Congress

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Minn. Court Rejects Franken Bid to Be Seated

(Newser) - The Minnesota Supreme Court today rejected Democrat Al Franken's petition for an election certificate that would put him in the US Senate without waiting for a lawsuit to be resolved. Franken is ahead of Republican Norm Coleman by 225 votes. Coleman's ongoing lawsuit argues some uncounted absentee ballots were wrongly...

Congress Passes Stopgap Bill to Avoid Shutdown

(Newser) - With a $410 billion catchall spending bill stalled in the Senate and a midnight deadline looming, Congress rushed through stopgap legislation today to keep the government running for another five days. With most Republicans denouncing the bill as too costly and a few Democrats opposing it as well, Majority Leader...

House Homeowner Bill Lets Judges Reset Mortgages

Measure would allow bankruptcy judges to ease mortgage terms

(Newser) - The House has passed a homeowner rescue bill over the strenuous objections of the financial industry that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages, the Washington Post reports. Judges could cut the principal on mortgages, extend terms and reduce interest rates under terms of the "cramdown"...

Senate GOP Forces Delay on $410B Spending Bill

(Newser) - Senate Republicans, demanding the right to change a huge spending bill, forced Democrats tonight to put off a final vote on the measure until next week. The surprise development will force Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown of the government. Republicans have blasted the...

GOP Shifts Focus of Attacks Onto Obama

After targeting Pelosi, Reid, party aims at president on spending

(Newser) - For 6 weeks the Republicans have steered clear of criticizing Barack Obama, attacking the House and Senate leadership, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, while giving the popular president a free pass. But now, reports CQPolitics, the GOP is changing direction with a new campaign linking Obama with federal spending that...

Rove, Miers to Testify on Attorney Firings

(Newser) - Karl Rove and Harriet Miers have agreed to testify before Congress about the controversial firing of US attorneys, CBS reports. The former Bush aides' testimony will not be public, though that could happen in the future, notes the Public Record. Congress is investigating whether the Bush administration fired the attorneys...

Leahy Calls For 'Truth Commission' on Bush Abuses

Republicans say it's a waste of time

(Newser) - Sen. Patrick Leahy called today for a "truth commission" to investigate alleged abuses by the Bush administration in the name of the war on terror, CNN reports. Detention and interrogation practices at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib “have seriously eroded fundamental American principles of the rule of law,"...

Predict Minn. Senate Race in Online Game

Play 'Seat the Senator' for an autograph from the eventual winner

(Newser) - Political junkies can play out the Minnesota Senate race in an online game called "Seat the Senator," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Set up by the National Wildlife Federation, the game challenges players to guess who will be sworn in as Minnesota’s senator and when—up until...

Brown Tells US to 'Seize the Moment'

Now more than ever the rest of the world wants to work with you

(Newser) - Gordon Brown inspired applause breaks and a standing ovation in Congress today, urging America to team up with England in battling the financial crisis, the BBC reports. Brown urged lawmakers not to indulge impulses toward protectionism—which “protects no one,” the prime minister quipped—and called for new...

Reformer Wins Rahm Primary
 Reformer Wins Rahm Primary 
Mar 4, 2009 6:17 AM CST

Reformer Wins Rahm Primary

Without cash or unions, Quigley triumphs in crowded race

(Newser) - An Illinois official who ran on a message of reform won yesterday's Democratic primary to fill Rahm Emanuel's vacant seat in Congress, reports the Chicago Tribune. Mike Quigley, commissioner of Cook County, took 22% of the vote in a crowded field despite lacking both campaign cash and union support. "...

New Bill Looks to Topple 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Could prove a political headache for Obama

(Newser) - The controversy that derailed Bill Clinton’s first 100 days is heading for Barack Obama, Politico reports, with a California congresswoman to introduce legislation today to overturn the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Obama has made no secret of his desire to overturn the unpopular “don’...

Recession, War Top Brown's DC To-Do List

British PM will meet Obama, address Congress this week

(Newser) - Gordon Brown is en route to Washington, where the British prime minister will become the first foreign leader to meet with Barack Obama on American soil and address a joint session of Congress. The visit comes ahead of next month's G20 summit in London, and Brown will be looking for...

Pelosi: It's My House, Not Obama's
Pelosi: It's My House, Not Obama's
analysis
Feb 27, 2009 1:30 PM CST

Pelosi: It's My House, Not Obama's

Speaker stakes her ground on Iraq, tax cuts, other issues

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi was happy to block for President Obama on the stimulus, but she won’t keep at it forever, reports Politico. Pelosi’s responsibilities are to her liberal district and caucus; on the pace of repealing tax cuts, withdrawal from Iraq, and other issues, Pelosi doesn’t plan on...

Senate OKs Congressional Seat for DC

Measure expected to clear House, but legal challenges remain

(Newser) - Washington, DC, moved a step closer today to getting a congressional representative. The Senate voted 61-37 to give the district—and its 600,000 residents—a seat in the House of Representatives, the Post reports. The measure now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass next week....

Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks
Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks
analysis
Feb 26, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks

'Faceless bureaucrats' shouldn't guide funds: Reid

(Newser) - Leading Democratic lawmakers didn't welcome President Obama’s call to jettison budget earmarks, suggesting that as elected officials, they should control where funds are headed, the Hill reports. “We cannot let spending be done by a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats,” Harry Reid said yesterday. Obama pointed to...

We Know What We're Doing, Bernanke Assures Congress

Fed chair defends response to financial crisis

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke defended the government’s response to the financial crisis today before Congress, saying regulators’ various approaches reflect different aspects of a unified strategy, MarketWatch reports. “We’re not making it up,” the Federal Reserve chief said. “We’re working along a program that has been...

While DC Burns, Congress Twitters
 While DC  Burns, 
 Congress Twitters 
OPINION
Feb 25, 2009 1:22 PM CST

While DC Burns, Congress Twitters

Congress micro-blogging obsession is unbecoming: Milbank

(Newser) - Washington has a problem, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. No, not just pork, or the influence of lobbyists—Twitter. President Obama gave a speech last night that was solemn but hopeful, bold yet pragmatic. And how did our lawmakers respond? “They whipped out their BlackBerrys and began...

Congress Debates Easing Cuba Travel Restrictions

(Newser) - A bill pending in the US House includes a provision relaxing travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans who wish to visit Cuba by slicing out funding for enforcement of a 2004 law, the Miami Herald reports. The bill, which will likely see a vote today, allows annual visits rather than one every...

Viewers Hopeful After Obama Speech

Poll finds big majority of viewers more optimistic after president's address to Congress

(Newser) - Viewers who watched Barack Obama's first speech to Congress felt hopeful and reassured about the country's direction after the president spoke, a CNN poll finds. Of those polled, 68% said they felt very positive about the speech, 24% felt positive, and just 8% said they had a negative reaction. An...

Obama: 'We Will Recover'
 Obama: 'We Will Recover' 
Feb 24, 2009 8:35 PM CST

Obama: 'We Will Recover'

(Newser) - President Obama returned to a familiar theme tonight—hope—as he sought to reassure Americans buffeted by the recession. "The day of reckoning has arrived," he told a joint session of Congress, but American ingenuity can save us. "Now is the time to act boldly and wisely—...

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