Senate – News Stories About Senate - Page 16

There's a Senator in Charge
of Stocking a Candy Desk

Jan 15, 2015 1:55 PM CST

There's a Senator in Charge of Stocking a Candy Desk

Pat Toomey hopes his Mars bars and Peeps will keep bipartisan battles at bay

(Newser) - It's said you can catch more flies with honey—or, in Capitol Hill's case, with a desk full of Twizzlers, Three Musketeers, and Milky Ways. Sen. Pat Toomey is the latest honcho to take the helm of the "Candy Desk," currently located in the back row...

On Deck for
GOP in 2015:
A Long Series
of Showdowns

Jan 5, 2015 9:16 AM CST

On Deck for GOP in 2015: A Long Series of Showdowns

Republican leaders to face immigration, debt ceiling, Medicare issues

(Newser) - John Boehner and Mitch McConnell penned a Wall Street Journal editorial in November that promised they would prove wrong "the skeptics [who] say nothing will be accomplished in the next two years." But even with both House and Senate firmly under GOP control when Congress convenes tomorrow , the...

NYTimes : Obama Must Prosecute CIA Torture

NYT: Obama
Must Prosecute
CIA Torture

OPINION

Dec 22, 2014 1:59 PM CST

NYT: Obama Must Prosecute CIA Torture

'Looking forward' no excuse for lack of accountability: editorial

(Newser) - The Senate report on CIA torture has revealed both despicable acts and a "fabricat(ed) legal foundation" for them, and it's time for those responsible to be held accountable, the New York Times editorial board writes. "No amount of legal pretzel logic can justify the behavior detailed in...

Senate
Sends $1.1T
Spending Bill
to Obama

Dec 14, 2014 1:03 AM CST

Senate Sends $1.1T Spending Bill to Obama

Would fund government, minus Homeland Security, through September

(Newser) - A $1.1 trillion spending bill is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature. The Senate voted 56-40 yesterday for the long-term funding bill, the main item left on Congress' year-end agenda. The measure provides money for nearly the entire government through the Sept. 30 end of...

Senate Averts Shutdown,
Confirms Obama Nominees

Dec 13, 2014 4:15 PM CST

Senate Averts Shutdown, Confirms Obama Nominees

Vote on longer-term spending bill due early next week

(Newser) - Their power ebbing, Senate Democrats launched a last-minute drive today to confirm roughly 20 of President Obama's nominees, and several Republicans blamed Tea Party-backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for creating an opening for the outgoing majority party to exploit. Lawmakers took a break from their intrigue long enough to...

Torture Report's
Footnotes Alone
Are Frightening

Dec 10, 2014 2:36 PM CST

Torture Report's Footnotes Alone Are Frightening

One detainee may have been simply in 'wrong place at wrong time'

(Newser) - If you don't have time to read the 528-page summary of the Senate's findings on interrogation techniques , you can get a sense of its revelations just by reading the footnotes, Vocativ reports. The site offers material from just the first 200 of the report's 38,000 footnotes:...

Torture Report:
The 13 Key
Techniques

Dec 10, 2014 11:12 AM CST

Torture Report: The 13 Key Techniques

Waterboarding, 180-hour sleep deprivation among them

(Newser) - The Senate's newly released report on "enhanced interrogation" points to 13 different techniques used against detainees. They appear in a Justice Department memo to the CIA from May 2005, and the AP recounts them:

Abdominal Slap: The interrogator slaps the detainee's belly with the back of his

...

Keystone Vote Fails in Senate

Nov 18, 2014 6:08 PM CST

Keystone Vote Fails in Senate

Mary Landrieu falls one vote shy of the necessary 60

(Newser) - President Obama won't have to make a decision about whether to veto the Keystone XL oil pipeline this year. A bill to send the measure to his desk failed to get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate this evening, reports AP . Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, facing a...

How McCain
Could Change
US Defense

Nov 5, 2014 10:09 AM CST

How McCain Could Change US Defense

With GOP taking control of Senate, he'll likely chair Armed Services Committee

(Newser) - With Senate leadership changing , John McCain appears poised to be the new head of the Armed Services Committee—and that could have big implications for US defense, Reuters reports. McCain has a history of criticizing what he sees as excessive spending on some weapons programs; as chair of the committee,...

Angry Dems Blame
Losses on Obama

MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Nov 5, 2014 1:46 AM CST

Angry Dems Blame Losses on Obama

GOP strategy paid off

(Newser) - As Republicans rejoice after recapturing the Senate , defeated Democrats are blaming the man they tried to distance themselves from. Aides and strategists complain that President Obama nationalized the election despite his low approval ratings, allowing Republicans to make the election all about the president. Obama—who said last month that...

GOP Takes Control of
Senate; McConnell Wins

midterm elections

Nov 5, 2014 12:30 AM CST

GOP Takes Control of Senate; McConnell Wins

Scott Brown fails in upset bid, but Republicans flip at least 7 seats

(Newser) - Election night was a win for Republicans: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell started things off by defeating Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky, reports the AP . Hours later, McConnell learned he will be changing his title to majority leader: Republicans needed a net gain of six seats to take the...

GOP's Chances
of Taking Senate:
More Than 70%

ELECTION MODELS

Nov 4, 2014 8:00 AM CST

GOP's Chances of Taking Senate: More Than 70%

McConnell says Obama rollback starts today

(Newser) - It's Election Day, and Democrats' chances of retaining control of the Senate look pretty slim, according to election models at the Washington Post , the New York Times , and FiveThirtyEight, which put the chances of a GOP victory at 96%, 73%, and 76%, respectively. The Post notes that all three...

5 Things to Know
Before Election Day

Nov 3, 2014 6:44 AM CST

5 Things to Know Before Election Day

We could be in for an early night ... or the total opposite

(Newser) - We're a day away from Election Day. Here are five things to know about what's expected, what to watch, and what's being said.

All eyes are on the Senate, where Republicans need six seats to gain control. USA Today deems 10 races "still close enough to

...

Senate Control
Is Up to Iowa:
Harry Reid

Nov 1, 2014 2:30 PM CDT

Senate Control Is Up to Iowa: Harry Reid

If Bruce Braley doesn't win, Mitch McConnell will be majority leader, says Democrat

(Newser) - If Democrats want to retain control of the Senate, they'll have to win in Iowa, says Harry Reid. Speaking today to progressive activists, Reid said that if Rep. Bruce Braley beats Joni Ernst, Democrats will do "just fine." But if Ernst—who has recently led in polls,...

Senate Control Matters,
but Not Why You Think

OPINION

Oct 31, 2014 12:25 PM CDT

Senate Control Matters, but Not Why You Think

Jonathan Chait: It's not about legislation, it's about presidential nominations

(Newser) - Republicans look poised to take control of the Senate, and there's all kinds of analysis out there about what this means for President Obama and his legislative agenda. You can safely ignore it all, writes Jonathan Chait at New York . The fact is, which party controls the Senate doesn'...

This Could Be
Priciest Senate
Race Ever

Oct 20, 2014 8:42 AM CDT

This Could Be Priciest Senate Race Ever

Kay Hagan, Thom Tillis face off in $103M campaign

(Newser) - When you're seeing three Senate campaign ads every five minutes, you might guess there's a fair bit of money going into the race—and you'd be right. The race between North Carolina Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis could be the priciest Senate campaign...

GOP Likely to Win Small Majority in Senate

OPINION

Oct 2, 2014 1:44 PM CDT

GOP Likely to Win Small Majority in Senate

Though lots can happen in final month, writes Larry Sabato

(Newser) - With a month to go before the midterms, Republicans stand a decent and ever-improving chance of taking control of the Senate, according to respected political prognosticator Larry Sabato. In his Crystal Ball blog, Sabato writes that a one- to three-seat GOP majority is now the mostly likely outcome, a sharp...

Congress Has
Rarely Worked
a Full Week
in 37 Years

Sep 27, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Congress Has Rarely Worked a Full Week in 37 Years

Both chambers in session together Monday through Friday just 14% of the time

(Newser) - When you crunch the numbers, Congress looks pretty lazy. The Washington Post finds that both chambers have been in session only about 40% of the time since 1978—the first year for which online records are available—and they've both worked full weeks simultaneously a measly 14% of the...

Inside the Senate's
Secret Handbook

Inside the Senate's Secret Handbook

300-plus pages of rules made public by 'USA Today'

(Newser) - Illinois senators receive six times more sheets of blank paper—that would be about 11.6 million sheets to 1.87 million—than West Virginia senators do. The office paper quota is an actual rule put down in the US Senate Handbook, a 380-page tome that USA Today writes "...

Senate Backs ISIS Bill,
but Some Big Names Balk

Sep 18, 2014 6:56 PM CDT

Senate Backs ISIS Bill, but Some Big Names Balk

Rand Paul, Elizabeth Warren in the 'no' camp

(Newser) - The Senate today followed the lead of the House and passed a spending bill that gives President Obama the authority to train and arm Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS. The measure passed easily, 78-22, but the Hill notes that some potential presidential candidates were in the "no"...