Senate

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Kennedy a Green Warrior Before His Time

Kennedy a  
Green Warrior  
Before His Time 

APPRECIATION
Aug 27, 2009 3:15 AM CDT

Kennedy a Green Warrior Before His Time

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy was a crusader for environmental protection and energy efficiency long before those causes became fashionable. Climate Progress lists his accomplishments:
  • He eliminated the “oil depletion allowance,” which excluded 22% of oil producer’s revenue from taxes.
  • Kennedy created the 2007 American COMPETES Act, which funds clean
...

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy
 Byrd: Rename 
 Health Bill 
 for Kennedy 
tribute roundup
Aug 26, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy

(Newser) - Senator Robert Byrd wants his colleagues to honor Ted Kennedy by renaming health care legislation in his honor, Politico reports. “As a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling,” said Byrd, 92, himself in poor health. "My heart and...

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice
Health Care
Bills Don't Offer
Real Choice
ANALYSIS
Aug 26, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice

Legislation in Congress seem to settle for status quo

(Newser) - Health insurance firms are essentially monopolies because employers, not individuals, choose which plans to offer. This freedom from competitive forces has allowed insurance to become flaky and opaque—and the reform currently being debated in Washington would do little about it, writes David Leonhardt for the New York Times. Even...

'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...

Kennedy's Seat Likely Vacant Until 2010

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy's Senate seat will likely remain vacant until early next year, reports CBS News. Massachusetts law specifies that a special election be scheduled between 145 and 160 days from now, and doesn't allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim successor. Kennedy himself urged Massachusetts legislators in a recent...

Baldwin on Opposing Lieberman: Never Mind

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin has no plans to challenge Joe Lieberman for his Senate seat in 2012, USA Today reports. The actor’s spokesman says he wants the Connecticut independent to retain his position because of the paucity of moderate Republicans in the Senate. In a recent Playboy interview, Baldwin floated many...

Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
analysis
Aug 24, 2009 11:47 AM CDT

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....

Lieberman to Baldwin: 'Make My Day'

Conn. sen. defiant after actor threatens run

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin has "no use" for Joe Lieberman and is kicking around a move to Connecticut to run for his Senate seat in 2012—to which Lieberman tells CNN, "Make my day." The independent says he respects Baldwin as an actor and comedian, and "if he...

Reid Trails 2 Republican Challengers in Poll

(Newser) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trailing not one but two GOP challengers in the race for his seat, Politico reports. In a poll released today, Reid lags behind both college basketball star Danny Tarkanian, 38% to 49%, and state GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, 40% to 45%, in one-on-one match-ups....

Dems May Split Health Plan Into 2 Bills to Skirt GOP

(Newser) - Here's the latest health care strategy gaining traction among Democrats: Pass two bills instead of one. The idea, as laid out by the Wall Street Journal, goes like this: Democrats would tuck most of the legislation's more controversial spending measures—maybe even a public insurance option—into a first bill...

Obama to Recast Health Reform as Moral Issue

Focus on legislative details has bogged down debate, supporters worry

(Newser) - President Obama is about to start focusing more on the moral aspects of health care reform, stressing the need to provide secure coverage to all Americans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The shift may reflect the concerns of some supporters that Obama has spent too much time talking about the...

Public Option a 'Must' for Health Care Reform: Key Dems

White House waffling worries progressives

(Newser) - Leading advocates for health care reform are concerned about the Obama administration’s apparent willingness to drop a government-run insurance program from the package in order to ensure the support of the Senate, the Washington Post reports. Prominent Democratic senators have voiced support for the public option, with John Rockefeller...

Senators Tweet It Out Over 'Death Panels'

Specter accuses Grassley of spreading false info

(Newser) - Arlen Specter and Chuck Grassley engaged in a very 21st-century sniping match today, ABC's Jake Tapper reports. The 79-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat took to Twitter to accuse the 75-year-old Iowa Republican of spreading "myths about health care reform and imaginary ‘death panels.' " He was referring to comments...

White House Pushes Against Reform 'Myths'

Grassley says death panel language gone from Senate bill

(Newser) - The White House has chosen to fight fire with fire in its battle for health care reform, the Washington Post reports. An email from David Axelrod posted on the White House web site expresses bafflement at the "lies and distortions" of opponents. Axelrod, whose email went up after Sarah...

White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law
White House Sought to Weaken Whistleblower Law
investigation
Aug 7, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

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...

Senate Extends 'Clunkers'
 Senate Extends 'Clunkers' 
Aug 6, 2009 7:31 PM CDT

Senate Extends 'Clunkers'

(Newser) - Cash for Clunkers lives. As expected, Congress tonight sent President Obama legislation with an additional $2 billion to extend the program. The Senate approved the money on a 60-37 vote after administration officials said the initial $1 billion had run out in only 10 days. The House voted last week...

Senate Confirms Sotomayor
 Senate Confirms Sotomayor 
Aug 6, 2009 2:36 PM CDT

Senate Confirms Sotomayor

(Newser) - The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor today as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. The vote was 68-31 for Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's first high court nominee. She becomes the 111th justice and just the third woman to serve. Democrats praised the 55-year-old Sotomayor as a mainstream moderate. But...

McCain Will Vote Against Sotomayor

Senator unable to support a 'judicial activist'

(Newser) - John McCain says he'll oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when the Senate votes on her confirmation this week. Despite Sotomayor's efforts to distance herself from her record, the Arizona Republican said today, Sotomayor is a judicial activist who has used her position as a judge to try to change...

White House Pushes to Clear Up Clunkers Backlog

(Newser) - The White House has asked Citigroup, which is administering the Cash for Clunkers program, to double or even triple the number of workers processing paperwork, Bloomberg reports. That move could clear up a backlog of dealer applications that grew with the surprise success of the program. The administration also says...

'Clunkers' on Ice Unless Senate Ponies Up $2B: LaHood

(Newser) - The Obama administration will suspend the "cash for clunkers" program unless the Senate provides $2 billion more for the popular car incentive plan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today. He said he expects the current $1 billion pool to be exhausted by the end of this weekend. The House...

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