Senate

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Specter Chides Kagan on Dodging, May Vote No

But her confirmation appears certain

(Newser) - Elena Kagan has demonstrated a winning sense of humor during her confirmation hearings, but count Democrat Arlen Specter among those unamused. When she refused (as she has throughout the hearings) to provide a detailed response to a legal question, he cut her short to criticize her evasion and warned that...

Byrd's Death Sets Back Financial Reform

Scott Brown and Susan Collins wavering

(Newser) - Robert Byrd is dead, and the financial reform bill might not be far behind. Byrd’s demise comes just days after the Senate and House had hammered out a final version of the legislation, and dashes hopes that it could be voted on this week. West Virginia’s Democratic governor...

Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92
 Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92 
Jun 28, 2010 7:52 AM CDT

Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92

West Virginian served in Congress since 1952

(Newser) - West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd died early this morning at the age of 92. The longest-serving senator in US history, Byrd was a conservative Democrat known for his fiery oratory and his skill at steering federal funds to battle poverty in his home state. Byrd was first elected to the...

Senate GOP Blocks Extension of Jobless Benefits

Democrats falls 3 votes short

(Newser) - Senate Republicans defeated Democrats' election-year jobs bill, including an extension of weekly unemployment benefits for more than a million people out of work more than 6 months. The 57-41 vote fell three votes short of the 60 required to crack a GOP filibuster, delivering a major blow to President Obama...

Nikki Haley Has Big Lead
 Nikki Haley Race 
 Heads to Runoff 
primary night
Jun 8, 2010 9:00 PM CDT

Nikki Haley Race Heads to Runoff

She's the top vote-getter in SC governor's primary

(Newser) - Nikki Haley easily survived the whiff of scandal tonight in her first step toward becoming South Carolina's first female governor. With nearly all the votes counted, Haley held a double-digit lead over her Republican primary opponents, though she is just short of the 50% mark needed to avoid a runoff,...

Daily Show Tricks Larry Craig
 Daily Show Tricks Larry Craig 
Jun 3, 2010 6:21 AM CDT

Daily Show Tricks Larry Craig

Ex-senator goes on and on about 'perks' of the job

(Newser) - Larry Craig was so convinced he wouldn’t be discussing “the past” during his appearance on last night’s Daily Show, he had a former member of his staff send around an email saying just that. The appearance, part of a segment on retired senators, was supposed to be...

Jobless Man Sends Senator Angry Emails, Gets Arrested

Faces felony charges over notes to Bunning

(Newser) - When Sen. Jim Bunning single-handedly blocked an expansion of unemployment benefits—and complained that he'd had to miss a Kentucky-South Carolina basketball game to do it—unemployed Philadelphia man Bruce Shore did what any furious voter would do: he sent Bunning an email. “ARE you'all insane?” it read. “...

Why I'll Miss Arlen Specter, Warts and All

He regularly thumbed his nose at party-line automatons

(Newser) - It's so easy to dislike Arlen Specter, writes Dana Milbank. Let us count the ways: "Ornery, vain, disloyal, and a brazen opportunist." And let's not forget the infamous quote that brings all those characteristics into play: "My change in party will enable me to be reelected."...

Senate Passes Wall Street Reform
 Senate Passes 
 Wall Street Reform 
UPDATED
May 21, 2010 5:43 AM CDT

Senate Passes Wall Street Reform

Measure must now be reconciled with House version

(Newser) - Prodded by national anger at Wall Street, the Senate tonight passed the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the Great Depression. The massive bill would touch Wall Street CEOs and first-time home buyers, high-flying traders, and small-town lenders. The 59-39 vote represents an important achievement for President Obama. The...

Financial Overhaul Advances in Senate

Harry Reid gets just enough votes to end debate

(Newser) - The Senate today cleared the way—barely—for final passage of the financial regulation bill. The vote was 60-40, just enough to meet the threshold needed to end debate. Harry Reid got help from Republicans Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins, to counteract Democrats Russ Feingold and Maria Cantwell,...

Run for Senate, Campbell Brown
 Run for Senate, 
 Campbell Brown 
bill Kristol
May 20, 2010 1:02 PM CDT

Run for Senate, Campbell Brown

CNN anchor should run against Chuck Schumer

(Newser) - Now that Campbell Brown is giving up her CNN gig , what next? Bill Kristol has an idea: Run for the Senate. "Brown is now a free woman, she's a well-spoken and impressive one, she lives in New York, and she has moderate political views," he explains at his...

Democrats Defy Reid, Keep Financial Debate Going

They want tougher amendments

(Newser) - Harry Reid had to fight with Republicans to begin debate on financial reform, and now he's got to fight fellow Democrats to end it. He called a vote today to move toward final passage ("We've got to put this thing to rest"), only to have Democrats such as...

Fed Oversight Failed in Gulf Oil Catastrophe: Salazar

Feds should have more oversight on safety devices, he says

(Newser) - Ken Salazar admitted today that the government should have had better standards in place on the devices built to prevent disasters on offshore oil wells. The interior secretary said he believed "additional work should have been done on blowout preventers," reports USA Today . "There will be tremendous...

Arlen Specter's in Trouble, for Good Reason
Arlen Specter's in Trouble,
for Good Reason
opinion
May 13, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

Arlen Specter's in Trouble, for Good Reason

He's a man of two parties amid anti-incumbent fever

(Newser) - Arlen Specter is in a dogfight to keep his Senate seat—the latest poll has fellow Democrat Joe Sestak up 9 points, notes USA Today —and no wonder. The Republican-turned-Democrat looks "like an incumbent of two parties in a year when it’s better to be an incumbent...

What the Climate Change Bill Would Do

It aims to curb offshore drilling, promote nuclear power

(Newser) - John Kerry and Joe Lieberman unveiled their climate change legislation today, and the Huffington Post lays out some key provisions:
  • Offshore drilling: In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, states would be allowed to ban drilling up to 75 miles off their coastline. And 37.5% of revenues are
...

Oil Execs' Refrain: Don't Blame Me, Blame Him
Oil Execs' Refrain: Don't Blame Me, Blame Him
updated
May 11, 2010 3:50 PM CDT

Oil Execs' Refrain: Don't Blame Me, Blame Him

BP, Transocean, Halliburton CEOs testify in DC

(Newser) - As expected , the leaders of the oil and oil service companies involved with the Gulf oil spill attempted to shift blame onto one another at a Senate hearing today. Executives from BP, Transocean, and Halliburton each blamed the other companies' work for the blowout, the Washington Post reports. BP's...

Palin Backs Fiorina Over Tea Partier, Riles Up Fans

Stunned Chuck DeVore supporters vent on Facebook

(Newser) - Sarah Palin yesterday endorsed Carly Fiorina in the race to unseat California Sen. Barbara Boxer, stirring up howls of protest on her Facebook page from fans of Tea Party favorite Chuck DeVore. "That's 2 strikes against you, little sister!" writes one furious follower, referring to Palin's McCain endorsement...

GOP Drops Filibuster on Financial Reform

They agree to allow the bill onto the floor for debate

(Newser) - The three-day standoff over the financial reform bill is over in the Senate. Now the real fight begins. Republicans dropped their filibuster and allowed the bill to proceed to the floor for debate instead of blocking it a fourth time. Talks to forge a bipartisan deal behind closed doors apparently...

GOP Blocks Debate on Financial Bill for Third Time

Political stalemate continues in the Senate

(Newser) - See if this sounds familiar: Republicans today blocked debate on a financial reform bill in the Senate, reports the AP . As promised, Harry Reid tried for the third time in as many days to bring the bill to the floor, only to run into unified GOP opposition. He said earlier...

Stewart Rips Senate on Goldman Grandstanding

'August' chamber uses bad words, but it's all show

(Newser) - If senators are so torn up about Goldman Sachs ripping off consumers, why don't they do something about it instead of whining and airing their "impotent rage" on national TV? In reality, they're too busy "spending every minute kissing the asses of any wrinkled constituent with $20,"...

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