Senate – News Stories About Senate - Page 23

Barney Frank on Senate: 'Coach, Put Me In!'

Jan 4, 2013 10:32 AM CST

Barney Frank on Senate: 'Coach, Put Me In!'

Former congressman admits he'd like John Kerry's seat

(Newser) - Barney Frank wants to temporarily fill John Kerry's probably-soon-to-be-empty Senate seat, and he's not making a secret of it. "I'm not going to be coy. It's not something I've ever been good at. I've told the governor that I would now like, frankly,...

Joe Biden:
'Spread Your Legs,
You're Gonna Be Frisked'

Jan 3, 2013 5:03 PM CST

Joe Biden: 'Spread Your Legs, You're Gonna Be Frisked'

VP is Biden-esque form at mock swearing-in of senators

(Newser) - Joe Biden was in jokesy Uncle Joe mode today at the mock swearing-in of new senators. BuzzFeed takes note of the most talked-about line, when he bantered with North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp and her family as they got directions from the photographer:

“Spread your legs. You’re gonna

...

Goodbye, 112th Congress,
We Hardly Liked Ye

OPINION

Jan 3, 2013 10:42 AM CST

Goodbye, 112th Congress, We Hardly Liked Ye

Pundits remind us just how do-nothing this Congress has been

(Newser) - Today sees the end of the 112th Congress and the start of the 113th , and that has a few pundits shedding a tear—from laughing so hard at how futile and ridiculous this last wave of Congress has been. Among the adieus to the 112th:

Gail Collins, the New York

...

Congress
Votes Down
Pay Hike
for Itself

Jan 2, 2013 8:57 AM CST

Congress Votes Down Pay Hike for Itself

Obama's executive order draws fire

(Newser) - It seems lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can agree on one thing: They don't deserve a raise. The Senate's fiscal cliff bill contains a single sentence provision that will stop Congress from getting a scheduled cost-of-living salary bump, Roll Call reports. President Obama had issued an...

8 Senators Rejected Cliff Deal

Jan 1, 2013 7:55 AM CST

8 Senators Rejected Cliff Deal

3 Democrats, 5 Republicans said no to bipartisan plan

(Newser) - A deal to neutralize the fiscal cliff cruised through the Senate 89-8 in a late-night session and is headed for the House, whose session today begins at noon . The deal contains the first federal income tax hike in nearly 20 years, but the eight refuseniks weren't all Republicans, the...

Senate Passes Cliff Deal

Jan 1, 2013 2:28 AM CST

Senate Passes Cliff Deal

Plan sails through 89-8; House vote comes later

(Newser) - The Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to neutralize a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. The vote two hours after the deadline was a lopsided 89-8 in favor. Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in...

McConnell:
We've Agreed
'on All Tax
Issues'

Dec 31, 2012 2:30 PM CST

McConnell: We've Agreed 'on All Tax Issues'

GOP senator calls for passage of 'tax relief portion now'

(Newser) - Hours away from the fiscal cliff deadline, GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor today that "we've reached an agreement on all of the tax issues." He added that negotiators are "very, very close" to striking a deal and said he agreed with President...

Senate Report
Blasts State Dept.
on Benghazi

Dec 31, 2012 11:55 AM CST

Senate Report Blasts State Dept. on Benghazi

Lieberman-Collins report echoes independent probe

(Newser) - The State Department didn't provide its Benghazi team with enough protection against possible threats, a bipartisan Senate report finds, marking the second slap at State this month over the Libya attack. What's more, intelligence pointed to the attack being the work of terrorists all along—but the Obama...

There's Hope:
'Major Progress'
on Fiscal Cliff

Dec 31, 2012 7:58 AM CST

There's Hope: 'Major Progress' on Fiscal Cliff

But sticking points exist after flurry of overnight negotiations

(Newser) - So just where are we on the fiscal cliff? After Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid hit an impasse yesterday , McConnell called in Joe Biden, and after a flurry of offers that included President Obama and went throughout the night, Politico finds "major progress" and reason for hope this morning....

Reid: House
'Watching Movies'
as We Go
Over Cliff

Dec 27, 2012 12:07 PM CST

Reid: House 'Watching Movies' as We Go Over Cliff

Accuses Boehner of running House like a 'dictatorship'

(Newser) - It "looks like" America is headed over the fiscal cliff, and if it does, Harry Reid is placing the blame squarely on House Republicans "who are out watching movies," reports Politico . Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Reid excoriated John Boehner for not simply bringing the...

Affleck Also
Not Running
for Senate

UPDATED

Dec 25, 2012 2:14 PM CST

Affleck Also Not Running for Senate

Joins Ted Kennedy Jr. in declining to run for Kerry's seat

(Newser) - Ben Affleck is done being coy about his political ambitions, and is joining the growing list of people who won't be running for John Kerry's Senate seat, reports Politico . "I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office," Affleck wrote on...

Fiscal Cliff's
Great Last Hope:
the Senate?

Dec 24, 2012 7:58 AM CST

Fiscal Cliff's Great Last Hope: the Senate?

But Democrats would need assurances from Mitch McConnell

(Newser) - With Plan B dead and gone , could Plan S save the day? The New York Times today shifts its attention from the gridlocked House to the Senate, following yesterday's plea by GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Johnny Isakson to Senate leaders to make a scaled-back deal with President...

Idaho Senator
Arrested for Drunk Driving

Dec 24, 2012 5:23 AM CST

Idaho Senator Arrested for Drunk Driving

Mike Crapo previously said that as a Mormon he doesn't drink

(Newser) - A conservative Utah senator has apologized to "my family, my Idaho constituents, and any others who have put their trust in me," after being arrested in Virginia in the wee hours of yesterday morning with a blood-alcohol level of .11, reports Politico . Mike Crapo was arrested after police...

Leahy 3rd in Line to Presidency

Dec 18, 2012 3:27 PM CST

Leahy 3rd in Line to Presidency

He is now president pro tempore of the Senate

(Newser) - The death of Daniel Inouye of Hawaii yesterday has Democrats shuffling committee posts and such, but one change in particular carries some import with the Constitution. Patrick Leahy of Vermont got sworn in as president pro tempore of the Senate, which puts him third in line to the presidency behind...

Rep. Tim Scott
Tapped for
DeMint's Seat

say GOP sources

Dec 17, 2012 8:59 AM CST

Rep. Tim Scott Tapped for DeMint's Seat

Nikki Haley to announce choice at noon

(Newser) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has chosen GOP Rep. Tim Scott to take over Jim DeMint's Senate seat, CNN reports by way of GOP sources. She's set to make the announcement today at noon. Scott will be the state's first black senator since the late 1800s, the...

Filibuster Fight
Heads to Court

Dec 10, 2012 12:09 PM CST

Filibuster Fight Heads to Court

House Dems sue over 'accident of history'

(Newser) - The battle over the Senate filibuster is moving beyond Capitol Hill gridlock and into the courtroom: While Harry Reid fights the procedural tactic in the Senate, four House Democrats have taken the matter to the federal courts. They're joined in their lawsuit by Common Cause, a nonpartisan reform organization....

Jim DeMint Leaving the Senate

Dec 6, 2012 10:04 AM CST

Jim DeMint Leaving the Senate

He'll become head of the Heritage Foundation

(Newser) - Jim DeMint is resigning his Senate post so he can take a gig as president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, he announced today. DeMint will step down in early January, the Wall Street Journal reports. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will appoint an interim replacement until a special election can...

Santorum: GOP Right to Block Disability Treaty

OPINION

Dec 5, 2012 1:35 PM CST

Santorum: GOP Right to Block Disability Treaty

Other pundits: GOP embracing weird conspiracy theories

(Newser) - When the GOP blocked the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last night, Rick Santorum sent out a tweet proclaiming, "We did it." Santorum was one of the foremost voices calling for Republicans to reject the treaty, and in the Daily Beast today he...

Senate GOP Blocks Disabled Rights Treaty

Dec 5, 2012 5:00 AM CST

Senate GOP Blocks Disabled Rights Treaty

Bob Dole makes appeal; Kerry calls vote saddest day in years

(Newser) - Bob Dole watched from a wheelchair on the Senate floor yesterday as his Republican former colleagues rejected a United Nations disability rights treaty modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act he championed in 1990, the Kansas City Star reports. GOP opponents of the treaty claimed it would surrender American sovereignty...

Pelosi to
Try to Force
Vote on Bush
Tax Cuts

Dec 4, 2012 11:25 AM CST

Pelosi to Try to Force Vote on Bush Tax Cuts

Boehner takes GOP 'fiscal cliff' case to the press

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi will file a motion today to force a vote on Bush-era tax cuts, her office says. The House minority leader's "discharge petition" would aim for a vote this month on extending the cuts for those earning less than $250,000, while ending them for those earning...