TheRepublic.com - United States Congress News

House votes to cut food stamps by $2 billion

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:17:39 -0400

WASHINGTON - The House voted on Wednesday to cut food stamps by $2 billion a year as part of a wide-ranging farm bill.

Compromise among senators eyed on border security

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:57:21 -0400

WASHINGTON - After secretive talks, key senators expressed optimism Wednesday night that they were closing in on a bipartisan agreement to toughen the border security requirements in immigration legislation that also offers a path to citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.

Oversight board concerned about NSA surveillance

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:45:53 -0400

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the federal oversight board that President Barack Obama said will meet with him to discuss the National Security Agency's secret surveillance program said Wednesday that the group has numerous concerns about the operation and plans to publish a report after a full inquiry.

Senate backs Froman as next trade representative

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:44:37 -0400

WASHINGTON - Michael Froman, a senior White House economic adviser and classmate of President Barack Obama at Harvard Law School, on Wednesday won Senate confirmation to be the next U.S. trade representative.

AG Swallow welcomes investigation by lawmakers

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:34:17 -0400

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Attorney General John Swallow says he welcomes an investigation by lawmakers into the allegations that have dogged him since he assumed office in January.

Markey, Gomez ramp up voter appeals in Senate race

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:16:50 -0400

BOSTON - Republican Gabriel Gomez and Democrat Edward Markey are gearing up for the final rush to election day by highlighting issues they hope will persuade voters to support them.

Wanted: Committee compromise on Ill. pensions

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:15:21 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois lawmakers didn't solve the state's pension crisis Wednesday but saved themselves from embarrassment over an ill-fated special session by taking steps toward a House-Senate compromise through a bipartisan committee.

Davis disavows email calling rival 'street walker'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:01:16 -0400

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois - U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis is distancing himself from a GOP supporter who made harsh remarks about a Davis challenger.

Hood: Gov can't run Medicaid by executive order

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:00:26 -0400

JACKSON, Mississippi - Mississippi's governor does not have the legal authority to operate the Division of Medicaid by executive order, Attorney General Jim Hood said in a nonbinding legal opinion issued Wednesday.

Immigrant activist gets boost from Vt. delegation

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:51:20 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - All three members of Vermont's congressional delegation now have written letters supporting the efforts of immigrant activist Danilo Lopez to avoid deportation and stay in the United States.

Russia could stand in way of Obama's nuke cuts

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:30:40 -0400

WASHINGTON - By saying he intends to bargain with Russia over new reductions in nuclear weapons, rather than make cuts on his own, President Barack Obama is asking for cooperation from a former Cold War foe in no mood to agree.

Mueller urges caution on NSA program changes

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:29:31 -0400

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday urged Congress to move carefully before making any changes that might restrict the National Security Agency programs for mass collection of people's phone records and information from the Internet.

UofL professor announces candidacy for US Senate

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:22:04 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - University of Louisville communications professor Greg Leichty has announced that he'll seek the Democratic nomination to run for U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

Dem senator presses Pentagon on Guantanamo feeding

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:11:55 -0400

WASHINGTON - The force-feeding of terror suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, runs counter to international standards, medical ethics and the practices at American prisons, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Wednesday in pressing the Pentagon to establish a more humane treatment.

Blumenthal urges installation of RR safety device

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:56:23 -0400

HARTFORD, Connecticut - Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling on Metro-North Railroad to quickly install technology to prevent more fatalities.

NH lawmakers negotiate health insurance rules

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:52:55 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - House and Senate lawmakers moved close to agreement Wednesday on a severely scaled-back version of a bill intended to align state insurance rules with President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Biden calls for DC voting rights during tribute

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:52:23 -0400

WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday used a tribute to 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass to renew the call for equal voting rights for people who live in the nation's capital.

IRS draws new criticism over $70M employee bonuses

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:44:58 -0400

WASHINGTON - Already reeling from a pair of scandals, the Internal Revenue Service is drawing new criticism over plans to hand out millions of dollars in employee bonuses.

GAO says airline merger would reduce competition

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:42:17 -0400

DALLAS - A government review finds that the merger of American Airlines and US Airways would reduce competition on more than 1,600 routes traveled by more than 53 million passengers.

Southern NJ Democratic leaders endorse Booker

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:41:42 -0400

DEPTFORD, New Jersey - Democratic leaders from seven southern New Jersey counties pledged their support Wednesday to Newark Mayor Cory Booker in the special U.S. Senate primary election, but that does not mean they will be raising money for him.

Bipartisan proposal on student loans circulating

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:30:56 -0400

WASHINGTON - Students applying for financial aid for the coming school year could find some comfort in a bipartisan student loan compromise taking shape in the Senate that would prevent interest rates from doubling and set a single rate each year for undergraduate students, rich or poor.

GAO says airline merger would reduce competition

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:17:31 -0400

DALLAS - A government review finds that the merger of American Airlines and US Airways would reduce competition on more than 1,600 routes traveled by more than 53 million passengers.

Group files referendum to block Medicaid expansion

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:14:29 -0400

PHOENIX - A group opposed to Gov. Jan Brewer's successful legislative push to expand Medicaid under provisions of the federal health care overhaul filed a citizen's referendum to block the new measure Wednesday, just two days after it was signed into law.

Biden to attend rally in Dartmouth for Markey

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:13:24 -0400

BOSTON - Vice President Joe Biden is the latest high-profile Democrat planning to visit Massachusetts to stump for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Edward Markey.

As fires rage, feds cut funding on prevention

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:11:32 -0400

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - As the West battles one catastrophic wildfire after another, the federal government is spending less and less on its main program for preventing blazes in the first place.