Senate Democrats

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Senate Dems Blow Off Obama's Budget Wish List

Leadership struggling to pass spending bill

(Newser) - As they rush to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government, one might imagine that Senate Democrats would heed President Obama's requests for funds for health care or Wall Street reform, but that's not exactly the case. Republicans didn't include those things in the House budget,...

Washington's Next Brawl: Senate's Budget Plan

Schumer: A 'great opportunity' for new revenues

(Newser) - So the fiscal cliff battle is over, and House Republicans look ready to approve a debt-ceiling increase through March. But taxes aren't out of the spotlight: Now, the stage is set for a tussle over Senate Democrats' budget blueprint, which Dems like Charles Schumer are calling "a great...

There's Hope: 'Major Progress' on Fiscal Cliff

But sticking points exist after flurry of overnight negotiations

(Newser) - So just where are we on the fiscal cliff? After Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid hit an impasse yesterday , McConnell called in Joe Biden, and after a flurry of offers that included President Obama and went throughout the night, Politico finds "major progress" and reason for hope this morning....

Hawaii Gov. Picks Brian Schatz to Fill Inouye's Seat

But it goes against late senator's 'last wish'

(Newser) - The late Sen. Daniel Inouye's seat has been filled—although his replacement goes against Inouye's "last wish," the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie today chose Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, a former leader of the state Democratic Party, to take Inouye's vacant seat in...

Fiscal Cliff's Great Last Hope: the Senate?

But Democrats would need assurances from Mitch McConnell

(Newser) - With Plan B dead and gone , could Plan S save the day? The New York Times today shifts its attention from the gridlocked House to the Senate, following yesterday's plea by GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Johnny Isakson to Senate leaders to make a scaled-back deal with President...

Filibuster Fight Heads to Court

House Dems sue over 'accident of history'

(Newser) - The battle over the Senate filibuster is moving beyond Capitol Hill gridlock and into the courtroom: While Harry Reid fights the procedural tactic in the Senate, four House Democrats have taken the matter to the federal courts. They're joined in their lawsuit by Common Cause, a nonpartisan reform organization....

Maine's New Senator to Caucus With Democrats

Not a shocking move for independent King, but strengthens Dems' hold

(Newser) - Maine's independent senator-elect, Angus King, will caucus with Democrats, increasing the left's hold on the Senate to a 10-vote advantage, reports CNN . The former governor until now refused to say which party he'd caucus with, though both sides expected the left-leaning King to go for the Democrats....

Elizabeth Warren Goes to Washington

Will she hold fast to populist stances, or learn art of compromise?

(Newser) - Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren is heading back to Washington, this time riding in as a member of the very institution that sent her unceremoniously packing over her anti-Wall Street rhetoric and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the New York Times takes a look at what sort of legislator the latest...

Let&#39;s Banish the Filibuster
 Let's Banish the Filibuster 
EZRA KLEIN
Nov 8, 2012 12:37 PM CST

Let's Banish the Filibuster

It's now just an obstruction, not a voice for minority party: Ezra Klein

(Newser) - With the election behind us, it's time to get rid of the power to filibuster in the Senate, writes Ezra Klein at Bloomberg View . What was once a rare legislative move is now abused on a regular basis—it's become "simply a rule that the minority party...

2 Caribbean Women: NJ Senator Paid Us for Sex

Women point finger at Democrat Bob Menendez

(Newser) - Two women from the Dominican Republic tell the Daily Caller that New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez gave them money in exchange for sex at a resort in that country this spring, in a report getting picked up by conservative blogs. In interviews given via translator, the two, who asked to...

Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law
Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law
What Supreme Court?
Apr 24, 2012 8:55 AM CDT

Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law

If Supreme Court upholds, they'll force Republicans to pick a side on prickly issue

(Newser) - Even if the Supreme Court upholds Arizona's immigration law this summer, Senate Democrats are just going to go ahead and stick Republicans between a rock and a hard place on the controversial law. Chuck Schumer is set to announce Plan B today: legislation that would require the approval of...

Expect Senate Gridlock to Remain in 2013

Neither party likely to take effective majority

(Newser) - The 2012 election may generate plenty of headlines, but it's not going to get a gridlocked Washington moving again—in large part thanks to the outlook for the Senate. Neither party is poised to win the kind of majority that could exert any real authority, the Washington Post notes....

Senators to Komen: Restore Planned Parenthood Cuts

22 Democrats sign letter to breast cancer charity

(Newser) - The outcry over the Susan G. Komen foundation's decision to cut Planned Parenthood funding has made its way to Capitol Hill. Some 22 Democratic senators—a large number for such an undertaking, notes the Plum Line blog at the Washington Post —have signed a letter calling on Komen...

Bad News for Dems? Ben Nelson Retiring

Nebraska seat could shift to Republicans in Senate

(Newser) - Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson won't seek reelection next year, potentially harming Democratic hopes to hold onto the Senate majority, Politico reports. Though Nelson's approval ratings had struggled, they were on the rise this year, thanks in part to $1 million in national Democratic Party advertising. Meanwhile, Republicans spent...

GOP Pulls 'Reverse Braveheart' on Payroll Tax

Scots got slaughtered, points out Dana Milbank

(Newser) - Last night, as the House was on the verge of scuttling the payroll tax cut extension , House Republicans gathered in a Capitol basement to talk—Braveheart? “You, Mr. Speaker, are our William Wallace," one rep has said. "Let’s rush to the fight." Besides being a...

Congress&#39; Productivity Plunges
 Congress' Productivity Plunges 
Dec 6, 2011 7:01 AM CST

Congress' Productivity Plunges

Hill approving fewer bills, fewer laws being signed

(Newser) - Non-election years are typically productive times for Congress, but not this year. As of last week, the House had passed 326 bills, its fewest in the last 10 non-election years, while the Senate had green-lit 368, its lowest total since 1995, the Washington Post observes. (For comparison, the House passed...

Obama 2012? Some Dems in Congress Won't Say

Some moderates, liberals reluctant to voice support for reelection bid

(Newser) - It may not come as a surprise that Joe Lieberman isn’t sure where he stands on President Obama’s reelection bid—but a number of Obama’s fellow Democrats aren’t rushing to support him, either. Instead, they’re refusing to comment or choosing their words carefully, Politico finds....

Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill
 Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill  
Oct 21, 2011 7:14 AM CDT

Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill

Portion of larger American Jobs Act won't move forward

(Newser) - President Obama’s first attempt to split his American Jobs Act into smaller bites did not go well: His $35 billion package, intended to protect the jobs of teachers and first responders, was blocked in the Senate last night. Democrats couldn’t get the 60 votes needed to move the...

Obama Backs Senate's Millionaires Tax

Says jobs bill will guard against Europe debt crisis fallout

(Newser) - President Obama delivered another plea for his jobs bill today, and said he approved of the 5% surtax on millionaires the Senate came up with to pay for it. “I’m fine with the approach they have taken,” Obama said at the press conference, though the New York ...

Senate Dems Float 5% Millionaires' Tax

Instead of the raft of tax changes President Obama proposed

(Newser) - Senate Democrats today proposed a 5% surtax on all income above $1 million as a way to pay for President Obama’s jobs bill—throwing out Obama’s more intricate suggestion for eliminating various tax deductions for the wealthy, oil companies, and other businesses. The surtax would hit all income,...

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