Congress

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Congress Returns, Plans to Do Bare Minimum

Expect six-month budget extension, little else

(Newser) - Congress is back in Washington for a brief pre-election session, and you know what that means: dithering, finger-pointing, and inaction! Despite the so-called "fiscal cliff" looming in January, Congress intends to do as little as possible this session, most likely voting only on a six-month stopgap budget that will...

Joe Kennedy III Wins Mass. Primary

RFK grandson seeks House seat being vacated by Barney Frank

(Newser) - For the last two years, Congress has been Kennedy-free for the first time since 1946, but that looks set to change this fall. Joseph Kennedy III has won the Democratic primary for Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District by an overwhelming margin, reports AP . The 31-year-old lawyer, who has worked as a...

Kennedy: Jackson Jr. in 'Deep Depression'

Congressman has a lot of work ahead of him, he says

(Newser) - Jesse Jackson Jr. is in a deep depression and has a lot of work to do before he can get well, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy said after an emotional meeting with his old friend at the Mayo Clinic yesterday. The Illinois congressman, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder , was...

This Congress Is Least Productive on Record

Another new low for unloved 112th Congress

(Newser) - Harry Truman called the 80th Congress "do-nothing" in 1948, but they look like massive overachievers compared to today's crop of lawmakers, a USA Today analysis finds. The 112th Congress has passed just 61 bills out of 3,914 into law this year, putting it on course to be...

Jesse Jackson Jr. Has Bipolar Disorder

Likely a result of his 2004 gastric bypass surgery

(Newser) - Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is responding well to treatment, doctors at the Mayo Clinic say. The Illinois congressman, who has been absent from Congress since early June, is suffering from the milder and more easily treated version of the disorder, according to the...

Feds to Buy $170M in Food From Farmers

Purchases for food banks to get quick cash to farmers

(Newser) - With American farms suffering from an ongoing and brutal drought , President Obama will today announce a plan to buy $170 million in pork, lamb, chicken, and catfish to help beleaguered farmers by providing immediate cash, reports Reuters . The announcement will be made at a campaign stop in Iowa, a state...

House Ditches Huge Farm Aid Bill, Leaves for Recess

House passes stopgap measure, but Senate wouldn't take it up

(Newser) - It's August and many Americans are taking well-earned summer vacations. And then there's Congress. House lawmakers took off for their August recess yesterday after refusing to consider a five-year measure to aid America's stricken farmers, reports the New York Times . Instead, they passed a stopgap $383 million...

UN Scientist: Blame Extreme Weather on Climate Change

Dire warnings heard at first congressional hearing in two years

(Newser) - Get used to droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, and wildfires, scientists warned Congress today, because the extreme weather is a result of global warming. The comments were made to the Senate's environmental committee during the first hearing on the subject in more than two years, reports the Guardian . "There...

No Shutdown This Year: Reid, Boehner Strike Deal

Move will keep government running into early 2013

(Newser) - Neither party apparently wanted to throw a government showdown into the November election mix. Harry Reid and John Boehner said today they'd struck a deal to keep the government running into March of next year, reports Politico . President Obama has given his blessing as well to the deal, which...

Harry Reid: We Don't Have Time for Gun Control

Meanwhile, lawmakers decide to punt on budget

(Newser) - Don't expect Congress to tackle gun control in the wake of the Aurora shooting; Harry Reid told reporters today that the Senate's schedule was simply too packed to take on the issue, according to the AP . Reid said he agreed with President Obama's remarks last night, but...

Yosemite Might Get Bigger
 Yosemite Might Get Bigger 
Jul 18, 2012 1:00 PM CDT

Yosemite Might Get Bigger

Park could increase by 1,575 acres

(Newser) - If Congress passes a bill currently on Capitol Hill, Yosemite National Park could get bigger. Of course, that's a big if, since some in Washington see the expansion of government-owned land as a bad thing. Advocates, including the bill's author, Democrat Rep. Jim Costa, are pushing lawmakers to...

House on ObamaCare Vote: Now We're Repealing a Tax

GOP gleefully bandying about 'T' word in 31st vote

(Newser) - House Republicans will vote to repeal the health care reform law today, and if that sounds familiar, it's because they've done it 30 times already . But this time House leaders are gleefully bandying about the "T" word in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that...

Rangel Win Finally Official
 Rangel Win Finally Official 
Jul 10, 2012 3:04 AM CDT

Rangel Win Finally Official

Rival concedes 13 days after Democratic primary

(Newser) - State Sen. Adriano Espaillat has conceded to Charles Rangel for a second and final time in the Democratic primary in New York's 13th congressional district. The result had been up in the air since the June 26 vote while batches of uncounted votes were tallied. "Everybody from Nancy...

Sen. Susan Collins Nearing 5,000th Consecutive Vote

Maine Republican has never missed a vote

(Newser) - Congress is less popular than waterboarding , but one senator's work ethic should meet with approval: Sen. Susan Collins is just three votes away from scoring an unbroken streak of 5,000 votes, the AP reports. The Republican from Maine has not missed a single vote since taking office in...

Charles Rangel Race Still Up in the Air

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat has a shot to upend congressman

(Newser) - Charles Rangel's primary re-election isn't quite so decided after all. In a weird twist, the longtime Democratic congressman is facing days or even weeks of uncertainty after officials said 32 precincts had not counted their votes and more than 3,000 affidavit and absentee ballots hadn't been...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on Leave for 'Exhaustion'

Blagojevich probe still investigating him

(Newser) - Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr, the 47-year-old son of the famous civil rights leader, has been on medical leave for two weeks and is undergoing treatment for exhaustion, the Chicago Tribune reports. “At the request of the family, we’re not saying where he is," said a rep, who...

Congress Riddled With Insider Trading
 Congress 
 Riddled With 
 Insider Trading 
INVESTIGATION
Jun 24, 2012 7:49 AM CDT

Congress Riddled With Insider Trading

Study find 1-in-8 Congress trades pose potential conflict of interest

(Newser) - The Washington Post has pored over the 45,000 stock transactions made by members of Congress between 2007 and 2010, in a mammoth investigation into just how bad the government's insider trading problem is. The result—130 members of Congress or their families bought and sold up to $218...

Anti-Incumbent Fever May Give Dems a Shot at House

Unlikely, says Silver, but House hard to analyze

(Newser) - Stats guru Nate Silver may have President Obama slightly favored to win re-election in November, and the battle for Senate in a tossup, but what does he think about the House? In his latest blog post in the New York Times , Silver calls Republicans "reasonably clear favorites" to keep...

Lawmaker: Why No Hearings on Radical Christians, Too?

Texas Democrat Al Green questions Peter King's hearings on Muslims

(Newser) - Peter King's latest hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims are under way, and a Democratic lawmaker used his allotted time to wonder why there are no hearings on radical Christians as well. Texas' Al Green, the grandson of a Christian minister, said in his five-minute speech that he...

Time to Upgrade Trade With Russia
 Time to 
 Upgrade 
 Trade With 
 Russia 
hillary clinton
Jun 20, 2012 1:24 PM CDT

Time to Upgrade Trade With Russia

Hillary Clinton: Congress must ditch outdated amendment

(Newser) - With Russia finally due to enter the World Trade Organization, Hillary Clinton is urging the US to take a hard look at its own trade policy. A 1970s law currently prevents us from normal trade with Moscow, but at this point, that legislation is hurting only us. The Jackson-Vanik amendment...

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