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WASHINGTON – Congress seems increasingly reluctant to let taxes go up, even on wealthier Americans.

Worried about the fragile economy and their own upcoming elections, a growing number of Democrats are joining the rock-solid Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s plans to let some of the Bush administration’s tax cuts expire.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee’s $5.5 million in July receipts includes a $900,000 insurance payment, helping boost anemic fundraising by the national party.

Federal campaign reports show that Democratic Party committees maintained a cash on hand advantage over their Republican counterparts as they entered the final three months before the election.

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Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama on Thursday renewed his call for Senate Republicans to stop blocking a jobs bill intended to help small businesses.

Just before leaving for vacation, Obama told reporters at the White House that political gamesmanship instead of legitimate policy differences is stalling the bill.

He noted that the legislative process includes “times when good people differ in good faith.”

“This is not one of those times,” Obama said, adding that Republicans drafted parts of the legislation now being filibustered by Senate Republicans to prevent a vote.

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama earned his lowest marks ever on his handling of the economy in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, which also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans now describe the nation’s financial outlook as poor.

A frustrated electorate could take it out on the party in power — Obama’s Democrats — in the November election

Full Story at msnbc.com
All the money they have taken out of SSI because there was a surplus. They need that money now and no one will say that this is the reason SSI is running out of money. The goverment did this why don’t they straighten it out? Because the spent the money they should not have.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama used the anniversary of Social Security to trumpet Democrats’ support for the popular program and accuse Republicans of trying to destroy it.

Seventy-five years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday: “We have an obligation to keep that promise, to safeguard Social Security for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans — today, tomorrow and forever.”

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Washington (CNN) — President Obama will sign a bill Friday that provides $600 million in emergency funding to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

A day earlier, two senators — Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Ben Cardin of Maryland — returned from their August recess to give the chamber’s approval for the bill.

The House of Representatives had already approved the measure.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — Congress is moving rapidly just weeks before the start of the school year to speed billions of dollars in emergency education aid to states in hopes of reversing the layoffs of tens of thousands of teachers.

Some $10 billion in aid to school districts is set to flow after a 61-39 Senate vote Thursday — to be followed quickly by a House vote next week — in hopes that it will come in time for many school districts to reconsider teacher layoffs.

Thursday’s vote was a hard-earned but partial victory for Democrats and President Barack Obama. Advocates said it could save the jobs of up to 300,000 teachers, police and other public workers.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday challenged Senate Republicans to back a bill that would help small businesses, calling its provisions “things the Republican Party has said it supported for years.”

Speaking at a New Jersey sandwich shop, Obama said the bill would help people like the shop’s owners and other small-business operators by easing their tax burden and helping them get more credit.

“Surely, Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to agree on this bill,” Obama said.

Full Story at CNN.com

Washington (CNN) — The Obama administration will push for letting tax cuts for wealthy Americans expire while extending them for the rest of the nation, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said.

In interviews broadcast Sunday on ABC and NBC, Geithner called for a balanced approach as the economy recovers from the recession that started in 2008 while facing mounting federal debt.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — An epic fight is brewing over what Congress and President Obama should do about the expiring Bush tax cuts, with such substantial economic and political consequences that it could shape the fall elections and fiscal policy for years to come.

Democratic leaders, including Mr. Obama, say they are intent on letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled at the end of this year. But they have pledged to continue the lower tax rates for individuals earning less than $200,000 and families earning less than $250,000 — what Democrats call the middle class.

Most Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, and some Democrats agree, saying it would be unwise to raise taxes on anyone while the economy remains weak. If no action is taken, taxes on income, dividends, capital gains and estates would all rise.