Congress

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Senators Make Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown

Lawmakers freed up to act on gridlocked legislation

(Newser) - Ending weeks of political brinkmanship, Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid tonight and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend. The breakthrough came hours after the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicated it had enough money for disaster relief efforts through Friday. That disclosure allowed lawmakers to...

Heat Is on Senate as Government Shutdown Looms

Congress working through scheduled vacation

(Newser) - After rejecting the House's bill to fund the government into November, the Senate will vote today on its own version, hoping to dodge a new threat of government shutdown, reports the Washington Post . After the weekend brought leaders no closer to agreement, and with disaster relief potentially running out...

Solyndra Execs Will Take 5th at House Hearing

Lawyers advise CEO and CFO to keep mum

(Newser) - When Solyndra bosses arrive for a House hearing this week, they won’t be saying much. CEO Brian Harrison and CFO Bill Stover plan to take the Fifth during congressional questioning Friday, their lawyers told House investigators in letters. “I have advised Mr. Harrison that he should decline to...

Weiner's Bathroom Grosses Out New Lawmaker

Leftover toothbrush sparks thorough cleaning

(Newser) - The office of scandalous sexter Anthony Weiner needs to be sanitized—literally. Newly elected congressman Rob Turner's family was horrified to find the former House member's toothbrush in his old office bathroom, and ordered a thorough cleaning. “Weiner left his toothbrush behind! It literally says ‘Anthony’...

Congress&#39; Approval Rating Lowest Ever
 Congress' Approval 
 Rating Lowest Ever 
NYT/CBS poll
Sep 16, 2011 11:46 AM CDT

Congress' Approval Rating Lowest Ever

Hits 12%; Republicans fare worse than Dems

(Newser) - Congress’ approval rating has once again sunk to its nadir, a mere 12%, a New York Times/CBS News poll finds. That figure was first hit in October 2008, in the throes of the economic crisis. While just 28% of voters approve of the work of congressional Democrats, only 19% approve...

Congress' Richest Inclue Michael McCaul, Darrell Issa, John Kerry


 The Richest 
 Members of 
 Congress 
in case you missed it
Sep 10, 2011 11:15 AM CDT

The Richest Members of Congress

Kerry falls behind with mere $193M

(Newser) - It’s been a tough year for most of us, but the richest in Congress, it seems, have only gotten richer: This year’s 50 wealthiest members are worth a collective $200 million more than last year’s, the Hill notes. Among them:
  • With a minimum net worth of $287
...

Boehner to Give Jobs Speech of His Own

His address comes one week after President Obama's

(Newser) - John Boehner was still jockeying with the scheduling of economic speeches today, but this time it's his own: The House speaker will give a major address on jobs and the recovery one week after President Obama addresses Congress, reports the Hill . Boehner will speak at the Economic Club of...

Lawmakers Skip Town Halls, Hold Job Fairs

More than half of lawmakers holding no town hall meetings

(Newser) - Think politicians are just a wee bit spooked by the town hall rebellion of 2009? Leery of facing angry voters, lawmakers are eschewing those events this year, the Christian Science Monitor reports, with half of Republicans and two-thirds of Democrats opting not to hold any during this month's Congressional...

Congress Approval Rating: Gallup Poll Shows Just 13% Approve, 84% Disapprove
 Congress' Ever-Dismal 
 Approval Rating: 13%
gallup poll
Aug 16, 2011 7:21 AM CDT

Congress' Ever-Dismal Approval Rating: 13%

And, in a record high, 84% disapprove

(Newser) - Just when you thought Americans couldn't hate Congress any more than they already did ... the approval rating drops to 13% in the latest Gallup poll. That's a tie for the record low; the other time approval dropped to 13% was during the lame duck session in December 2010,...

Starbucks CEO to DC: No Donations for You!

Howard Schultz wants budget answers before opening his wallet

(Newser) - Maybe he should just refuse coffee to politicians. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is pleading to other corporate execs to stop contributing to political campaigns until the president and Congress come up with a realistic way to cut budget deficits, reports Politico . “This is a time for citizenship, not partisanship,...

Pelosi's 3 'Super' Picks: Becerra, Clyburn, Van Hollen

Panel charged with finding $1.5T in cuts is now complete

(Newser) - The "super committee" is complete: Nancy Pelosi filled in the final three positions of the 12-member panel today by picking James Clyburn of South Carolina, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Xavier Becerra of California, reports the Hill . Clyburn and Becerra are the top-ranking African-American and Latino lawmakers in...

Feds Can&#39;t Fix Economy: Poll
 Feds Can't Fix Economy: Poll 
Aug 11, 2011 10:58 AM CDT

Feds Can't Fix Economy: Poll

New survey shows many of us agree with S&P

(Newser) - Another day, another poll about how much we hate Congress . This latest poll shows, in particular, that just one in four of us believes the federal government can fix the economy. That's down 21 points from October, notes the Washington Post . And a whopping 71% of respondents believe S&...

What’s Less Popular Than Congress? Not Much...

And it's not like Congress can change its mission statement

(Newser) - How unpopular is Congress today? With approval ratings as low as 14%, the current Congress ranks below human cloning, caning vandals, and—gulp—banks and HMOs, reports the Washington Post . Congress is even liked less than George W. Bush at the lowest ebb of his presidency in 2008. “It’...

Keep These Debt Talks Behind Closed Doors

Transparency would reward special-interest groups: Joshua Green

(Newser) - The "super committee" that will try to find $1.5 trillion in agreed-upon cuts is nearly in place , and there's a growing sentiment that their negotiations should be open to the public. "That's an absolutely terrible idea," writes Joshua Green at the Atlantic . Only special-interest...

Poll: We Hate Congress More Than Ever

Approval dives below 20%

(Newser) - The debt ceiling mess has pushed Congress' already dismal approval ratings into the abyss, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 82% of Americans don't approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the lowest rating since the Times started asking the question in...

So What's in the Debt Deal? Ezra Klein Explains
 So What's in the Debt Deal? 
explaining the 'trigger'
Aug 1, 2011 10:51 AM CDT

So What's in the Debt Deal?

$1T in cuts now with more later—and a 'trigger' to ensure a second deal

(Newser) - No revenues, big budget cuts—what exactly is in the debt-ceiling deal? Ezra Klein sums it up in the Washington Post : $1 trillion in immediate cuts with at least $1.5 trillion more to come; a vote on a balanced budget amendment; and an immediate $900 billion increase to the...

Bachmann Skips Iowa Stops to Vote 'No' on Debt Deal

'Someone has to say no. I will'

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann is taking a break from the stump to vote against the debt deal. “Someone has to say ‘no.’ I will,” she said in a statement issued last night. “The 'deal' ... spends too much and doesn't cut enough,” she said. “...

Mitch McConnell, Tea Party, President Obama Winners in Debt Deal: Chris Cillizza
 Debt Deal's 
 Winners 
 and Losers 
analysis
Aug 1, 2011 7:57 AM CDT

Debt Deal's Winners and Losers

Mitch McConnell, Tea Party at the forefront: Chris Cillizza

(Newser) - The debt-deal dust has yet to settle, but that's not stopping anyone from analyzing its political consequences. In the Washington Post , Chris Cillizza notes the winners:
  • Mitch McConnell was “the Mariano Rivera of the debt deal. He waited until the game was in its final moments, came onto
...

Debt Ceiling: Senate Votes Down Harry Reid's Plan, But Real Deal Still Being Worked On
 Senate Votes Down 
 Reid's Plan 
debt ceiling
Jul 31, 2011 12:48 PM CDT

Senate Votes Down Reid's Plan

But real deal is still being worked on

(Newser) - As expected, the Senate voted today not to move forward with Harry Reid's debt ceiling proposal in a 50-49 vote. The Wall Street Journal notes that the vote was "anti-climactic," since the real work on hammering out a deal by the end of the day is happening...

Sign of Hope? Harry Reid Postpones Debt Vote

It's now scheduled for Sunday afternoon as talks intensify

(Newser) - It's either a sign that a last-minute deal is truly in sight or one last tease: Harry Reid has postponed a 1am procedural vote on his plan to raise the debt ceiling until tomorrow afternoon, reports the Hill . Reid says the delay is intended to give negotiations with Republicans...

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