Stories by John Stanton:
Nov. 27, 2011
With wreckage of the super committee squarely in their rearview mirror, lawmakers returning to the House on Monday will face a packed agenda with little time to get everything done.
Nov. 21, 2011
More than three months of negotiations ended in futility today as the co-chairmen of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction declared in one statement what many in Washington had always assumed: The super committee could not reach agreement.
Nov. 21, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wasted no time today in ramping up the partisan rhetoric over the failure of bipartisan deficit reduction talks, moving quickly to blame each other for the collapse.
Nov. 20, 2011
As both parties prepare to blame each other for the super committee’s likely failure, House and Senate leaders face the stark reality that they now have to take swift action to rescue key programs they were expecting the panel to extend.
Nov. 19, 2011
Bipartisan deficit reduction talks remained stalled this afternoon after an early morning round of conference calls failed to produce a breakthrough.
Nov. 18, 2011
Rep. Jeb Hensarling today said all 12 Democratic and Republican negotiators on the super committee would huddle for the second straight day in an effort to jump-start stalled deficit reduction talks.
Nov. 17, 2011
For the still-divided super committee, three-and-a-half months of work have boiled down to three days: The panel likely needs to submit a package to Congress’ budget scorekeeper by Monday to hold its Wednesday final vote.
Nov. 17, 2011
Democrats and Republicans continued their increasingly bitter war of words over bipartisan deficit reduction talks today as the time for leaders to salvage the process runs perilously short.
Nov. 16, 2011
Republican super committee Co-Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) appeared to double-down today on his contention that the GOP will not consider more tax increases as part of any deal to reduce the deficit.
Nov. 16, 2011
Partisan sniping, ultimatums and strategic leaks overtook the super committee Wednesday as the troubled panel struggled to agree on a way to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion just seven days before its deadline.
Nov. 16, 2011
A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers today urged the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to ignore pressure from their political wings and craft a massive deal to cut the nation’s deficit that includes both changes to entitlements and new taxes.
Nov. 16, 2011
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will announce today that conference Staff Director Ryan Loskarn will be named chief of staff at the end of the month.
Nov. 15, 2011
Labor unions and progressives Wednesday will hit the airwaves in Nevada, Montana and Massachusetts in the hopes of pushing Republican Senate candidates to oppose any super committee deal that includes cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.
Nov. 15, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday demonstrated his most direct involvement to date with bipartisan talks to rein in the nation’s deficit, meeting with all six Democratic super committee members for the first time since negotiations began in August.
Nov. 15, 2011
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in his House office this morning, a rare face-to-face meeting of the two leaders during which they discussed the status of the super committee’s deficit talks.
Nov. 15, 2011
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today that if the super committee comes to a deficit reduction agreement by its Nov. 23 deadline, it would pass Congress.
Nov. 14, 2011
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said today that bipartisan talks to shrink the nation’s deficit must be largely wrapped up by week’s end, giving lawmakers just a few days to bridge significant gaps on entitlement reform and taxes.
Nov. 14, 2011
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said today that he remains hopeful House and Senate negotiators will wrap up work on a massive deficit reduction deal before next Wednesday, despite indications the talks are at an impasse.
Nov. 14, 2011
As the super committee approaches its final week of negotiations, Congressional leaders who created the panel in the first place will have to decide whether to become more proactive in forcing the group to a deal.
Nov. 11, 2011
House Republicans are hoping this week to duplicate their 1995 achievement of passing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and will pressure Democrats who have previously supported one to fall in line.
Nov. 9, 2011
House Republicans this week are expected to announce they will move forward with a "clean" version of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Nov. 3, 2011
Speaker John Boehner on Thursday announced he was moving forward with a new approach to infrastructure spending that links energy production to highway spending.
Nov. 2, 2011
Speaker John Boehner said today that the appropriations process during his tenure is the “most open process we’ve seen for ... some time” but did not commit to open rules on forthcoming spending bills as Congress looks to wrap up the 2012 appropriations process.
Nov. 2, 2011
In a scene reminiscent of a Benny Hill chase skit, controversial French politician Marine Le Pen made the rounds on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, haranguing the French government, meeting with sheepish Republican lawmakers and being dodged by other Members, all the while being trailed by a throng of Francophone reporters.
Nov. 2, 2011
GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul on Tuesday abruptly backed out of his meeting with a controversial French political leader whose party has been connected to anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant violence in France.
