ABOUT:
Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Meredith Shiner is a staff writer for Roll Call, where she covers Senate leadership, legislation and everything in between. Before joining Roll Call in June 2011, Meredith was a Congressional and national politics reporter for Politico, where she worked for nearly two years writing on health care and Wall Street reform, the 2010 elections, the Chicago mayoral race and breaking news stories across the country — from the shooting of a Congresswoman in Arizona to labor protests in Wisconsin. Meredith is a Chicagoland native and a 2009 graduate of Duke University, where she studied political science and English, and served as sports editor of the daily newspaper, the Chronicle.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., is using his new perch as chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to increase transparency of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance programs, including the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records.
A group of Democratic senators introduced two bills Thursday to change Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts — the same day that members of House and Senate Intelligence committees met with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act programs.
At least it wasn’t one of their colleagues on a spit.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., succeeded in mustering the votes to kill a spending bill Thursday, drawing sharp rebukes from Democrats.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., asked the president Wednesday how it was possible that his campaign ran one of the most sophisticated data operations in history but that his administration cannot figure out how to get through the Veterans Affairs backlog to better distribute benefits.
Updated 4:04 p.m. | Democrats and their allies lobbied Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for more than an hour Wednesday to change her vote on the nominee to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the pressure worked.
A hearing to debate the nation’s decades-old toxic chemical laws turned into a power struggle Wednesday, as Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., tried to hold her ground against a growing coalition that backs a bipartisan compromise to which she was not a party.
Lawmakers regarded President Barack Obama’s latest attempt to engage them on an economic proposal as largely irrelevant Tuesday, with neither Democrats nor Republicans viewing it as an actual step forward toward breaking their ongoing budget impasse.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are hoping to travel to Egypt next week to help assess the situation on the ground and send a “unified message” from the United States that persistent violence without elections would appear more like a “coup,” Graham told reporters Tuesday.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivered an emotional farewell on Monday to his friend and former Vietnam War cellmate retired Col. George “Bud” Day, who died over the weekend at the age of 88.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., lifted his hold Monday on the nomination of James B. Comey to head the FBI after the agency sent the senator a letter in response to his concerns about domestic surveillance drones.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the floor Monday to reiterate that he does not want to move forward with spending bills funded at sequester levels.
Sens. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, will travel to the district of Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, to hold a forum for the DREAM Act.
On this day 24 years ago, a spirited congressman from Illinois named Richard J. Durbin, now the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, delivered what is unquestionably the greatest diatribe to ever grace the House floor — in defense of the wooden bat.
Two competing proposals on combating sexual assault in the military could cause further headaches for Democratic leaders, as lawmakers debate how best to manage what has become an epidemic culture of misconduct in the armed services.
Sixteen Senate Democrats and one independent broke with the White House on Wednesday to oppose a student loan package they believed would be worse than current law because it would implement a market-based formula with caps higher than current federal loan rates.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Thursday he has no regrets about speaking his mind to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a caucus lunch Wednesday, even though his language was a bit salty.
A pesky rat has infiltrated the group house inhabited by Senate Democratic leaders Charles E. Schumer of New York and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, and owned by Rep. George Miller of California, CQ Roll Call has learned.
No Labels? No extra shirt? Probably a problem. Sorry, Congress.
A bipartisan group of senators reached a tentative agreement to permanently fix federal student loan rates Wednesday evening, following a day of frustration from Republicans and moderate Democrats with what they viewed as liberal slow-walking of a potential deal.
A meeting of Senate Republicans on Wednesday grew tense as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told his members he could have gotten a better deal on nominations than the one negotiated by rank-and-file Republicans.
Key lawmakers vowed Wednesday to ensure the full Voting Rights Act is restored to full strength, following the Supreme Court’s June decision to strike down part of the law.
The bipartisan Senate immigration negotiating group met Tuesday evening with approximately 35 outside groups involved in the policy debate, sources confirmed.
Sen. John McCain doesn’t like being called a “maverick.”
Hey, if Harry Reid can take a gratuitous knock at the University of Southern California football program, HOH can take a gratuitous shot at the New York Jets, amirite?
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