March 10th, 2010
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Some questions and answers about the reconciliation process, which has itself become controversial as the health care debate enters its end stage.
Q: Why is it called reconciliation?
A: The process was established in the 1974 law that requires Congress to pass a federal budget at the start of each year. Some years, the budget will instruct [...]
February 23rd, 2010
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The vote that allows the measure to proceed was 62-30, with 60 needed to overcome Republican stalling tactics. Most Republicans opposed the bill after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scaled back an $85 billion jobs-related measure that had been crafted in committee by a group of Democrats and Republicans.
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February 14th, 2010
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Kennedy, 42, the son of late Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, said this week he wont run for re-election to a seat hes held since 1994. His retirement would mark only the second time since 1947 that a member of the Kennedy family hasnt been a member of Congress.
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February 10th, 2010
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They are always warmly received, but thats where the hospitality ends. Despite pledges of help from scores of federal officials - including President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - their long quest remains unfulfilled.
Every year since 2005, the Senate has voted to eliminate the policy that denies widows the ability to collect both [...]
February 7th, 2010
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Landrieu, 49, became the majority-black citys first white mayor since 1979, the year his father Moon left the office. The mayor-elect, a moderate Democrat, won in a landslide over a field of 10 opponents in a campaign that concluded as Carnival celebrations and preparations for the New Orleans Saints appearance in the Super Bowl took [...]
February 2nd, 2010
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The 60-32 vote - divided strictly along party lines - allows lawmakers to begin debate on the confirmation of Patricia Smith to become solicitor of the agency. Her nomination had been held up for months by Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
To move ahead [...]
January 30th, 2010
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Lawmakers are considering legislation to remove a shield from congressional audits of monetary policy and strip the Fed of bank-supervision powers, measures that Bernanke opposes.
The debate over Bernankes performance has focused lawmaker attention on the powers of the institution, said Vincent [...]
December 25th, 2009
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“Hes having a merry Christmas in heaven,” said an emotional Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., who was appointed to fill the seat after Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer in August. Kirk said it was an honor to essentially cast Kennedys vote as Democrats passed the Senates version of a bill that would extend insurance to 30 [...]
December 24th, 2009
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Bloomberg yesterday interviewed 53 senators who arent on the Banking Committee, which voted 16-7 on Dec. 17 to recommend Bernankes nomination to the full Senate. Twenty-one lawmakers said they are inclined to vote for Bernanke, while four said they would oppose the central bank chief, giving him 37-12 support so far for a four-year term [...]
December 23rd, 2009
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Democrats united along with the two independents who caucus with them on a 60-39 vote. The last procedural vote is planned for tomorrow, with a final vote on passage due at the latest on Dec. 24.
The 10-year, $871 billion measure is [...]