Senate Democrats

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2 Caribbean Women: NJ Senator Paid Us for Sex

Women point finger at Democrat Bob Menendez

(Newser) - Two women from the Dominican Republic tell the Daily Caller that New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez gave them money in exchange for sex at a resort in that country this spring, in a report getting picked up by conservative blogs. In interviews given via translator, the two, who asked to...

Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law
Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law
What Supreme Court?
Apr 24, 2012 8:55 AM CDT

Dems Lick Chops Over Arizona Immigration Law

If Supreme Court upholds, they'll force Republicans to pick a side on prickly issue

(Newser) - Even if the Supreme Court upholds Arizona's immigration law this summer, Senate Democrats are just going to go ahead and stick Republicans between a rock and a hard place on the controversial law. Chuck Schumer is set to announce Plan B today: legislation that would require the approval of...

Expect Senate Gridlock to Remain in 2013

Neither party likely to take effective majority

(Newser) - The 2012 election may generate plenty of headlines, but it's not going to get a gridlocked Washington moving again—in large part thanks to the outlook for the Senate. Neither party is poised to win the kind of majority that could exert any real authority, the Washington Post notes....

Senators to Komen: Restore Planned Parenthood Cuts

22 Democrats sign letter to breast cancer charity

(Newser) - The outcry over the Susan G. Komen foundation's decision to cut Planned Parenthood funding has made its way to Capitol Hill. Some 22 Democratic senators—a large number for such an undertaking, notes the Plum Line blog at the Washington Post —have signed a letter calling on Komen...

Bad News for Dems? Ben Nelson Retiring

Nebraska seat could shift to Republicans in Senate

(Newser) - Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson won't seek reelection next year, potentially harming Democratic hopes to hold onto the Senate majority, Politico reports. Though Nelson's approval ratings had struggled, they were on the rise this year, thanks in part to $1 million in national Democratic Party advertising. Meanwhile, Republicans spent...

GOP Pulls 'Reverse Braveheart' on Payroll Tax

Scots got slaughtered, points out Dana Milbank

(Newser) - Last night, as the House was on the verge of scuttling the payroll tax cut extension , House Republicans gathered in a Capitol basement to talk—Braveheart? “You, Mr. Speaker, are our William Wallace," one rep has said. "Let’s rush to the fight." Besides being a...

Congress&#39; Productivity Plunges
 Congress' Productivity Plunges 
Dec 6, 2011 7:01 AM CST

Congress' Productivity Plunges

Hill approving fewer bills, fewer laws being signed

(Newser) - Non-election years are typically productive times for Congress, but not this year. As of last week, the House had passed 326 bills, its fewest in the last 10 non-election years, while the Senate had green-lit 368, its lowest total since 1995, the Washington Post observes. (For comparison, the House passed...

Obama 2012? Some Dems in Congress Won't Say

Some moderates, liberals reluctant to voice support for reelection bid

(Newser) - It may not come as a surprise that Joe Lieberman isn’t sure where he stands on President Obama’s reelection bid—but a number of Obama’s fellow Democrats aren’t rushing to support him, either. Instead, they’re refusing to comment or choosing their words carefully, Politico finds....

Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill
 Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill  
Oct 21, 2011 7:14 AM CDT

Senate Rejects $35B Jobs Bill

Portion of larger American Jobs Act won't move forward

(Newser) - President Obama’s first attempt to split his American Jobs Act into smaller bites did not go well: His $35 billion package, intended to protect the jobs of teachers and first responders, was blocked in the Senate last night. Democrats couldn’t get the 60 votes needed to move the...

Obama Backs Senate's Millionaires Tax

Says jobs bill will guard against Europe debt crisis fallout

(Newser) - President Obama delivered another plea for his jobs bill today, and said he approved of the 5% surtax on millionaires the Senate came up with to pay for it. “I’m fine with the approach they have taken,” Obama said at the press conference, though the New York ...

Senate Dems Float 5% Millionaires' Tax

Instead of the raft of tax changes President Obama proposed

(Newser) - Senate Democrats today proposed a 5% surtax on all income above $1 million as a way to pay for President Obama’s jobs bill—throwing out Obama’s more intricate suggestion for eliminating various tax deductions for the wealthy, oil companies, and other businesses. The surtax would hit all income,...

Dems Balking at Obama Jobs Bill

Some lawmakers want to break up $447B bill

(Newser) - President Obama is touring the country trying to sell his $447 billion jobs plan to voters but even some lawmakers from his own party are still skeptical, the New York Times finds. Some Democrats, balking at certain portions of the American Jobs Act, say they cannot support the bill as...

Harry Reid: House 'Having Trouble' on Debt Ceiling

Caucuses to meet this morning in scramble to resolve crisis

(Newser) - Harry Reid tossed some zingers at Republicans last night after they failed to vote on John Boehner’s debt ceiling plan. Reid adjourned the Senate just before 11pm, the Hill reports, saying, “I apologize to everyone for the late hour, but we've been waiting for the House to...

GOP Senate to Force Dems to Raise Debt Ceiling Solo?

They're toying with the idea of withholding all support

(Newser) - With the United States poised to crash into its $14.294 trillion debt ceiling no later than May 16, Senate Republicans are considering letting Democrats raise it all on their own, with a straight party vote, reports the Huffington Post . Republicans have been insisting on spending cuts and reforms in...

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...

Lawmakers Busy Sniping as Budget Talks Stall

Obama calls White House meeting as deadline looms

(Newser) - The federal government is careening rapidly toward a shutdown, so Democrats and Republicans alike are scrambling to ... lob political grenades at each other. Still. A roundup of the latest:
  • President Obama today invited John Boehner, Harry Reid, and other top lawmakers to the White House tomorrow morning to "urge
...

GOP Wants to Make Unbalanced Budget Illegal

Mandate has full support from Republican senators, none from Dems

(Newser) - The GOP is hoping to tack a 28th amendment on to the Constitution: one that would mandate a balanced budget. All 47 GOP senators are behind the proposal, which was announced yesterday, but "the whole thing is a long shot," an analyst tells Reuters . Earlier attempts have fallen...

Dems Offer $33B in Cuts to Revive Budget Talks

But Senate democrats worry they're capitulating too easily

(Newser) - The White House jolted budget negotiations back to life yesterday, getting Senate Democrats to agree to $33 billion in cuts in the hopes of finding middle ground with John Boehner and Co., Politico reports. Joe Biden met with Democratic leadership yesterday evening, and emerged saying that the Senate and president...

Senate Dems Move to Zap DOMA

Introduce bill to repeal ban on gay marriage

(Newser) - It was another day of undoing in Congress: As House Republicans moved to dismantle financial reform yesterday, Democrats over in the Senate were fixing to make the Defense of Marriage Act go away. "It is time to right this wrong," Dianne Feinstein said in introducing the legislation. "...

Government Shutdown Likely Averted, for Two Weeks

Democrats respond favorably to John Boehner's plan

(Newser) - Looks like a government shutdown has been avoided—for two weeks, at least. Democrats responded favorably last night to a Republican plan for a temporary, two-week extension that would allow the government to continue operating. The trade-off? It also requires a first installment of $4 billion in budget cuts to...

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