Senate

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Post-Partisan? Obamacare Push Proves the Lie
Post-Partisan? Obamacare
Push Proves the Lie
charles krauthammer

Post-Partisan? Obamacare Push Proves the Lie

Health care reform is too big for a party-line vote

(Newser) - Barack Obama came to office on the promise of a post-partisan world, but he's about to jam through a monumental health care bill in the most partisan way imaginable, writes Charles Krauthammer. The president insists reform is popular because people support individual items in principle. Of course they do, writes...

GOP Vows to Stall Health Care Vote

'We're going to scrub the bill,' McConnell promises

(Newser) - Democrats want to get the health care bill passed by Easter, but that could be impossible given the enormous procedural complexity of the task—and the unyielding Republican opposition. Though the reconciliation process allows the Senate to pass the bill with a simple majority, it still gives Republicans plenty of...

Don't Lie, GOP: Dems Aren't Ramming Through Health Bill

'It's good to see Obama displaying LBJ's wiles'

(Newser) - The Republicans' claim that the Democrats are using reconciliation to ram through a health care bill is a flat-out lie at worst and stunning hypocrisy at best, writes E.J. Dionne Jr. The health-care bill has already passed the Senate with 60 votes, and the only thing that would pass...

Obama to Congress: Vote Health Care 'Up or Down'

Tells Senate to go for 'up or down vote'

(Newser) - Barack Obama gave Congress its marching orders today, telling them to hold a final vote on health care reform within the next few weeks. He essentially told the Senate to pass the bill via reconciliation, though he didn’t use the term, instead demanding an “up or down vote,...

Obama Plans Easter Resurrection for Health Care

But master plan meets resistance as House afraid to vote first

(Newser) - The health care reform bill was, in a sense, born on Christmas Eve, and now Barack Obama’s hoping to resurrect it just in time for Easter, writes John Dickerson. According to the plan Obama sent congressional leadership, the Senate would vote through changes to its bill using reconciliation, holding...

Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster
Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster
UPDATED

Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster

Benefits will be extended a month; senator can offer amendment

(Newser) - Republican Jim Bunning has agreed to end the one-man filibuster that’s cut unemployment and other benefits to thousands of workers, making a deal with the Senate leaders of both parties tonight. Roll Call reports that Bunning will support a one-month extension of the benefits in return for the Senate...

Obama Embraces Four GOP Health Care Proposals

White House says reform effort is entering its 'final act'

(Newser) - President Obama expressed his support for four Republican proposals on health care reform today, but the items don't address core GOP complaints and are unlikely to be game-changers. In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said he supported investments in malpractice tort reform, increasing Medicaid reimbursements for physicians, efforts...

Sen. Kyl: Jobless Benefits a 'Disincentive' to Find Work

If people are getting aid, they won't look for new job, he says

(Newser) - Federal unemployment benefits that expired over the weekend because of Republican objections in the Senate should maybe stay that way, says Sen. Jon Kyl, the minority whip. They don't “create new jobs,” he argues. “If anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them...

Bunning Filibuster Puts 2,000 Fed Workers on Furlough

Dept of Transportation workers placed on unpaid furlough

(Newser) - The Department of Transportation furloughed 2,000 workers without pay today, thanks to a filibuster from Republican Sen. Jim Bunning. Democrat and Republican leaders had agreed to pass a one-month extension of several standard federal programs, such as unemployment benefits, by unanimous consent, a process that makes voting unnecessary. Bunning’...

Cap-and-Trade Gets 'Radical' Overhaul in Senate

Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham are crafting an alternative

(Newser) - So long, cap-and-trade. The idea is all but dead in the Senate, with Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, and Lindsey Graham working on what the Washington Post calls a "radical, behind-the-scenes overhaul" of the bill to curb greenhouse gases. It's expected to be unveiled next month. Though cap-and-trade has passed...

Bunning Hijacks Senate With Jobless Filibuster

'I'm trying to make a point to the people of the United States'

(Newser) - Jim Bunning held the Senate hostage last night, filibustering a move to extend federal unemployment benefits, which will otherwise expire on Sunday, for 30 days. The clash lasted until just before midnight, with Bunning complaining that Democrats had forced him to miss the Kentucky-South Carolina basketball game. But “I'll...

Crist Denies Report He's Leaving GOP

Says it's a ploy by rival Marco Rubio

(Newser) - The merry-go-round of accusations continues in the Senate race in Florida between Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and his more-conservative rival, Marco Rubio. In the latest, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Crist is ready to ditch the GOP to run as an independent. A Crist spokesman immediately denounced it...

Senate Passes Jobs Bill 70-28
 Senate Passes Jobs Bill 70-28 
Tax Breaks for New Hires

Senate Passes Jobs Bill 70-28

Bill to create 250K jobs wins bipartisan support

(Newser) - The Senate has passed a bill aimed at boosting job growth by giving tax breaks to businesses that hire the unemployed. Economists say the tax breaks could create perhaps 250,000 jobs. The jobs legislation would also extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and...

Scott Brown: From Latchkey Kid to Male Model to Senator

His story is 'part Horatio Alger, part Zoolander'

(Newser) - One look at Scott Brown’s past, Frank Bruni writes, and you can see that “he’s indisputably self-made” with a “background that’s part Horatio Alger, part Zoolander.” Sure, the “famous truck” was purchased “not so he could haul lumber” but to haul his...

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math
Scott Brown Changes the
Senate Math
NATE SILVER

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math

Moderate GOP votes up for grabs mean 56 could be Dems' new 60

(Newser) - Yesterday's Senate vote to end debate on the jobs bill showed that losing the supermajority may not be such a disaster for the Democrats after all, writes Nate Silver. Scott Brown joined four other moderate Republicans in voting to end a filibuster on Harry Reid's jobs bill, suggesting that a...

Evan Bayh: How We Can Fix the Senate

It all starts with a bipartisan lunch

(Newser) - Evan Bayh thinks the Senate is so hopelessly mired in partisan muck that the only way out is for Democrats and Republicans to break bread together. "Let’s start with a simple proposal: why not have a monthly lunch of all 100 senators?" he writes in a New York ...

Sen. Lautenberg Diagnosed With Stomach Cancer

New Jersey Dem still plans to finish term, run again in 2014

(Newser) - Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey’s 86-year-old senior senator, is set to undergo chemotherapy today, less than 24 hours after being diagnosed with treatable stomach cancer. Lautenberg is expected to recover, and says he still expects to finish out his term, and run for reelection in 2014. “This doesn’t...

Evan Bayh Calls It Quits
 Evan Bayh Calls It Quits 

Evan Bayh Calls It Quits

Indiana senator says partisan bickering drove him out of politics

(Newser) - Evan Bayh won’t seek reelection, he announced today, saying he was sick of the partisan rancor in Washington. “My decision was not motivated by political concerns,” the Indiana Democrat said in a statement. “Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for...

Senate Unveils $87B Jobs Bill
 Senate Unveils $87B Jobs Bill 

Senate Unveils $87B Jobs Bill

But vote will have to wait because of snow

(Newser) - Senate Democrats revealed their long-awaited $87 billion jobs bill today, but thanks to the snow, lawmakers may not get around to voting on it for a while. The bill calls for a combination of tax breaks for businesses and construction projects to boost employment, and has the support of two...

Scott Brown Writing Memoir
 Scott Brown Writing Memoir 

Scott Brown Writing Memoir

New senator will write inspirational book with collaborator

(Newser) - Republican golden boy Scott Brown plans to add another job title to his resume: author. The newly minted senator from Massachusetts has a book deal, pending approval by the Senate Ethics Committee. “He will tell his story in a book in hopes of providing insight and encouragement to others,...

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