US Political News and Commentary | Government Coverage
Even though it was still not clear whether the 60 votes needed to advance legislation in the 100-seat Senate were certain, Democratic Leader Harry Reid said he intended to bring the bill up for a vote later in the week.
We will finish our work on this bill this week to ensure that these critical protections [...]
The House of Representatives has already approved a final version of the bill, which imposes a range of tough new restrictions on the industry in an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. After a year and a half of work, Democrats are eager to send it to President Barack Obama to [...]
We have used our rainy-day fund because we considered it to be pouring down rain, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire said at the National Governors Association meeting.
Gregoire, a Democrat, has needed to cover a combined 12 billion shortfall in Washington over three years, on an annual budget of roughly 32 billion.
A biannual report, The Fiscal Survey [...]
S. jet in an echo of Soviet-era spy trades across the Iron Curtain in Central Europe. Officials in Vienna, once a center of Cold War intrigue, maintained a news blackout.
The U.S. Justice Department said shortly after the takeoff that the exchange of 10 agents released by Washington and four freed by Moscow had been successfully [...]
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has pursued a more diplomatic approach, trying to persuade Beijing it would be in its own best interest to adopt a market-based currency regime.
The Treasurys semiannual currency report, originally due on April 15, said Chinas yuan remains undervalued. But it noted Beijing made a significant move last month by ending a [...]
Massachusetts had argued DOMA denied benefits to same-sex couples in the state, where such unions have been legal since 2004. Four other statesVermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa — also allow same-sex marriage, as does Washington, D.C.
Tauro agreed with the states argument and said DOMA forces Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens.
The federal government, [...]
The winner of the November election will inherit a state burdened by double-digit unemployment, a budget tens of billions of dollars in the red and a profoundly unpopular, polarized legislature.
The gubernatorial race in California, the nations most populous state, may also serve as a political bellwether in a year when political analysts say the still-lagging [...]
.. until the attorney generals opinion is rendered, Manchin said.
A delay in naming a replacement for Byrd, a Democrat, could complicate Democratic efforts to pass the overhaul of financial regulations, an important priority for President Barack Obama.
Democrats are several votes short of the 60 they need to advance legislation in the 100-seat chamber.
Without a reliable [...]
The Republican-controlled Arizona legislature passed the controversial law to try to stem the flood of thousands of illegal immigrants who cross its border from Mexico and to cut down on drug trafficking and other crimes in the area.
The lawsuit is part of a broader approach by President Barack Obama to deal with the 10.8 million [...]
Lingle, a Republican, said in a statement that she opposed same-gender marriage and that the bill would have created marriage by another name.
State voters rather than the legislature should decide the issue, she added.
Nationwide, voters have consistently rejected same-sex marriage.
Five statesIowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont — and the District of Columbia allow same-sex [...]