Congress

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Congress Passes $162B Measure to Fund Wars

Senate sends legislation to Bush, who is expected to sign

(Newser) - The Senate tonight passed a $162 billion war spending plan, sending to President Bush legislation that will pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until the next president takes office. The package, approved 92-6, includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment...

Congress Short on Gas, Long on Gasbags
Congress Short on Gas, Long
on Gasbags
Opinion
Jun 26, 2008 9:39 AM CDT

Congress Short on Gas, Long on Gasbags

Capitol Hill can't do much but talk—but man, is it talking

(Newser) - There’s nothing much Congress can do about gas prices, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post, so in an effort to look busy it's doing what it always does—blaming the other party. Yesterday Capital Hill saw no less than 12 events on energy costs, and every last one...

Democrats in House Catch Populist Fever
Democrats in House Catch
Populist Fever
analysis
Jun 25, 2008 6:39 PM CDT

Democrats in House Catch Populist Fever

Pelosi readies bills for airline passsengers, vets, among others

(Newser) - Despite conventional wisdom suggesting Congress would be in a holding pattern until November, a new surge of energy behind Democratic domestic spending bills is poised to deliver populist promise this summer. An airline passenger bill of rights—an “unapologetic attempt to position lawmakers on the side of harried travelers,...

US-India Civilian Nuclear Deal Delayed Again

Leftist coalition could sink government if pact goes forward

(Newser) - A landmark deal between the US and India to share civilian nuclear technology faces uncertain prospects today after the Indian government announced it had failed to persuade a dissenting political group to back the pact, the Wall Street Journal reports. The White House has been pressing India to ratify the...

Huge Homeowner Aid Bill Nears Approval

Bipartisan support for action, despite veto threat

(Newser) - With 8,000 foreclosures daily and looming elections, Congress is close to approving the most sweeping changes to mortgage financing since the New Deal, reports the New York Times. The pricey aid bill aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure has bipartisan support, despite the threat of...

Oil-Addicted Bush Must Kick the Habit
Oil-Addicted Bush
Must Kick the Habit
OPINION
Jun 22, 2008 6:32 AM CDT

Oil-Addicted Bush Must Kick the Habit

High fuel prices offer chance to change our ways

(Newser) - The American thirst for oil is like a drug addiction, and George Bush wants another hit, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. Bush’s irresponsible energy plan involves getting a little more oil from Saudi Arabia to keep prices low, and then drilling in Alaska—simply prolonging our...

House OKs War Funding, Aid for Flood Relief

Spending bill also extends jobless benefits

(Newser) - A much-delayed Iraq war funding bill sailed through the House tonight, along with a doubling of college aid for returning troops and help for the unemployed and Midwestern flood victims. Republican allies of President Bush provided the winning margin in a 268-155 vote to provide $162 billion to fund US...

Supreme Court Sides With Workers on Age Discrimination

Ruling shifts burden of proof to employers

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that it is up to employers in age-discrimination lawsuits to prove that their actions resulted from “reasonable factors other than age,” the New York Times reports. With the opinion making it easier for employees to sue, the court explained to opponents that Congress’...

'Sweeping' House Deal Would Expand Spy Powers

Long-awaited compromise would offer telecoms immunity

(Newser) - House leaders brokered a long-awaited compromise on spy powers today, bringing much of the post-9/11 NSA activities—illegal at the time—under law and granting a qualified immunity to telecom companies that participated in the extra-FISA program, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “most sweeping rewrite” of spy law...

Party Leaders in House Reach Deal on War Funds

Bipartisan agreement allocates $163B for Iraq, Afghanistan through early 2009

(Newser) - A two-year fight between the White House and Democrats over war funding has been resolved, the New York Times reports. House leaders reached a deal to allocate $163 billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through early next year. The measure, expected to be approved by the full House...

After Decline, Congress' Earmarking is Back

Legislators pledged to shrink such spending last year

(Newser) - Though Congress vowed last year to reduce earmarking—the process of directing funds to projects at home with little scrutiny—recently there’s been a jump in such spending, the Washington Post reports. A House defense bill’s earmarked funds rose 29% last month, and the Senate bill looks as...

As Prices Soar, Congress Aims at Speculators

Out-of-control traders may be driving up oil, food costs, pols say

(Newser) - Congress is blaming rampant commodity speculation for rocketing gas and food prices, and berating regulators for letting it happen, the New York Times reports. Unless watchdog groups like the Commodities Futures Trading Commision crack down, Carl Levin says, "we don’t have a cop on the beat.." Joe...

China Hackers Target Critical Congressman

GOP's Wolf, tough on human rights, says FBI traced cybercrime

(Newser) - Chinese hackers infiltrated four computers belonging to a member of Congress who is an outspoken critic of that country's human rights record, the Los Angeles Times reports. The FBI discovered that Republican Rep. Frank Wolf's machines had been "compromised" by hackers stationed in China, beginning as early as 2006;...

War Spending Strategy: Soak the Grandkids
War Spending Strategy: Soak the Grandkids
OPINION
Jun 11, 2008 11:47 AM CDT

War Spending Strategy: Soak the Grandkids

War without taxes defies all of US history. Why are we allowing it?

(Newser) - As Congress tackles the latest "emergency" spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total to more than $860 billion, Ruth Marcus notes in the Washington Post: "For the first time in American history, every penny of that amount will have been borrowed. For the first time, billions...

Detroit Mayor's Blunders Hurt Mom's Reelection Chances

Democratic foes using tough tactics to unseat US Rep. Cheeks Kilpatrick

(Newser) - She’s a popular 11-year incumbent with a $500,000 war chest facing two cash-strapped two opponents, but Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick still faces a challenge in defending her House seat, the Detroit Free Press reports. Why? Her son is Kwame Kilpatrick, the Detroit mayor recently charged with perjury in...

Kucinich Moves to Impeach Bush

Ohio rep accuses prez of misleading Congress into war

(Newser) - January 2009 can't come soon enough for Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The onetime presidential hopeful read 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush into the Congressional record last night, Politico reports, but House leaders say the idea is “off the table." Kucinich, who has previously sought to impeach...

Senate Moves to Privatize Anemic Restaurants

Move takes money- losing subpar eateries off the taxpayer dime

(Newser) - The Senate has voted to privatize its restaurants after decades of losing money, the Washington Post reports. The decision comes after much wrangling among Democrats, split between the $250,000 taxpayer subsidy that keeps the restaurants afloat and the lower wages workers would receive. “You cannot stand on the...

Clinton Took to Heart Blunt Talk From Friends

Rangel, Frank among those who finally swayed her to pull the plug

(Newser) - For Hillary Clinton, it was the candor of longtime supporters such as Charlie Rangel and Barney Frank that told her it was time to go. Politico offers more details from Clinton's conference call with House members, which began with deference but ultimately spelled out the political reality in blunt terms....

Mayor Mike's Gun Suit a Model for Other Cities
Mayor Mike's Gun Suit a Model for Other Cities
OPINION
Jun 6, 2008 8:57 AM CDT

Mayor Mike's Gun Suit a Model for Other Cities

Times applauds Bloomberg for cutting illegal weapons trade

(Newser) - Mike Bloomberg’s quest to curb the gun trade in New York gets a round of applause from the Times today, after 20 out-of-state dealers settled rather than face trial for illegally selling weapons that caused violence in New York. Bloomberg found the loophole in what the Times calls "...

Times Editorial Has White House Seeing Red

Response to editorial swift and sharp

(Newser) - The New York Times lambasted President Bush in an editorial today for opposing the new GI Bill, and the White House swiftly fired back, the Hill reports. The paper “irresponsibly distorted” Bush's opposition to the bill, said a statement from press secretary Dana Perino, who said the editorial "...

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