US Senate

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Today's Senate Won't Produce Another Ted
 Today's Senate Won't Produce 
 Another Ted 
OPINION

Today's Senate Won't Produce Another Ted

(Newser) - If you ask leading Democrats who can replace Ted Kennedy as the Senate’s liberal standard-bearer, the most frequent answer is “nobody,” writes Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times. No one has a record to match Kennedy’s, and in today’s Senate, building one would be...

'Heartbroken' Obama Hails Kennedy as 'Greatest Senator'

(Newser) - Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" to learn of the death of Ted Kennedy, whom the president called “one of the greatest senators of our time but also one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy," in an appearance on Martha's Vineyard, where the...

Ted Kennedy: A Life in Pictures
 Ted Kennedy: A Life in Pictures 
SLIDESHOW

Ted Kennedy: A Life in Pictures

(Newser) - Sen. Ted Kennedy's office wrote about 2,500 bills during his nearly half-century of service, points out the Boston Globe, more than 300 of which have become law. But when it comes to illustrating highlights, a picture speaks a thousand words. Click on the image box to the left for...

Kennedy's Death May Breathe New Life Into Health Care

(Newser) - While Ted Kennedy fought cancer, his absence damaged the health care battle he called the "cause of my life"—but his death may draw a wellspring of support for reform, reports Reuters. An outpouring of affection for him could find its expression in passage of the kind of...

Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
analysis

Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races

Latest trends show even Reid, Spector, Dodd in trouble: Silver

(Newser) - Things are looking brighter for Republicans in the Senate, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. In his monthly ranking of which seats are most likely to switch parties in 2010, Republicans have made a big move. Of the 10 seats that look more likely to switch hands, seven favor Republicans....

Webb Visits Burma, Will Meet With Junta Chief

(Newser) - Sen. Jim Webb arrived in Burma today and will meet with the leader of the country's junta this weekend, reports the New York Times. The Virginia Democrat will be the highest-ranking American official ever to meet Gen. Than Shwe; the White House said the senator was "not carrying a...

White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law
White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law
investigation

White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law

(Newser) - The Obama administration appears to have attempted to water down the whistleblower protection law the president himself championed on the campaign trail. In an e-mail obtained by the Washington Times, a lawyer in the White House counsel's office sent a new draft of the bill to the Senate. That draft...

Voinovich Makes 9 GOP Yeas for Sotomayor
Voinovich Makes 9 GOP Yeas for Sotomayor
UPDATED

Voinovich Makes 9 GOP Yeas for Sotomayor

(Newser) - As she coasts toward confirmation, Sonia Sotomayor picked up the support of a 9th Republican today, reports MSNBC. Ohio Sen. George Voinovich’s promised yea joins yesterday's announcement by Kit Bond of Missouri and on-again-off-again Obama cabinet nominee Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Voinovich is among four of six retiring...

Senate Set to OK $2B More for Clunkers

Reid engineers deal for vote tomorrow, beating recess deadline

(Newser) - The Senate has reached a deal to extend the "cash for clunkers" program through Labor Day, the Detroit News reports. Majority leader Harry Reid capped days of arm-twisting with an announcement tonight that the chamber will vote tomorrow on a measure adding $2 billion to the unexpectedly popular...

Health Care Debate Readies for Road Trip

Democrats will spend recess targeting insurance companies

(Newser) - With the House already on break and the Senate readying for the August recess, the health care debate has moved to the court of public opinion, the New York Times reports. Both sides are launching campaign tours and waves of TV ads, with Democrats attacking the insurance industry and Republicans...

'Informed' Franken Wows Lawmakers
'Informed' Franken
Wows Lawmakers

'Informed' Franken Wows Lawmakers

Between Sotomayor and health care, comedian-turned-senator has been busy

(Newser) - A few weeks into his much-delayed Senate career, Al Franken is already winning plaudits from colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the AP reports. A member of two key Senate committees, the Minnesota Democrat has jumped into hot-button debates—like Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation and health care reform—and...

Medals of Freedom Will Go to Milk, Kennedy, Poitier

(Newser) - This year's Medal of Freedom recipients share a capacity to change the world, President Obama said today in naming the eclectic group. Among the 16 honorees are Sen. Ted Kennedy, slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, actor Sidney Poitier, tennis great Billie Jean King, and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day...

Cash-Poor Bunning Won't Run in 2010
Cash-Poor Bunning Won't Run in 2010

Cash-Poor Bunning Won't Run in 2010

Ky. Republican blasts party for campaign 'to dry up my fundraising'

(Newser) - An irate Jim Bunning said last night he won't run for a third term in the US Senate because his fellow Republicans "have done everything in their power to dry up my fundraising" amid pressure to step aside, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. Bunning, 77, has focused his ire on...

No Vote on Health Care Reform Before Fall: Reid

More time is needed to build support for bill, majority leader says

(Newser) - The Senate will not vote on the health-care bill before the August recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid said today, citing the need to build bipartisan support—or even unified Democratic support—for such comprehensive reform, the AP reports. “Working with Republicans, one of the things that they asked for...

Kerry Plans 'Hard Look at Afghanistan'

Foreign Relations Committee must ensure effort is 'Afghan, not American'

(Newser) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will “take a hard look at Afghanistan” in the coming months, John Kerry tells GlobalPost. The committee hasn’t yet publicly scrutinized the administration’s effort in the country, but “we are not going to abrogate our responsibility,” says the senator, who...

Franken: I Can't Wait to Start Work

Senator-elect stresses loyalty to state, downplays Dem. supermajority

(Newser) - Al Franken said he was “thrilled and honored by the faith Minnesotans placed in me” after the state Supreme Court declared him the winner of the Senate recount, CNN reports. "I'm so excited to finally be able to get to work " said Franken, who added that he...

Long (Not Hopeless) Odds for Climate Bill in Senate: Silver

(Newser) - The climate change bill barely squeaked through the House yesterday, and while that doesn't bode well for its passing the Senate, it's not necessarily doomed there, Nate Silver writes on FiveThirtyEight. One factor is the White House: Having been relatively mum on the House battle, President Obama “has conserved...

Critics Blast Congress for Lack of Staff Diversity

NFL hiring rule may translate to Capitol Hill

(Newser) - Congressional staffs are so overwhelmingly white that Capitol Hill needs its own version of the NFL rule requiring teams hiring a head coach to interview at least one person of color, critics tell the Hill. Frustrated staffers, lobbyists, and aides point out that even though more minorities are being elected,...

Husband Outed Ensign Affair to Fox News
Husband Outed Ensign Affair
to Fox News
UPDATED

Husband Outed Ensign Affair to Fox News

Hampton's lawyer made 'exorbitant demands': senator

(Newser) - The husband of John Ensign’s mistress sent a letter detailing the affair to Fox News just days before the senator’s public admission, the Las Vegas Sun reports. A spokesman said Ensign acknowledged the affair because Doug Hampton had approached “a major television news channel.” The senator's...

Senate OKs $106B for Wars
 Senate OKs $106B for Wars 

Senate OKs $106B for Wars

(Newser) - The Senate today overwhelmingly passed a bill authorizing $106 billion to fund the nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hill reports. It now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The vote had been delayed by wrangling over how to keep detainee abuse photos under wraps. Yesterday,...

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