Senate

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Senator: Open Budget Talks or I'll Shut Down Senate

Ron Johnson threatens to block chamber's business

(Newser) - Every senator has the power to bring the chamber's business to a halt, but only freshman Ron Johnson is threatening to use it. The Wisconsin Republican vowed yesterday that he would block "business as usual" in the Senate by withholding his consent for basic procedures unless debt ceiling...

Obama Steps Into Budget Talks

President will meet with key lawmakers next week

(Newser) - Step aside, Joe. A day after congressional Republicans called off debt-reduction talks with Vice President Joe Biden, the White House announced President Obama will meet directly with key lawmakers next week, reports the Washington Post . Obama will meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on...

Senate Reverses, Votes to Cut Ethanol Subsidies

Shift could endanger $5 billion annually for farm states

(Newser) - The Senate voted today to repeal tax credits for producing ethanol, a vote that budget cutters hope will demonstrate a growing appetite in Congress to end special interest tax breaks to help reduce government borrowing. The Senate voted 73-27 to repeal the $5 billion annual subsidy, just two days after...

LulzSec: We Hacked Senate Site

Intrusion merely 'inconvenient,' says security chief

(Newser) - Hackers from the group Lulz Security have claimed responsibility for what they say was a "small, just-for-kicks" hack of the Senate website. The Senate sergeant at arms confirmed that hackers gained access to the server that supports the Senate’s public website, but said damage was minimal because the...

What Travel Austerity? Congress Globe-Trots in 2011

House lawmakers on track to take 35% more trips in 2011

(Newser) - Just last summer, congressional leaders pledged to spend less on travel—but they're not exactly traveling less. During the first five months of this year, special interest groups have spent more than $1 million on lawmakers’ trips, some 200 of them, nearly double the amount spent during the same...

Banks Lose Fight Over Debit Card Fees

Senate fails to delay new rules slicing payments from retailers

(Newser) - The Senate voted today to let the Federal Reserve slice the fees that stores must pay banks each time a customer swipes a debit card, handing merchants a victory over banks in a lobbying battle over billions in revenue. Senators supporting the banks' efforts to head off the proposal fell...

Senate Rejects Paul Ryan Medicare Plan

Five Republicans join Democrats in voting against budget blueprint

(Newser) - More bad news for Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal: The Senate today rejected Ryan's 2012 budget blueprint that calls for overhauling the system, reports Politico . All Democrats voted against it, as expected. But in a potentially troubling sign for GOP leaders, five Republicans broke ranks and joined them: moderates...

Senate Squashes Bill to End Big Oil Tax Breaks

Bill failed to get a 60-vote supermajority thanks to GOP opposition

(Newser) - Democrats’ bid to strip five top oil companies of some of their more generous tax breaks fell eight votes short of the 60 needed to proceed yesterday, with 45 Republican and three Democratic senators voting against it, the New York Times reports. But Democrats say they won't give up,...

Paul Ryan Won't Run for Senate

His decision clears way for Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin

(Newser) - Paul Ryan will stick with the House. The budget wonk has decided against running for the retiring Herb Kohl's Senate seat in Wisconsin, Ryan tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel . "It would make no sense to leave where I am right now because I have such a bigger impact,"...

Paul Ryan Considers Senate Run

He and Russ Feingold leave open possibility of Wisconsin run

(Newser) - Paul Ryan's fans want him to run for president , but they may have to settle for the Senate. Today's surprise announcement from Democrat Herb Kohl that he won't run for re-election next year in Wisconsin raises the possibility for the House budget wonk. In a statement, Ryan...

John Ensign Gives Farewell Speech—to Empty Room

Senator apologizes to (absent) family and colleagues

(Newser) - John Ensign took the Senate floor one last time yesterday and delivered a contrite farewell speech—to a whole lot of empty chairs. Not one of Ensign's senate colleagues showed up to hear the address; Democrat Chris Coons sat in the presiding officer's chair, but opened a folder...

27% of Senate Press Releases Taunt Other Side

Professor analyzes writings, finds lots of name calling

(Newser) - This could explain why Congress is having such a hard time agreeing on a budget: Its members are too busy taunting one another. A Harvard professor analyzed the writings of Congress members, and found that about 27% of the time, they're just insulting each other. “It’s jarring and...

GOP Files Ethics Complaint on McCaskill

They want investigation into use of tax money for flight

(Newser) - Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is the target of a GOP-filed ethics complaint over her personal plane, Politico reports. McCaskill has acknowledged that she mistakenly used taxpayer money to cover the cost of one purely political trip last year, and she reimbursed the Treasury Department for it last week. Today, Missouri...

Election 2012: Republicans in Good Shape to Take Senate Majority
 GOP in Good Shape 
 to Take Senate Majority 
election 2012
Mar 6, 2011 1:08 PM CST

GOP in Good Shape to Take Senate Majority

Republicans need a net gain of 3 seats, and 5 Dem-held seats are toss-ups

(Newser) - Thanks in part to a rash of Democrats retiring from the Senate , things are looking pretty good for the Republicans in 2012. In the first edition of its 2012 race ratings, The Hill places five seats currently held by Democrats in the “toss-up” column—and Republicans only need a...

Another Democratic Senator Retiring

New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman will not seek reelection, sources say

(Newser) - Democratic officials say Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico intends to retire next year rather than seek a new term. Bingaman would be the latest in a string of departures to hit Democrats as they look ahead to the 2012 election season. He is currently serving his fifth term. Democratic...

Va. Senator Jim Webb Won't Run Again

Democrat will leave after one term

(Newser) - Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia won't run for a second term in 2012, a decision that gives Republicans a better chance of regaining their swing-state Senate seat. Webb, a Vietnam vet and former Navy secretary, said he's heading back to the private sector, reports the Times-Dispatch . Friends tell Politico he...

Civility in DC? Female Senators Show the Way

The 17 women of the chamber regularly gather for dinner

(Newser) - As Washington continues to struggle with divisive political rhetoric, one group has been quietly making strides in the opposite direction: the 17 female senators. “We committed to maintaining a zone of civility here within the institution long before it became the chic thing to do,” says Barbara Mikulski,...

Momentum to Repeal Health Care Unstoppable

Sen. John Thune: Democrats can't keep ignoring reality forever

(Newser) - The Republicans' bid to repeal Obamacare might have failed in the Senate , but the GOP's John Thune thinks Democrats are going to have to face reality about this "awful" bill eventually. Most Americans don't like it, he says—finding a poll to back him up, as folks on both...

Senate Set to Vote on Health Care Repeal

Vote to roll back overhaul expected today

(Newser) - The Senate is expected to hold a showdown vote today on repeal of the health care law. The chamber's Republicans—buoyed by a federal judge's ruling that the health care overhaul is unconstitutional — tacked a repeal amendment onto a massive Federal Aviation Administration budget reauthorization bill being debated in...

Senate Honchos Water Down Filibuster Reform

Lawmakers won't have to talk, like Jimmy Stewart did

(Newser) - A bid to overhaul the Senate's filibuster rules appears to have fallen short of the mark. Instead, lawmakers are expected to approve a set of modest changes in coming days as a compromise, reports the Washington Post . Some Democratic lawmakers wanted to require senators to actually stand and talk the...

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