Congress

Stories 1061 - 1080 | << Prev   Next >>

Obama Success Could Hinge on Address

Big speech to Congress next week likely to make or break health care reform

(Newser) - Barack Obama's address to a  joint session of Congress next Wednesday could well be the biggest moment of his presidency, Nate Silver writes in FiveThirtyEight. Two-thirds of voters are still confused about the president's plans for health care, and this speech will be a make-or-break chance to give them some...

Unreleased Kennedy Memoir Climbing Bestseller Lists

True Compass will be released Sept. 14

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy’s unreleased memoir, True Compass, is already creeping up the bestseller lists. Originally scheduled for 2010, it's been moved up to mid-September by publisher Hachette, which plans to ship 1.5 million copies to booksellers. Pre-orders have put True Compass at No. 9 on Amazon and No. 3...

Sen. Vicki Kennedy? No Consensus on What's Next

Widow was deeply involved in Ted's political career

(Newser) - All agree that Vicki Kennedy turned around husband Ted’s life, but there is little consensus on where the 55-year-old widow will go from here, Politico reports. “All this stuff about her going to the Senate is completely wrong,” says longtime family adviser (and speechwriter) Bob Shrum. Indeed,...

Federal Court Ruling Shakes Up Cable Industry

FCC limit doesn't take into account other sources of competition, court rules

(Newser) - In a decision that could revolutionize the communications industry, a federal appeals court has struck down an FCC rule prohibiting a cable TV company from serving more than 30% of the market, Reuters reports. The court declared the rule "arbitrary and capricious,” noting that cable operators face competition...

Kennedy Leaves Cape Cod for the Last Time

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy's body is en route to Boston, where he will lie in repose at his slain brother's presidential library for 2 days of public visitation. The motorcade carrying the senator's body and members of his family departed the family compound on Cape Cod for the 70-mile trip to the...

Kennedy First on Hill With Own Site
 
 Kennedy First on Hill 
 With Own Site 
APPRECIATION
Aug 26, 2009 10:00 PM CDT

Kennedy First on Hill With Own Site

(Newser) - Amid the praise for the late Ted Kennedy, one blogger reminds that the Massachusetts senator was the first member of Congress with his own website. “Back in 1993, this was no small feat,” writes Paul Blumenthal for the Sunlight Foundation. “At the time there were no congressional...

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...

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...

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...

Michelle Can Be Obama's Best Weapon in Health Debate

(Newser) - The president appears oblivious to the pocket ace he’s holding on health-care reform, Josh Skolnick writes on the Stimulist: Michelle Obama. Here’s why the first lady should be injected into the debate:
  • Experience: At the University of Chicago, "her whole job was explaining medical decisions and health
...

Dems Hope George Washington Can Tame Town Halls

(Newser) - Democrats are taking some unconventional steps to keep town halls civil, the Hill reports. Rep. Betsy Markey plans to hand out copies of George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior to attendees, in a nod to their patriotic zeal. The first rule? “Every Action done in Company,...

GOP Backed 'Death Panels' ...in 2003
 GOP Backed 
 'Death Panels' 
 ...in 2003 
analysis
Aug 14, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

GOP Backed 'Death Panels' ...in 2003

End-of-life counseling provided in Medicare bill

(Newser) - They’re up in arms against it now, but Republicans voted for a measure providing end-of-life counseling in 2003, Amy Sullivan writes for Time. That year’s Medicare prescription drug bill, which boasted support from 204 GOP representatives and 42 senators, offered funding for “counseling the beneficiary with respect...

Clinton Urges Progressives to Solidify Power

But president, Congress need help cementing it

(Newser) - Political winds have shifted in America, says Bill Clinton: The country has “entered a new era of progressive politics which, if we do it right, could last 30 or 40 years,” the former president told liberal Internet activists at a convention in Pittsburgh. But first, he told Netroots...

Bachmann: I'm Being 'Palinized'
 Bachmann: I'm Being 'Palinized' 
Aug 14, 2009 7:39 AM CDT

Bachmann: I'm Being 'Palinized'

Calls for supporters' help against 'liberals' scorn'

(Newser) - GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann doesn’t want to be “Palinized”—that is, hammered with media attacks and “liberals’ scorn,” she writes in a fundraising letter to supporters. “Just as they did with Sarah Palin, the more I talk about the issues, the more they attack...

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...

Better Health Care Models Already Exist—in the US

Many areas are already putting patients before profits

(Newser) - If you know where to look, “better, safer, lower-cost care is within reach”—in the US, a quartet of health-policy superstars writes in the New York Times. The four doctors reviewed 306 government-defined regions of the country and found 74 that boasted low or declining Medicare costs and...

Faith Groups Rally Behind Obama on Health Reform

Plan rallies, webcast, 55,000 messages to Congress

(Newser) - Religious groups are coming to President Obama’s aid in selling health care reform, backing expanded care through a 40-day campaign promoting the moral argument for reform, CBS News reports. Prayer vigils and rallies will take place in 45 cities today to send a message to Capitol Hill. Later this...

Congressmen Studied Climate Change—on $500K Trip

Lawmakers snorkeled, visited South Pole

(Newser) - Snorkeling, scuba diving, and penguin-watching were on the agenda when 10 members of Congress went on an 11-day trip to study climate change in early 2008, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. Lawmakers from both parties, along with six spouses, visited New Zealand, Antarctica, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef on...

Dodd, Conrad Cleared But Scolded in Mortgage Probe

(Newser) - Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad have been cleared of wrongdoing in taking preferred loans from Countrywide Financial, the Hill reports. But the Senate ethics panel gave both Democrats slaps on the wrist. No “credible evidence” of ethics violations emerged, the committee said in a statement, but two “should...

Congress Plans $550M Upgrade to Its Jet Fleet

(Newser) - Congress plans to spend $550 million to upgrade and expand the fleet of jets used to ferry federal officials around the country and abroad, the Wall Street Journal reports. Funds approved by the House for the military-run fleet call for two 737s and two Gulfstream jets on top of the...

Stories 1061 - 1080 | << Prev   Next >>