Congress

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Durbin to Burris: Resign
 Durbin to Burris: Resign 
UPDATED
Feb 24, 2009 3:30 PM CST

Durbin to Burris: Resign

(Newser) - Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told his junior colleague, Roland Burris, that he should resign during a meeting today, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris declined, and also would not confirm whether or not he would run in 2010, despite earlier accounts that he would give up the seat. Durbin said he...

What Should I Say Tonight? 5 Sure Bets
 What Should I Say
 Tonight? 5 Sure Bets
ANALYSIS
Feb 24, 2009 3:07 PM CST

What Should I Say Tonight? 5 Sure Bets

(Newser) - President Obama has had to change his tune a few times since he took office, but the content of his speech to Congress tonight will be no surprise, Michael Scherer writes in Time. Talking points have been consistent for long enough to predict 5 key features:
  • I'm not Bush: In
...

Fiscal Summit Not Exactly a Hot Ticket
 Fiscal Summit 
 Not Exactly a Hot Ticket 
OPINION
Feb 24, 2009 10:20 AM CST

Fiscal Summit Not Exactly a Hot Ticket

(Newser) - When President Obama announced his fiscal responsibility summit, it sounded like a momentous occasion. Turns out it was so momentous no one bothered to show up, Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post. Administration big-wigs like Paul Volcker and Leon Panetta skipped out on the panels they were supposed to...

DC Residents May Finally Get Rep. in Congress

(Newser) - Residents of the nation’s capital are poised to finally have a vote in Congress, the AP reports. Debate opened today on a bill that would give Washington’s 600,000 residents a House seat, and with a Democratic Congress and president in place, it might pass this time. Democrats...

Supreme Court Needs Term Limits: Legal Eagles

Urge end to lifelong terms, judges' case selection

(Newser) - The US judicial system is in need of a serious overhaul, law experts write in a letter to congressional leaders. They argue that Supreme Court justices shouldn’t keep their posts for life, instead taking 18-year terms before a shift in status, the Washington Post reports. Further, they say, the...

Critics Invoke Jesus in Anti-Stimulus Ad

Conservative group launches $1M ad to slam government spending

(Newser) - A conservative group has brought Jesus into the fray over the stimulus package, Politico reports. An anti-stimulus ad from the American Issues Project set to start airing today flashes a picture of the three wise men on the screen and asks viewers to imagine spending "$1 million every single...

Hidden RAT Spoils Obama's Stimulus Bill
Hidden RAT Spoils Obama's Stimulus Bill
analysis
Feb 19, 2009 6:37 PM CST

Hidden RAT Spoils Obama's Stimulus Bill

New board has powerful sway over federal watchdogs

(Newser) - Hidden away in the $787 billion stimulus bill is a lousy provision that threatens to inject politics into the jobs of supposedly independent government watchdogs, writes Byron York of the Washington Examiner. The bill creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board—the RAT board to the few who...

Coleman Lawyers Blast Judges' 'Fatal Inconsistency'

Trial rhetoric escalates as judges deny Coleman ballots

(Newser) - Norm Coleman's lawyers lambasted the judges in Minnesota's recount trial for again refusing to reconsider certain rejected absentee votes that would narrow Al Franken's 225-vote lead in the Senate race, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The attorneys called the rulings a "legal quagmire" and said the "fatal inconsistency...

House Reps Make Rare Gaza Visit

Ellison, Baird arrive as violence continues in Strip

(Newser) - Two members of Congress traveled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, the first such delegation to enter the area since the Islamic militant group rose to power in 2006. The House members—Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim member of Congress, and Brian Baird of Washington—will meet with...

Obstinate GOP Digging Itself Deeper
 Obstinate GOP 
 Digging Itself Deeper 
OPINION
Feb 18, 2009 5:05 PM CST

Obstinate GOP Digging Itself Deeper

(Newser) - Even the stimulus couldn’t rouse Republicans “into any human feeling,” writes Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe. “With the collective livelihood of America at stake,” Republicans opted for full-blown obstinacy, crying about the deficit while conveniently forgetting that their president had turned a $128 billion...

Aerosmith to GOP: Hands Off Our Song

House GOP's Back in the Saddle video yanked after copyright claim

(Newser) - Minority Whip Eric Cantor's effort to rally the House GOP with a video using Aerosmith's Back in the Saddle was swiftly bucked by the band, reports TPM. The company holding the song’s copyright requested that the video—which crowed about the House GOP's unified opposition to the stimulus package—...

Senate Centrists Hold House Dems Hostage

Stick up to Reid, Dems urge Pelosi

(Newser) - The Senate requires 60 votes to avoid filibuster, so the 58-strong Democrats are at the mercy of centrist Republicans Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins. Politico reports that House Dems, who have no trouble passing bills on their own, are unhappy that their legislation has to run this gauntlet....

On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close
On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close
ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2009 12:36 PM CST

On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close

Prez still didn't get much GOP support

(Newser) - President Obama promised a new spirit of cooperation in Washington, and in his relationship with Congress, he did his best to deliver, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama left congressional leaders wide leeway in crafting the stimulus bill and stayed in close touch with members. Joe Biden stayed on pivotal...

Stimulus Devotes $1B to Weighing Medical Treatments

Comparing effectiveness will 'save money and lives'

(Newser) - The stimulus bill sinks $1.1 billion into the first major government comparison of different medical treatments, the New York Times reports. The provision is a reaction to concerns that treatments are being prescribed without solid evidence to back their usefulness and cost-effectiveness. But some say such studies would mean...

Republicans Shell Out to Fight Franken

59th Dem seat would make legislating easy for left

(Newser) - After President Obama slipped a bill through Congress with just three Republicans’ support, the GOP is digging in to prevent a 59th Democrat from taking Minnesota's contested Senate seat. Al Franken currently leads the interminable race by 225 votes, but Republicans are pouring cash into Norm Coleman’s legal bid...

Blago Asked Burris for $10K in Cash

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich's camp asked Roland Burris for money before nominating him to take Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Burris revealed the request, for up to $10,000 in campaign contributions, in an affidavit dated Feb. 5—3 weeks after he was sworn in. Burris didn't mention...

Senate Passes Stimulus; Obama's Pen Is Next

(Newser) - In a major victory for President Barack Obama, Democrats muscled a huge, $787 billion stimulus bill through Congress late today in hopes of combating the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the AP reports. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous. The Senate approved the measure 60-38 with three GOP moderates...

Controversial US Drones Based in Pakistan: Feinstein

(Newser) - Dianne Feinstein said today that Predator drones used to carry out attacks in Pakistan originate there, not in Afghanistan as had been widely assumed, the Los Angeles Times reports. The revelation, which is likely to cause trouble for the Pakistani government, came during testimony by spy chief Dennis Blair. A...

House Passes Stimulus Bill
 House Passes Stimulus Bill 
Feb 13, 2009 1:53 PM CST

House Passes Stimulus Bill

(Newser) - The House today passed the $787 billion stimulus bill, once again without a single Republican vote, the AP reports. Eight Democrats also opposed the bill, which will make its way to the Senate later today. The victory belongs to President Obama, who says the package will save or create 3....

Congress Needs to Speed Read Like Crazy to Study Stimulus

At 1,434 pages, 13 hours hardly enough

(Newser) - It might be called a stimulus bill, but it’s far from stimulating reading. At 1,434 pages, and written in the usual incomprehensible legalese, the stimulus is going to be passed unread by members of Congress. That’s no fault of theirs, blogs Jimmie Bise at the Sundries Shack;...

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