Cliff Stearns

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Pharmacy Chief in Meningitis Outbreak Takes the Fifth

Barry Cadden sheds no light on what happened

(Newser) - The co-owner and chief pharmacist of the company linked to the meningitis outbreak arrived on Capitol Hill today for a grilling armed with lawyers and an index card. And when House lawmakers asked Barry Cadden of the New England Compounding Center things like what happened or what he might say...

Florida Primary: Tea Partier Beats Veteran Congressman

Cliff Stearns leaving House after 24 years

(Newser) - After 24 years in the House, Cliff Stearns has been booted by a Tea Partier with no political experience . Stearns conceded defeat in the Florida GOP primary today, Roll Call reports, saying in a statement that "there are not enough provisional ballots to make up the difference" he would...

Ex-Gov Wins Wisconsin GOP Senate Primary

Linda McMahon prevails in Connecticut

(Newser) - Former four-term Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has fought off a trio of conservative challengers to win the state's GOP Senate primary. Thompson, George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services, will compete against Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin in a race that could determine control of the Senate....

Chu: Solyndra Wasn't About Politics

Energy chief defends loan to Congress

(Newser) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu offered a spirited defense of his department’s loan guarantees to Solyndra today, telling Congress that the loan program is necessary to keep US alternative energy companies competitive, and insisting that he didn’t know Solyndra was connected to a major Obama fundraiser, the Washington Post...

9/11 First Responders Aren't Terrorists, FBI Confirms

They're now eligible for health care

(Newser) - The FBI has finished screening the 60,000 September 11 first responders against the terrorist watch list to determine if they’re eligible for health care benefits and—surprise!—all of them passed, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. New York lawmakers decried the screenings, which were thrown into...

FBI to Screen 9/11 Responders Against Terror List

Names of cops, firefighters to be compared to watch list

(Newser) - Police, firefighters, construction workers, and anyone else covered by the 9/11 responders bill will be warned that their names must be compared to the FBI's terrorist watch list before they can receive benefits, according to a letter obtained by the Huffington Post . The requirement was added by GOP Rep....

GOP Rep: Let's Fund Anti-Abortion Activists

Cliff Stearns' bill would help crisis pregnancy centers

(Newser) - Congressional Republicans have made it clear that they don't want to fund Planned Parenthood , but at least one thinks the federal government should be funding anti-abortion activists, Mother Jones reports. Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns introduced a measure that would provide federal funds to crisis pregnancy centers, clinics—often run by...

Almost 10% of Medicare Payments Improper

But it's hard to tell how much of that is fraud

(Newser) - The federal government lost around $48 billion to fraudulent and improper Medicare claims last year—which made up nearly 10% of all payments the program doled out, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. And even that figure might be on the low side, because it doesn’...

Pelosi Sacks Fla. Rep's Plea to Delay Votes for Gator Game

Ocala pol wanted to suspend biz for football

(Newser) - A Florida congressman asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to postpone certifying the election of Barack Obama and other business so the Florida and Oklahoma delegations can attend the Gators and Sooners BCS championship game tomorrow, AP reports. "Madam Speaker, kindly consider," Republican Cliff Stearns pleaded in a handwritten...

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