Congress – News Stories About Congress - Page 47

Pelosi Will Keep Just Enough Dems in Line

nate silver

Dec 26, 2009 12:19 PM CST

Pelosi Will Keep Just Enough Dems in Line

She needs 218 on health care, and she's 'very good at her job'

(Newser) - On the surface, it seems logical to assume Nancy Pelosi will have a tough time keeping enough Democrats on board for the final health care vote. After all, the House version just barely passed and now must be reconciled with a more conservative Senate bill. Proponents of reform shouldn't worry,...

Dodd Rips Newbies—Ahem,
Franken—for Lacking 'Civility'

senate smackdown

Dec 24, 2009 4:22 PM CST

Dodd Rips Newbies—Ahem, Franken—for Lacking 'Civility'

Comment may be dig at Minn. freshman, who shut down Lieberman

(Newser) - Chris Dodd battled a perceived lack of decorum in the Senate yesterday with some stern language from the floor. The Connecticut Democrat did not name names but rather cryptically chastised the Senate’s “newer members” for failing “to understand how the Senate has worked for more than two...

Health Bill Clears
Last Hurdle Before Vote

7am tomorrow

Dec 23, 2009 4:14 PM CST

Health Bill Clears Last Hurdle Before Vote

Party line roll call ends filibuster, sets stage for tomorrow

(Newser) - Exultant Senate Democrats pushed President Obama's landmark health care overhaul past a final procedural hurdle today, setting up a final vote at 7am tomorrow to pass the legislation. Democrats voted 60-39 to end a GOP filibuster, with all 58 Democrats and two independents hanging together against unanimous Republican opposition. Tomorrow's...

Credit Reform May Drain $9B
in Holiday Sales

Dec 23, 2009 2:46 PM CST

Credit Reform May Drain $9B in Holiday Sales

Consumer protections result in lower limits, less spending

(Newser) - The impending enactment of new credit card law is poised to rob retailers of $9 billion in holiday sales compared to last year. The law, designed to protect consumers from rates being raised on the sly and sneaky fees, already has led to lower credit limits and more rejected applications...

White House
Telling Me to
Zip It: Stupak

HEALTH CARE REFORM

Dec 23, 2009 1:25 PM CST

White House Telling Me to Zip It: Stupak

Rep predicts Senate abortion language won't pass House

(Newser) - The White House would really rather Bart Stupak keep his opinions about the abortion funding “compromise” in the Senate health care bill to himself, but the staunch rep isn’t playing ball. “They think I shouldn’t be expressing my views on this bill until they get a...

With No Funds for Ill. Prison, Gitmo Closure Unlikely Until '11

UPDATED

Dec 23, 2009 6:35 AM CST

With No Funds for Ill. Prison, Gitmo Closure Unlikely Until '11

Obama's next request months away

(Newser) - There’s no money to buy the Illinois prison President Obama wants to use to house detainees from the US facility at Guantanamo Bay, meaning it’s unlikely the Cuban detention center will be closed before 2011. Congress last week rejected a request for $200 million to cover the purchase...

Blue Dog Says House Leaders Drove Him to GOP

Dec 22, 2009 5:01 PM CST

Blue Dog Says House Leaders Drove Him to GOP

Griffith has consistently voted against his party

(Newser) - Former Democrat Parker Griffith today blamed the Democratic leadership for his defection to the GOP, slamming congressional leaders for pursuing legislation "that is bad for our country and hurts our economy." Griffith, an Alabama doctor, singled out health care reform as a large part of his decision, deriding...

Liberal 'Kill Bill' Case Is Naive, Deceptive

Ezra Klein

Dec 22, 2009 10:15 AM CST

Liberal 'Kill Bill' Case Is Naive, Deceptive

Hey, Jane Hamsher: A better bill is not coming along, and this ain't bad

(Newser) - Ezra Klein isn’t “sure there's much in the way of productive dialogue to be had” with liberal firebrand Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake concerning her call yesterday to kill the Senate health care reform bill, but he’ll try anyway. Hamsher’s list is “misleading,” her “...

10 Ways Senate Health Reform Hurts You

KILL THE BILL

Dec 21, 2009 6:03 PM CST

10 Ways Senate Health Reform Hurts You

Measure that should have saved money will cost an arm and a leg

(Newser) - The Senate health reform bill is all fire and brimstone for the folks over at Firedoglake . The “con job” legislation “isn’t a ‘starter home,’ it’s a sink hole,” Jane Hamsher writes, and “it needs to die so something else can take its...

Sniveling Lefties Should Just Take the Health Care Victory

EJ DIONNE

Dec 21, 2009 12:46 PM CST

Sniveling Lefties Should Just Take the Health Care Victory

Screwy Senate has a flawed, but good bill

(Newser) - The health care bill is as good as it’s going to get, and progressives whining about it—or worse, trying to kill it—are being ridiculous. “In a normal democracy,” EJ Dionne writes, the majority support would quickly pass a public option or Medicare expansion. But the...

2009:
The Year
Jackasses
Took Over

OPINION

Dec 17, 2009 6:19 AM CST

2009: The Year Jackasses Took Over

Hyper-partisanship rewarded as decorum departs Congress

(Newser) - Forget about donkeys and elephants, 2009 was the year of the political jackass, writes David Kuhn. The usual corruption and infidelities were on display, but that's nothing new. What is new are hyper-partisan, outburst-prone boors like Republican Joe "You Lie" Wilson and Democratic provocateur Rep. Alan Grayson—who "...

DC Legalizes Gay Marriage

Dec 15, 2009 2:21 PM CST

DC Legalizes Gay Marriage

Bill passes 11-2, could be struck down by Congress

(Newser) - The Washington, DC, City Council voted today to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital, handing supporters a victory after recent defeats in Maine, New York, and New Jersey. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which passed 11-2, and gay couples could begin marrying as early as...

Lieberman's Sabbath Walk
Breaks GOP Filibuster

Dec 12, 2009 12:55 PM CST

Lieberman's Sabbath Walk Breaks GOP Filibuster

Spending bill clears hurdle when Joe casts final vote

(Newser) - Senate Democrats turned back a Republican effort to block a final vote on a huge end-of-year spending bill that gives most federal agencies a generous budget boost. The 60-34 vote largely along party lines met the minimum threshold to end the filibuster by Republicans, who say the $447 billion measure...

Winners, Losers
in Bank Reform Bill

Dec 12, 2009 10:29 AM CST

Winners, Losers in Bank Reform Bill

Big banks and securities firms face tougher standards

(Newser) - The financial reform bill now on its way to the Senate is the biggest such effort since the Great Depression. The Wall Street Journal runs down who wins and loses, beginning with the Winners:

Mortgage lenders: The bill doesn't allow bankruptcy judges to adjust the terms of first mortgages.
Credit

...

Hoyer: US Must
Raise Debt
Ceiling $1.8T

Dec 11, 2009 12:48 PM CST

Hoyer: US Must Raise Debt Ceiling $1.8T

Not until we have a solution, say moderate Dems and GOP

(Newser) - House Democrats are attempting to raise the national debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion to pay for loans coming due next year, despite strong opposition from Blue Dogs, their brethren in the Senate, and the GOP. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today the move is necessary, and Nancy Pelosi...

McCain Morphs Into
Chief Obama Foe

ANALYSIS

Dec 11, 2009 12:00 PM CST

McCain Morphs Into Chief Obama Foe

Graham calls Arizona senator 'de facto leader of the Republican Party'

(Newser) - John McCain has made the transformation from possible Obama ally to a full-blooded Republican partisan, though insiders aren’t quite sure why. Some see his vocal opposition to the Obama administration’s policies as a concession to the realities of next year’s election, where he may face a challenge...

Why Congress Can Boss Big-Time Sports Around

interstate commerce

Dec 10, 2009 1:00 PM CST

Why Congress Can Boss Big-Time Sports Around

BCS playoff bill the latest in a long line of similar measures

(Newser) - A House subcommittee ushered through a bill that would keep the BCS from billing its title game as the “national championship,” unless the NCAA institutes a playoff system. Where does Congress get off telling college administrators what to do? Well, sports are considered interstate commerce, according to the...

House Subpoenas
Gate-Crashers

Dec 9, 2009 5:12 PM CST

House Subpoenas Gate-Crashers

But the Salahis say they'll take the Fifth

(Newser) - A House committee followed up on its threat to force the couple who crashed President Obama's State Dinner last month to testify. Lawmakers voted to subpoena Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who refused to appear voluntarily. Even now, the Salahis say they will take the Fifth when they show up, the...

Bachmann: 'I'm
a Lovable Little
Fuzz Ball!'

Dec 9, 2009 3:37 PM CST

Bachmann: 'I'm a Lovable Little Fuzz Ball!'

Says she just doesn't get why liberals don't like her

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann gave an interview to MinnPost in which she rails against the usual subjects with the usual hyperbole, but her response when asked why liberals hate her is memorable: "I don't know. I'm a lovable little fuzz ball! I have no idea what they would have to fear....

House Panel: Kill College's BCS System

Dec 9, 2009 3:18 PM CST

House Panel: Kill College's BCS System

Subcommittee passes measure aimed at pushing playoff system

(Newser) - Lots of people hate the BCS college football system, and now a House panel does, too. Rep. Joe Barton of Texas pushed the anti-BCS measure through an Energy and Commerce subcommittee today. It would prevent college football officials from calling any game a "national championship" unless it's the result...