Congress – News Stories About Congress - Page 46

Feb 20, 2010 4:30 PM CST

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 ...

Toyota Chief Will Appear Before Congress After All

Feb 18, 2010 5:54 PM CST

Toyota Chief Will Appear Before Congress After All

Akia Toyoda accepts formal invitation from congressman

(Newser) - Toyota's president has changed his mind and will appear before a House committee to answer questions about his company's recent troubles. The switch by Akio Toyoda came after he received a formal invitation from Rep. Edolphus Towns, reports Bloomberg . "I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the...

Dems Fight High Court's Campaign Finance Ruling

Feb 12, 2010 12:10 PM CST

Dems Fight High Court's Campaign Finance Ruling

New law would seek to limit flood of corporate cash

(Newser) - Democratic legislators introduced a bill yesterday designed to mitigate the impact of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that gutted decades of campaign finance reform efforts. They’re hoping to get the bill passed ASAP, so corporate money can’t dominate the 2010 election—something that many fear would favor Republicans,...

GOP Makes
More Gains
With Public

poll numbers

Feb 10, 2010 9:07 AM CST

GOP Makes More Gains With Public

More than half of America feels 'anti-incumbent'

(Newser) - There’s more bad news for Democrats in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll , which shows that the once-decimated Republicans have essentially evened the playing field. More than 70% gave Congress a failing grade, with almost half saying they felt “anti-incumbent” to just more than a third feeling “...

House Scrutinizes
Health Insurer's
39% Rate Hike

Feb 10, 2010 5:50 AM CST

House Scrutinizes Health Insurer's 39% Rate Hike

Anthem Blue Cross jacks some premiums in California

(Newser) - As Congress opened a probe into a health insurer's impending premium hikes of up to 39%, President Obama yesterday cited Anthem Blue Cross's rate increases as evidence of the need for health care reform. "If we don't act, this is just a preview of coming attractions," Obama said....

Colin Powell Backs Repeal
of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Feb 3, 2010 4:11 PM CST

Colin Powell Backs Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Architect of military's gay ban says times have changed

(Newser) - Colin Powell says he supports efforts to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Powell, who proposed the policy as a compromise in 1993 while serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he "fully" backs the plan outlined by defense chief Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, who...

Obama Must Use 'Shame,' GOP's 'Sketchy Bladders'

Feb 3, 2010 1:50 PM CST

Obama Must Use 'Shame,' GOP's 'Sketchy Bladders'

Democrats should make GOP pay for being obstructionists

(Newser) - With bipartisanship dead and Republicans in love with the filibuster, Barack Obama has few weapons. Marc Ambinder surveys the landscape and comes up with a measly two—shame and the "sketchy bladders" of old white Republicans. First, Obama must "shame Republicans. Increase the costs of not doing business"...

Obama to
Democrats:
'We Still Have
to Lead'

Feb 3, 2010 11:03 AM CST

Obama to Democrats: 'We Still Have to Lead'

President reminds senators they still have a big majority

(Newser) - President Obama implored Senate Democrats today to stay aggressive in pushing their agenda despite the loss of one vital seat, saying: "We still have to lead." Speaking to his party's senators at their strategy conference, Obama reminded Democrats they still hold a 59-41 majority. For Democrats searching for...

Health Reform:
It's 1994 All Over Again

ANALYSIS

Feb 1, 2010 12:06 PM CST

Health Reform: It's 1994 All Over Again

Parallels to last time comprehensive legislation died are stark

(Newser) - Even a cursory look at Democrats’ activity on health care reform brings back clear memories of their 1994 failure to pass comprehensive legislation. For instance, write Carrie Budoff Brown and Chris Frates, “the same people who spent months arguing that reform had to be jammed through quickly” are now...

'Let's Seize the Moment,
Start Anew': Obama

STATE OF THE UNION

Jan 27, 2010 8:25 PM CST

'Let's Seize the Moment, Start Anew': Obama

President focuses on health, jobs, ugly politics

(Newser) - In his first State of the Union address, President Obama waded directly into the financial crisis and the partisan mire of Capitol Hill in tonight’s wide-ranging speech. Obama said the US economy is still struggling, but “the worst of the storm has passed.” And, he urged the...

Bishops to Congress:
Get Health Reform Done

NOW THEY'RE FOR IT

Jan 27, 2010 9:10 AM CST

Bishops to Congress: Get Health Reform Done

Church's role in health debate becomes even more paradoxical

(Newser) - The US Catholic bishops, whose primary role in the health care debate until recently was to voice concern about abortion funding, have changed tack in the wake of Scott Brown's election and are now urging Congress not to abandon the "moral imperative" of universal health coverage. The appeal the...

After Brown, GOP Sees
More Seats in Play

Jan 25, 2010 3:00 AM CST

After Brown, GOP Sees More Seats in Play

Republican candidates gain confidence boost for 2010

(Newser) - Scott Brown’s surprise victory in Massachusetts has reinvigorated Republican hopes for making gains in the 2010 elections. The GOP is now inspired to take on long shots, and is fielding candidates for the Wisconsin and Indiana Senate seats, which only weeks ago were assumed to be Democratic locks. In...

White House Party-Crashers
Take the Fifth

Jan 20, 2010 4:37 PM CST

White House Party-Crashers Take the Fifth

Congressmen chide Salahis for professing support for Secret Service

(Newser) - Alleged White House gate-crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi said little to a House panel today, repeatedly invoking their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. The couple took the Fifth a combined total of 30 times as they refused to cooperate with the security committee's investigation into the Secret Service lapse that...

Voters Losing Faith in
Obama, Democrats

NEW POLL

Jan 19, 2010 6:17 PM CST

Voters Losing Faith in Obama, Democrats

People split on which party should control Congress; first time since '03

(Newser) - President Obama is still personally popular with voters, but approval of his party continues to slip and galvanize support for Republicans, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows. Voters are split 41%-41% on which party should control Congress after November—the first time voters haven't favored Democrats in this poll...

Now Dodd Can Make a Real Difference

Jan 7, 2010 11:37 AM CST

Now Dodd Can Make a Real Difference

Lame duck can cut a deal with GOP on financial oversight

(Newser) - Sen. Chris Dodd’s decision not to seek reelection could make financial regulatory reform more likely while burnishing his own tainted legacy. Oddly, the route to legislative success for the historically Wall Street-connected Dodd would require him to back away from the more populist, pro-consumer stance he took when his...

Obama Wants State of the Union Moved to February

MORE TIME FOR HEALTH BILL

Jan 6, 2010 8:48 PM CST

Obama Wants State of the Union Moved to February

President aims for health bill to be complete, signed

(Newser) - President Obama wants his State of the Union address to be in early February, a week or so later than usual, so Congress (which must formally invite him to speak) can hammer out a final health-reform bill. “The president wants to be able to talk about health care in...

5 Things Obama Has Done Right (or Better Than You Thought)

MARK HALPERIN

Dec 28, 2009 12:13 PM CST

5 Things Obama Has Done Right (or Better Than You Thought)

...and 5 failures bigger than you realize

(Newser) - Obama clearly ran a successful campaign—but what kind of a job did he do running the country in his first year at the helm? While the president "has not been overmatched, he has not yet mastered the role either," Mark Halperin writes in Time . Some things he's...

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...