Senate

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France May Ease Century-Old Ban on Sunday Shopping

(Newser) - France's Senate next week is expected to overturn a century-old law prohibiting most businesses in the country from opening on Sundays, CNN reports. The 1906 measure was intended to ensure a day of rest for the populace, and parties on the left and the right have been vocal in their...

Dems' 'Monopoly' Helps GOP Hopefuls Raise Cash

(Newser) - As the 2010 election nears, GOP senatorial candidates are seeing a bump in campaign donations, the Washington Post reports. FEC filings show that in Florida, for instance, Charlie Crist pulled in $4.3 million in the second quarter, almost 4 times as much as his leading Democratic rival. Roy Blunt...

Silver: Don't Forget Wyden's Health Plan

(Newser) - When a bipartisan group of six senators sent a letter to Harry Reid yesterday asking him to slow down on health care reform, one name stood out to Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com: Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon. At first glance, the liberal-ish senator doesn't seem to fit with the...

Senate Votes to Expand Hate Crime Laws to Gays

Five Republicans join in 62-38 vote

(Newser) - The Senate has voted to extend hate crime protections to include those attacked because of their gender or sexual orientation, mirroring a similar measure already passed in the House, the Hill reports. Five Republicans, including Olympia Snowe and Dick Lugar, joined all the Democrats present in supporting the bill. Other...

White House Gets Tough on Congress' Critics, Skeptics

Obama defends stimulus, pushes health reform

(Newser) - The White House is cracking down on its critics—and on laggards within the Democratic Party, too. Republican naysayers on the economic stimulus and health care are getting the roughest treatment, Politico reports. After Kentucky Sen. Jon Kyl railed against the efficacy of stimulus spending, four Cabinet secretaries wrote to...

Health Bill Has a Big Carrot for the Healthy

Senate measure would let employers cut premiums up to 50%

(Newser) - A measure slipped into the Senate’s health care reform bill could cut workers’ insurance costs by up to half if they eat well, lose weight, and quit smoking, the Boston Globe reports. The measure may be key to encouraging Americans to stay healthy without too much government imposition, a...

Sotomayor Puts Personality on Display

(Newser) - Say what you will about Sonia Sotomayor, the woman has a great laugh. Her second day of testimony brought the nominee's personality into clearer focus, writes Ann Gerhart in the Washington Post. In addition to a sense of humor, exemplified in that "big, full-throated laugh," we learned she's...

Sotomayor Differs With Obama: Heart's Not That Vital

(Newser) - Day 2 of Sonia Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings have wrapped up, with the all-but-certain nominee disagreeing at one point with President Obama's assertion in 2007 that a judge's "heart" is important in rulings, reports Politico. “I wouldn’t approach the issue of judging in the way the president...

Ensign: I Won't Quit, and I'll Run Again

Disgraced senator says supporters don't want him to resign

(Newser) - Sen. John Ensign says he’ll stick with his job and run for reelection despite news of his affair and his parents’ $96,000 payment to his mistress’ family, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The Republican says his supporters are telling him he shouldn’t resign, and “I fully...

Aug. Health Reform Looks Impossible

Divisions among lawmakers may make reaching goal impossible

(Newser) - President Obama has called for the passage of a health care bill by August—but that would require an unusually smooth few weeks on Capitol Hill, Politico reports. The Senate Finance Committee hasn’t released a version of the bill planned for early June; disagreements among Democrats in both chambers...

Both Parties Will Use Sotomayor to Push Agendas

Parties hope to inspire support through questioning

(Newser) - Nobody expects Sonia Sotomayor to have serious trouble winning confirmation to the Supreme Court; the hearings that start today will be battles for American hearts and minds, with both parties seeing them as an opportunity to position themselves on key issues, the Washington Post reports. Aiming to ignite their base,...

It's Official: Burris Won't Run

(Newser) - Roland Burris made it official this afternoon: He won't run for a full term next year, the Chicago Tribune reports. “I love serving the people of Illinois,” the current holder of President Obama's old Senate seat said. But “political races have become far too expensive in...

Kerry Plans 'Hard Look at Afghanistan'

Foreign Relations Committee must ensure effort is 'Afghan, not American'

(Newser) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will “take a hard look at Afghanistan” in the coming months, John Kerry tells GlobalPost. The committee hasn’t yet publicly scrutinized the administration’s effort in the country, but “we are not going to abrogate our responsibility,” says the senator, who...

Burris Won't Run for Re-Election

(Newser) - Roland Burris won't run for re-election to his Senate seat, both Chicago papers are reporting. The Illinois senator intends to stay in office through the end of his term in January 2011 but figures he can't raise enough money to mount a re-election campaign. In fact, he's raised a measly...

Baldwin to CNN Anchor: I'll Run If I Want To
Baldwin to CNN Anchor: I'll Run If I Want To
OPINION
Jul 9, 2009 3:56 PM CDT

Baldwin to CNN Anchor: I'll Run If I Want To

Would-be pol threatens to discuss hit-and-run bust...whoops

(Newser) - CNN’s Jack Cafferty sneered at Alec Baldwin’s possible entry into politics yesterday, noting that while newly sworn-in Sen. Al Franken is “Harvard educated,” Baldwin’s “credentials are questionable”—and the NYU grad is having none of it. “Perhaps New York University should print...

Reid Pulls Plug on GOP-Friendly Health Plan

(Newser) - Harry Reid yesterday pulled the plug on painstaking efforts to win bipartisan support for health care reform, telling Max Baucus to drop a proposal, aimed at wooing Republicans, that would tax health benefits and leave out a public insurance option. The Senate majority leader told Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman...

Franken Officially Sworn In
 Franken Officially Sworn In 
Jul 7, 2009 12:19 PM CDT

Franken Officially Sworn In

(Newser) - Eight months after the election, Al Franken finally became Minnesota’s junior senator today, Politico reports. Joe Biden swore the former funnyman in on the same Bible late Democratic Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone used. “Congratulations Senator,” said the vice president, causing the Senate gallery to erupt in cheers....

Franken Plays It So Straight It's Funny

But doggone it, people like him

(Newser) - Al Franken the comedian is finally becoming Al Franken the senator, and his Senate colleagues were quick to demonstrate yesterday that, doggone it, they like him, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. The only humor at a welcoming press conference was (apparently) unintentional, as Majority Leader Harry Reid intoned,...

Krugman: Yes, We Can Afford Health Care
Krugman: Yes, We Can Afford Health Care 
OPINION
Jul 6, 2009 9:43 AM CDT

Krugman: Yes, We Can Afford Health Care

Kennedy-helmed HELP committee delivers feasible, cheap plan

(Newser) - The Congressional Budget Office has spoken: We can afford universal health care. Sure, we should have known that all along, writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. Every other advanced country has it and spends less than we do. But last week the notoriously tight-pursed CBO scored a proposal...

Franken Victory Could be Nightmare for Harry Reid

Majority leader faces 'a lot more pressure'

(Newser) - Al Franken brings Harry Reid a potential extra vote—but he also brings the Senate majority leader a massive headache, Politico reports. “What’s really changed for us?” says a leadership aide. “Nothing, really. Except there’s a lot more pressure.” That may be an understatement: Democrats...

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