Category Archives: Lawmakers

White House, GOP senators file health care law arguments

By doris | Published: January 7, 2012

Full Story at CNN.com Washington (CNN) — The Obama administration Friday filed papers with the U.S. Supreme Court outlining its arguments in favor of the minimum coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act — the latest move in a high-stakes legal battle playing out in the heat of the presidential campaigns. Justice Department lawyers essentially [...]

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New laws toughen rules on abortions, immigrants, voters

By doris | Published: December 31, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com About 40,000 state laws taking effect at the start of the new year will change rules about getting abortions in New Hampshire, learning about gays and lesbians in California, getting jobs in Alabama and even driving golf carts in Georgia. Several federal rules change with the new year, too, including a [...]

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How ballot access laws hurt voters

By doris | Published: December 30, 2011

Full Story at CNN.com (CNN) — Only two Republican presidential candidates will appear on the ballot in Virginia next year, regardless of how many are in the race. Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will have the Dominion State all to themselves. Supporters of Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann will [...]

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Payroll tax cut: What’s at stake

By doris | Published: December 1, 2011

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Come January, will 160 million American workers owe a) more than; b) less than; c) the same as they’ve been paying in payroll taxes this year? The answer will be revealed when lawmakers decide in the next few weeks if they will let a one-year payroll tax [...]

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‘I pay your salary,’ snaps historian to lawmaker in tense House hearing

By doris | Published: November 24, 2011

Full Story at NBCPolitics.msnbc.msn.com Heated discussions are commonplace on Capitol Hill, but it’s rare form for a witness and a legislator to have at it. But it happened on Friday when Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young sparred (intensely) with historian Douglas Brinkley at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee. Brinkley recently authored “The [...]

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Senate passes $182B spending bill

By doris | Published: November 1, 2011

Full Story at  msnbc.com WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved must-do legislation to fund the day-to-day budgets of five Cabinet agencies, kick-starting long overdue work to add the details to budget limits agreed to by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans this summer. The bipartisan 69-30 vote came on a $182 billion bundle of three [...]

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Congress at it again

By doris | Published: September 24, 2011

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — To those still trying to salvage homes wrecked by natural disasters this summer, don’t worry. Congress has your back. There is just no way lawmakers would let funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency run out. Well, they probably won’t. They don’t want to anyway. But they’ve [...]

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Obama to propose $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue

By doris | Published: September 19, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will propose $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of a plan to identify more than $3 trillion in long-term deficit reduction and slow the nation’s escalating national debt. Obama’s tax plan is aimed predominantly at the wealthy and draws sharp contrasts with congressional Republicans. It [...]

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‘Shared sacrifice’: Should Congress cut its pay, benefits?

By doris | Published: September 18, 2011

Full Story at CNN.com Washington (CNN) — Should members of Congress cut their salaries or raise the age at which they can draw a congressional pension when many Americans are making personal sacrifices during the country’s prolonged economic crisis? Sen. Sherrod Brown thinks so. In April, the Ohio Democrat introduced the Shared Retirement Sacrifice Act [...]

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Book: Jackie said JFK scorned idea of Johnson as president

By doris | Published: September 9, 2011

Full Story atTODAY.msnbc.msn.com NEW YORK — President John F. Kennedy openly scorned the notion of Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson succeeding him in office, according to a book of newly released interviews with his widow, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. She said her husband and his brother then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy even discussed ways [...]

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Nanny State? Calif. May Force Parents To Pay Babysitters Workers’ Comp, OT

By doris | Published: September 6, 2011

Full Story at Los Angelescbslocal.com LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The next time you plan a movie night without the kids, you may have to provide more than just pizza for your babysitter. Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento are fast-tracking a bill that would require workers’ compensation benefits, meal breaks and paid vacation time for all “domestic [...]

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Obama halts tighter smog rule, citing ‘regulatory burdens’

By doris | Published: September 2, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON — Citing the financial burden in a struggling economy and after Republican protests, President Barack Obama on Friday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to shelve a proposal to tighten smog standards. “I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues [...]

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