Pelosi...

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Senate Dems put aspects of health care bill at risk

With a White House-imposed deadline looming for Congress to pass health care reform and no sign of a deal, Republicans could significantly weaken a final bill by using a decades-old rule written by the chamber’s most senior Democrat. Democrats have considered using a procedural option reserved for simple budgetary legislation to pass health care legislation with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes typically required. But if they use that option, known as budget reconciliation, the chamber’s 41 Republicans may still be able to block crucial components. “There is a concern that a lot of the parts of the bill will fall by the wayside if we have to move it by...

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Senate sorry for slavery

The Senate may be unable to come to a consensus on a health care reform bill, but they were able Thursday to agree on a resolution offering a formal apology for slavery and the Jim Crow segregation laws that followed. The non-binding move rankled some black lawmakers because it was worded to exclude support for reparations for slavery that some in Congress have been seeking, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. But the Senate's lone black lawmaker, the embattled Roland Burris, D-Ill., took to the floor to praise the bill. "Some in the black community will dismiss this resolution and some will say that words don't matter and the actions of our...

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Nick Jonas burnin' up the Hill

Is that Aaron Schock? (Ap Photo) There could be a mob of screaming teenage girls descending on the Capitol next week, and they won't be clamoring for health care reform. Nick Jonas, one of the three heartthrob brothers who make up Jonas Brothers, is coming to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to talk about juvenile diabetes, an affliction he was diagnosed with at age 13. Jonas, who is now 16, will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on June 24 to ask for more federal funding for diabetes research "and to remind Congress about the urgent need for a cure for a disease he lives with every day," a senate aide said. Fellow diabetes sufferers...

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Health bill draws jeers in Senate

The Senate on Wednesday got off to a shaky start on negotiating a massive health care reform bill as Republicans ripped holes in a yet-to-be completed Democratic plan that so far comes with a staggering $1 trillion price tag that is expected to get much more expensive. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., set the mood among Republicans at the start of the talks, interrupting an opening statement by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and calling the bill “a joke” because it lacked many of the details of its major components, such as the plan for a government-run insurance option that would compete with private insurers and a requirement that employers provide health insurance to employees or pay...

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Senate slowing down health care reform

The Senate is putting the breaks on an effort to pass sweeping health care reform. As a result, negotiators say a bill may not be finished by the August recess as Democrats had planned.

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Ensign Resigns Leadership Post

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has resigned his post as the number-four Republican leader a day after admitting he had an affair with a campaign staffer, possibly marking an end to the advancement of his once-promising political career. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confirmed it Wednesday afternoon. "He's accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents," McConnell said in a statement. "He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman of the Policy Committee." Ensign is likely to be succeeded by the number-five Republican leader, John Thune, R-S.D., a relative Senate newcomer who currently serves as the GOP...

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Insurance co-op idea gains appeal

The idea of establishing a health insurance cooperative appears to be gaining popularity in the Senate, as Democrats grapple with the staggering cost and mounting opposition to the creation of a government-run health insurance provider. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was “very impressed” after talking about such a plan with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who represents one of a half-dozen states that offer a health care cooperatives. The cooperative idea — championed by Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., — would have the government establish, but not run, an insurance company that operates as a nonprofit for its members’ benefit....

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Bipartisan coalition cites danger to small firms in health proposal

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is warning Democratic leaders that a proposed plan to require employers to provide health insurance could devastate small businesses. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, asking them to ensure that any health care reform proposal “be affordable for both small business owners and their employees.” Nye wrote that “any proposal that simply replaces one crippling expense with another is not reform at all, and is something we cannot support.” A Senate bill proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy includes an employer mandate that excludes certain small...

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Congresswoman injured on Gitmo visit jokes about "enhanced interrogation"

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., one of the strongest proponents of closing down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, came home after a visit there in arguably worse physical shape than the detainees. Schakowsky was seen limping down a basement hallway in the Capitol on Tuesday, using crutches and sporting a cast. She said she fell down in a briefing room Guantanamo and broke her left foot. Schakowsky has been a vocal opponent of the prison and has visited several times, reporting on "the harsh conditions detainees face there," as well as "horrific stories" told by detainees claiming to have been treated badly there. Last year she introduced legislation that would...

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Doctors unconvinced by Obama health care pitch

President Barack Obama made a mostly economic argument to the nation’s physicians for overhauling health care, but doctors said the pitch offered too little substance. In a speech before the American Medical Association in Chicago about his evolving health care proposal, Obama “did what he has done in the course of his presidency, which is go to people who do not necessarily agree with him 100 percent and say these are the things that are important and we can work things out,” said Julius Hobson, a former lobbyist for the American Medical Association who is now a senior policy adviser at Bryan Cave LLP. Obama told the country’s largest doctors organization that...

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First budget office estimate on health plan set at $1 trillion

The first draft of a health care plan in Congress would increase the national deficit by $1 trillion over 10 years, while only insuring 16 million of the estimated 45 billion who currently have no coverage, according to a new report. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the legislation, proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., would insure 39 million once fully implemented, but 23 million others would lose their employer-sponsored coverage or coverage from other private plans. Democrats have been bracing for the figures, as one of the major problems with moving a health care bill has been its staggering cost. Congressional leaders have tried to downplay the assessment...

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McCain tells Panetta to back off Cheney

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Monday said CIA Director Leon Panetta should "retract immediately" his statement that former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared to be wishing for another terrorist attack. "I disagreed with the Cheney policy on interrogation techniques, but never did it cross my mind that Dick Cheney would ever want an attack on the United States of America," McCain said on Monday on Fox News. " And it's unfair, and I think that Mr. Panetta should retract, and retract immediately." Panetta said in a New Yorker article that it appeared as though Cheney is "wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point"...

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The emerging divide on health care

President Barack Obama is headed to Chicago to address the American Medical Association — a powerful group wary of his idea to include a government-run option in a Democratic health care plan. Whether he succeeds in his push for a federal insurance provider and who the plan will require to have mandatory coverage are central issues in the reform debate. There once seemed to be enough Democratic votes to pass the plan with a big government component and mandatory insurance for all. But those issues, amid ballooning deficit spending, has some moderate Democrats looking for a way to make the Obama plan more politically palatable. Paying for the plan - The White House has...

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Obama punts on immigration summit again

For the second time, the Obama administration has put off an immigration reform summit. The event was scheduled for June 17 at the White House, but has now been scratched from the schedule without another date set. The meeting was to have included a bipartisan contingency from Congress as well as advocacy groups and other stakeholders. It was originally moved from June 8, due to a scheduling conflict, according to White House aides and was postponed again for the same reason, they said Friday. Obama and Congress are struggling to pass major health care reform legislation and the debate has been so consuming that even energy reform, Obama's second priority, has faded into the...

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Patrick Kennedy temporarily leaves Congress to enter treatment

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., has entered a treatment facility and will temporarily step away from his job as a congressman. Kennedy, 41, has suffered from depression and addition throughout his life and said in a statement released Friday that he decided to enter treatment again after consulting with his doctor, "to ensure that I am being as vigilant as possible in my recovery." Kennedy, who is serving his eighth term, did not say what prompted him to seek treatment or where he would be going to receive it. In 2006, Kennedy left Congress for rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic after crashing his car on Capitol Hill while under the influence of prescription drugs. He has long been...

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Salary regulation set to move ahead in House

As the Obama administration moves to regulate the pay of some executives, congressional Democrats want the government to go even further in controlling salaries and bonuses. Republicans, meanwhile, are calling for an end to government bailouts. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said at a hearing that a proposal by the Obama administration to strengthen corporate compensation committees and make them more independent did not go far enough. Instead, Frank wants legislation that would prevent compensation boards from approving pay that led employees to take excessive risks. “I do differ with the administration in that hope springs eternal and their...

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Health insurance co-op gets another look

As Senate Democratic leaders grapple with the fact that there is no support for a public health care option among Senate Republicans and even some centrist Democrats, they have decided to take a closer look at a proposal by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., to create a publicly owned co-operative for providing health care. "It's a work in early progress," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a key negotiator and Senate leader. "It has to do all the things that many of us want a conventional public option to do, namely keep the insurance companies honest. Provide a different model." Conrad's plan for establishing a co-operative would require a public...

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Republicans offer alternative energy plan

As the House prepares to vote on energy reform legislation that relies on capping carbon emissions, House Republicans on Wednesday put forward a plan that would instead increase domestic oil production and the use of nuclear power. Republicans unveiled their proposal Wednesday as an alternative to legislation written by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., that would require manufacturers, electric plants and other emitters of carbon dioxide to buy and trade pollution permits, which would increase the cost of energy and goods. The House is expected to vote on that bill in the coming weeks, but there is no Republican support and some Democrats are also...

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Obama and Grassley smooth out Twitter flap

Things are smoothed over between President Barack Obama and Sen. Charles Grassley after the Iowa Republican's weekend Twitter post in which he told Obama he "got nerve" criticizing Congress for not completing a health care bill "while U sightseeing in Paris." Grassley and several other Senators huddled with Obama in the White House Wednesday to talk about health care reform, but Obama also joked with Grassley about the twitter comment. Obama was in Europe last weekend to mark the 65th anniversary of the allied invasion during World War II and his trip included sightseeing with wife Michelle and their two children. While there, Obama delivered his weekly radio and...

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Virginia general election will be national contest

Virginia Democrats went for a native son instead of a national name for their gubernatorial candidate, but now Creigh Deeds finds himself in America’s most-watched election of 2009. Both national parties are looking to the contest as a warm up for the 2010 midterm elections and for signs of how voters are responding to the policies of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. Republicans see Virginia as their chance at starting a comeback. The Old Dominion had been GOP territory in presidential elections for 40 years until President Barack Obama put it in the Democrats' column in 2008. Democrats, meanwhile, will be looking to show the Virginia as a blue state, not a...

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Dems cite Roberts in defense of schedule for Sotomayor

Senate Democrats will begin confirmation hearings next month for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and Republicans are complaining there will not be enough time to examine her record. But the GOP’s pleas for September hearings are falling on deaf ears as Democrats speed toward a likely confirmation for the New York appellate judge. The hearings are set to begin July 13 with Senate Democrats aiming for an Aug. 6 vote by the full Senate, which would fulfill President Barack Obama’s wish of seating Sotomayor by the October start of the Supreme Court term. “The earlier date is a small victory in the larger battle for the Obama administration,” said...

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Sotomayor tells senator she "never thought" about rights of the unborn

Judge Sonya Sotomayor got mixed reviews from GOP Senators today has she continued meeting and greeting with lawmakers. While retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., praised Sotomayor and proclaimed her confirmation a done deal after meeting with her today, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., was less impressed, particularly with her views concerning the Second Amendment and abortion. DeMint said he asked if the unborn have any rights and Sotomayor responded that she had never thought about it. "This is not just a question about abortion, but about the respect due to human life at all stages, and I hope this is cleared up in her hearings," DeMint said after the meeting. As for the right to...

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Date set for Sotomayor hearings

Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D. Vt., has set the opening day for Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings for July 13. Leahy cited the need for Sotomayor to be able to defend against "attacks on her character" for setting the hearings so...

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Senate braces for battle on health care plan without specifics

As President Barack Obama promotes health care reform with campaign-style events this week, he is making the case for a plan that does not exist. In the Senate, lawmakers have just begun jousting over health policy. And with the president’s August deadline for a workable plan fast approaching, Obama will soon have to take a position on an actual plan and not extoll a hypothetical one. Democrats are deeply at odds over two competing health care proposals in the Senate. One bill, the product of the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, includes a expansive public health insurance program and has no GOP support. A Finance Committee plan calls for a more modest government...

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Barney Frank gets "Car Czar" award

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., took to the Senate floor today to sarcastically issue a "car czar award" to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for blocking an automotive warehouse from closing in in is district. Frank said he was just working on behalf of his constituents, as any representative would, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Frank is no ordinary lawmaker. He's chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which is playing a key role in the restructuring of the automotive industry. The Journal reports that Frank's efforts to keep the General Motors distribution center from closing at the end of the year were successful, and it saved 90 jobs. The Journal reports...

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Sessions: GOP will question Sotomayor on equal justice

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he will focus on whether Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would let her personal feelings and experiences govern how she rules from the bench, as speeches in which she talks about race-based jurisprudence keep piling up. Sotomayor said in a 2001 speech that a "wise Latina" may be better able to make a better decision than a man who lacked that experience. Sotomayor made similar remarks in 2002 and 2003 as well as 1994, according to a questionnaire she turned in to the Senate on Thursday. In 2002, Sotomayor gave a speech at the Princeton Club in New York City entitled "Reflections of a...

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Sotomayor files 172-page questionnaire for Senate

As senators pored over the 172-page biographical questionnaire completed by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, an older speech by the Supreme Court nominee cast new light on her now-famous remark that a “wise Latina” would be a better judge than a white male. Sotomayor took one week to complete the questionnaire, which is an abbreviated biography that will be used by senators to help in the confirmation process. It also lists her financial worth ($1.16 million in total assets) and debts ($15,800 in credit card bills) in addition to her legal opinions, public statements, interviews and speeches, among other information. The list included Sotomayor’s now-famous lecture in which she...

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Pelosi turns down volume on CIA flap while GOP cranks it up

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday signaled that she is ready to close the book on the flap surrounding her claim that the Central Intelligence Agency misled Congress about waterboarding in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But Republicans aren't letting her off that easily. Pelosi quickly brushed aside attempts by reporters to try to get her to talk about the matter during her weekly press conference, which of late has been packed with media hoping for another show like her May 15 session, when the normally cool Pelosi seemed to get flustered and accused the CIA of lying after being pummeled with questions by reporters about what she knew about...

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Hoyer says health and energy both number one priorities

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House is two or three weeks away from releasing the text of a comprehensive health care reform bill and is aiming to pass the legislation before the August recess. Hoyer told reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor that lawmakers are wrangling over how the government will come up with the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to pay for the proposal. He said House lawmakers are debating what kind of public health care option to include, noting that several are under consideration including a proposal by Sen Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that aims to preserve a level playing field between private insurance companies...

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Obama outlines some health care ground rules in letter to Senators

President Barack Obama has listed his health care reform must-haves in a letter to the Senate Democrats negotiating the legislation, telling them he "strongly" believes it should include a public health insurance option at would operate alongside private plans. The two-page letter, addressed to Senate Health, Labor and Education Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., calls for a reform bill that does not increase the deficit yet provides access to health care for the millions of people who are uninsured. Obama called for the creation of a health insurance exchange, "a market where Americans can one-stop shop...

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Congress poised to pass bill to escalate tobacco regulation

Congress is poised to pass legislation that will give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate tobacco products, forcing tobacco companies to disclose their ingredients and end “light” cigarette ads. Despite opposition from lawmakers representing tobacco states, the Senate on Wednesday was on its way to passing the bill, which would empower the FDA with regulatory authority over how cigarettes and tobacco products are made, including the ability to control nicotine levels and other ingredients. It would also allow the agency to control cigarette advertising and would ban it in magazines and newspapers. “If we are seriously considering the...

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House Passes Vague Resolution on PMA Scandal

House Democrats want an investigation into potential misconduct by its own members in connection with their dealings with the PMA Group. The now-closed lobbying firm is under investigation by the Department of Justice and was raided by the FBI in November. The House Wednesday voted 270-134 to direct its ethic committee to report back in 45 days "on the action the committee has taken" concerning potential misconduct by members in relation to PMA On Friday, federal law enforcement officials issued grand jury subpoenas to the congressional office, campaign committee and employees of Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., for information and documents relating to their dealings with PMA....

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Republicans call for investigation into political favoritism in auto restructuring

Two top House Republicans are calling for an investigation into the Obama administration's handling of the way Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy. Reps. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas and Spence Bachus, R-Ala., say some stakeholders were given preferential treatment by Obama's Auto Task Force in the restructuring of the two auto giants and they want the House Financial Services Committee to hold oversight hearings. Spencer is the top Republican on the panel and Hensarling is the ranking member on one of its subcommittees. Some small bondholders have been critical of the restructuring deal, saying the United Auto Workers union walked away with a much better deal after agreeing to...

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Pelosi nearly finds something nice to say about Ronald Reagan

(Photo by Ferrechio) House and Senate leaders of both parties were joined by former First Lady Nancy Reagan in the Capitol Rotunda for the unveiling of the statue of President Ronald Reagan. Democrats and Republicans put aside bipartisanship, or at least tried to disguise it, with House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, praising Reagan's tax cuts and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., lauding the passage of the stem cell research bill backed by Nancy Reagan. "Reagan's economic policies inspired the largest peacetime expansion in U.S. history," Boehner said "This growth was predicated on free trade, low taxes, deregulation, and curbing runaway...

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Pelosi calls for probe of nuclear site disclosure

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is calling for the Government Accountability Office to investigate how a secret list of nuclear sites in the United States was accidently released on the internet. "The disclosure of information related to nuclear facilities suggests that the current system does not provide adequate review and safeguards," Pelosi said in announcing the GAO probe. The information was posted May 22 on the Web site of the Government Printing Office and includes government and civilian nuclear facilities and the activities taking place at those sites. The 266-page report was marked "highly confidential." The National Nuclear Security Administration has...

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Pelosi faces off with Republicans over public-funded health care

While the White House was advertising the potential savings of reforming health care, the real battle being waged in Congress is whether or not to offer a government-run insurance plan and how it would operate. All signs point to the inclusion of some kind of public-run option in the final bill, likely a government-operated insurance plan to compete with private companies. The proposals put forward by the Senate health and Senate Finance committees include a public option, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has promised the House bill will too. Most Republicans are opposed to a government-run alternative, saying it will force private insurers out of business and lead to a...

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Dems try new approach on ‘Card Check’

The Senate is now working on a compromise version of the controversial “Card Check” bill that would allow employees to vote by mail on whether to unionize, rather than sign a petition in public. While union and business groups remain at odds over the new proposal, Democratic backers of the bill are meeting privately this week with moderate lawmakers who have so far been unwilling to back a labor reform bill. Those lawmakers, including Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., will also meet with business groups who are descending on the Capitol this week in a coordinated effort to lobby against the latest proposal. Senators are not talking about details of the...

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Dr. Coburn is in

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., announced Monday he will run for reelection in 2010, ending months of speculation. The 61-year-old physician has earned a reputation as a maverick among Republicans in the Senate, most recently amending credit card reform legislation with a provision allowing guns in national parks. He has been a staunch opponent of earmark spending and has frequently stood in the way of legislation that he believes would waste taxpayer dollars. Coburn made the announcement to run again at the Tulsa Press Club, telling the audience "My decision to run again came down to a sober realization that our country's future is at stake," the Tulsa World reports. "The real...

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Sens. Dodd, Specter spend uneasy recess with re-election bids in doubt

Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut are the two of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats facing re-election in 2010 and spent last week’s Memorial Day recess trying to shore up support at home and courting celebrity donors in Beverly Hills. It highlights the challenge for Dodd and Specter, who return to Washington this week to face divisive issues such as labor, global warming, health care and a new Supreme Court nominee. It’s a high-wire act for two formerly entrenched members not used to having to hustle. Dodd is particularly vulnerable. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found Dodd trailing former GOP Rep. Rob Simmons 45 percent...

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Rep. Visclosky subpoenaed in defense lobbying probe

Federal law enforcement officials have issued grand jury subpoenas to the congressional office, campaign committee and employees of Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., for information and documents relating to the PMA Group, a now-defunct defense lobbying firm the FBI raided in November. Visclosky is among a group of lawmakers including Reps. John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim Moran, D-Va., who received hefty campaign contributions from PMA and its clients and who approved millions of dollars in earmarks for those companies. Several watchdog groups have called for the House ethics committee to investigate the three lawmakers to determine whether they were influenced by the campaign...

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One more for the Gipper

The top Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill will put aside their partisan bickering for a moment on Wednesday just long enough to unveil the new statue of former President Ronald Reagan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be joined by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. for the unveiling. Nancy Reagan will be at the event, along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Reagan's former chief of staff, James A. Baker. Reagan's likeness will occupy prime real estate in the Capitol Rotunda, which also houses the statue of former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and...

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Proposals hammer domestic, offshore drilling

Domestic oil and gas companies are bracing for proposals by the Obama administration and some in Congress that would limit oil and gas production both on land and offshore while increasing taxation and regulation of the industry. The House Natural Resources Committee has released a draft bill that would raise by 50 percent royalty fees imposed on companies drilling on federal land and cut their 10-year leases in half. The proposal calls for a “zero-discharge” requirement to be imposed on all new offshore leasing areas and would end royalty relief programs aimed at promoting deepwater exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil. The American Petroleum Institute...

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Court pick seen as tied to immigration issue

Democrats on Capitol Hill know that passing an immigration reform bill this year is unlikely now that they are already bogged down with energy and health care reform, two of President Barack Obama’s top agenda items. But Obama may have thrown the Democratic leadership a lifeline to Hispanic voters with the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The daughter of Puerto Ricans, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic on the bench if confirmed by the Senate, and some see her nomination as a strategic move by Obama to placate those who believed that immigration reform would happen this year. “It buys him some time,” said University of Maryland political...

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Dodd shows signs of life in Connecticut

A new poll shows that Sen. Chris Dodd is showing signs of life in his 2010 bid to win a blank term, but his Republican challenger is still ahead. The Quinnipiac University poll, conducted on 1,575 registered voters found that Dodd trails former GOP Rep. Rob Simmons 45-39 percent. That's somewhat of an improvement for Dodd, who in April lagged behind Simmons 50 - 34 percent. Simmons leads Dodd among critical Independent voters by 53 - 30 percent. Dodd, who is chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, had been sinking in the polls for months after it was disclosed he received a favorable interest rate from a Countrywide Mortgage, a company that helped bring about the sub-prime...

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Republicans may have to hold back on Sotomayor

President Barack Obama’s choice of the first Hispanic woman for the Supreme Court could make it hard for Republicans to vigorously contest her nomination, despite Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s liberal leanings. Republicans lawmakers were restrained in their reaction to the announcement of Sotomayor’s nomination, in which Obama noted her “extraordinary journey” that began in a Bronx housing project as the daughter of a factory worker who did not speak English. “Republicans are in a bit of a box,” said Pepperdine University political science professor Chris Soper. “It’s a compelling personal story.” Off Capitol Hill, conservatives...

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Pelosi takes softer stance on human rights in China, seeks cooperation on North Korea

Nancy Pelosi is taking a much more diplomatic approach to criticizing the Chinese now that she is House Speaker, and now that she and a congressional delegation are official guests of the nation. The last time she was in China, in 1991, Pelosi had to flee from the police after unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square dedicated to the student protesters whose demonstration was violently crushed by the military two years earlier. Human rights in China have been a top issue since she was elected to Congress in 1987. Pelosi didn't bring any banners to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, where she spoke Monday morning. Pelosi and several House Democrats and a House Republican are in...

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New obstacles emerge for carbon taxes

Though the House Energy and Commerce Committee has cleared a massive global warming bill, but the legislation could face obstacles in several other committees that want to have a say on its final form. The panel approved of the bill 33-25, with bill proponents winning over several Democrats by agreeing to give away pollution permits worth tens of billions of dollars to electricity producers, manufacturers, and oil refineries. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said this week that the House could vote on the bill before the August recess, but before that happens, negotiators will have to win over a number of Democrats who object to the legislation since hardly any Republicans are...

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Nancy Pelosi heads to China over Memorial Day weekend

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is headed to China over the week-long Memorial Day recess to talk to government officials there about energy and environmental issues. Pelosi is leading a delegation of Republicans and Democrats who sit on a congressional global warming panel, she said. The trip comes at a critical time for China, which is for the first time weighing weather to limit carbon emissions in the country. This week China also laid down a tough opening position for the upcoming climate summit to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark this fall. The Chinese are asking for big U.S. Concessions on emissions to sign on to a successor to the failed Kyoto Protocols. The purpose of...

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Sessions will walk fine line on Supreme Court questioning

When Sen. Jeff Sessions starts grilling the next Supreme Court nominee, he’ll have to be careful. More than 22 yeas ago, the Alabama Republican lost his bid to become a federal judge because Democrats accused him of being a racist, a charge that he vehemently denied. Many of the senators who sit with Sessions on the Senate Judiciary Committee were serving when the panel killed Sessions’ nomination to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 over remarks Sessions made about the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Now Sessions sits as the ranking Republican on the same committee that must soon consider...

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Democrats deny existence of lobbyist recruitment project

The Democratic leadership on Friday denied there is a concerted effort by the party to influence who lobbies Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., flatly denied the existence of a "K Street Project" that some Republicans say the majority party is employing to negotiate tough legislation and raise money. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, originated a similar effort in the mid-1990's, pushing the big lobbying firms to hire only Republicans and give money only to Republican candidates. Pelosi said nothing like that is happening under her watch, and she even invoked DeLay, her former nemesis. "There is nothing, we have drained that swamp," Pelosi...

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Pelosi sticking to her story and her script

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday said she stands by her accusation that the Central Intelligence Agency misled Congress about its use of waterboarding on terror suspects. Pelosi shut down a chorus of inquiries from reporters at her weekly news conference, many of whom packed into the room hoping to hear the speaker elaborate on her charge last week that the CIA lied about their interrogation tactics. But she had little to say on the topic. "I have made the statement I'm going to make on this," Pelosi said. "I have nothing more to say on this, I stand by that comment." Pelosi steered the focus of the news conference onto the Democratic agenda, including a...

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Dems soften on terror prisoners but still want plan from Obama

President Barack Obama pledged that he could close the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay without harming national security, but members of Congress are still not ready to give the president the $80 million he needs to shut down the facility. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., say they will not provide the funds until they hear concrete plans about where Obama intends to move the detainees. “The president [Thursday] gave us a broad vision about what he expects,” Reid said. “He is going to give us a detailed plan.” Reid appears to have stepped back from his statement Tuesday that no detainees could be incarcerated...

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Dems vote down GOP call for CIA investigation

House Democrats Thursday easily defeated a Republicans resolution to begin "a bipartisan investigation" into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusation last week that the Central Intelligence Committee misled Congress about its use of waterboarding on terror suspects during the Bush Administration. The resolution was defeated on a mostly party-line vote, 252-172, with no Democrats voting for it. Democrats labeled the move a political stunt but the resolution allowed the GOP to keep Pelosi's comments in the spotlight, a full week after she told reporters in her weekly press briefing that she believes she was lied to by the CIA during a 2002 meeting with top congressional leaders...

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Cornyn's view of the Senate's electoral landscape for 2010

The Senate's GOP campaign guru said his party has a much better shot at picking up seats in 2010 than in 2008, in part because George Bush has left office and President Obama has aggressively implemented an agenda that will scare voters away from the Democratic party. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he expects unemployment to remain high, which could blunt the enthusiasm for Democrats and help the GOP stem the losses in Congress that have taken place over the last two election cycles. Cornyn blamed heavy 2008 losses on" a toxic political environment to start with, and because of that difficult environment, we had a difficult...

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Obama pushes past Congress on environmental regs

President Barack Obama’s imposition of tougher auto emission rules and fuel economy standards sends a strong signal to Congress that he won’t wait for the legislative branch to finish quarreling over global warming fees. “He is using the [Environmental Protection Agency] regulations to force along Congress,” said Ben Lieberman, senior policy analyst on the energy and environment at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Obama’s crackdown on tailpipe emissions requires automakers’ fleets to have an average fuel efficiency of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. It’s the first federal regulation to control miles per gallon and...

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Dems strip funding to close Gitmo under pressure from GOP

The Senate stripped $80 million from a war funding bill that would have allowed the Obama Administration to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The decision followed a similar move in the House last week and allowed Republicans to claim a rare legislative victory. Republicans have opposed closing the prison, which houses 240 terror suspects. But shuttering the Cuba facility has been a top priority for Democrats and was one of President Barack Obama's major campaign promises. Republicans, however, had the advantage that voters seemed strongly opposed to the idea that the government would relocate the terror suspects to U.S. prisons. "Once the majority leader figured out the...

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Kennedy gets another round of cancer treatments

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is undergoing another round of cancer treatment for a brain tumor diagnosed last year but is in remission, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. said Tuesday. Surrogate senators have been filling in for Kennedy on the Senate Health and Labor committee, trying to craft a massive health care overhaul bill, but they say Kennedy is expected to take over when he returns to the Senate in June. Reid said he talked to Kennedy this week. "He's doing fine," Reid said. "He's going through another regimen of treatment which he said is not unusual. This is something that was expected. He wanted to have the treatment next week. They had to move it up a...

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Pelosi got warning from administration on CIA memo

The Central Intelligence Agency gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., advance warning before CIA chief Leon Panetta sent a memo to employees at the spy agency that countered Pelosi’s claim that the agency lied to Congress about waterboarding. A CIA official, but not Panetta, made the call to Pelosi. “His office gave a heads-up,” a Democratic aide said Monday. The aide said Pelosi protested Panetta’s memo on the call to no avail. Republicans continued leveling criticism at Pelosi on Monday, four days after Pelosi accused the CIA of lying about waterboarding. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Pelosi needed to apologize to employees at the...

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Pelosi got heads up from administration on CIA memo

The Central Intelligence Agency gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., advanced warning before CIA Chief Leon Panetta sent a memo to employees at the spy agency that countered Pelosi's claim that the agency lied to Congress about waterboarding. A CIA official, but not Panetta, made the call to Pelosi. "His office gave a heads up," a Democratic aide said Monday. The aide said Pelosi protested Panetta's memo on the call to no avail. Republicans continued leveling criticism at Pelosi Monday, four days after Pelosi accused the CIA of lying about waterboarding. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Pelosi needs to apologize to employees at the agency. But...

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Obama backs away from reforming free trade deal

Congressional Democrats from economically struggling regions are getting frustrated as President Barack Obama backs away from campaign promises to renegotiate NAFTA. “I am greatly disappointed that the administration seems to have backpedaled on trade, specifically on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” said Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine., who says his state has lost thousands of jobs because of NAFTA. “President Obama campaigned on this issue, and I’m disappointed that he’s walking away from that commitment.” Just last month, Obama’s trade representative, Ron Kirk, backed off the much tougher stance on the 15-year-old...

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Global warming bill to move ahead Monday

Democratic negotiators say they have worked out the major kinks in a global warming bill, but it is not certain to clear the House Energy and Commerce Committee by Memorial Day, as Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has vowed. Waxman, who will begin Monday the process of making final modifications to the bill before a committee vote, cut deals with members and lobbyists for electricity producers, manufacturers and refineries to give them billions of dollars in free pollution permits over the next decade in order to help ease their transition into a “cap and trade” system. Under the system, the government would put a limits on carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse...

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Panetta, Gingrich turn up the heat on Pelosi

A day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused the Central Intelligence Committee of misleading Congress about the interrogation tactics used on detainees, CIA Director Leon Panetta tried to smooth things over with the staff of the spy agency. At the same time, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., hit radio stations Friday with a withering criticism of Pelosi. "I think this is the most despicable, dishonest and vicious political effort I've seen in my lifetime," Gingrich said in an interview on ABC Radio. Gingrich called Pelosi a "trivial politician, viciously using partisanship for the narrowest of purposes, and she dishonors the Congress by her...

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Pelosi accuses CIA of lying; Congress in uproar

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said officials from the CIA have continually lied to her and to Congress about the agency’s use of waterboarding on terror suspects since 2002. But Republicans say Pelosi’s argument is just an effort to stave off accusations that she was briefed by agents about the simulated drowning technique seven years ago and did nothing about it, which would undermine the Democrats’ probe into the Bush administration’s approval of waterboarding. The CIA’s version of events may come out soon. Republicans are clamoring for the CIA to release the classified memos about the briefings and Pelosi said she would not object to the...

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Obama's request for continued funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan passes House

With a vote of 368-60, the House on Thursday wholeheartedly approved of President Barack Obama's request for extra funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The $96.7 billion bill includes $44 billion for operations, maintenance and military personnel for the two wars and $26 billion to replace planes and equipment. Not only did the bill easily pass, it came without any timelines or benchmarks that the Democrats have insisted upon in past supplemental requests made by the Bush Administration. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., had included a list of conditions to be met within a year's time when he outlined the bill earlier this month, but House Speaker...

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Pelosi lets aides defend her on waterboarding

While media reports indicate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., may have contradicted herself on when she learned about waterboarding of terror suspects, she has largely remained silent, letting her aides come to her defense. Democratic strategists say that may be a good thing, and predict she’ll ultimately be vindicated. “I don’t think it would be wise for her to respond to these various charges,” said Richard Goodstein, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. “This would be like death from a thousand cuts if she did.” But Republicans Wednesday continued to hammer Pelosi on her statement that she was not aware that CIA operatives were...

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Pressure mounts for Pelosi waterboarding probe

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is sticking to her story that she did not know the CIA was using waterboarding on terror suspects even as key Republicans cast doubt on her claims and members of her own Democratic leadership are calling for a full airing of the intelligence briefings she received. The latest GOP attack came from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who said that Pelosi “should have acted” when she found out about waterboarding in 2003 from an aide who had been briefed on the tactic, rather than silently concur with the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jane Harman of California, who at the time sent a protest letter to the Bush...

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Dire report from the Social Security and Medicare trustees stokes debate

Congressional Republicans and Democrats used a dire report from the Social Security and Medicare trustees to underscore their opposing views on health care reform. The annual report released Tuesday indicated that by 2037, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted and that by 2017, part of the Medicare trust fund will be empty as well. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the report highlights the need for fast and comprehensive health care reform but should not be used as "an excuse" to privatize or cut Social Security benefits. "This report underscores the urgency of reforming health care," Reid said. "It reminds us that we must reduce costs...

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Waxman to push global warming bill without allowing subcommittee vote

House leaders struggling to pass a major energy bill appear ready to bypass the subcommittee system because powerful carbon state Democrats aren’t willing to go along with the proposal for hundreds of billions in new global warming fees. With little hope of passing the measure out of the global warming subcommittee, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., signaled he will move the bill to the full committee, where the legislation would likely pass. One top Democratic aide described the move as a way to “get the bill done.” Democrats want to move the energy bill quickly in order to get to President Barack Obama’s health care plan. Waxman...

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Late payments won't bring penalty under Senate credit card plan

Go ahead and skip a credit card payment. Or two. Senate Republicans and Democrats have written a bill that will prohibit the credit card companies from raising your interest rate unless you are delinquent for 60 days or more in making a minimum payment. The language is part of a compromise bill aimed at reforming the credit card industry announced today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and the panel's top Republican, Richard Shelby, R-Ala. The late payment provision is even tougher on the credit card companies than a bill passed earlier this month in the House, which would permit interest rate increase after a payment is 30 days late. And the Senate bill would...

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Cracks appearing in Democratic unity

While congressional Democrats mostly remain enchanted with President Barack Obama, fissures have emerged within the party that signal the potential for a larger schism down the road. The first big crack could come this week, when the House votes on a war funding bill requested by Obama. The bill may pass only with the help of Republicans, who largely back Obama’s war strategy. And as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces questions about what she knew and when she knew it concerning harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA after Sept. 11, it may become harder to bring Democrats back together again. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., was one of several...

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Pelosi caught in the middle between Obama, Congress

There’s an popular Internet clip of President Barack Obama’s address to Congress earlier this year that zeros in on Nancy Pelosi’s enthusiastic clapping during his speech. “We haven’t seen someone so into clapping since that mother at the second-grade Flutophone concert,” declared an L.A Times blog. If Pelosi was secretive about favoring Obama during the Democratic presidential primaries last year, she is making up for it now, throwing her support behind the president at nearly every turn and throwing herself as a protective buffer between Obama and the various colicky factions within her caucus. There may be a limit to Pelosi’s loyalty,...

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Pelosi challenged on waterboarding account

Former CIA Director Porter Goss, a Republican, is adding his two-cents to the growing debate over whether Democrats knew about the agency's use of waterboarding, and his view does not favor House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Goss, writing Saturday in the Washington Post, Goss recalled that in the fall of 2002, while he was chairing the House Intelligence Committee and Pelosi was its ranking member, they were briefed by the CIA on the enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. And Goss makes a distinction that is in direct conflict with Pelosi, who acknowledges being told about waterboarding, but only that it was something in interrogation tool box, not that it was...

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Specter to head Judiciary subpanel, after series of reversals

The skies have gotten a little sunnier for Sen. Arlen Specter, who defected to the Democratic Party last week only to watch his new colleagues strip him of the committee seniority essential to his re-election bid. Democrats on Thursday started to show Specter a little more love. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., announced that he was giving up his own Judiciary subcommittee gavel for Specter. Specter got some additional good news Thursday when former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a popular Republican in the state, announced he would not jump into the Senate race, eliminating a potentially formidable challenger. Durbin’s move will give Specter a chairmanship, which will help him make...

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Health care plan will be Dems’ answer to jobless recovery

When President Barack Obama huddled at the White House with Democrats over a stalled energy reform bill, his message was clear — get the bill passed by Memorial Day so Congress could move on to an even more important target: health care reform. “He said if there is high unemployment by election time, we need to show we are dealing with health care,” said Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who attended the meeting. Political experts agree that Obama needs to pass health care reform before the 2010 midterm elections or face disastrous losses suffered by his Democratic predecessors in the White House, including Bill Clinton. “It certainly isn’t going to help him to...

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Pelosi asks anti-war Dems for just one more war funding bill

Just one more time... I promise House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is promising the anti-war faction of her caucus that if they vote for the $94.2 billion supplemental for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just this one last time, there won't be any more in the future. "There won't be any more war supplementals," Pelosi told reporters Thursday. "So my message to my members is: this is it." But Pelosi is lifting the benchmarks attached to the funding by House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., who on Monday gave Obama one year to demonstrate he can stabilize the two nations and listed benchmarks like eliminating corruption and combating...

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Reid tries to spin Specter flap

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Wednesday tried to defend the newest member of his caucus, Sen. Arlen Specter, who jumped from the GOP last week when it became apparent he would lose the Pennsylvania primary bid for a sixth term. Specter has so far failed to ingratiate himself with the Democrats, who voted yesterday to strip him of his seniority on his five committees. Specter did not help his own cause when days earlier he told the New York Times he believes Republican Norm Coleman should win the Minnesota Senate recount. "It created a few questions with my caucus," Reid acknowledged on MSNBC. " And I went to Arlen last night, after I heard this and said, Arlen, what's this...

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Dems hint energy compromise could be near

President Barack Obama told House Democrats Tuesday he wants them to work out their differences on a stalled energy reform bill and is willing to allow compromises to get the legislation passed. Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee met with Obama for 90 minutes at the White House and lawmakers gave Obama an earful about the cap-and-trade provision in the bill, which will hit manufacturing plants, oil refineries and some utilities with much higher operating costs by requiring them to pay more to pollute. Members said Obama was open to their concerns and told them to do what it takes to work out an agreement. "What he really wants on his desk is a bill and he...

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Talks on emissions trading put energy bill in limbo

A House energy reform bill is in limbo as House Democrats negotiate with companies over allocations that will temporarily spare them from the costs of the bill’s carbon-emissions trading program. Manufacturers — particularly from the steel industry — along with operators of coal-fired power plants and oil refineries are in intense talks with Democratic members of Congress over who will get free credits to emit carbon dioxide while most companies are charged for the privilege. President Barack Obama is looking to charge companies $646 billion in carbon fees over the next decade. The total value of the credits to be given away are still being negotiated, so lawmakers...

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Sessions will grill Obama court picks — for now

With the hearings for President Barack Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee looming, Senate Republican leaders have tapped tried-and-true conservative Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as the new ranking member on the Judiciary Committee — but only for two years. In a deal aimed at preserving the Senate’s long-used seniority system, Sessions will step aside in 2011 for Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who some conservatives say may not be tough enough on the liberal views of some judicial nominees. Republicans have been debating who should replace Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who was the panel’s ranking member but switched to the Democratic Party last week. Grassley is...

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Obama gets big war spending bill -- with strings attached

Congress has introduced a $94 billion bill to supplement spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it includes strict performance standards for the governments of both countries that must be met by next year. The bill, introduced in the House on Monday, would require President Barack Obama to submit to Congress by next winter a report "assessing whether the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are, or are not, demonstrating the necessary commitment, capability, conduct and unity of purpose to warrant the continuation," of the latest increase in U.S. military involvement. The bill, introduced in the House on Monday, abides by Obama's request for funding to power up...

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Three-minute interview - Paul Dahm

Paul Dahm is executive director of Brainfood (brain-food.org), a nonprofit group that teaches culinary skills in a way that helps District high school students far beyond the kitchen. The program began a decade ago and operates out of two churches, one in Chinatown, the other in Columbia Heights. What does your organization do? We use food and cooking as the tools to teach life skills and healthy living to teens in Washington. Kids attend class after school two times a week for 2 1/2 hours, and we also run a six-week summer program that meets five days a week. What kind of cooking do they learn? This week they are learning about Japanese foods. Last week they did Ethiopian food. They...

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Specter’s switch likely to play role in replacing Souter

The decision by Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter to join the Democratic Party means President Barack Obama will likely have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to vote on his replacement for retiring Justice David Souter. But Specter’s departure could also make it harder for a very liberal nominee to be cleared out of the Senate Judiciary Committee — thanks to a filibuster rule that, if invoked by Republicans, would require the vote of at least one GOP member to cut off debate on the panel. Specter would have likely provided that vote as the committee’s top Republican. But now he’s a Democrat. “The rule as written would allow this kind of problem...

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Religious groups, GOP balk at House hate crime bill

The House has approved a bill aimed at stemming crimes against homosexuals, but religious groups fear it will silence church pulpits and Republicans say it is unconstitutional. The bill, approved by a vote of 249-175 late Wednesday, would expand existing federal hate crime laws to include gender, gender identity, disability and sexual orientation of a victim, and it would elevate penalties for those convicted of such crimes. Democrats say the bill provides long-needed protection for gays and lesbians who have been attacked because of their sexual orientation, citing cases like that of Matthew Shepard, a college student killed a decade ago by two men who witnesses say targeted him...

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Credit card reform adds protections, could raise rates

The House on Thursday passed sweeping credit card reform legislation that is aimed at protecting consumers but which some critics say could end up raising everyone’s interest rates and limiting overall credit availability. The bill, which passed 357-70, takes away many of the tools used by companies to regulate the credit they issue, but which have vexed many consumers over the years. Some of those tactics banned in the House bill include immediate interest rate increases based on a change in a cardholder’s overall credit profile and charging interest on more than one billing cycle. The bill also imposes stricter disclosure requirements by credit card companies and even...

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Budget gives Dems power in health care debate

The House Wednesday approved the fiscal 2010 budget, endorsing President Barack Obama’s agenda and locking in a provision granting Democrats extraordinary powers to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by the end of the year. The House passed the $3.6 trillion, nonbinding measure 233-193. Not a single Republican voted for it. The Senate was expected to clear the budget resolution later Wednesday. Republicans criticized the bill for its high cost and attacked the health care provision, which would eliminate the Republicans’ ability to block a health care bill through the use of filibuster. The provision, known as reconciliation, would allow a health care bill to...

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Specter switch puts Dems closer to supermajority

Facing increasingly long odds of winning a Republican primary, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter announced Tuesday he was switching parties, giving congressional Democrats a much easier path to passing their agenda by shutting down Republican opposition. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, welcomed Specter into their party and pledged to help him win Senate re-election by raising money and campaigning on his behalf. “I have traveled the state and surveyed the sentiments of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and public opinion polls and have found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak,” Specter told reporters Tuesday after announcing his...

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Specter switch changes landscape in Senate

Facing increasingly unlikely odds of winning a Republican primary, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter announced Tuesday he will run for re-election in 2010 in his state's Democratic primary. Specter's switch would give Democrats a much clearer path to passing their legislation out of Congress by potentially increasing their majority to 60 seats, the number of votes needed to prevent Republicans from blocking bills they oppose through the use of the filibuster. But the Democrats' 60-vote majority still hinges on if and when Minnesota officially declares Democrat Al Franken the winner of a contested Senate seat. Franken has been leading in a recount, but Republican incumbent Norm Coleman...

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GOP struggles to find effective response to Obama

Republicans last month gathered the press on Capitol Hill to release their counterproposal to the Democrats’ $3.6 trillion budget, in a chance to seize some initiative on economic issues. As anticipation built, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, stepped up to the podium to make the big announcement. But the document he thrust in front of the cameras was a vague, 19-page outline. The press, feeling duped, went on the attack, and Democrats had a field day ridiculing their opponents. It was a bad day for Republicans, one of many recently as the Grand Old Party has struggled to find effective responses to Barack Obama. But while the party has bickered over how to respond to...

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Van Hollen’s task atop DCCC: Stave off the Republicans

Most experts believe the 2010 elections will mark the first time in three cycles that Democrats will not pick up more than a dozen House seats — a stratospheric political run. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who is in his second two-year stint leading the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is charged with making the fall to Earth as soft as possible. His job is to stave off the midterm election losses that historically have befallen majority parties with a first-term president of the same party. In 1994, the first midterm election after President Bill Clinton was elected, resulted in devastating losses that handed the House majority to the Republicans for the first time in four...

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Chris Van Hollen sprints to the top

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. was reading a memo in his office from Rep. Chris Van Hollen when he noticed the note’s letterhead. “It said ‘Assistant to the Speaker,’ ” said Miller, chuckling in amazement at Van Hollen’s improbable, lightning ascent from lowly state legislator to top congressional leader. “You know, he’s only been there a short time, but Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer recognize his leadership skills. The proof is in his rapid rise.” Van Hollen, a liberal Democrat who represents Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, has wasted no time muscling his way into a top position in the House of...

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To get votes, Waxman offers cap-and-trade breaks

In exchange for votes to pass a controversial global warming package, Democratic leaders are offering some lawmakers generous emission “allowances” to protect their districts from the economic pain of pollution restrictions. Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, represents a district with several oil refineries, a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. He also serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which must approve the global warming plan backed by President Barack Obama. Green says Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who heads the panel, is trying to entice him into voting for the bill by giving some refineries favorable treatment in the administration’s “cap and...

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McCain calls on Obama to halt interrogation prosecutions

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to forgo prosecution of the government lawyers who advised CIA interrogators to use coercive tactics to draw information out of detainees. In a letter to Obama signed by Sens. Linsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the three conceded that some of the legal advice provided to interrogators was "deeply flawed," but to prosecute the officials "would have a deeply chilling effect on the ability of lawyers in the administration to provide their client - the U.S. Government - with the best legal advice." Earlier in the day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered a less forgiving view....

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Pelosi defends Rep. Jane Harman

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., came to the defense of Rep. Jane Harman, the former top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee who was wiretapped by federal investigators for supposedly trying to get the sentences of two pro-Israel agents reduced in exchange for help in securing the spy panel's chairmanship. Pelosi, speaking to a group of reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, called Harman "a patriotic American" who "would never do anything to harm her country." Pelosi confirmed that she was told of the wiretap involving Harman when it was conducted in 2005 under a law requiring that the top party leaders in Congress be...

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Some banks eager to return tax dollars, but Geithner says no

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told a congressional panel Tuesday he was eager for companies to pay back the nearly $600 billion already loaned out under the Troubled Asset Relief Program implemented last fall, but was uncertain about what hurdles those banks would have to first clear. Banks that took the money are not only required to pay 5 percent interest, the are subjected to new regulations regarding disclosures and executive compensation. But they can’t simply say “no thanks” and write a check to the Treasury if they don’t need the money, Geithner said. “The basic objective that’s guiding what we do is to make sure the system is working...

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Fraud concerns overshadow Geithner’s TARP testimony

Amid dire warnings of “staggering” fraud and waste, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told a congressional oversight panel that the Troubled Asset Relief Program aimed at rescuing the nation’s financial institutions has had “mixed” results and that he needed more power to keep the $3 trillion program on track. Geithner was grilled by the five-member TARP oversight panel, made up of lawmakers and outside experts charged with monitoring the massive bailout program being run by Geithner that has already handed out $590 billion. Geithner’s testimony came as TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky issued a scathing 250-page report on the program. The...

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Watchdogs call for Harman-Israeli probe after wiretap leaks

A watchdog group wants the independent congressional ethics office to investigate Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., after a report in Congressional Quarterly cited unnamed former National Security Administration officials saying that Harman - once a contender House Intelligence Committee chair - tried to dissuade a Justice Department investigation into two former American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) employees. According to CQ's sources, Harman was taped by federal investigators entering into a deal in which she would attempt to get reduced charges for the two employees in exchange for the group trying to persuade the Democratic leadership to hand her the Intel chairmanship. At...

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Credit card bill may bog down again in the Senate

The White House has anointed a Democratic bill aimed regulating the credit card industry. And while the bill is popular in the House, even the blessing of President Barack Obama may not be enough to move it through the Senate. The House Financial Services Committee is expected on Wednesday to approve a bill sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., that aims to end — “deceptive and abusive” practices practiced by the credit card industry, such as arbitrary interest rate increases and enticing teenagers with easy credit. The bill passed the House last year with the support of nearly every Democrat and 84 Republicans. A similar outcome is expected in the coming weeks...

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Gore to the Hill for warming testimony

The former vice president, Oscar-winning filmmaker and Nobel Prize anti-carbon crusader will testify Friday before the House committee considering a bill that would charge companies hundreds of billions of dollars for the right to emit carbon dioxide. Gore will be speaking to the House Energy and Commerce Committee led by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Former Sen. John Warner, R- Va., who was one of the earliest Republican believers in global warmi, is also testifying at Friday....

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EPA ruling makes environment Congress’ No. 1 focus

As Congress returns to work today after a two-week recess, energy and the environment have moved ahead of health care as the top priorities for lawmakers in the next three months. The change came after the Environmental Protection Agency ruling that carbon dioxide — the fourth-largest component of the atmosphere — is a hazard to human health because of global warming. Democratic leaders could use the decision, announced Friday, as a lever to move House and Senate Democrats who have been reluctant to support legislation that would charge fees for carbon emissions. If Congress refuses to act, the EPA will put its own regulations in place to curb carbon emissions. “The...

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GOP Rep. calls on Schwarzenegger to resign for putting fish ahead of farmers

A House Republican is calling on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to resign over an unresolved water shortage in central California that some say favors the protection of fish over the livelihood of residents. Rep. Devin Nunes, who represents Tulare, the second-largest agricultural county in the nation, said Friday that Schwarzennegger should step down after the governor delivered a speech on the water crisis in San Joaquin Valley that Nunes described as "little more than lip service and a rehash of what he has said on the subject for years." Hundreds of thousands of acres have been drying up because water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta operated by both the federal...

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Boehner says EPA carbon regs 'backdoor' move on national energy policy

Some Democrats are ecstatic over Friday's Environmental Protection Agency ruling that greenhouse gasses are human hazards, a move that opens the door to future regulation if Congress doesn't put legislation in place to curb carbon emissions. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who heads a House committee on global warming, told reporters on Friday that the EPA's action is "the environmental equivalent of what Brown v. Board of Education meant to our civil rights laws," referring to the landmark Supreme Court ruling that essentially ended racial segregation in public schools. "Just as that decision sparked a generation to alter our way of daily life, so will the decision made...

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Dem fundraising roars out of the gate

The mantra repeated by congressional Democrats as they get ready to defend their majority in a potentially tough midterm election next year has been that the best defense is a good offense. Financially speaking, they meant it. The first-quarter fundraising reports are in, and according to the data made available so far, Democrats are not taking their majority status for granted but are instead raising millions to defend their most threatened seats in both the House and Senate. House Democrats list as vulnerable about 40 first- and second-term members, and the initial reports indicated those representatives were busy collecting enough cash to protect their typically swing-district...

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New House ethics investigators closing in on quarry

The newly created Office of Congressional Ethics has been quiet, but busy. The group, made up of outsiders appointed by Congress, issued a report Tuesday outlining its activities since it formed in January, and it disclosed the news that it is conducting 10 "preliminary reviews" of possible ethics violations by House members (the Senate does not fall under its jurisdiction). According to the report, six "second-phase" reviews concerning House lawmakers are also underway. This is a more serious investigatory stage that could result in a formal investigation by the House ethics committee, which is made up of five Republican and five Democratic lawmakers and generally...

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Budget may let Dems fast-track health care overhaul

The budget Congress is expected to pass this month will include a provision granting Democrats extraordinary powers to usher through a comprehensive health care reform bill. Known as budget reconciliation, the rule was included in the budget measure the House passed Thursday. Though the provision is not in the Senate budget, at least one top Democratic senator has signaled it will be inserted into the compromise version that both the House and Senate will vote on later this month. Once signed into law by President Barack Obama, budget reconciliation would give the majority in the Senate the power to speedily move a health care bill to the floor with the approval of a simple majority,...

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Dems push limiting pay for bailout firm workers

House Democrats hope to capitalize on lingering public outrage over the AIG bonus scandal to move legislation that would limit the pay of employees who work for companies using federal bailout money. The bill, expected to pass Tuesday, would go back in time to amend the $700 billion bailout bill Congress passed last October with the prohibition of “unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards” at companies that accepted government money. The proposal comes one week after the House voted overwhelmingly to institute a tax of 90 percent on the $165 million in bonuses handed out last month by the American International Group, which...

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House bill would push for green cars faster

While the Obama administration hasn’t identified a role for Congress in remaking the auto industry, proposed rules for car makers coming from House Democrats show they plan to be riding shotgun — especially in turning Detroit green. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman put forth a bill Tuesday that would nationalize low fuel-emission standards for vehicles made in the United States and call for producing more electric cars. Waxman, D-Calif., included the proposals in a 650 page draft of an energy and global warming bill that he hopes to bring to the House floor by Memorial Day. The plan includes a litany of energy-saving and pollution-curbing...

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Murtha investigation could hand GOP issue for 2010

With a federal corruption investigation circling around Rep. John P. Murtha’s ties to a Washington lobbying firm, Democrats risk being tarred with the same “culture of corruption” label that helped them retake Congress in 2006. The FBI is busy looking into Murtha’s earmarks to defense firms represented by the PMA Group. But inside the walls of the Capitol, there is no such scrutiny of the 18-term Pennsylvania lawmaker. Murtha’s seniority and status within his party may help to forestall a congressional probe. “It is true there is no one policing Congress,” said Melanie Sloan, who heads the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in...

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Agenda items set aside to help budget pass

The House and Senate this week are expected to pass pared-down versions of President Barack Obama’s $3.67 trillion budget, but most of the tough legislative work on achieving Obama’s ambitious agenda still lies ahead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his party was unified on the budget, despite public complaints from Democratic lawmakers about specific proposals and the overall scope of the spending. “There is no split between the Democrats,” Reid said. But part of what has made the budget viable is that the thorniest issues have been set aside for another day. The congressional budgets — separate versions drawn up by the House and Senate...

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House GOP touts alternative to Democrats’ budget

Bucking the trend of criticizing the party in power’s budget without supplying an alternative, House Republicans Thursday released their blueprint, which they say would lower taxes and reduce the deficit. Republicans want to appear to be the party of solutions, not just criticism, but now that their proposal is in writing, Democrats are wasting no time trying to rip it apart. Criticism of the GOP plan began seconds after the 19-page document was released, with an anchor on MSNBC complaining on live television that the station broke away from its White House coverage only to find that the GOP announcement contained no specific budget figures, just a broad outline. Republicans...

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Obama Hill meeting cordial, but produces no budget accord

President Barack Obama told Democratic Senators he understands they need to carve up his budget proposal, but he wants them to do it without sacrificing the initiatives he and many in Congress promised to voters on the campaign trail last year -- including health care, education and global warming reform. "He said whatever this budget is, it has to reflect his core values," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., after the meeting ended. Nelson noted Obama left out specific demands on how to accomplish those principals, which were outlined in his budget, and did not mention proposals for his carbon emissions fee, tax increases on the wealthy or his tax cuts for the middle...

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Despite Obama visit, Congress keeps cutting

As President Barack Obama huddled with Senate Democrats Wednesday to try to convince them to adopt his budget plan, the House was taking a knife to his proposal, removing more than $100 billion in spending and prohibiting any of the president’s initiatives from increasing the deficit. The cut comes one day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., proposed a budget in the Senate that slashes Obama’s non-defense spending by hundreds of millions of dollars, raising spending by only half as much as Obama’s plan. The president, in the face of mounting opposition to his budget and new revelations that its cost would be much higher than anticipated, has...

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Congressional Dems balking at Obama budget

President Barack Obama is taking his push for his $3.6 trillion budget from prime time to the back halls of the Capitol, meeting with House and Senate Democrats in the next few days. And he may face a tougher audience. Many Democrats are withholding their support for the budget because of the plan’s cost, as well as provisions that would increase taxes and energy prices. One group of about 20 House Democrats from Southern coastal states says members will not vote for the bill because it would raise taxes on oil and gas production, and an even larger faction of fiscally conservative Democrats say they are bothered by the overall high price tag, among other...

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Senate Dems slow efforts for tax on AIG bonuses

As the White House looks for Wall Street partners for its bank bailout plan, Democratic senators have put the brakes on a proposal to apply a 90 percent tax on the recipients of hefty bonuses from the American International Group. While a deafening public outcry last week made it easy for the House to overwhelmingly pass the tax bill, it has lost steam among Senate Democrats since President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner started looking for investors for their $1 trillion toxic debt. A top Senate Democratic aide said Monday that concerns about spooking investors have left the bill in limbo. “We are trying to sort it all out,” the aide said. On...

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Immigration embers could turn into political fire

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, already burdened with pushing through the president’s massive agenda, seem to be sidestepping the issue of illegal immigration. But with Hispanics expecting big things from the party they helped put in control of Washington last year, fancy footwork won’t be enough. Hispanic lawmakers went to the White House last week to find out why Obama’s overflowing agenda left out the immigration reform he promised during his campaign. Days before, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had drawn criticism when she told an audience in San Francisco that some raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are...

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Immigration embers could turn into political fire for Obama

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, already burdened with pushing through the president's massive agenda, seem to be sidestepping the issue of illegal immigration. But with Hispanics expecting big things from the party they helped put in control of Washington last year, fancy footwork won¹t be enough. Hispanic lawmakers went to the White House last week to find out why Obama's overflowing agenda left out the immigration reform he promised during his campaign. Days before, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had drawn criticism when she told an audience in San Francisco that some raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are "un-American" because...

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Bailout bonuses could sink Dodd’s bid for re-election

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd has been struggling to square his conflicting statements about his part in making possible the $165 million in bonuses paid to AIG executives. For Dodd, the stakes could not be higher. Dodd faces his toughest election yet as former moderate Republican Rep. Rob Simmons’ challenge picks up steam. A recent Quinnipiac University poll put the two in a statistical dead heat and a January survey by the college found that 51 percent of voters said they would not vote for Dodd in 2010. Dodd won in 2004 with 66 percent of the vote and was a presidential contender last year, but his popularity has plummeted since it was disclosed last year that he received a...

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Big AIG bonuses got nod from Fed

American International Group’s unpaid CEO Edward Liddy said the company’s board has been in close consultation with the Federal Reserve since November about whether to hand out the $165 million in bonuses it issued to its top employees last week. The disclosure took Capital Markets subcommittee chairman, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., by surprise and he asked Liddy to clarify his statement. Since the bonuses were disclosed last week, the Obama administration has said they found out about the payments just before they were handed out by AIG, which is the recipient of $170 billion in government funds and is slated to receive $30 billion more soon. “Am I to understand...

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Big AIG bonuses got nod from Fed

American International Group’s unpaid CEO Edward Liddy said the company’s board has been in close consultation with the Federal Reserve since November about whether to hand out the $165 million in bonuses it issued to its top employees last week. The disclosure took Capital Markets subcommittee chairman, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., by surprise and he asked Liddy to clarify his statement. Since the bonuses were disclosed last week, the Obama administration has said they found out about the payments just before they were handed out by AIG, which is the recipient of $170 billion in government funds and is slated to receive $30 billion more soon. “Am I to understand...

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Dems call for AIG takeover; GOP looks to ditch bailout

Though the outrage is bipartisan on Capitol Hill over the $165 million bonus payout by American International Group, the solutions are not. Republicans are touting the incident as proof that the government should get out of the bailout business, while Democrats are using the public outcry to push more government regulation and intervention, including a plan to take over AIG. When House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., walked out of his hearing room Tuesday afternoon, he told reporters “it’s time for us to take over the company.” Frank wants the government, which thanks to the $170 billion bailout issued to AIG last fall has an 80 percent...

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Dodd silent on language in stimulus that allows AIG bonuses

Sen. Christopher Dodd won’t say how a rule he added to the Obama stimulus package ended up allowing AIG to give top executives of the failing company big bonuses. Dodd spokeswoman Kate Szostak said when the Connecticut senator originally wrote the provision, it did not include the grandfathering of existing bonus agreements such as the ones at AIG. But she declined to say how the language ended up in the final bill — or who wanted it in there. “Because of negotiations with the Treasury Department” and House and Senate lawmakers who worked on the final bill, Szostak said, “several modifications were made, including adding the exemption, to ensure that some...

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Obama fires up supporters to push Congress on budget

President Barack Obama is firing up his base to push Congress into passing a $3.6 trillion budget chock-full of provisions most Republicans and a significant number of Democrats say they can’t support. With opposition to the Obama budget building on Capitol Hill, the administration is pulling out its not-so-secret weapon: a database of 10 million e-mail addresses of Obama supporters from last year’s election, many of whom sweated to get him elected. Obama and the Democratic National Committee are also enlisting liberal groups to put up advertising, hold local events and lobby Congress on behalf of Obama’s proposal. The budget contains some of the most critical elements...

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Hill Republicans content without another DeLay or Gingrich

It’s been more than a decade since Newt Gingrich commanded the Republican revolution in Congress and nearly five years since Rep. Tom DeLay arm-twisted his way into the GOP history books. The Republican ranks in Congress are much quieter now, and their shrinking minority status is not all that’s to blame. The party these days lacks a galvanizing figure like Gingrich or an enforcer like DeLay in either the House or Senate. And Republicans seem to prefer it that way. “I don’t know if we need to have a person who epitomizes the Republican Party right now,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who served under DeLay and Gingrich. “But the advantage is when...

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McConnell says Obama, Democrats trying to “Europeanize” America

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said President Barack Obama is losing Republican support after his first weeks in office because his policies are drifting too far left. "It's the president's choice of whether he wants to govern in the middle or the left, and I think he's made the call in the first two months and I think he wants to take us pretty far to the left," McConnell told reporters at a breakfast hosted Friday by the Christian Science Monitor. "My members and myself are not going to be signing on to the kinds of proposals you've been seeing. The stimulus package, this budget, these are not centrist moves in my opinion." McConnell said...

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Geithner takes beating in hearing on Obama budget

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had such a tough day pitching the Obama budget on Capitol Hill that even staunch opponents seemed to take pity on him. Republican senators were careful to throw some token praise at Geithner even as they ripped the administration’s 2010 budget proposal at a hearing. And Democrats waited until the embattled secretary left the room before signaling that President Barack Obama’s major budget initiatives, including nationalized health care and global warming fees, will be too hard to pass without changes. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who is chairman of the Budget Committee, had a friendly chat with Geithner at the dais after the conclusion of the...

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Little chance for earmark elimination say Dems

Even as Congress limped over the 2009 appropriations finish line after a bruising battle over earmarks, congressional Democrats still aren’t ready to back up President Barack Obama’s pledge to keep pet projects out of next year’s spending legislation. Obama has vowed to rein in congressional earmarks, and a growing number of House and Senate lawmakers are also clamoring to eliminate what critics call pork barrel spending. But there’s still little hope on the Hill that the practice will fade. “I don’t think we are ever going to do away with congressionally directed funding,” said Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.,...

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Hill Democrats offer earmark tweaks

Earmark reform is already an unsettling topic for members of Congress, never mind when the White House gets involved. After meeting Wednesday morning with President Barack Obama about his plans to reform the way government allocates money to pet projects, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced two new rules that the House will have to follow when it comes to earmarking in future spending bills. The first rule will require every earmark to be reviewed by the appropriate executive branch agency “to check that the proposed earmark is eligible for funding and meets goals established in law.” The second rule will require earmarks...

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3-Minute Interview: Robert Remini

Robert Remini was appointed Historian of the House of Representatives in 2005 by then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., after the position had gone dormant for many years. Hastert, a former high school history teacher, plucked Remini from his post as history professor at the University of Illinois to improve public knowledge and understanding of “The People’s House.” The official Web site is historian.house.gov. What does the House Historian do? We are mandated to explain and make available to the American people the history of the House of Representatives. ... We answer questions that come from the public, that come from scholars and that come from the media and...

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‘Card check’ bill on the way

House and Senate Democrats will introduce a bill to ease rules on labor union elections as soon as Tuesday, thrusting Congress into one of the biggest battles ever between business and labor and putting moderates in the hot seat as no other piece of legislation has this year. On Monday, investment guru Warren Buffett announced on CNBC that he is opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to bypass the secret ballot and require only signatures on a petition to organize a company’s work force. “I think the secret ballot is pretty important in this country,” Buffett said. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, had pledged last year to pass the...

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3-Minute Interview: Jerry Hartz

Jerry Hartz is the director of floor operations for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. If you tune in to C-SPAN, he can often be seen hurrying around the House Chamber, roster in hand, helping to manage the flow of legislation. The Arlington resident got his start in Congress in 1987 in the office of then-Chief Deputy Whip David Bonior, for whom he also helped manage the floor. How do describe your job? Speaker Pelosi is in charge of the floor and oversees everything that goes on there. She determines the floor schedule and oversees the House Rules Committee and she puts people in the chair to preside over the chamber. As director of floor operations, I’m her staff person who advises and...

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House OKs mortgage bill, but senators are wary

Even as mortgage foreclosures continue to rise, congressional lawmakers have misgivings about a bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to rework mortgage agreements in court. The bill passed the House 234-191 on Thursday after Democrats made minor modifications to attract moderate members of their caucus who blocked its passage last month. Twenty-four Democrats voted against it. The bill would allow judges to reset the terms of mortgages — including the amount of principal owed — for certain homeowners who file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy language, which passed the House in a larger housing bill, is termed “cramdown” by opponents who say the...

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Some Dems concerned about Obama energy plan

Of all the proposals in President Barack Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget for 2010, key lawmakers from his own party say his energy initiatives are the most vulnerable to change or elimination as the plan churns through Congress. Obama has proposed several significant taxes on energy-producing companies that are aimed at making the environment cleaner while at the same time raising revenue that would pay for tax credits for low- and middle-income earners. His chief energy initiative is a cap-and-trade proposal that would set limits on pollutants that companies can emit. Companies producing emissions beyond the limit would have to purchase credits from those that pollute less. The...

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Senate pork battle keeps on sizzling

What was supposed to be a routine appropriations bill to keep the government running for the next seven months has turned into a high-stakes showdown over pork. President Barack Obama pledged as a candidate to end earmark spending. But that will have to wait. Senators have shown no interest in removing any of the $7.7 billion for pet projects included in the bill they will vote on by week’s end. And Obama has said he would sign the measure when it passed, earmarks and all. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., whose 56 earmarks in the bill total nearly $27 million, said Tuesday that earmarks make up just 1 percent of the $410 billion legislation and that “there is full...

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Spending package of $410 billion contains $7.7B in earmarks

Lawmakers say the government needs a $410 billion package to cover all non-defense government spending until the end of September. But included therein are $7.7 billion worth of earmarks. Some highlights of the earmark list include some broad categories: Feeling green The bill being considered in the Senate has hundreds of millions of dollars in green projects aimed at improving the environment and saving energy. The money would be distributed across the country in hundreds of initiatives, from a $142,725 line item for plug-in cars in Las Vegas, to $3.8 million for a renewable energy development venture in Hawaii. Democrats and Republicans alike sponsored these earmarks. $951,000...

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A greener Capitol pleases protesters but doesn’t come cheap

Global warming activists in green hard hats braved snow and sub-freezing temperature to swarm the coal-fired power plant that serves the Capitol. But in reality they have little to complain about on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have demanded the plant convert to natural gas by year’s end as part of a Capitol greening initiative that has won praise from environmental groups and scorn from Republicans who question the program’s cost and effectiveness. Pelosi and Reid asked the acting Capitol architect to find a way to completely phase out the use of coal at the plant, which heats and cools the Capitol and is located a few...

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3 Minute Interview-Billington

James Billington has been the librarian of Congress since Sept. 14, 1987, and is the 13th person to hold the position since the library opened across the street from the Capitol in 1800. Among Billington’s top achievements at the library has been making available online 11 million American historical items from the library’s collection and other research institutions. He was a Rhodes scholar and former director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. What does the librarian do? Basically I’m the chief executive officer of a large national institution. The oldest federal cultural institution in America, that is responsible for acquiring and preserving...

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Battle building amongst Dems over Iraq troop-reduction plan

Congressional Democrats’ misgivings about President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce troop levels in Iraq has set the stage for potentially major conflicts between Capitol Hill and the White House in the months ahead. Obama’s announcement Friday that he will leave between 35,000 and 50,000 troops in Iraq after August 2010 brought lukewarm responses from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Both leaders have publicly questioned the decision to leave that many troops there indefinitely. Also causing consternation is the president’s decision to finish the drawdown in 18 months. As a candidate, Obama had promised a complete...

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Come next election cycle, supporting budget may come at a high price for Democrats

Some Democrats in Congress may have difficulty supporting President Barack Obama’s proposed budget, particularly members whose districts will be hit the hardest by the proposal’s higher health care costs for senior citizens, reduced subsidies for farmers and increased consumer fuel bills. “So many of these areas are poor districts, so they are going to be Democratic districts,” noted Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas. Take Rep. Bobby Bright, of Alabama. Last year, Bright was the first Democrat to win the House seat in this rural district in 50 years. Many of Bright’s constituents are peanut, cotton and soybean farmers who could be hit with a reduced government...

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Spending bill overrun with pet projects

There is a barn in Deerfield, Mass., that is one step closer to getting a face-lift, courtesy of the federal government. The House on Wednesday voted 245-178 to approve a $410 billion government spending package, and as is customary with appropriations measures, the legislation is lined with thousands of pet projects designated by Democrats and Republicans alike, including $100,000 requested by Rep. John Olver, D-Mass., for the restored former tobacco barn known as the Ashley House, built in 1734. There are approximately 9,000 earmarks in the bill totaling nearly $8 billion, according to a tally by the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. The bill is intended to fund the...

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GOP’s Jindal calls stimulus ‘irresponsible’ legislation

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal did not mince words in his response to President Barack Obama’s first congressional address, calling the president’s $787 billion stimulus “irresponsible” legislation that will “grow the government, increase our taxes down the line and saddle future generations with debt.” “Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need?” Jindal asked. “That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did.” Jindal blamed Democrats for passing the bill, but he accused his Republican colleagues in Congress of straying from their party’s core...

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President calls for bipartisan approach to slash budget

At the fiscal responsibility summit President Barack Obama held at the White House, he asked for bipartisan help to slash the deficit in half by the end of his first term by making “difficult decisions” and scouring the budget to “root out waste and inefficiency.” But Obama cannot accomplish his goal without Congress, and even before the members who attended the session made it back down Pennsylvania Avenue, the fight over spending was already back on. Lawmakers who attended the summit, which included breakout sessions to address topics like health care reform and taxes, generally had positive things to say about the effort. House Minority Leader John...

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Durbin calls on Burris to resign from Senate

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin told his fellow Illinois Democrat, Sen. Roland Burris, that he should resign from office in light of recent revelations that he tried to raise money for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Durbin adds his name to a growing list of Democrats who want Burris to leave the Senate, but the man appointed to replace President Barack Obama has so far refused and did so Tuesday even in the face of new pressure from Senate leadership. “I told him that under the circumstances, I would consider resigning if I were in his shoes,” Durbin told reporters after meeting with Burris for about an hour. “He said he would not resign.” Burris said he has...

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Senate forges ahead with D.C. voting rights ‘breakthrough’

The District inched closer Tuesday to its 200-year goal of congressional representation with the U.S. Senate’s decision to debate a D.C. voting rights bill on the floor, setting up days of wrangling before a final vote. The Senate voted 62-34 to squelch a potential filibuster and move the voting rights act to the floor, clearing a crucial hurdle it failed to top in 2007. Supporters picked up two votes more than they needed, including eight Republicans, for the procedural “cloture” vote. “We see all lights on go,” said nonvoting D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat. “There can be no turning back now.” The legislation would add two seats...

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Top Senate Dem to Burris: resign

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin told his fellow Illinois Democrat, Sen. Roland Burris, that he should resign from office in light of recent revelations that he tried to raise money for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Durbin adds his name to a growing list of Democrats who want Burris to leave the Senate, but the man appointed to replace President Back Obama has so far refused and did so Tuesday even in the face of new pressure from Senate leadership. "I told him that under the circumstances I would consider resigning if I were in his shoes," Durbin told reporters after meeting with Burris for about an hour. "He said he would not resign.” Burris said he has not...

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Democrat inserted provision endangers DC Opportunity Scholarship program

House Republicans Tuesday decried a provision in the 2009 government spending bill that they say will effectively kill a popular D.C. school voucher program. Democrats have inserted language into the $410 billion package that would end funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program after the 2009-2010 school year. The bill stipulates that subsequent spending on the program would require reauthorization of the program by Congress and "the adoption of language by the D.C. City Council approving such reauthorization." The program supplies vouchers to about 1,900 low-income District families to send their children to private schools, with thousands more children on a waiting...

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Few roadblocks expected for D.C. voting rights bill

Congress is poised to grant the District of Columbia a legislator with full voting rights in the House of Representatives. After failed attempts in previous years, a wide Democratic majority in Congress and a Democrat in the White House have paved the way for the possible success of the bill, but there is still a chance Senate Republicans could block it. The legislation would add two members to the House roster — one from the District, the other from Utah — increasing its ranks to 437. The Senate today is expected to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle that will allow the chamber to move forward on the legislation, but support may not be strong enough among senators to clear...

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Union bill a political minefield

Beginning today, Congress has six weeks of legislative work before the next recess, which sounds like plenty of time to move through some big initiatives, including the Employee Free Choice Act Democrats promised labor unions would be passed quickly. But the legislation, which would make it easier for unions to organize workplaces, has turned into a political minefield for the Democrats who, despite wide majorities in both chambers, have pushed action on the legislation into the summer to avoid what one blogger called “the mother of all labor brawls.” In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may have difficulty rounding up the 60 votes needed to prevent Republicans...

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Burris may lose Senate seat in wake of Blago admission

Roland Burris could find himself forced from the Senate after admitting that he tried to raise money for ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich while seeking the disgraced governor’s appointment to the seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Burris continues to proclaim his innocence, but he may be fighting a losing battle. With Senate Ethics Committee and state criminal investigations into his conduct under way, there are mounting calls for Burris’ resignation as fears grow among Democrats that a scandal could cost them the seat in next year’s election. Burris’ fate in the Senate could ultimately rest on whether federal investigators recorded any potentially damning...

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Lawmakers may get an earful from constituents on stimulus

When Congressional lawmakers return to their districts this week, they are likely to get an earful from their constituents on the nearly $787 billion stimulus passed Friday. The bill, which cleared Congress with just three Republican votes, lacks strong public support and in some districts people are downright livid. If members get a big enough drubbing, it could make it more difficult for congressional Democrats to pass a massive “omnibus” spending package scheduled for debate upon their return in late February. “I would be hard pressed to find anyone around here who is in favor of the stimulus,” said Scott Voorhees, who hosts a midday radio talk show in Nebraska...

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Lawmakers may get an earful from consituents on stimulus

When Congressional lawmakers return to their districts this week, they are likely to get an earful from their constituents on the nearly $787 billion stimulus passed Friday. The bill, which cleared Congress with just three Republican votes, lacks strong public support and in some districts people are downright livid. If members get a big enough drubbing, it could make it more difficult for congressional Democrats to pass a massive “omnibus” spending package scheduled for debate upon their return in late February. “I would be hard pressed to find anyone around here who is in favor of the stimulus,” said Scott Voorhees, who hosts a midday radio talk show in Nebraska...

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House Democrats take unexpected back seat as stimulus hammered out

House Democrats, angry over some cuts made to the stimulus package, may have to get used to playing a more marginal role in negotiations on major legislation as appeasing key Senate Republicans on controversial bills remains the top priority. The $789 billion package Congress will vote on Friday comes only after cuts to some spending programs favored by many House Democrats and the preservation of a major tax cut they wanted removed. About $20 billion for school construction and $25 billion in state aid had to come out of the bill in order for moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to sign on. Their backing took Democrats, who...

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Lawmakers facing tough ’10 elections vote carefully on the stimulus

Jittery lawmakers from both parties worried about the 2010 elections may control the fate of the economic stimulus legislation in Congress as they grapple with how their votes on the bill might affect their own re-election prospects. Despite immense pressure from President Obama, 11 Democrats voted against the House version of the plan. The same group is also likely to vote no on the final bill approved Thursday to ensure their own political survival. Stimulus opponents include Reps. Walter Minnick of Idaho, Bobby Bright of Alabama and Frank Kratovil Jr. of Maryland, who are all facing potentially tough re-election fights in Republican-heavy districts. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa., who...

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Senate seen having upper hand over House on stimulus specifics

The $838 billion stimulus package senators passed Tuesday will likely be very similar to the bill that President Obama eventually signs, even though House leaders say they will fight for their $819 billion version of the legislation. The Senate has the upper hand in the negotiations thanks to the slim majority that passed the bill there and the need for cooperation from at least two Republicans. The Senate on Tuesday passed its stimulus bill with just three Republican senators and not a lot of room to compromise, according to the Democrats’ chief negotiator, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. “The final conference report is going to look very similar...

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Indirectly, stimulus bill includes golf cart money

Does the stimulus bill really include money for golf carts? Yes, indirectly. But more troubling to some opponents of the Senate-passed $838 billion package are the big-ticket spending items like $50 billion allocated for the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program aimed at innovative energy technologies, including nuclear reactors and clean coal. Critics of the funding say the government has yet to spend $40 million it already has budgeted for the program and that the loans are risky and lack oversight. But its supporters include both Republican and Democratic senators who are eager to back spending aimed at reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Democrats in the...

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Senate votes to end stimulus debate

The Senate cleared a major hurdle to passing a massive stimulus bill, but Republicans are still looking for ways to slim down or stop the package before a final vote on what is becoming an increasingly unpopular plan. The Senate voted 61-36 to cut off debate on its $827 billion proposal, paving the way for final passage today. But getting the stimulus actually signed into law will get much tougher because senators will have to work out a compromise deal with the House, which passed its own $819 billion bill. Democratic House leaders have already signaled they are not happy with the program cuts made to the Senate version, which contains more tax cuts than the House version. And as the...

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Senators debate late into night on stalled stimulus

Senators debated into the night a massive economic stimulus bill that Democrats pledged to pass quickly, even with minimal Republican support. The bipartisanship the fledgling Obama administration has urged appeared on the brink of collapse Thursday as the two parties bickered over what should be in the bill, which has grown to more than $900 billion. “This idea the president had of getting 80 votes, that’s a distant memory,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., referring to Obama’s desire to win the support of at least half of the Senate’s Republican lawmakers. “We’d rather pass a good bill with 65 votes than a bill that doesn’t work with 80...

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3 Minute Interview-Ellsworth

Kelley Ellsworth is executive director of Byte Back, a Washington-area nonprofit agency that offers free computer classes to low-income people. Ellsworth began her career as a community organizer, then as a researcher at the Women and Poverty Project, and then as the chief executive of a video production company specializing in videos for nonprofits. Who are your students? Our average student is African-American, female, all low-income. The average income level for our students is $13,500. It’s a range of ages. We serve everything from sheltered youth to elderly in Brookland who want to learn just enough about the computer that they can e-mail their children. What do you teach them?...

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GOP charge against stimulus bill gains steam

The massive economic stimulus bill that was to be President Obama’s first big legislative accomplishment is sinking fast in the Senate thanks to growing public disdain for what many see as wasteful spending. “Americans are beginning to turn against the stimulus package as it is presently designed,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday. McCain, who made eliminating wasteful spending a crusade during his own campaign for president, is one of many Republicans resisting Obama’s call for swift approval. Passage of the bill in its current form “is looking less and less likely,” said a Democratic aide Wednesday. “There are a good many senators that...

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Stimulus bill to put Obama’s bipartisanship to the test

President Obama’s promise to lead with a new bipartisan style will be put to the test in the Senate this week as Democrats try to push through an $885 billion stimulus bill that many in the GOP oppose. Chief among the critics is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who just days ago was preaching bipartisan support for Obama on the Senate floor. McCain all but abandoned that sentiment on Tuesday, asking his supporters in a blast e-mail to sign an online petition opposing the package, which Obama wants on his desk in less than two weeks. “Unfortunately, the proposal on the table is big on the giveaways for the special interests and corporate high rollers, yet short on help for ordinary...

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Daschle apologizes for tax lapses, gets backing of top finance Dem

After heading to Capitol Hill to apologize for his tax lapses, Tom Daschle secured the support of the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee for Daschle’s increasingly controversial bid to be confirmed as secretary of health and human services. “Senator Daschle made the mistakes on his taxes,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., after a closed-door meeting with Daschle and other committee Democrats. “They were clearly not purposeful mistakes. His tax mistakes are regrettable, but his tax mistakes do not change his qualifications to oversee health care reform.” Baucus said the committee would hold hearings on Daschle’s nomination next week, when...

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Soft voice, hard punch

The liberal wing of the Democratic Party has been on the attack lately, but no one in the GOP is in their sights. Instead, their anger is focused on Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader whose soft-spoken manner belies his bare-knuckle approach to politics. Reid has spent the last few months infuriating the left with missteps and rhetorical blunders, providing fodder for Republicans who are eager to unseat him in Nevada in next year’s election. First came his decision in November to allow Sen. Joe Lieberman to remain chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, even after the Connecticut independent spent the prior year enthusiastically campaigning for Republican presidential...

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Is Reid stronger in the Senate than back home in Nevada?

Since winning his Senate seat in 1986, Majority Leader Harry Reid has faced some difficult re-election challenges, and his 2010 bid could be another. The only Republican running so far is under criminal indictment, but even without a top-flight candidate, the GOP has put a bull’s-eye on Reid. One conservative group has formed a political action committee aimed at ending Reid’s Senate career and has started a Web site called Watchin’ Reid that hammers away at the perceived missteps of the majority leader. The goal of the site is not just to highlight Reid’s gaffes “but to demonstrate that he’s taking the Senate down a much more liberal path that does...

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Support for Obama stimulus plan dwindling among GOP in Senate

So much for a new era of bipartisanship. A day after Barack Obama scored a goose egg with House Republicans on his $819 billion stimulus proposal, GOP opposition was also mounting Thursday in the Senate, where a significant block of Republicans has pledged to vote against it unless it is altered to incorporate its party’s ideas. “This kind of package at this size and this scope is just unthinkable for us at this time,” Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Thursday. “We need to resist this package with every strength that we have. Indeed, the financial soul of this country may be at stake.” Just days ago, Republicans in the House and Senate enthusiastically...

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Democrats may pose bigger threat to bipartisanship for Obama

After running on a pledge to work with Republicans, President Obama is finding some of the biggest challenges to his ambitious agenda coming from his own party. The leaders of the GOP, spoiling for a fight after heavy losses in the last election, are of limited menace to Obama with their diminished numbers and a lack of public support for their policies. But Democrats, suffused with the power of majority, are already causing problems for the new administration. And Obama’s ability to get his party under control could determine the fate of his agenda. Urging Washington’s famously nettlesome Democrats into a new spirit of bipartisanship is no small job. After Republicans...

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3 Minute Interview-McCune

Timothy McCune, of Arlington, is president of Integrated Wave Technologies, which has developed specialized speech recognition technology that is used abroad by the U.S. military. Your company produces something called a Voice Response Translator. What is it? The Voice Response Translator (VRT) is an eyes-free, hands-free, body-worn voice-to-voice translator that enables U.S. combat personnel to communicate with foreign nations in both hostile and non-hostile situations. It’s the only voice-to-voice language translator to work in hot combat situations, weighs less than 11 ounces and works for over 65 hours on one battery charge. Who uses this and why do they need it? All U.S....

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Pelosi strips gender-specific language from House rules

The Capitol is no longer a man’s world, at least according to the 2009 House Rules. When Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House in 2006, rumors abounded in the hallways of the Capitol that she would emasculate the male-dominated Congress, starting with the conversion of the House Chamber’s only nearby bathroom (a men’s room equipped with a shoeshine stand and a fireplace) into a ladies room. Two years later, that men’s room is still a men’s room. Pelosi has chosen instead to take much more subtle steps to help transition the Capitol into a more equal place. This year Pelosi took a pen to the House Rules, crossing out “his,”...

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Obama holds bipartisan meeting, says stimulus could top $1 trillion

In a bipartisan meeting with House and Senate leaders, President-elect Barack Obama suggested the price tag for his forthcoming economic stimulus package might need to be as high as $1.3 trillion. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Obama, in a closed-door session with top Republicans and Democrats, “has indicated that there’s at least 20 economists that he’s talked with, and all but one of those believe it should be from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion.” Obama’s final proposal is likely to seem like a relative bargain, though, according to top Democratic aides. After meetings earlier in the day with just Democratic lawmakers,...

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Dems think big for post-stimulus agenda

In Barack Obama’s meetings with congressional leaders this week, his fellow Democrats have been eager to talk about using their expanded majority to finally get done what Republicans had blocked in the Bush years. But Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their teams know they won’t be able to start by tackling universal health care and global warming. Obama needs his former colleagues on the Hill to move quickly on a stimulus plan. But once the stimulus work is through, congressional aides say lawmakers will push for quick passage of items vetoed by President Bush or blocked by Senate Republicans. That includes expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. In 2008...

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Probe triggers Richardson to withdraw nomination for commerce secretary

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for secretary of commerce, has bowed out due to his involvement in an ongoing pay-for-play corruption scandal in his state. It’s an awkward topic for Obama while his erstwhile associate, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is tenaciously clinging to power in the face of federal charges that he tried to sell Obama’s vacated Senate seat. And while Richardson’s departure may lessen the chance of another federal prosecution sullying the nascent administration, a report emerged that Obama’s pick for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had directed federal funds to a major donor to her...

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3 Minute Interview-Wiseman

Mary Wiseman has been playing Martha Washington at Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington, for 12 years. Wiseman serves as a character interpreter, answering questions from visitors about the first president, his wife and their 18th-century existence. She started her career at Colonial Williamsburg, where she came up with the idea of having people act out the roles of the colonists. How do you go about playing Martha Washington? It is my pleasure and privilege to teach the history of George and Martha Washington and their private life by using the character of Mrs. Washington. I have the great honor of being able to present myself as her. I teach through the character. What do you...

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GOP Rep. LaHood Obama’s likely transportation pick

Rahm Emanuel has all but convinced President-elect Barack Obama to tap Republican Rep. Ray LaHood, a fellow Illinoisan, to serve as Transportation Secretary, according to Capitol Hill sources. According to one Democratic source, the move would not leave out Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, who had been under consideration for the job. Kirk may instead be offered the job of U.S. Trade Representative, the Democratic source said, now that Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Ca., has turned down the job. Emanuel, an Illinois congressman who is now Obama’s incoming chief of staff, enjoyed a close relationship with LaHood, who earlier this year announced he will retire in January at the conclusion of his...

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Replacing Obama causing anxiety in scandal-leery Congress

Looking to keep the foul odor coming out of Chicago from seeping into Washington, congressional leaders were getting behind a plan to have Barack Obama’s Senate replacement selected by voters in a special election, rather than appointed by Illinois’ governor. Lawmakers in Springfield, Ill., announced Tuesday that they would call an emergency session of the state legislature to pass a bill requiring the vacancy created by Obama’s election as president be filled by election. The move would deny embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich a key bargaining chip. On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Democrats began distancing themselves early from Blagojevich, a former member of Congress. Sen....

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3 Minute Interview-Rice

Roxanne Rice is executive director of Food for Others, the largest direct distributor of free food to people in Northern Virginia. The organization gets food to the poor through their own warehouse in Merrifield as well as about 30 community organizations and a food program run by the Department of Agriculture. They also distribute food at certain street corners in Northern Virginia, where those who line up are asked only how many people are in their families. Has the demand for food increased with the economic downturn? The challenge we are facing right now is the challenge that is dominating the news these days. We used to average about 50 families a day [seeking food at the warehouse]...

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Costly Capitol Visitor Center finally ready

On Tuesday, the U.S. Capitol will debut a new underground visitors center that is jaw-dropping in its size and beauty, but also in its whopping $621 million price tag — which represents the best and worst in government expenditure, depending on who you ask. “They could actually have an educational display on this project ... called the Anatomy of a Congressional Boondoggle,” Steve Ellis, vice president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, told The Examiner. The visitors center will open Tuesday, nearly three years late and $356 million over its original budget. But it will at last provide a much-needed place for the thousands of tourists who flock to the...

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3 Minute Interview-Sterling

Susan Fisher Sterling is director of Northwest Washington’s National Museum of Women in the Arts, a collection of more than 3,000 works of art by women spanning four centuries. Sterling has been with the museum nearly two decades and helped shape its artistic direction. Sterling has a Ph.D. in art history from Princeton University. What’s in the museum? It’s the only museum in the world solely dedicated to celebrating women’s creative accomplishments, both from the past and in the present. What kind of exhibits do you display? Beginning Friday, we [opened] a Mary Cassatt exhibition of photographs that look at girlhood and womanhood, and we have a wonderful...

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3 Minute Interview-Earnest

Peter Earnest is executive director of the International Spy Museum, located in downtown Washington. The museum includes a vast collection of spy gadgets, technology and a comprehensive history of clandestine intelligence gathering in the United States and throughout history. Earnest, who lives in McLean, is no stranger to the world of spying. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 36 years. What’s in the Spy Museum? It’s a unique museum in that we try to encompass within it the story of spying both throughout history and around the world. Obviously you can’t do that in a singular permanent exhibit. We also have special exhibits, such as one on domestic...

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A new path for the GOP

As Sarah Palin addresses her fellow Republican governors at their annual meeting in Miami today, there will be plenty of media speculation about whether she or another party luminary will challenge Barack Obama in four years. But for most Republican leaders, the issue is even more basic — how to make the party relevant again. In defeat, Republicans are re-examining their party brand, with moderates, conservatives and those pushing for a total reinvention all making their case for how to get the Grand Old Party back on its feet. For many, the first step toward the future is identifying the mistakes of the past. “As a party, we fell prey to not listening carefully and not...

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Thompson emerges as potential leader as GOP moves rightward

Republicans desperate to rebuild their party are looking for a new leader, and former Sen. Fred Thompson may seek the job. Thompson, a Tennessee conservative and former actor, is mulling a run for chairman of the Republican National Committee. Though he ran a lackluster campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, he remains popular in his party because of his ability to articulate conservative values in a plainspoken way. “Fred isn’t looking to run for national office again,” a close Thompson adviser said, adding that no official decision had been made. “He is looking to rebuild the party and help elevate the [conservative] movement and its...

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Conservative-leaning ‘Blue Dogs’ hold key votes in new Congress

With Democrats now in control of the White House and Congress, it would seem that the party has a clear path to passing just about whatever agenda it pleases. But it may not be that easy. The Democrats in the new Congress will have to deal with infighting among party factions who will push for their own priorities. In the House, the group that now poses the biggest threat to the majority’s tranquility is the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs, a group of right-leaning Democrats elected from barely blue districts whose top priority in Congress is achieving a balanced budget and maintaining strong national security. The group had 47 members this year and used their size and influence...

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Democrats tighten grip on House, Senate

House and Senate Democrats strengthened their hold on Congress Tuesday, soundly defeating GOP incumbents including Sens. Elizabeth Dole and John Sununu and Reps. Phil English and Robin Hayes in another bad year for the Republican brand. House Democrats were expected to add about 25 seats to their 17-seat majority, while the Senate Democrats were predicted to increase their one-seat majority by up to seven seats, leaving them just one or two shy of a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority. The poor showing for the House and Senate GOP marks just the third time in history that the same political party has been defeated in two consecutive elections. Issues ranging from a plummeting stock...

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Hampton no easy road for McCain

At first glance, this seems like just the kind of place Republican presidential candidate John McCain would easily dominate on Election Day. Home of the world's largest naval base, the 1,800-square-mile region also plays host to more than a dozen other military installations and is an enclave for many who have retired from the armed services. Those military and ex-military personnel tend to favor John McCain, a Vietnam War hero who served in the Navy for 23 years. But McCain's favorability rating in the Hampton Roads area has been heavily diluted by a large number of African-American and young non-military voters (and even some young military voters) who are flocking to Democrat Barack...

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Obama hopes to corral Va. military voters

If there is one group of voters John McCain can count on in Hampton Roads, it’s the military. But Barack Obama is trying to dip into this rich voting base and appears to be having some success, though just how much is up for debate. “I don’t think they can take it, but they can attract a certain portion of it,” said Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. The size of that portion is critical, Kidd said, because McCain needs to win a large enough number of the group to offset Obama’s advantage among black and young voters. “The question is, can Obama make it a 60 percent to 40 percent gap as opposed...

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Obama reaches out to Virginia voters

Barack Obama visited regions of Virginia that could hold the key to winning the commonwealth’s crucial electoral votes as new polls give a contradictory picture of where the race stands less than two weeks from Election Day. Making his eighth visit to Virginia during the campaign, Obama addressed crowds in Richmond and Leesburg. He arrived more than an hour late for a planned noon rally at the Richmond Coliseum, where he told the crowd of 13,000 he would cut their taxes, reform health care and create jobs. Obama criticized Republican opponent John McCain for spending too much time criticizing him. He also took a jab at McCain over “Joe the Plumber” who famously...

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Obama makes 8th Virginia visit

Sen. Barack Obama returns to Virginia today for the second time in a week, making appearances in Richmond and Leesburg that will highlight the Old Dominion’s potential role as a decisive battle in the presidential election. Obama is hoping to bring Virginia into the Democratic column for the first time since 1964 by campaigning hard here in the crucial last days before the Nov. 4 election. And with a 52 percent to 42 percent lead in the latest national survey from the widely respected Wall Street Journal and NBC News poll, Obama is in a position to press his advantage. Based on current state polls, an Obama win in Virginia would make an Electoral College victory for McCain almost...

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3 Minute Interview-Shugart

Erika Shugart is the deputy director of the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, which opened four years ago at Sixth and E streets NW, and is aimed at teaching visitors how to use scientific knowledge in their everyday lives and the decisions they make. Shugart oversees the development of exhibits and the museum Web site (koshland-science-museum.org). What kind of exhibits are in the museum? There is an exhibit on global warming that shows people how their lives can affect the environment and there is an exhibit on infectious diseases, which could inform people such as those who are deciding whether to vaccinate their children. We also have a Lights at...

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Vital Virginia

More than 140 years after hosting some of the bloodiest clashes of the Civil War, Prince William and Loudoun counties are battlegrounds once again, this time in the race for the White House. The red hue Virginia traditionally takes on during the presidential election — having voted for every Republican candidate since 1968 — could turn blue this year, according to polls that show Democrat Barack Obama ahead in the Old Dominion. But whether Obama is able to make history by winning here, or Republican candidate John McCain is able to hold on to the state, will likely depend on voters in Prince William and Loudoun counties, which behaved reliably Republican in elections a decade...

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McCain: Obama already ‘measuring the drapes’

Sen. John McCain, trailing in national polls with just three weeks until the presidential election, warned in a new stump speech at a campaign rally Monday that his opponent is already “measuring the drapes” at the White House. “We have 22 days to go, six points down, the national media has written us off,” he said. “Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Senator [Harry] Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq.” Standing before a sprawling Virginia Beach crowd alongside his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin,...

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Congress prepares for bailout vote

Like other major national crises, last week’s near meltdown of the financial markets forced Congress to throw aside partisanship and pledge to work together to quickly pass major legislation to help fix the problem. In this case, Congress is preparing to take an unprecedented step that will allow the government to purchase troubled mortgages from banks and other financial institutions in a plan that will cost the nation at least $700 billion dollars. While some lawmakers are balking at the proposal, unveiled after they held an emergency meeting Saturday with administration officials, it is on course for easy approval from Congress and a signature from the president as early as this...

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3 Minute Interview Nadia Moritz

Nadia Moritz is the founding director of the Young Women’s Project, a program established in 1992 that aims to provide leadership, training, employment opportunities, project work and other services so that teens can educate and organize their peers and work to bring about policy changes that benefit young women. How does the program work? We build teen women leaders in Washington, D.C. We provide support and training to teenage women so they can not only improve their own lives but also develop community-based projects and improve the institutions that are affecting their lives. What are some examples? The school system, the foster care system, policies that affect access...

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Obama faces setback over rising support for Iraq war

Recent success in Iraq has spelled trouble for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, whose campaign was born out of anti-war sentiment and who must now acknowledge improvements while also shifting focus to other issues of importance to voters. “Barack Obama has a real problem with Iraq,” said Doug Schoen, a political pollster and former adviser to former President Bill Clinton. The latest polls show a drastic turnaround in public opinion when it comes to the Iraq war, where an ongoing troop surge has reduced violence and helped stabilize the country. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey released Wednesday found that 37 percent of likely voters now believe the Iraq war...

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McCain vows to fight for America’s future

In a rousing speech, John McCain promised to fight for change at home and for a strong America abroad. McCain spoke passionately of his love of country and vowed to end the partisan rancor in Washington by reaching across party lines to get things done. “You know, I've been called a maverick,” McCain said. “Someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment and sometimes it’s not. What it really means is I understand who I work for.” McCain had a bit of a rocky start as he was interrupted by anti-war demonstrators three times and seemingly struggled with his opening lines. But when McCain went off script to calm...

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Bush gets prime time — without applause

Republicans had planned for President George Bush’s six-minute video address from the White House to their convention Tuesday to be over before television networks began airing the proceedings. The plan backfired when NBC replayed the president’s speech at the opening of their coverage, but without the audio of cheering delegates in the hall that Bush and viewers who saw the speech live on cable had heard. The NBC version had Bush standing in silence and smiling for long, awkward periods. Bush’s remarks were well received in the hall, especially when he praised McCain’s preparedness for office and his independent streak. NBC anchor Brian Williams apologized for...

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GOP hit with two storms

Republicans reacted swiftly and effectively to recast the opening day of their convention to reflect concern for potential victims of Hurricane Gustav. But while they may have been prepared for bad weather, they weren’t ready for the revelation that John McCain’s newly minted, 44-year-old running mate was going to be a grandmother. With the convention compressed to three hours of official business, delegates and political analysts buzzed about the announcement by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol was five months pregnant and would marry the father (See companion story). At the Xcel Energy Convention Center, first lady Laura Bush and McCain’s...

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Republicans praise McCain for ‘unconventional’ VP pick

John McCain’s choice of a running mate may have finally won him the full support of the Republican Party’s conservative base. But in choosing 44-year-old, first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain has opened himself to the sharpest criticism yet that at 72, he may be too old to be president — especially with a number two who went from small-town mayor to governor only 19 months ago. Palin, an abortion foe who cut taxes, assailed corruption in her own party, knows how to handle a high-powered rifle and went to college on a beauty pageant scholarship has been drawing rave reviews from many of the same folks who were skeptical of McCain’s conservative...

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Obama gets specific in challenge to McCain

Voters wanted specifics, Democrats wanted harder attacks on John McCain, and campaign aides wanted to reveal a fuller picture of their candidate. Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered all three with a newly combative tone in an acceptance speech delivered before a huge throng under a clear Colorado sky. “Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land - enough,” Obama declared. “This moment, this election, is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for...

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Joe Biden shows his bite

Sen. Joe Biden Wednesday night solidified his role as the Democratic ticket’s attack dog against John McCain while also identifying himself with the core group of blue-collar voters Obama has had trouble reaching. His speech ended with an even more dramatic moment -- the first appearance of Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention, which stirred the crowd into a wild ovation while the two embraced. The Scranton, Pa. native invoked his solid middle-class roots and tied them to Obama, acknowledging that the two “took very different journeys” to the nomination, “but we share a common story.” Obama, Biden said, “is the great American...

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Hillary: 'A fight we must win together'

In her speech at the Democratic Convention last night, Hillary Clinton sought to unite the party behind her onetime rival and end accusations that she is not doing enough to help Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. Clinton declared her support firmly and enthusiastically for Obama, telling the crowd, “I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American and a proud supporter of Barack Obama.” “Whether you voted for me or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” she said. “We are on the same team, and none of us can sit in the sidelines.” Her speech followed a short...

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Clinton, Obama tensions still simmering

DENVER - As day two of the convention unfolded, Democrats had yet to extinguish the simmering tensions between the camps of nominee Barack Obama and his former rival Hillary Clinton, whose speech tonight is supposed to bridge a divide before it overshadows the convention. Clinton is the most anticipated speaker on a night that will also feature one of the party's fastest rising stars, former Virginia governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner. On Wednesday, there will be a roll call vote for Clinton that will stop at New York, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told the Examiner Tuesday morning. Schultz was a staunch supporter of Clinton's campaign but is now working to unify...

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Two distinct camps of delegates on 'One Nation'-themed night

The theme of tonight's convention agenda is "One Nation" but there will be two distinct groups of delegates on the floor of the Pepsi Center. Despite efforts to completely unify the party behind nominee Barack Obama, there are still significant numbers of delegates who support Hillary Clinton and plan to vote for her, at least on the first ballot, when the roll is called. "I still think she is the better candidate," said Awilda Marquez, 59, a delegate from Colorado, who is sporting a hat with the words "Hillary Delegate" emblazoned upon it. Marquez said she and other delegates believe Clinton, who will speak at the convention Tuesday night, has been treated...

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Ted Kennedy to appear in person tonight at DNC

Susan Ferrechio Democratic convention officials confirmed to The Examiner Monday morning that Sen. Ted Kennedy will appear tonight at the Pepsi Center. The 76-year-old senior senator from Massachusetts has been battling a malignant brain tumor for three months and is said to be weakened by his illness and the treatment for it. Still, Kennedy is determined to attend the evening's events, which will feature a video tribute about his life and 46-year senate tenure by documentary film maker Ken Burns. Officials do not know yet if Kennedy will speak, but the tribute and the sight of Kennedy in the hall is expected to be an emotional event. Kennedy arguably helped shape the outcome of the...

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Day One: Michelle shoots for a softer second impression

When she addresses the Democratic National Convention tonight, Michelle Obama will have two goals: laying out an attractive biographical sketch of her husband and his vision for America and showing the country that she is not the strident woman her critics make her out to be. The would-be first lady will be speaking in prime time tonight, as will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While Pelosi’s roles as the first woman to lead the House and head of the convention are significant, all eyes will be on Obama, who has already broken the mold as a presidential candidate’s wife. Caricatured recently on the cover of the New Yorker magazine sporting an Afro and a machine gun, Obama has...

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President Generation X

First Gen-X candidate struggles to stay 'real' for tricky constituency During his freshman year at Occidental College, Barack Obama attended an anti-apartheid rally. Amid the protest chants and speeches, Obama began to wonder whether the demonstrators were wasting their time, trapped in a 1960s way of trying to bring about change, a way that just didn’t work anymore. “The whole thing was a farce, I thought to myself — the rally, the banners, everything,” wrote Obama in his autobiography “Dreams from My Father.” Jeff Gordinier, who wrote a book on Generation X, said that epiphany secured Obama’s membership in the increasingly influential...

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Earmarks still growing despite vows of restraint

A report issued Monday by a taxpayers watchdog group has found that lawmakers have actually increased the use of “earmarks” this year compared to last year in the House, despite pledging to reform the way Congress secretly funds these pet projects. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, the number of projects funded by earmarks has “drastically increased” in spending bills passed or under consideration in the House this year. The group found senators to be a little more frugal. Spending on earmarks so far in that chamber has decreased by 15 percent, the report notes, but the Senate is still on target to outspend the House on earmarks. This year’s earmarks...

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The 3-minute interview: Bill Duggan

Bill Duggan is the owner of Madam’s Organ, a popular bar in the heart of Adams Morgan. Duggan has offered a summer camp for about 50 children living in surrounding impoverished neighborhoods for the past decade, bringing them to three adjoining homes he owns in Dewey Beach. Duggan also holds an annual Christmas party for the neighborhood kids. Duggan grew......

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The 3-minute interview: George Jones

George Jones is executive director for Bread for the City, a private nonprofit organization that provides low-income residents of D.C. with food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services. The agency is serving a record number of households despite decreasing food donations. Jones became the agency’s executive director in 1996. How did you become involved with Bread for the City?I’ve been doing this work all my life. My first job was as a counselor at a mental health center in Continued...

 

3-minute interview: Joan Morris

Published: Mar 01, 2008

Joan Morris has been the public affairs manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation since 1987. Her job ranges from informing the public of major traffic construction projects to talking to the media about icy road conditions. Morris started her career on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide, taking what supposed to be a temporary break to work......

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The 3-minute interview: Diane Charles

Published: Jun 30, 2008

For nearly a decade, Diane Charles has been the executive director of Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the well-being of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect through education and advocacy. How do you reach parents?Through our relationship with other family service organizations — about 800 service providers dealing with parents on other issues. Sometimes we get parents directly......

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The 3-minute interview: Katherine Morrison

Published: Jul 08, 2008

Katherine Morrison is executive director of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, or A-Span, which seeks out and works with the homeless in Arlington, providing them with food, shelter, clothing and social services.How do you find homeless people?An interesting element of it is how do you know someone is homeless? Our workers are trained, they are really familiar with the territory they cover. We have one worker who works just in Continued...

 

The 3-minute interview: Lisa Baden

Published: Jan 01, 2008

Lisa Baden has been a traffic reporter in Washington for 15 years. She provides road conditions for Westwood One that air on WTOP Radio and WJLA-TV. She describes herself as "one of the few people who gets excited in a backup."How did you become a traffic reporter? When I was growing up I always knew I wanted to be......

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The 3-minute interview: Terrance W. Gainer

Published: Sep 24, 2007

Terrance W. Gainer served four years as chief of the U.S. Capitol Police before taking a job with Congress as the sergeant at arms of the Senate. What prompted you to return?Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked. It was a complete surprise. I just thought it would be a nice opportunity to try to continue some of the things I had been doing as chief and to try to work closely with the senators. It’s a pretty wonderful opportunity. I like this place. It’s the seat of government, the dome......

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The 3-minute interview: Bob Perilla

Published: Nov 26, 2007

Bob Perilla is the leader and founder of Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, a band that performs regularly at venues in the D.C. area and other parts of the country. The group has also been tapped by the State Department to travel all over the world in the role of cultural ambassadors. Their month-long tours include stops in many countries of central Asia. The group will perform a free concert at the Kennedy Center in D.C. on Dec. 19.What is bluegrass music? It’s a form of country based on the music......

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Bush drops veto threat for lender bailout bill

Published: Jul 24, 2008

Congress and the White House have agreed to a housing rescue bill aimed at helping struggling homeowners while throwing a financial lifeline to troubled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The House voted to approve the measure Wednesday afternoon and the Senate is expected to follow by the end of the week. Bush surprised many, including congressional Republicans, by dropping his threat to veto the legislation, which was based on his opposition to nearly $4 billion in federal grants included in the bill that would be provided to local......

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Polls: McCain keeps lead in Ohio; Colo. supports Obama

Published: Jul 23, 2008

New polls released Tuesday indicate Barack Obama may have to abandon traditional swing states like Ohio and aim for victory in a group of battleground states with fewer electoral votes, like Colorado.According to a survey taken Monday by Rasmussen Reports, 46 percent of voters polled in Ohio said they would vote for John McCain, compared with 40 percent for Obama. McCain’s Ohio lead increased to 10 percentage points when undecided voters "leaning" toward McCain were included, Rasmussen reported.Obama fared better in a Colorado poll released Tuesday by Rasmussen, which placed......

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‘Obamania’ grips Europe ahead of candidate’s visit

Published: Jul 22, 2008

John McCain may be hanging on among American voters, but it’s a blowout for Barack Obama in France, Germany and Britain, where legions of fans await the European leg of his overseas trip." ‘Obamania’ in Germany is now in full swing as the country awaits a political......

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Satirical cartoon spurs Obama to repudiate misconceptions

Published: Jul 20, 2008

The Obama campaign’s strong reaction to The New Yorker’s satirical cover portraying the Democratic nominee and his wife as flag-burning, Muslim terrorists underscores the danger posed to his presidential bid by the suspicions many voters still hold about him.Campaign aides are trying to make Obama and his life story more familiar to voters through campaign ads and the Internet. But the rumors persist.The New Yorker cover, published last week, conjured up every dark misconception about the candidate and his wife. The illustration, titled "The Politics of Fear," shows the couple......

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Dueling DVDs trade criticisms of presidential candidates

Published: Jul 18, 2008

As Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan draws intense media coverage, Republicans attempted to throw cold water on the hype by painting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as a candidate who lets the political winds dictate his policy on ending the war.Republican members of Congress on Thursday handed out a five-minute DVD of clips......

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Dean bound for South to stump for Obama

Published: Jul 17, 2008

Today, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is beginning an effort to boost support for Barack Obama in Southern states, but many think he might be just whistling Dixie.Obama faces a steep uphill climb in the South, particularly in places like Tennessee and Mississippi. And the prospects of Southern congressional candidates could hinge on how well Obama fares on the ballot in those states."The prospect of Obama winning four or five of the old Confederate states is probably unrealistic," said Vanderbilt University political science professor John Geer. Geer said Obama’s......

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Obama, McCain battle on Iraq

Published: Jul 15, 2008

As Barack Obama begins the foreign policy portion of his campaign with an op-ed piece on the Iraq war and a planned trip to the Middle East, he and Republican John McCain Monday engaged in a bare-knuckle fight over Iraq.Hoping to counter accusations that he is a flip-flopper or weak on foreign policy, Obama said......

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Obama may benefit from helping erase Clinton debt

Published: Jul 13, 2008

One of Hillary Clinton’s national finance chairmen said it’s still too early to say how much Barack Obama has helped his former rival’s efforts to retire her campaign debt. But Democratic moneyman Hassan Nemazee said the more Obama gets for Clinton, the easier it will be to raise money for his own campaign."I would like to see what the results are before I......

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Jackson’s comments highlight frustrations in black community

Published: Jul 11, 2008

Whispered comments by the Rev. Jesse Jackson have opened up a much louder conversation between Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and some members of the black community.Jackson, who was appearing as a guest on a Fox News television program, whispered to a fellow guest during a commercial break that "Barack’s been talking down to black people," adding that he wanted to......

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Congress, Obama pass telecom wiretap bill

Published: Jul 10, 2008

Congress on Wednesday cleared a federal wiretapping bill that has all the ingredients needed to meet the approval of President Bush, including retroactive immunity for telecom companies that helped the government eavesdrop after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The bill passed easily in the Senate, 69-28, and included the support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who had earlier promised not to vote for such a bill because of the immunity......

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Kennedy loudly cheered by peers on return to Senate

Published: Jul 10, 2008

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., made a surprise return to the Senate on Wednesday to a thunderous standing ovationin the chamber as he helped Democrats pass a long-stalled Medicare bill.Kennedy, 76, who is suffering from a brain tumor and undergoing chemotherapy, was not expected to return to the Senate for weeks, but said he showed up because Democrats needed one more vote to move a bill that would block an 11 percent cut......

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Presidential candidates court Hispanic voters

Published: Jul 09, 2008

With the Hispanic vote potentially a deciding factor in key swing states, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama each aggressively courted the League of United Latin American Citizens at the group’s annual meeting Tuesday in Washington. Although McCain is considered by many Latinos to be one of the most appealing......

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Obama to accept nod in football stadium

Published: Jul 08, 2008

Barack Obama is trying to maximize his momentum by accepting the Democratic presidential nomination at the home of the Denver Broncos next door to the much smaller convention center where his speech was supposed to take place.The Democratic National Committee announced Monday that Obama would abandon the Pepsi Center nearby in favor of......

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Obama pulls even with McCain among Catholics, poll finds

Published: Jul 04, 2008

Barack Obama, who just months ago seemed unable to capture the Catholic vote, is running even with John McCain among the denomination’s voters, a new poll indicates. Catholic scholars said they were not surprised to see Obama and McCain running almost even with 44 and 45 percent of the Catholic vote, respectively, according to a new poll from Time magazine."With the economy headed toward a recession and gas over four dollars a gallon and an unpopular war in Iraq, it is almost the perfect storm to hit the Republicans," said......

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Obama unveils plan to boost public service

Published: Jul 03, 2008

Barack Obama on Wednesday announced a sweeping public service agenda that includes a plan to increase the military by more than 90,000 volunteers, in stark contrast to just six weeks ago, when he called students to service, but not the military kind.In his May address to the Wesleyan University class of 2008, Obama implored the graduates to consider public service, but left out any reference to the military as an appropriate avenue......

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NRA devises advertising assault against Obama

Published: Jul 02, 2008

While Barack Obama is trying to recalibrate his positions on gun rights, the National Rifle Association is planning an all-out assault against his candidacy. Most strategists believe the NRA’s decision to target Obama with a $15 million advertising campaign portraying the Illinois senator as an anti-gun candidate could hurt Obama in key states.NRA spokesman Continued...

 

NRA devises advertising assault against Obama

Published: Jul 02, 2008

While Barack Obama is trying to recalibrate his positions on gun rights, the National Rifle Association is planning an all-out assault against his candidacy. Most strategists believe the NRA’s decision to target Obama with a $15 million advertising campaign portraying the Illinois senator as an anti-gun candidate could hurt Obama in key states.NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the gun rights issue could influence the outcome of the presidential election as many believe was the case in 2000, when Al Gore lost states like Tennessee and Arkansas in part because of......

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Campaign aides say Obama aiming to win key ‘red’ states

Published: Jul 01, 2008

In a recent strategy session, Barack Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, declared his candidate "at about a dead heat" with Republican John McCain in Montana, Alaska and North Dakota.Just four years ago, the three states voted for Continued...

 

Ruling thrusts gun issue into White House race

Published: Jun 27, 2008

The Supreme Court moved the Second Amendment to the forefront of the presidential campaign with a ruling upholding the right of individuals to own guns.Tuesday’s decision gave John McCain’s campaign the chance to label Barack Obama soft on gun rights and eager to stack the high court with anti-gun justices.Obama, whose hometown of Chicago’s own gun ban is already under fire, walked a fine......

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Clinton must unite Dems behind Obama

Published: Jun 25, 2008

Hillary Clinton returned to being "just a senator" Tuesday, but her immediate and arguably more important task will be uniting the Democratic Party, particularly its female voters, behind Barack Obama.Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a staunch Clinton backer and dean of the female senators, introduced the former presidential candidate to a standing ovation at......

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Obama catching heat for stances on surveillance bill, public funding

Published: Jun 24, 2008

It’s not just John McCain who is calling Barack Obama a flip-flopper. Former supporters are expressing anger over Obama’s recent decisions to forgo public funding of his campaign and to back a wiretapping bill that includes provisions he had once pledged to oppose.Obama waited until late Friday afternoon to announce that he was backing bipartisan legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill includes a provision that shields telecommunications companies......

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Democrat tries to mend fences with Congressional Black Caucus

Published: Jun 20, 2008

Barack Obama delivered a clear message Thursday to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, many of whom had backed his former opponent, Hillary Clinton. "Let bygones be bygones," Rep. Elijah Cummings, of Maryland, said as he recounted the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s message during......

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Fla., Ohio could decide presidency once again

Published: Jun 19, 2008

Ohio and Florida do not figure prominently in Barack Obama’s electoral strategy, but a new poll suggests these traditional battleground states could again decide who wins the White House. A Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday found tight races in Florida, which gave Continued...

 

Congressional wiretap vote seen as next battle for McCain, Obama

Published: Jun 18, 2008

As a vote on warrantless wiretapping looms in Congress, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are poised to take opposite sides of the issue as their battle heats up over national security.Congressional leaders held closed-door negotiations Tuesday over how to update the soon-to-expire Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill sets the terms for how the government can eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails. Leadership aides said hopes that a compromise......

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Clinton’s senate return stirs lots of speculation

Published: Jun 16, 2008

Some in the Senate, which reconvenes this week, are wondering whether Hillary Clinton’s homecoming will be happy or if her rifts with some of her Democratic colleagues over her primary bid will linger on.Clinton’s allies deny there is a vengeful bone in the defeated candidate’s body, but some on Capitol Hill took note when a report surfaced recently that the Clintons have compiled lists of those who did not support her failed......

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Obama creates Web site to combat ‘smear’ campaigns

Published: Jun 13, 2008

From the moment Barack Obama began his campaign for president, rumors have been circulating about his origins, religion and views on race.Rather than follow the practice of most past candidates and ignore unflattering accusations, Obama this week started a Web site dedicated to combating what he believes are calumnies on his candidacy.The site, fightthesmears.com, lists each "smear" and counters it with "the truth."The site features a number of links, including one that allows readers to "spread the word" to 10 e-mail......

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Obama hits McCain on comment about when to bring troops home

Published: Jun 12, 2008

While the Barack Obama campaign pounced on rival John McCain’s gaffe Wednesday about the importance of bringing the troops home from Iraq, both sides are attempting to define the role the war will play in the race for president.The war grabbed center stage in the presidential race after McCain’s interview with the "Today Show’s" Matt......

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Dem leaders close ranks behind Obama

Published: Jun 11, 2008

Three days after Hillary Clinton ended one of the most divisive battles ever for the Democratic presidential nomination, the party’s leaders announced Tuesday that they were solidly behind presumptive nominee Barack Obama and pledged to help get him elected.They will begin by introducing an economic stimulus package in Congress that mirrors a $50 billion plan put forward by Obama."We will have a stimulus package that has some of those features," Continued...

 

Obama hits McCain in tour of battleground states

Published: Jun 10, 2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to discredit Republican rival John McCain’s economic policies Monday as he continued a tour of battleground states. Obama relentlessly attacked McCain at the North Carolina Fairgrounds in Raleigh, saying the Arizona senator’s economic plan benefits the rich, as well as highly profitable oil companies and other corporate interests."He calls himself......

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Obama eyes three Virginians as running mates

Published: Jun 06, 2008

Barack Obama kicked off his general election campaign in Virginia on Thursday, spending time with three commonwealth lawmakers who are considered to be in the running as his vice presidential pick. The newly minted nominee, by choosing Virginia as his first stop, also signaled the importance of the Old Dominion as a key swing state in the upcoming general election.Obama made his first......

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Clinton refuses to bow out of race, asks supporters for advice

Published: Jun 04, 2008

Hillary Clinton defiantly refused to concede the race for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, even though Barack Obama surpassed the 2,118 delegates needed to declare himself the winner.Clinton took to the stage in her home state of New York with husband Bill and daughter Chelsea to deliver a "celebration" speech in which she pointed to the numerous states and about 18 million voters......

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Doomsday approaches for Clinton campaign

Published: Jun 03, 2008

When the Democratic presidential primaries end today with the contests in South Dakota and Montana, Barack Obama will likelyremain just short of the number of delegates he needs to clinch the nomination.But the remaining uncommitted superdelegates are expected to fall into the Obama camp as early as Wednesday. Members of the Democratic National Committee,......

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Clinton supporters plan demonstration to pressure DNC

Published: May 31, 2008

Busloads of Hillary Clinton supporters are expected to descend on the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington on Saturday in an effort to persuade a Democratic National Committee subpanel to include the votes of the discounted Florida and Michigan primaries.At stake are 2.4 million votes and 366 delegates, which, if completely validated, would help revive Clinton's flagging candidacy.Many of those expected to attend the protest today have been rallied by pro-Clinton groups such as WomenCount Pac, a political action committeethat describes itself as "feeling frustrated about calls for [Clinton] to......

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Clinton die-hards buoyed by trickle of superdelegates

Published: May 30, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s minuscule chances of winning the Democratic nomination haven’t stopped a small trickle of superdelegates from endorsing her this month.Even though Barack Obama already has turned his attention to John McCain and the general election, Washington superdelegate Eileen Macoll on Thursday threw her support behind......

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Supporters push Clinton for veep bid

Published: May 29, 2008

By continuing to campaign despite virtually insurmountable odds, Hillary Clinton has prompted speculation that she is trying to force Barack Obama to put her on the Democratic ticket as his running mate.Clinton’s campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, who is promoting the idea through campaign back channels, recently called a joint ticket "pretty exciting." "It’s a great idea at the end of this process for......

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Clinton may have edge in seating Fla., Mich. delegates

Published: May 26, 2008

Hillary Clinton would seem to have reason to be optimistic about Saturday’s Democratic Party meeting on whether to resurrect some or all of the disqualified delegates from Florida and Michigan.The panel that will meet in Washington to vote on what to do about the delegations, discounted because......

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In key states, it’s Obama or McCain, depending on the poll

Published: May 23, 2008

Dueling poll numbers show a big shift toward Barack Obama in California but presumptive Republican nominee John McCain leading Obama in two of three key swing states.Hillary Clinton’s top campaign aides are using data released Thursday by Quinnipiac University showing McCain ahead of Obama in Continued...

 

Sen. Kennedy diagnosed with cancerous tumor

Published: May 21, 2008

The Senate was united in grief Tuesday upon hearing the news that its second most senior member, Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, was suffering from a malignant brain tumor.Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the only lawmaker who has served longer in the chamber, broke down in tears on the Senate floor upon......

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Door closing for Clinton, but others opening

Published: May 21, 2008

Vice president, Supreme Court justice and governor are among the career choices awaiting Hillary Clinton when she bows out of the presidential race, political analysts say, but most agree she will probably return to the Senate where she would be poised to become a major power player.Clinton will likely be out of the Democratic race when the primaries end in less than two weeks. But if she quits, she will walk away from a candidacy that has won nearly 2,000 delegates......

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A kinder, gentler Clinton still insists race isn’t over

Published: May 20, 2008

With just three primaries remaining after today’s contests in Kentucky and Oregon and an insurmountable lead by Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton is winding things down on the campaign trail even as she and her top aides insist the race isn’t over.Clinton has been campaigning hard in Kentucky, where the......

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An emerging constituency: Obama Republicans

Published: May 16, 2008

Barack Obama elicits laughs from audiences at his political rallies by telling them about Republicans who approach him and whisper their support.But for the GOP, it’s no joke. Disillusioned with President Bush and unimpressed with presumptive nominee John McCain, many young Republicans and former Reaganites alike have gravitated toward the charismatic Obama,......

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Obama takes a victory lap on House floor

Published: May 09, 2008

Barack Obama was greeted on Capitol Hill on Thursday by throngs of eager House members who lined up to shake hands with the man they believe will be the Democratic nominee for president.Obama made a surprise visit to the House floor after meeting in a Capitol Hill town house with some of the remaining members of Congress who have yet to commit to either candidate. Obama is trying to close Clinton’s shrinking......

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Obama looks to November; Clinton hopes for a miracle

Published: May 08, 2008

Barack Obama’s decisive victory in North Carolina and his narrow loss in Indiana on Tuesday have left him just 185 delegates shy of the Democratic nomination, with Hillary Clinton needing a miracle to overtake him even though she will most likely win in West Virginia next......

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Obama camp uses hard numbers to deflate Clinton’s confidence

Published: May 06, 2008

As the Clinton campaign has become more confident about today’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, the Obama campaign has begun flaunting the hard numbers to demonstrate that the math still favors its candidate as the likely nominee.Obama spokesman Bill Burton has circulated the campaign’s latest delegate calculations in the epic battle for the Democratic......

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Obama’s lead over Clinton shrinks

Published: May 05, 2008

At one point last month, Barack Obama enjoyed a 25-point lead over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina and was beginning to creep ahead of her in Indiana as well.A few weeks and several Jeremiah Wright appearances later, Obama’s prospects have weakened considerably in those two states,......

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Obama captures Clinton superdelegate, keeps momentum despite rocky month

Published: May 02, 2008

Despite Barack Obama's difficulties in April, he has continued to outpace Hillary Clinton in the race for superdelegates who will be crucial in deciding the Democratic nomination.Obama gained five superdelegates on Thursday, including former Clinton backer and ex-Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew, who was appointed to head the DNC in 1999 by then-Continued...

 

Obama’s next test will be winning over working-class whites

Published: Apr 30, 2008

As Barack Obama heads for Indiana, political analysts said Tuesday he should build on his denunciation of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to improve relations with the white working-class voters who were offended by the inflammatory comments of his former pastor."He’s got no choice but to go to Indiana and explain it as many times as he has to," said Continued...

 

Math not promising for Clinton campaign

Published: Apr 28, 2008

Hillary Clinton may have beaten Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary, but it increasingly appears that she can’t beat the political math in the race for pledged delegates.If current polling data in Indiana and North Carolina hold true for those May 6 contests, Clinton would have to......

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Wilder tells Obama his race will make it hard to pull it off

Published: Apr 25, 2008

Former Democratic Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first black governor, said Thursday he has told Barack Obama that his race makes the electoral task ahead of him more difficult, but political experts and his committed superdelegates say America is ready to elect a black president. Wilder said in aninterview with Bloomberg......

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Officeholding superdelegates hold off endorsing over concern for careers

Published: Apr 24, 2008

For the 90 members of Congress who are also undecided Democratic superdelegates, concerns about their own prospects in thefall are driving many to continue to delay their decisions whether to endorse Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.Following Clinton’s win in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday, one swing-district member said, "most of the uncommitted members are saying" they will wait until the last primary ends on June......

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Democratic battle now heads to North Carolina and Indiana

Published: Apr 23, 2008

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will continue to wrestle for the Democratic nomination at least until the Indiana and North Carolina primaries on May 6, when Obama is expected to win substantially in the last Southern contest and the two appear headed for a tight race in the Hoosier State.In the meantime, Clinton will have to......

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Beyond normal voters: Clinton, Obama campaigning for superdelegate support

Published: Apr 18, 2008

As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaign in Pennsylvania and the few remaining primary states, they are trying to woo average voters, but perhaps more importantly, win the support of the more than 240 uncommitted "superdelegates" whose votes will determine the Democratic nominee. One of the moderators of Wednesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, Continued...

 

Pennsylvania swamped by candidate ads

Published: Apr 17, 2008

The Democratic presidential candidates are spending unprecedented amounts of money on campaign advertising in Pennsylvania, saturating television markets as Tuesday’s state presidential primary approaches.The ad barrage, political analysts say, could wind up backfiring on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.A new poll by Franklin and Marshall College found that Clinton’s ads, which respondents considered......

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Candidates quiz Petraeus on success of Iraq surge

Published: Apr 09, 2008

Progress made by U.S. forces in Iraq remains "fragile and reversible," Gen. David Petraeus told the three presidential candidates Tuesday at two separate Senate hearings on the status of the yearlong troop surge, which he urged them to continue to fund. The war returned to the top of the agendas of the presidential contenders, who detoured from the campaign trail......

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Clinton’s ouster of top strategist may be too little too late for her

Published: Apr 08, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s decision to oust her chief strategist may not be enough to save her presidential bid, Democratic strategists said Monday. The immediate cause of Mark Penn’s departure was his consultation with Colombian officials over a free-trade agreement that Clinton opposes. But political strategists said Penn caused even more damage by the way he led her campaign. "Their message has not been working for months," said Continued...

 

Clinton finances called healthy, despite long list of small debts

Published: Apr 04, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s top campaign aides insisted Thursday that her bid for the presidency has robust funding, but a long list of small debts have added up to a big questions about her ability to stay in the race and manage her finances. Barack Obama’s campaign announced yesterday that he raised more than $40 million in March. Clinton’s campaignis expected to announce a much smaller figure, with Continued...

 

Senate OKs bill to tackle housing woes

Published: Apr 03, 2008

The Senate has come to an agreement on a bill aimed at plugging the gaping hole in the housing market, but the proposal is softer than legislation under consideration in the House, which could slow its path out of Congress.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the agreement Wednesday, three days after returning from a two-week recess in which constituents pummeled Congress with their......

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Clinton aides alerted by supporters before Pelosi threat letter was sent

Published: Mar 28, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s campaign aides admitted Thursday they were consulted by their big donors before the group sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi containing a veiled threat that she would risk their financial support unless she reversed her view that superdelegates should follow the will of voters.Campaign spokesman Phil Singer would not give the details of the exchange between Clinton aides and the group, which is made up of 21 wealthy Clinton backers, including prominent venture capitalist Steve Rattner and Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson."Our supporters let......

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Obama releases tax returns, presses Clinton to release hers

Published: Mar 26, 2008

In an escalating battle between the Democratic presidential candidates over what information should be made public, Barack Obama released tax returns dating to 2000 on Tuesday and challenged Hillary Clinton to follow suit."Senator Clinton recently claimed that she’s the most transparent figure in public life, yet she’s dragging her feet in releasing something as basic as her annual tax returns," Obama spokesman Continued...

 

Obama needs to sweep Philly area to win Pa.

Published: Mar 24, 2008

Although the Ohiolike demographics of Pennsylvania make it a "should-win" state for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama could pose a serious challenge if he routs her in Philadelphia and its affluent suburbs and wins substantial victories in eastern cities like Allentown and Continued...

 

House Democrats look to pounce as Republicans leave in droves

Published: Mar 21, 2008

Republican retirements in the House and Senate have stirred optimism among some Democrats that they can substantially increase their majorities in both chambers and perhaps even establish a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. But political analysts and congressional aides believe Democratic gains will probably be smaller than envisioned because many of the vacancies are in Republican strongholds, and John McCain’s presence on the ballot could help some GOP candidates......

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Obama tries to thwart Clinton on new Fla., Mich. primaries

Published: Mar 20, 2008

As Barack Obama tries to maintain his strong delegate lead in the race for the Democratic nomination, his campaign has quietly worked to thwart new primaries in Florida and Michigan because second contests in those states could benefit Hillary Clinton.Obama holds a lead of roughly 120 delegates, with 689 still up for......

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Bill Clinton maintains low profile in campaign as popularity declines

Published: Mar 18, 2008

With recent polls showing a sharp drop in his public standing, former President Bill Clinton has been ducking the limelight as he helps his wife campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.In recent weeks, he has stuck to smaller venues such junior colleges and senior centers. He made a rare national appearance Monday night in an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Continued...

 

Plan for revote gets cool reviews

Published: Mar 14, 2008

A proposal by Florida Democratic Party officials to repeat the discounted Florida primary using mail-in balloting has encountered widespread criticism, not to mention a lukewarm reception from both the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns, which must agree to the idea before it can move forward. "The party thought it......

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Clinton, Obama shine negative light oneach other’s pasts

Published: Mar 07, 2008

With an uncertain future, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have taken to digging up each others’ pasts as they prepare for at least another six weeks of primaries and caucuses.A day after Obama made a subtle allusion to the former first lady’s past problems with "issues of ethics or disclosure or transparency," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson compared the Obama camp’s......

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Clinton faces daunting odds

Published: Mar 06, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s victories in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island have given her flailing campaign a lift, but barring a major political earthquake she’ll still finish behind Barack Obama when theprimaries conclude in June. Clinton was jubilant Wednesday, and with good reason. Obama......

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Sneak peek at the primaries to come

Published: Mar 05, 2008

With the results of Ohio and Texas failing to yield a Democratic nominee, the primaries in the coming weeks will be critical for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Although Obama is favored to win this month in Wyoming and Continued...

 

Obama campaign denies accuracy of NAFTA memo

Published: Mar 04, 2008

Barack Obama’s campaign is trying to explain a memo that paints the presidential contender as sympathetic to the North American Free Trade Agreement, even as he campaigns against it. The Obama campaign denies the accuracy of the memo, which was written by an official from the Canadian Consulate in Chicago and obtained by Continued...

 

Obama’s ‘two-track strategy’

Published: Mar 03, 2008

As he campaigns in the Lone Star State, Barack Obama has mostly stuck to his standard stump speech about the economy, health care and Iraq. But when he spoke before a mostly black audience in the coastal, working-class town of Beaumont, he talked about Popeyes fried chicken and individual responsibility."I have a nine- and a six-year-old daughter, so I know how......

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Large suburbs could decide Texas primary

Published: Feb 29, 2008

Five large suburban counties comprising 11 percent of Texas’ population could decide the Democratic primary on Tuesday and determine whether Barack Obama wins the nomination or has to fight on until Pennsylvania or beyond."That is the key to this election, the heavy voting in suburban areas," said University of Houston......

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Obamamania spreading to young Hispanics in Texas

Published: Feb 28, 2008

In the towns along the Mexican border, where support for Hillary Clinton was supposed to be rock-solid, Obamamania is beginning to set in, causing jitters in the Clinton camp just days before next Tuesday’s critical Texas primary. "If the election were right now," said Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chairman Juan Maldonado, "I would say Clinton would win this county with......

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Wisconsin loss raises doubts about Clinton’s future in Ohio

Published: Feb 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton was supposed to be a near cinch to win Ohio.But that was before Barack Obama trounced her by 17 points in Wisconsin, cutting into the base of support she is counting on to help her win the March 4 primary in the Continued...

 

Pressure builds on Clinton to release tax returns

Published: Feb 16, 2008

A week after Barack Obama challenged Hillary Clintonto release her 2006 income-tax returns, she is coming under increasing pressure to make the document public. The New York Times, the country's most powerful liberal voice, said in an editorial Friday that the public was entitled to details of the $5 million loan to her own campaign, as well as her husband's murky business dealings. "Release of the tax returns should not be made conditional on winning the nomination, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it," argued the Times, which has......

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Obama, Clinton take populist turns

Published: Feb 15, 2008

Taking aim at primaries in Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin, and hoping to win the endorsement of John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have adopted a populist line in their campaign speeches.Now......

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Clinton camp seeks inclusion of Michigan, Florida delegates

Published: Feb 14, 2008

As Barack Obama leaves Hillary Clinton further behind in election victories, her struggling campaign is trying to secure her nomination by forcing the inclusion of the Michigan and Florida delegates the party has discounted. The Clinton camp is pitching a new strategy that gives her a path to victory even if Obama......

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Obama to face tougher tests in next primaries

Published: Feb 13, 2008

Barack Obama now moves on to territory that poses tougher challenges, with greater concentrations of rural, white, working-class voters in Ohio and Wisconsin and a large number of Latino voters in Texas.Obama’s momentum will count for a lot, but the upcoming contests, on paper at least, are more favorable to Continued...

 

Bill Clinton derides Obama candidacy as ‘smoke and mirrors’

Published: Feb 12, 2008

With Virginia considered Hillary Clinton’s best chance in the Potomac Primary, Bill Clinton packed his schedule with three stops Monday in the Old Dominion, where he tried to convince voters that his wife’s experience trumps Barack Obama’s "smoke and mirrors"......

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McCain woos conservatives after Romney drops out

Published: Feb 08, 2008

Facing a fractured Republican Party, presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain stressed his fealty to Ronald Reagan on Thursday in an effort to win over conservatives after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race.McCain made his appeal at the annual meeting in Washington......

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Obama poised to win this weekend, in Potomac primary

Published: Feb 07, 2008

Super Tuesday has eliminated Hillary Clinton's once-solid standing as the front runner in the race for the Democratic nomination, with Barack Obama now poised for a string of victories this month, including the primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District on Tuesday.Obama won 13 states to Clinton's eight (with New Mexico still to be settled) on Super Tuesday and is in the once-unthinkable position of possibly edging her out in the delegate count as well.Clinton's top advisers predicted Wednesday that the race will be "neck and neck" for the foreseeable......

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Romney quits citing danger of dragging out GOP contest

Published: Feb 07, 2008

Mitt Romney, seen by many as the hope of conservatives dissatisfied with John McCain, announced Thursday he is quitting the presidential race. But conservatives did not rally in large enough numbers to keep Romney, 60, a millionaire businessman and former governor of Massachusetts, from falling far behind McCain in the race for Republican delegates. Romney made the announcement at the Continued...

 

Conservatives rally around Romney

Published: Feb 05, 2008

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is the heavy favorite going into the 22 Republican primaries today, but a last-ditch effort by conservatives to drum up support for Mitt Romney is paying off, some polls show.The move to help Romney underscores the deep-rooted dislike of McCain among conservatives that could hurt the Republican ticket if he wins the nomination, many political analysts believe."We’re seeing a huge movement in the past few weeks......

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Clinton plug aimed at women voters

Published: Feb 02, 2008

The Democratic debate in Los Angeles on Thursday ended on a highly unusual note, with Hillary Clinton using her closing words to promote an hour of time she's purchased on a cable channel to take audience and Internet questions in a live, town hall-style format. Moderator Wolf Blitzer, caught off guard, belatedly interjected, "Here is the bottom line, we do......

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Obama courts Edwards supporters

Published: Jan 31, 2008

The Kennedys have hit the trail for Barack Obama, who is now heavily courting Democrats who were supporting campaign dropout John Edwards.More than 13,000 people swarmed the University of Denver on Wednesday, hoping to hear Obama speak at one of the largest rallies of his campaign.On her first official campaign stop, Continued...

 

Kennedys pass mantle to Obama

Published: Jan 29, 2008

Invoking the memory of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and daughter offered ringing endorsements of Barack Obama at American University on Monday, giving him a big boost in his race against Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Continued...

 

Clinton keeps offensive against Obama

Published: Jan 26, 2008

After criticism about the ferocity and accuracy of attack ads against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton's campaign pulled a harshly negative radio spot against her opponent Thursday, only to make a nearly identical charge Friday at a news conference. The move signaled Clinton's intention to stay on the attack in her close battle against Obama for the Democratic nomination, despite making conciliatory gestures, political analysts said. "Barack Obama is finding out......

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Huckabee fights for a place on the ticket

Published: Jan 24, 2008

He’s scaling back his campaign staff and cutting advertising, but Mike Huckabee has no intention of dropping out of the race anytime soon. In fact, he plans on being inthe presidential race until the GOP convention, one of his top advisers said Wednesday.Some polls show Huckabee, who finished a disappointing second in South Carolina on Saturday, is trailing Continued...

 

Bill Clinton: A two-edged political sword

Published: Jan 23, 2008

One of Hillary Clinton’s most potent political weapons has been her husband, the former president, whose role as attack dog in recent weeks revived her candidacy after a dispiriting setback in the Democratic caucus in Iowa.But political analysts say that Bill Clinton’s presence could undermine her if his temper, his scandalous past, and the prospect of a Clinton "restoration" and co-presidency......

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Clinton, Obama don brass knuckles

Published: Jan 19, 2008

Only a few months ago, Barack Obama rarely mentioned Hillary Clinton by name and was criticized for not hitting her hard on the campaign trail. But this week in Nevada, with Clinton holding a slight edge in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama didn't hesitate to ridicule her for showing indecisiveness on key issues. Clinton has hit back just......

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2008 Trail: Romney looks for a life raft

Published: Jan 14, 2008

Mitt Romney, who once hoped to establish himself as the GOP front-runner by winning in Iowa and New Hampshire, is desperately seeking a victory in the Michigan primary Tuesday in order keep his candidacy alive.Without a victory in Michigan or at least a close-second finish, analysts said, the presidential bid of the former Massachusetts governor and millionaire could be fatally damaged."Every one of the candidates had a must-win state coming out of Iowa," said Republican political strategist Dan Schnur, who worked on Sen. John McCain’s 2000 presidential bid. "For Romney,......

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For Giuliani, it’s sink or swim in Florida

Published: Jan 11, 2008

Ever since Rudy Giuliani launched his bid for the Republican nomination more than a year ago, he has pursued an unorthodox strategy: Concentrate on winning the later, delegate-rich primaries and pay scant attention to the early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.But that plan has sapped his strength in the national polls and also seems to have hurt him in the......

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Rock star Obama ready to hit the road

Published: Jan 08, 2008

With new polls indicating Democratic candidate Barack Obama could win big over Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary, political analysts believe back-to-back victories here and in Iowa would not only ensure a first-place finish in the Jan. 19 South Carolina primary,......

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Obama poised for big lead

Published: Jan 07, 2008

Despite strenuous efforts to slow Barack Obama’s momentum, Hillary Clinton is expected to drop dramatically in opinion polls scheduled to be released today on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. Sources said the polls will show Obama with a comfortable lead, in large part because of his popularity among independents, who make up 44 percent of the electorate, and......

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Obama counts on independents in N.H.

Published: Jan 05, 2008

Barrack Obama hopes his Iowa momentum will help him capture the lion's share of New Hampshire's large contingent of registered independents. He arrived here early Friday morning after beating chief Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by nine points in the Iowa caucuses. With New Hampshire's primary just four days away, Obama......

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The road to victory in New Hampshire

Published: Jan 04, 2008

With the results of the Iowa caucuses barely counted, the presidential contenders rushed to New Hampshire, where they have just four days to campaign before the Jan. 8 primary.» Barack Obama, riding the momentum of his Iowa win, expects to have the edge over Hillary Clinton among independents, who comprise 44......

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Bhutto’s death puts focus on experience

Published: Dec 28, 2007

The death of Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto just eight days before the Iowa caucuses shifted attention Thursday to how prepared the candidates would be to handle a foreign crisis.The assassination gave Democrat Hillary Clinton an opening to tout the experience gap between her and chief rival Barack Obama, with......

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Turning into the stretch

Published: Dec 27, 2007

With just eight days left until the Iowa caucuses and less than two weeks until the New Hampshire primary, the pack of presidential hopefuls jumped eagerly back on the trail Wednesday after taking a day off for Christmas.The frantic pace of the campaign is a reflection of poll numbers showing that both the Democratic and Republican contests are up for grabs.Democrats Continued...

 

Playing the Christmas card

Published: Dec 25, 2007

While the leading presidential contenders have suspended their campaigns for the Christmas holiday, they are flooding the airwaves with campaign ads masquerading as holiday greetings.Hillary Clinton is shown wrapping a pile of gifts and putting labels under the ribbons: "Universal Health Care," "Middle Class Tax Breaks" and "Bring the Troops Home."Clinton says nothing to the camera but asks: "Now where did I put universal pre-k?" Then, flashing a satisfied smile, she says: "Ah, there it is," and affixes the label to the package.Sitting in front of a Christmas tree, Michelle......

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Bloomberg plays waiting game

Published: Dec 24, 2007

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been weighing a presidential run for months, telling aides he wants to wait until early next year to see how the race shapes up. With front-runners Hillary Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani slipping in the polls, billionaire Bloomberg might see an opening for a centrist independent candidate with the financial means to take on a......

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Now it’s McCain’s turn to surge

Published: Dec 21, 2007

As the top Republican presidential candidates fail to pull away from the pack, underdog John McCain has resurrected his struggling campaign with several significant endorsements and a surge in the polls that some believe could result in a victory in New Hampshire and other early primaries.Polls released in recent days show McCain has climbed into double digits in New Hampshire, and one survey puts him in a dead heat with......

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Pelosi says Democrats will focus on Iraq policy, not on war funding

Published: Dec 20, 2007

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she was surprised congressional Republicans have stood firmly by President Bush’s Iraq war policy, blocking Democratic efforts to begin withdrawing troops, and she now plans to shift the chamber’s focus next year to health care, the economy and global warming.Pelosi told a group of reporters that she still aims to end the war, but......

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Clinton poor-mouths her Iowa chances

Published: Dec 19, 2007

Now that Hillary Clinton’s sizable lead in Iowa has evaporated, her campaign is subtly trying to lower expectations for the Jan. 3 caucus in an effort to prevent a big drop in the New Hampshire polls if she loses in the Hawkeye State. The poor-mouthing started in earnest last week, when......

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Clinton: Less ‘likable’

Published: Dec 17, 2007

Hillary Clinton enjoys comfortable leads in most national polls, but New Hampshire residents find her considerably less "likable" than Democratic rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards — a perception that could hurt her in the early primary states, some strategists and pollsters say.A poll conducted last week by the......

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The O factor: Turning Oprah’s fans into voters

Published: Dec 12, 2007

After Oprah Winfrey lured more than 65,000 people to political rallies for Democratic candidate Barack Obama over the weekend, his campaign went into overdrive to convert those fans into primary votes. It’s a strategy that just might work, political analysts say. The people who went to the rallies in Iowa, South......

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Huckabee’s uphill battle

Published: Dec 10, 2007

Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, the underdog candidate who is now surging in the polls, faces an uphill battle to win the GOP nomination even if he prevails in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus, political strategists say.Huckabee now leads in Iowa, according to polling data, and some surveys rank him first or second nationally among GOP candidates.An AP/Continued...

 

Romney's fuzzy image on faith

Published: Dec 06, 2007

As Mitt Romney prepares to deliver a major speech designed to ease concerns about his Mormon faith, political analysts suggest that his biggest problem is defining himself to voters. "Does anybody really know who Mitt Romney is?" said Erick Erickson, editor of the conservative political blog Redstate.com. "That is the basic reason he is having trouble right now."Romney is scheduled to deliver a speech today titled "Faith in America" at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas. The remarks will be aimed at allaying misgivings about his Mormonism that......

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Dems want higher fuel standards

Published: Dec 01, 2007

As Congress watches the price of oil edge toward $100 a barrel, it will consider a bill that could raise vehicle fuel-economy standards for the first time in 20 years and increase taxes on oil companies that have reaped billions in profits. House and Senate lawmakers plan to work over the weekend drafting energy legislation that would also likely require oil companies to put billions of gallons of renewable fuel sources, such as ethanol, into gasoline. The details of the bill are not yet final, but the tax increase provision,......

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Can Oprah win women for Obama?

Published: Nov 30, 2007

She’s universally recognized, enormously popular and, as one entertainment Web site put it, "has more power over women than George Clooney." But is Oprah Winfrey influential enough to help Barack Obama close the widening gender gap with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton?Most of those working in the campaign trenches say Winfrey, who will begin stumping for Obama next month in Iowa, won’t change the outcome of the primaries, but they agree that the television talk show host will prompt women to give Obama a closer look."This is unprecedented," said University of......

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Iowa could derail Clinton

Published: Nov 28, 2007

Can Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination if she loses in Iowa?Probably not without a struggle, Democratic strategists agree, now that a new poll shows Barack Obama leading Clinton and the rest of the Democratic pack in that state. In fact, Clinton could ultimately lose the nomination if she loses by a wide margin in Iowa.With a front-loaded primary schedule that could determine the Republican and Democratic nominees by the end of the first week in February, the Iowa Caucus matters more than ever, strategists agree.The Jan. 3 event comes......

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Congress breaks after sluggish month

Published: Nov 17, 2007

Congress departed for a two-week recess Friday after accomplishing almost nothing in the past month and reaching a level of partisan fighting that threatens to derail passage of several important bills before the session ends in December. Among the legislation hanging in the balance: a bill to "patch" the Alternative Minimum Tax to avoid adding thousands of dollars to the tax bills of 21 million middle- and upper middle-class Americans. Republicans this week blocked an effort by Democrats to pass a one-year "patch" to postpone the expansion of the AMT.......

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Earmark funds used to increase ‘mutual understanding’ with Ireland

Published: Nov 16, 2007

The visitors are flown to Boston College from Dublin, Belfast and Shannon for the stated purpose of fostering peace in Ireland. The tab is picked up by U.S. taxpayers, who next year will shell out $1 million to keep the program operating. BC’s Irish Institute, which runs the program, is one of several cultural-exchange initiatives that would be funded in 2008 with 10 "earmarks" costing about $14 million included in the budget for the State Department and America’s "foreign operations." Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, both Massachusetts......

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Bush stuffs budget with earmarks

Published: Nov 15, 2007

Since January, President Bush has been publicly condemning Congress for what he describes as wasteful spending on "earmarks," money for projects back home that lawmakers insert into spending bills.But presidents, including Bush, play the earmark game, too. Bush stuffs his budget with billions for pet projects very much like the ones he attacks when they originate on Capitol Hill, according to taxpayer groups and members of Congress. "The president directs 20 times as much spending to special projects than the congress does," House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., told......

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House Democrats invite Bush veto with plan to cut Iraq war funding

Published: Nov 09, 2007

Under increasing pressure from their anti-war base, House Democrats are preparing to pass another bill by next week aimed at ending the war in Iraq, but the proposed legislation is not binding and is all but certain to result in a presidential veto. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will likely vote today on a $50 billion, four-month "bridge" fund for Iraq that will set a "goal" for President Bush to bring the troops home within a year and stipulate that the money be used only for fighting Al......

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Senate Democrats slow walk nominations

Published: Nov 09, 2007

With the Thanksgiving recess scheduled to begin at the end of next week, Senate Democrats are in no hurry to approve nominations sent to Capitol Hill by the White House.Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday the chamber may be too tied up with other legislation to get to the confirmation of attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey. A vote on the nomination of a deputy homeland security director is on indefinite hold after the candidate gave an award to an employee at a Halloween party for wearing a costume resembling......

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Congress stumbles on AMT fixes

Published: Nov 08, 2007

House Democrats are struggling to agree on a bill that would temporarily fix a tax-code glitch that could force 23 million middle- and upper-middle class Americans to pay thousands more in federal taxes this year. The Senate has declared it will wait until at least December to vote on legislation that would block expansion of the alternative minimum tax and the Internal Revenue Service has warned the delay could result in later tax returns in 2008.House Democrats on Wednesday were on the verge of postponing a vote scheduled for Friday......

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Lure of $8 billion in earmarks prompts first override of Bush veto

Published: Nov 07, 2007

Won over by $8 billion in earmarks, dozens of House Republicans joined hands with Democrats on Tuesday to overturn President Bush’s veto of a $23 billion water-resources bill. The vote was 361-54.The Senate is expected to follow suit today, which would mark the first time Congress has voted to override a veto by the president. The Senate vote would pave the way for the bill to become law.The bill would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to undertake projects relating to navigation, flood control and environmental restoration.When originallypassed by the......

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Democrats weigh civil suit against White House over attorney firings

Published: Nov 06, 2007

Democrats may introduce a resolution that would give the top lawyer for the House of Representatives the power to bring a civil suit against the White House and officials who refuse to cooperate in an investigation of last year’s firings of U.S. attorneys.The move assumes the Justice Department makes good on its intention not to prosecute two White House officials for contempt of Congress for failing to testify and provide documents. House Democrats could vote as early as next week on a rarely used resolution that would find the officials......

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Mukasey could sink on waterboarding

Published: Nov 02, 2007

Senate leaders sent a strong signal Thursday that Michael Mukasey’s confirmation as the next attorney general may be in peril because Democrats are dissatisfied with the way he has responded to questions about a controversial interrogation technique. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would not guarantee a Senate vote on the nomination unless Mukasey gets a green light from the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Democratic support has beenshrinking in recent days.Several Democratic senators on the 19-member panel have already pledged to vote "no" on Mukasey, and even his chief Democratic......

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Compromise collapses in discussions over children’s health insurance plan

Published: Nov 02, 2007

Congress is back to square one in its effort to pass a federal children’s health insurance bill that President Bush will sign.Senate talks aimed at writing a compromise bill collapsed Thursday after GOP leaders refused to allow more time to negotiate.Instead, the Senate voted 64-30 to pass a House-designed measure that President Bush has already promised to veto. The bill is nearly identical to legislation cleared by Congress, then vetoed by Bush last month.The bill would increase the cost of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program from $25 billion to......

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Flaws exposed by debate could hurt Clinton in days ahead

Published: Nov 01, 2007

Hillary Clinton’s performance in the Democratic presidential debate exposed flaws in her candidacy that could prove even more damaging in the weeks and months ahead as rivals rachet up their attacks in an effort to block her path to the nomination, political analysts said Wednesday.Clinton was clearly shaken atop her front-runner pedestal during the debate in Philadelphia Tuesday night when her opponents relentlessly criticized her record and depicted her as an untrustworthy candidate.Political analysts said her defense did not win over the audience, a failure thatwas compounded by her struggle......

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Can Barack Obama pack a KO punch?

Published: Oct 31, 2007

Political pros rarely agree about anything, but virtually all of them say that Barack Obama needs to come out swinging if he is to overtake Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. Going into last night's Democratic debate in Philadelphia, however, Obama had been slow to go on the offensive, perhaps because he based his campaign on "the politics of hope." In a speech in Charlottesville on Monday night, for instance, he was 30 minutes into a 45-minute speech before he even mentioned the Democratic front-runner. Obama, who......

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Senators earmark $70 million for their old schools

Published: Oct 29, 2007

Having a graduate in the U.S. Senate is not only a source of pride for colleges and universities, it can also mean wads of cash from the federal government.A major spending bill under consideration in Congress provides more than $70 million in earmarks for the alma maters of 30 senators, roughly 40 percent of the higher education money earmarked in the legislation, an analysis by The Examiner shows. The earmarks are tacked on to a $606 billion appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education that was overwhelmingly......

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House leaders pass revised legislation on children’s health insurance plan

Published: Oct 26, 2007

Three weeks after President Bush vetoed a bipartisan bill to expand a federal children’s health insurance program, the House on Thursday passed a similar measure that included a few minor changes aimed at attracting enough Republicans to override another veto.The House did not alter the $60 billion price tag or the goal of the bill to expand coverage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to 10 million children. President Bush, who believes the proposal is too costly and too expansive, said if the new legislation ends up on his......

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House Democrats propose end to alternative minimum tax

Published: Oct 26, 2007

House Democrats introduced a plan Thursday that would repeal the alternative minimum tax and replace it with a new tax on the upper-middle class and the wealthy.House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., called the proposal an attempt to "restore equity to the system" by shifting the tax burden away from those with lower incomes.House Democrats also would lower corporate tax rates, expand the earned income tax credit and increase the child tax credit. Rangel said the plan would provide tax relief for most households earning less than......

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Senate defeats immigration bill to give youth path to citizenship

Published: Oct 25, 2007

The Senate blocked a measure Wednesday that would have provided a path to citizenship for children who entered the country illegally.The bill’s defeat effectively slammed the door on efforts by Congress to pass any immigration-related measures this year, and it underscored the gap between Republicans and Democrats on how to devise comprehensive immigration reform.The Senate fell eight votes short of the 60 needed for the bill, known as the DREAM Act, to clear a procedural hurdle. The bill would have allowed illegal immigrants who were brought to the United......

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Oklahoma senator goes hunting for earmarks

Published: Oct 24, 2007

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn has established himself as the chamber’s earmark sheriff — breaking with the traditional comity in the Senate by criticizing and trying to kill the extraneous spending carved out of appropriations bills for the pet projects of individual lawmakers. Coburn, a Republican, has managed to eliminate just a few million dollars in earmarks so far this year, but his political success has been much greater, say fellow Republicans and officials from taxpayer watchdog groups. "He did ferret out some wasteful spending," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "Republicans......

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Democrats slow-walk Bush’s war-funding request

Published: Oct 23, 2007

President Bush wants Congress to approve by Christmas an additional $46 billion to fund the "basic needs" of the troops fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he will likely have to wait until 2008 for the money.Bush sent the supplemental funding request to Congress on Monday, acknowledging that the Democrat-led Congress has already threatened not to approve the money until next year."Our men and women on the front lines should not be caught in the middle of partisan disagreements in Washington, D.C.," Bush said when he announced the......

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Schumer, Clinton get skewered over $1M Woodstock earmark

Published: Oct 19, 2007

It was a little like throwing a juicy steak into a pit of hungry lions. Republicans could hardly contain their glee Thursday at the prospect of skewering Democrats on the Senate floor over a $1 million earmark for a museum in upstate New York commemorating the 1969 Woodstock concert.The earmark was requested by New York’s two Democratic senators, Charles Schumer and presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said the money would help build a performing arts center that could boost the area’s depressed economy."I’m proud of this earmark, it’s the......

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Pelosi suffers big setbacks on two pieces of Congressional legislation

Published: Oct 19, 2007

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has suffered one of the most difficult weeks in her short tenure as House speaker after being forced to backtrack on two measures relating to foreign policy and national security.Republicans, political analysts and some of her own rank and file say Pelosi often misreads shifts in the House, a weakness they find surprising given her legislative experience and upbringing in the old-school politics of Baltimore.Pelosi on Wednesday was forced to abandon consideration of a major bill that would update the law governing wiretapping. She retreated after......

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Pelosi says vote on bill accusing

Published: Oct 18, 2007

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., backed away Wednesday from a resolution that would officially declare the mass killing of Armenians nine decades ago as genocide committed by the Turkish government.After Democrats implored her to hold off, Pelosi said consideration of the resolution "remains to be seen," putting into serious doubt whether the House would put it up for a vote.Pelosi’s decision to stop pushing the resolution came moments before a top ally, defense appropriations committee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., called her support of the measure a "miscalculation."The measure cleared a......

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Support for genocide bill erodes following administration warnings

Published: Oct 17, 2007

House Democrats are slowly losing support for a resolution that would label mass killings nine decades ago as genocide committed by Turkey.At least 10 sponsors of the measure — eight of them Democrats — have removed their names from the resolution inthe past few days following warnings from State Department officials and the Turkish government that its passage would threaten relations between the two allies.House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whose district is home to an Armenian community, have been leading the fight to pass......

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Battles loom on eavesdropping, children’s health insurance legislation

Published: Oct 16, 2007

Congressional lawmakers are gearing up for major showdowns this week on eavesdropping and a children's health insurance program.The House is expected to pass a bill Thursday that tightens restrictions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which governs wiretapping of terror suspects. President Bush said he opposes the bill because it adds restrictions and does not provide retroactive immunity to telecommunications carriers that cooperated with intelligence gathering operations.The vote on a short-term reauthorization of the act, known as FISA, will take place on the same day the House attempts to override......

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Senate Republicans in defensive crouch over Larry Craig

Published: Oct 15, 2007

Sen. Larry Craig this week will return to the U.S. Senate to face almost universal disdain by his fellow GOP lawmakers about his decision not to give up his seat after pleading guilty to a charge related to lewd conduct in a men’s room.Republicans cannot force Craig to quit, and his decision to stay has put Senate GOP leaders in a difficult spot, particularly after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., labeled Craig’s actions "unforgivable" and called for a potentially embarrassing Senate ethics committee investigation in an attempt to force......

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House panel OKs move labeling killing of Armenians genocide

Published: Oct 11, 2007

Should the United States officially recognize the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey that occurred more than 90 years ago?The House is preparing to vote for the first time to label the killings as a genocide committed by the former Ottoman Empire in Turkey.But opponents, chief among them President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, warn that passage of such a resolution would harm U.S. relations with Turkey, a critical ally that abuts Iraq and Iran and whose government permits the flow of U.S troops and supplies across......

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House Dems propose middle way on wiretapping of U.S. citizens

Published: Oct 10, 2007

A new plan by House Democrats to govern the way U.S. intelligence officials eavesdrop on phone calls would require increased oversight of surveillance tactics but permit some warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.Congressional Democrats want to rewrite the foreign intelligence surveillance act, known as FISA, in a way that shows they are serious about protecting U.S. citizens from terrorism while also preserving their civil liberties. Democrats are still smarting from the heavy criticism they received when Congress passed a short-term measure, just before the August recess, that granted broad, warrantless eavesdropping......

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House Dems plan new steps in anti-war agenda

Published: Oct 08, 2007

House Democrats plan to continue their drumbeat against the Iraq war this week with a bill that would punish contractors found guilty of fraud while working for the military overseas. The bill is one of several Iraq-related measures the House is using to push the Democratic anti-war agenda, and comes in response to reports of millions of dollars lost to fraud and abuse by companies hired by the U.S. government to help rebuild Iraq. "ThisHouse of Representatives will hold the president accountable every chance we get and on......

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Democrats spurn Bush’s overture on children’s health insurance bill

Published: Oct 05, 2007

Congressional Democrats on Thursday set afire an olive branch extended by President Bush on a bill to fund a federal children's health insurance program. Bush, who vetoed the bill on Wednesday, told a Pennsylvania crowd he is willing to increase his funding proposal for the program if it will lead to a deal with Congress. But both House and Senate Democrats insisted there is no room for compromise. House Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called Bush's overture "an insult" and said he is a president out of touch with reality......

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House approves measure to subject war-zone contractors to U.S. law

Published: Oct 05, 2007

The House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would make private contractors working in Iraq and other war zones subject to U.S. law.The legislation was propelled to the top of the House agenda after workers for Blackwater USA, a private security firm working for the State Department, opened fire on Iraqi civilians last month, killing 11 people. Military contractors now operate largely unregulated by either the United States or the country in which they are working. The bill would require the FBI to set up operations in war zones to......

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Hill leaders seek 'mortgage czar' to oversee home loan lenders

Published: Oct 04, 2007

Congressional Democratic leaders, who are unsatisfied with both the pace of reform among subprime mortgage lenders and the response of the Bush administration to problems in the industry, called Wednesday for the appointment of a "mortgage czar." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked President Bush to appoint someone who would "aggressively" help lenders refinance and modify the loans of struggling homeowners who can no longer make payments.House and Senate leaders faulted the Bush administration for falling short in its efforts to address problems......

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Democrats move to override veto of children’s health care measure

Published: Oct 04, 2007

As President Bush vetoed a bipartisan children’s health insurance bill Wednesday, House Democrats plotted ways to override it, giving themselves more than two weeks to round up the necessary votes. Instead of holding an override vote when they received Bush’s veto message in the early afternoon, Democratic House leaders announced they plan to postpone the vote until Oct. 18.The strategy, Democratic aides said, will allow extra time to pressure the dozen or so House Republicans they need to beat the veto, although GOP leaders said they are confident their rank......

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House Democrats move to stymie Bush on war funding with surtax

Published: Oct 03, 2007

Top House Democrats, frustrated by President Bush’s threats to veto anti-war legislation and spending bills, announced Tuesday they are proposing a surtax to pay for the Iraq war.They also said they will not consider Bush’s $190 billion supplemental war-spending request until next year at the earliest, and only if the president begins cooperating with their efforts to end the conflict."I have absolutely no intention of reporting out of committee any time this session any such request that simply serves to continue the status quo," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David......

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Senate to delay Iraq measures until next year

Published: Sep 29, 2007

The Senate will likely wait until next year to attempt to pass another bill to end the war after abandoning plans to take up anti-war legislation last week. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., threw in the towel by ending debate on a defense policy bill that was to serve as a vehicle for Iraq-related provisions. "People either want something or nothing," Reid said, explaining the failure to find a Senate compromise on an Iraq amendment. Reid said the Senate would likely wait until it takes up President Bush's $190......

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Senate’s defense, insurance votes risk vetoes from President Bush

Published: Sep 28, 2007

The Senate on Thursday twice defied veto threats from President Bush, voting to amend a major defense policy bill with a hate crime provision, and passing expansive children’s health insurance legislation that far exceeds the president’s proposal.Both measures prevailed with significant Republican support, which Democrats say is a signal that GOP party loyalty to Bush is beginning to deteriorate."Democrats have a strong upper hand and Republicans are beginning to break ranks," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday.Nine Republicans helped Democrats reach a 60-vote threshold needed to debate an amendment to......

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Hate crimes laws would aid gays under amendment to defense bill

Published: Sep 27, 2007

Senate Democrats have added a hate crimes amendment to a major defense policy bill that has little to do with defense issues but would almost guarantee a presidential veto if the amended bill passes. The amendment would broaden those protected against hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity, which Republican conservatives say would threaten the freedom of groups that preach that homosexuality and certain lifestyle choices are a sin. The measure will be considered in a test vote Thursday that will require the support of 60 senators to......

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House votes to expand program

Published: Sep 26, 2007

The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would expand a federal children’s health insurance bill, but without enough Republican support to override a promised presidential veto.The bill, which aims to increase spending for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, from $25 billion to $60 billion over five years, now heads for bipartisan approval in the Senate this week.President Bush, who believes the bill is too expensive and a step toward socializing American health care, will likely make use of his veto pen right after the Senate......

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House moving to create independent panel

Published: Sep 25, 2007

The House is quietly attempting to revive a plan to tackle corruption in Congress by creating an outside commission that would independently monitor the conduct of members, but the group may not be as independent as an earlier proposal envisioned.The effort to bring the plan back to life comes nearly three months after skittish House Democrats forced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to kill a proposal to form an independent ethics commission that could receive ethics complaints from anybody, not just members of Congress.The plan appealed to watchdog groups that......

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Dems soften war demands after GOP rejections

Published: Sep 22, 2007

Having failed to pass legislation setting a deadline to end the war in Iraq, Senate Democrats signaled Friday they are now willing to compromise with Republicans by introducing a softer anti-war policy. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Friday he plans to write an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would set only a goal, not a firm deadline, for U.S. forces to exit Iraq within nine months. Levin made the announcement shortly after Republicans and a few Democrats soundly defeated an......

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Bush, Congress clash over program funding

Published: Sep 21, 2007

President Bush positioned himself Thursday for a showdown with Congress, threatening to veto a children’s health insurance bill that has significant Republican support in both the House and Senate.Both chambers are expected next week to increase the appropriation for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program from $25 billion to $60 billion. The program is aimed at children who do not qualify for Medicare.The money would pay for insuring 3.3 million children beyond the 6.6 million already enrolled and also preserve coverage for 660,000 who would have lost it under current......

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Lawmaker charged with Dulles assault faces House rebuke

Published: Sep 20, 2007

Rep. Bob Filner, the California congressman charged with assaulting a baggage-claim attendant at Dulles Airport this summer, now faces potential charges from his colleagues in the House.The House ethics committee announced Wednesday it will open a special investigation into the Aug. 19 incident, though it is unlikely to recommend a tough penalty, according to lawmakers familiar with the inner workings of the ethics panel."No sane person thinks this endangers his stay in Congress," said one Democratic member who served for many years on the ethics committee. "I guess there is......

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Senate blocks Dems’ Iraq proposal

Published: Sep 20, 2007

The Senate’s effort to wind down the war in Iraq on Democratic terms stalled Wednesday after Republicans blocked the first in a series of proposals aimed at hastening the drawdown of troops. Proponents of legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., failed to secure the support of 60 senators needed to survive a critical test vote. The tally was 56-44.Webb’s amendment would have required troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to be given rest time at home equal to the length of their deployments overseas.Webb said the amendment was needed......

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Dems to debate ways to wind down Iraq war

Published: Sep 19, 2007

The Senate this week is expected to begin debating legislation aimed at ending the war in Iraq, beginning with an amendment that would increase rest time for troops between deployments."The Iraq debate is starting," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., after a meeting with Democrats on Tuesday.The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., would guarantee troops the same amount of time at home as they served in a war zone. Such legislation would hasten the war’s end by making fewer troops available."It’s about giving our military the ability......

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Craig apologizes to GOP colleagues, hopes to keep seat

Published: Sep 19, 2007

Sen. Larry E. Craig, the Idaho Republican pressured by his party to agree to resign after he was arrested in a sex sting in an airport bathroom, returned to the Senate on Tuesday to apologize to his colleagues and keep open the possibility of holding onto his seat.Craigstood before dozens of Republicans attending a weekly closed-door meeting and said he was sorry for "embarrassing the Senate," according to several attendees.Craig also told senators he had assembled a crack legal team to try to reverse a misdemeanor guilty plea he made......

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Senate derails D.C. vote bill, tabling measure until 2009

Published: Sep 19, 2007

Proponents of a bill that would have awarded the District a voting representative in Congress came up three votes short of a critical test vote in the Senate on Tuesday, essentially killing the legislation until 2009.The bill’s backers have pledged to try again, and Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hinted that he might allow another vote on the bill during this Congress, though he would not say when."This is the right thing to do — 600,000 people in our country without a right to vote," Reid said.Critics of the......

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Income cap of $1 million proposed for D.C. tuition aid

Published: Sep 18, 2007

An Oklahoma senator wants to exclude wealthy families from a federal program that helps pay the tuition of D.C. students who attend certain public colleges and universities outside of the city.Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a fiscal conservative, will introduce legislation Tuesday that would limit the D.C. Tuition Assistance Program to families earning under $1 million annually.The provision will be attached to a bill that would extend the tuition program another five years. Funding for it expires Sept. 30.There is currently no income cap for participants in the program, which provides......

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D.C. vote bill set for crucial vote, faces big hurdles in Congress

Published: Sep 17, 2007

The Senate this week will vote on whether to proceed with a bill that would give the District a voting representative in Congress.A procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday marks the most progress a District voting bill has made in more than a dozen years, but significant hurdles remain that could make it difficult for the legislation to become law in the near future.Advocates of the D.C. Voting Rights Act, including Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s representative in the House (who is permitted to vote on legislation as long as she......

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House, Senate Dems split on plans for Iraq

Published: Sep 14, 2007

As Democrats struggle this week to come up with an anti-war bill that can attract enough Republican support to win Senate approval, their counterparts in the House are in no rush to work out a compromise. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to avoid provoking another kind of war — within the deeply divided Democratic caucus, which includes a staunch anti-war faction and a more conservative group of moderates, leadership aides said Thursday.The aides point out that the House already passed anti-war legislation earlier this year, including a bill that sets......

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Moderates seek a compromise

Published: Sep 12, 2007

As testimony about the status of the Iraq war stretched into the second day, Democrats and Republicans remained largely polarized in their views on what to do next in Congress. But a small group of House Republican moderates, unconvinced by the generally upbeat report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, began working quietly with some Democrats to craft a compromise to speed the withdrawal of U.S. troops.An aide said the proposal would be "less partisan" than approaches discussed so far.Republican Senate leaders, meanwhile, echoed what was said a......

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Unmoved by Petraeus, Dems to press anti-war effort

Published: Sep 11, 2007

With poll numbers showing that the public is increasingly dissatisfied with the war in Iraq, congressional Democrats plan to press ahead with efforts to legislate an end to the conflict, despite a mixed progress report delivered Monday by Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S ambassador to Iraq.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called a proposal by Petraeus to withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq by July 2008 "simply unacceptable."Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the plan "is not in our national interest."But Democrats have not agreed on what to......

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Dems may be forced to compromise over lack of GOP dissent on war

Published: Sep 10, 2007

Just a few months ago, House and Senate Democrats loudly proclaimed that they would move aggressively to end the war in Iraq by September, after the submission of key progress reports. They anticipated cooperation of Republicans, who had already told President Bush their patience was wearing thin.With Gen. David Petraeus headed to Capitol Hill today to deliver his assessment on the success of the troop surge, far fewer Republicans appear prepared to defect from Bush than Democrats once expected. That is forcing Democratic leaders to go back to the......

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Dan Glickman: Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America leads the movie piracy fight

Published: Sep 10, 2007

It’s a sweltering Friday afternoon in August, and most of official Washington has cleared out of town. In Los Angeles, the motion picture capital of the world, movie studio executives have jetted off to vacation hot spots.But Dan Glickman, whose job is dealing with the intersection of Hollywood and politics as chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, is at work in his downtown D.C. office, in a suit and tie.Glickman spent the previous night trapped at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, unable to return from a business trip after a......

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McCain scores points in GOP debate

Published: Sep 07, 2007

Sen. John McCain turned in a strong performance, Rudy Giuliani held his own and Mitt Romney lost ground, according to New Hampshire voters who watched the debate among eight Republican presidential candidates at the University of New Hampshire. But voters here seemed no closer on Thursday to settling on a GOP candidate. Some Republican voters are even examining the Democratic field for a candidate with more firepower. "I like Hillary, quite frankly," said Durham resident Joseph G. Smath, 83, who describes himself as a Republican but is registered......

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Craig to fight sex charge, hopes to keep Senate seat

Published: Sep 06, 2007

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, wants to finish the remaining four months of his term rather than resign at the end of the month as a result of his guilty plea in a June sex sting operation.Craig, 62, called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday morning to explain reports by his staff that he will not only fight his earlier plea, but will also fight to keep his seat.Hours later, the Senate ethics committee said it would continue to investigate a misconduct charge against Craig. "The committee has reached......

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Bush aides try to buck up GOP lawmakers on Iraq

Published: Aug 29, 2007

Republicans in Congress got Iraq war pep talks Tuesday from top administration officials who say the military surge is working.House GOP members got a progress report from Defense Undersecretary Eric Edelman while Republican senators heard from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The officials spoke to the lawmakers in conference calls."The sense is now that real, tangible and solid progress is being made," one participant in the House call said.Democrats in both the House and Senate had been counting on GOP votes in September to help pass legislation to end the......

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House Democrats reaffirm anti-war stance during conference call with Pelosi

Published: Aug 24, 2007

House Democrats returning from the August recess plan to press ahead with legislation to end the war in Iraq, despite some evidence that the recent troop surge is succeeding.About 100 lawmakers reaffirmed their anti-war position in a conference call Thursday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The House reconvenes Sept. 4.The main sentiment expressed by the members, according to one participant, was, "We need to move forward on this."Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly, who said Democrats are busy working out the details of their agenda, could not describe specific bills."We will......

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Gallup: Americans’ approval of Congress sinks to all-time low

Published: Aug 22, 2007

Congress has never been wildly popular, but it has sunk to a historic low in the eyes of the public, according to a new poll.A Gallup survey released Tuesday shows that just 18 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing — or isn’t doing.Political analysts say the plummeting approval ratings, down 9 points from last month, are due to the war in Iraq and the perception that the Democratic-led Congress has not done enough to bring it to an end.The public is also turned off by the......

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Hillary Clinton struggles with high disapproval ratings

Published: Aug 21, 2007

On the eve of the presidential primary season, Sen. Hillary Clinton's latest Gallup poll "unfavorable" rating is 48 percent, a number that will scotch her presidential aspirations, according to Karl Rove, President Bush's outgoing political wizard.Rove maintains that the former first lady is "fatally flawed" as a candidate.Not everyone agrees with that assessment, but Clinton's disapproval rating as of Aug. 16 is indeedalarmingly high -- higher than those of any candidate who has won his party's nomination in recent history, including her husband Bill Clinton."She has a very divisive image,......

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Measure to give troops more rest may go to Bush

Published: Aug 03, 2007

Making good on a promise to keep proposing anti-war legislation, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through a bill that would guarantee that troops in Iraq can spend as much time at home as they have spent in the war zone before being sent back to the country for another tour.The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher, D-Calif., mirrors language in an amendment that Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., unsuccessfully tried to get the Senate to pass last month.Despite that failure, the provision could wind up on the president’s desk. House......

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Lobbying and ethics reform passes by wide margins, may be veto-proof

Published: Aug 03, 2007

Congress passed a sweeping lobbying and ethics reform bill Thursday, giving Democrats a rare victory in a legislative session often paralyzed by partisan skirmishing.The cooperation may end at the White House, where the bill faces a presidential veto over what administration officials believe is weak language governing earmarks and lobbying and excessive regulation of campaign air travel by incumbent presidents running for re-election."We have some concerns with it," a White House spokesman said. "We’re reviewing the legislation."But the bill may be veto-proof after breezing through the Senate on Thursday by......

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Rumsfeld denies cover-up in 'friendly fire' death of ex-NFL star

Published: Aug 02, 2007

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has been largely absent from the public eye for months, returned to the spotlight yesterday to face a grilling by Democrats over the handling of the death of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman.Tillman, who gave up a lucrative football career in order to join the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was killed by "friendly fire" in Afghanistan in April 2004. For more than a month, the Army maintained that Tillman was killed fighting the Taliban before announcing that U.S......

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Lawmakers clash over bill to expand children’s health plan

Published: Aug 02, 2007

The House was poised Wednesday to pass a massive increase in theState Children’s Health Insurance Program over the strenuous objections of Republicans, who used a stream of parliamentary tactics in an effort to block a vote on the legislation.Democrats tout the bill as a much-needed expansion of SCHIP that would allow an additional 5 million children to receive health care. Six million currently are enrolled at a cost of about $25 billion over five years.The program would be funded with a 45-cent cigarette tax and by cuts to Medicare.Republicans believe......

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GOP and Dems leaders hold fire

Published: Aug 01, 2007

As Congress weighs a major lobbying and ethics reform bill, Republicans are grappling with how to deal with a corruption scandal that appears to involve two of the three members of Alaska’s GOP congressional delegation.The FBI and IRS raided the home of Sen. Ted Stevens in Alaska on Monday. Investigators are trying to determine whether Stevens, along with Rep. Don Young, the state’s sole congressman, took bribes from a company whose two top executives have admitted bribing Alaska state lawmakers, according to news reports.Stevens declined to discuss the investigation with......

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Congressional Dems agree on lobbying, ethics reform

Published: Jul 31, 2007

House and Senate Democrats on Monday came to an agreement on a comprehensive lobbying and ethics bill that aims to reform the way Congress and lobbyist do business, but some Republicans may try to block passage because they think the bill does not go far enough to clean up the system.The House is expected to take up the bill today and the Senate will consider an identical version later in the week.For Democrats, passage of the bill would help counter the impression that they're presiding over a do-nothing Congress. Lobbying......

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Congress to act on wiretapping loophole that aids terrorists

Published: Jul 31, 2007

The law governing the way intelligence officials gather information through wiretapping is nearly 30 years old and did not anticipate the kinds of technological advances that route foreign calls through the U.S.So when terrorism suspects call each other from foreign countries, their conversations often travel across U.S. wires, preventing intelligence officers from listening in without a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).Congress plans to fix that problem this week. Under intense pressure from Republicans, Democrats have added FISA to an already packed pre-recess agenda."I'm very hopeful," House Majority......

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House Dems hope to pass several anti-war measures before recess

Published: Jul 30, 2007

House Democrats hope to pass several anti-war measures this week before departing for a month-long recess, but time and internal disagreements over language could limit those efforts.Despite a heavy workload that likely will include consideration of at least two spending bills, a $90 billion health care initiative and a lobbying and ethics reform plan, Democrats want to push through a measure unsuccessfully introduced in the Senate by Jim Webb, D-Va., that would provide longer rest periods for troops before they are redeployed to Iraq.Democrats also will attempt to pass a......

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House Dems hope to pass anti-war bills before break

Published: Jul 30, 2007

House Democrats hope to pass several anti-war measures this week before departing for a month-long recess, but time and internal disagreements over language could limit those efforts.Despite a heavy workload that likely will include consideration of at least two spending bills, a $90 billion health care initiative and a lobbying and ethics reform plan, Democrats want to push through a measure unsuccessfully introduced in the Senate by Jim Webb, D-Va., that would provide longer rest periods for troops before they are redeployed to Iraq.Democrats also will attempt to pass a......

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Dems accuse Gonzales of perjury

Published: Jul 27, 2007

Four Senate Democrats asked the Bush administration Thursday to appoint a special prosecutor to determine whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied to Congress about his involvement in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys and about the president’s terrorist surveillance program.Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also issued subpoenas to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House Political Affairs Deputy Director J. Scott Jennings to compel them to provide documents and to testify before the panel about the U.S. attorney......

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Senate approves $3 billion to tighten border security

Published: Jul 27, 2007

Weeks after failing to agree on broad immigration reform, the Senate on Thursday passed a Republican-crafted provision aimed at beefing up border security. Senators voted 89-1 to add $3 billion to a bill that sets spending for homeland security next year. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the Senate has not abandoned its effort to overhaul immigration policy, but will take an incremental approach rather than try to pass a comprehensive bill. "We tried the big bang theory and that didn't work," Cornyn said, referring to the immigration bill the Senate......

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