Stories by Humberto Sanchez:
July 23, 2012
With Democrats split and Republicans opposed, chances of the Congress considering any gun legislation targeted at minimizing the toll of shootings such as the one in Aurora, Colo., last week appear virtually nonexistent.
July 22, 2012
In the wake of the shooting in Colorado last week, lawmakers clashed on the Sunday talk shows over the adequacy gun control measures currently on the books.
July 22, 2012
Senate Republicans are charging Democrats with embracing the “nuclear option” in their move to alter the filibuster.
July 19, 2012
Senate Democrats are turning a debate on a bill giving tax breaks to companies that bring jobs to the U.S. from abroad as a proxy fight over presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his time as head of Bain Capital.
July 18, 2012
Business groups pushing the Law of the Sea Treaty saw their GOP allies sink ratification this week, losing yet another policy battle to conservative activists.
July 17, 2012
When Dick Cheney talks, people listen. The former vice president went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to fire up Congressional Republicans to fight mandatory cuts to the Defense Department budget. Across the Dome, both sides of the aisle were waiting for him, whether it be with reverence, snark or practiced indifference.
July 16, 2012
Republicans and Democrats are jockeying for leverage in their quest to win this fall’s battle over the nation’s “fiscal cliff,” with Republicans trying to get as much as possible done before the elections as a way to diminish Democrats’ negotiating power in the lame-duck session.
July 16, 2012
After being pressured by Senate Republicans over the cost concerns of an upcoming judicial conference in Maui, Hawaii, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that it has canceled next year’s annual conference and will hold the 2014 conference in Monterey, Calif.
July 15, 2012
Senate Democrats see no political downside to leaving the issue of
$1.2 trillion in automatic spending until after the November elections, as they try to use the cuts as leverage with Republicans to negotiate on tax increases on the wealthy.
July 12, 2012
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) lambasted the U.S. Olympic Committee today for buying the uniforms athletes will wear in the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics that were made in China.
July 12, 2012
Senate Republicans made good on their threat to filibuster a Democratic small-business tax cut bill today, ensuring the bill fell seven votes short of what it needed to move forward.
July 11, 2012
Senate Democrats this evening called for a vote on competing Republican and Democratic proposals regarding the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, but Republicans objected because they want to first see the Democratic plan in writing.
July 11, 2012
Republicans said Wednesday that they are prepared to filibuster President Barack Obama’s small-business tax cut, believing that any political hit will be minimal even as they go against decades of GOP support for tax cuts of all kinds.
July 11, 2012
Senate leaders clashed today over taxes as Republicans called for a vote on competing GOP and Democratic proposals regarding the 2001 and 2003 cuts.
July 10, 2012
Amid lingering differences with the House over government spending, Senate Democrats may not pass any appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
July 9, 2012
We’ve seen this movie before, but then again, it could be the sequel. In a speech Monday, President Barack Obama stated his position on the Bush-era tax cuts once again — that they should be extended for those making less than $250,000 annually.
June 30, 2012
After a brief respite, culture war issues appear to be making a comeback in the Senate.
June 29, 2012
The Senate today confirmed the nomination of Allison Macfarlane to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Kristine Svinicki for a second term on the commission.
June 28, 2012
President Barack Obama won a major victory on his health care overhaul from the Supreme Court on Thursday, but Democrats were the first to try to change the subject, as both parties gauged the political implications for the elections.
June 28, 2012
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the health care law, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called on Republicans to quit fighting the battle over the measure.
June 26, 2012
Senate Democrats and House Republicans are blaming each other for stalling progress on the Violence Against Women Act, a bill with bipartisan support but poor prospects.
June 25, 2012
The Supreme Court’s split decision on Arizona’s immigration law gave President Barack Obama an important legal victory Monday while upholding just enough of the statute to keep the issue alive as he pursues Latino voters in advance of the November election.
June 25, 2012
While many lawmakers today rushed to issue reactions to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona’s immigration law, two of the top Republicans in government — Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — were not among them.
June 22, 2012
Much has been made of recent high-profile clashes between the branches of government as if they are unique or rare, but such constitutional standoffs are more the rule than the exception.
June 22, 2012
Lawmakers are close to reaching a deal on legislation that would prevent the interest rates on government-backed student loans from doubling July 1.
