Category: US Senate

Russians penetrated U.S. voter systems, says top U.S. official

The following article by Cynthia McFadden, William M. Arkin and Kevin Monahan was posted on the NBC News website February 7, 2017:

The U.S. official in charge of protecting American elections from hacking says the Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said she couldn’t talk about classified information publicly, but in 2016, “We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated.” Continue reading “Russians penetrated U.S. voter systems, says top U.S. official”

Senate leaders reach agreement on two-year budget deal, adding billions of dollars in federal spending

The following article by Erica Werner and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2018:

BREAKING: Senate leaders have reached an agreement on a two-year budget deal, adding billions of dollars in federal spending.

The bipartisan accord would lift statutory budget limits by more than $200 billion, provide tens of billions of dollars in disaster relief funding. Continue reading “Senate leaders reach agreement on two-year budget deal, adding billions of dollars in federal spending”

Senate leaders see two-year budget deal within their grasp

The following article by Mike DeBonis and Erica Werner was posted on the Washington Post website February 6, 2018:

President Trump on Feb. 6 said he would “love to see a shutdown” if Congress fails to reach a legislative deal that strengthens immigration enforcement. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Top Senate leaders were working Tuesday to finalize a sweeping long-term budget deal that would include a defense spending boost President Trump has long demanded alongside an increase in domestic programs championed by Democrats.

As negotiations for the long-term deal continued, the House passed a short-term measure that would fund the government past a midnight Thursday deadline and avert a second partial shutdown in less than a month. Continue reading “Senate leaders see two-year budget deal within their grasp”

A new bipartisan immigration plan surfaces in the Senate — and Trump labels it a ‘total waste of time’

The following article by Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website February 5, 2018:

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) speaks to reporters after the Senate reached an agreement to end the shut down of the federal government on Jan. 22, 2018. Credit: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Talks to resolve the legal status of young undocumented immigrants and enact new border security measures remain stalled in the closely divided Senate on Monday, as a new bipartisan proposal to resolve the impasse was dismissed by the White House as insufficient.

The proposal by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) would grant permanent legal status to undocumented immigrants known as “dreamers” and bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border. It copies a plan introduced in the House that has 54 co-sponsors from both parties. But President Trump tweeted that the idea is a “total waste of time” because it doesn’t immediately authorize spending the billions to build new barriers along the border. Continue reading “A new bipartisan immigration plan surfaces in the Senate — and Trump labels it a ‘total waste of time’”

The immigration bills in Congress aren’t perfect. That’s okay.

The following commentary by the Washington Post Editorial Board was posted on their site February 5, 2018:

© Getty Images

BY TRYING to solve every problem related to America’s immigration system, Congress has repeatedly failed to solve any of them. It’s time to end that legislative dysfunction, which has played on a loop on Capitol Hill for years. Why not sidestep the most incendiary disagreements and target the two main areas on which there is broad bipartisan acceptance: protecting “dreamers” brought to the United States as children and beefing up border security?

The contours of such a deal, if not the details, are within lawmakers’ reach. Similar bipartisan bills to that end now have been introduced in both houses of Congress — this month, by John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) in the Senate and, last month, by Will Hurd (R-Tex.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) in the House. Each deserves a hearing and a vote. Continue reading “The immigration bills in Congress aren’t perfect. That’s okay.”

The tax cut is a $6 billion gift to Exxon

NOTE:  While reading this, please keep in mind Speaker Ryan’s tweet touting a school secretary getting a $1.50 per paycheck increase and Pres. Trump touting people with an income of $75,000 receiving a $2,000 tax cut (until they expire in 2020).

The following article by MattEgan was posted on the CNN Money section of the CNN website February 2, 2018:

ExxonMobil scored a massive gain from the Republican tax overhaul.

The tax windfall helped Exxon’s (XOM) net profits surge fivefold, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company said on Friday.

Excluding the tax bonanza, Exxon’s results left Wall Street wanting more. Adjusted earnings unexpectedly declined and revenue missed the mark by a wide margin. Exxon shares slumped about 5%. Continue reading “The tax cut is a $6 billion gift to Exxon”

McCain, Coons to introduce new immigration bill that omits wall funding: report

The following article by Julia Manchester was posted on the Hill website February 4, 2018:

A woman holds up a sign during a rally supporting DACA outside the White House in Washington, September 4, 2017. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) will introduce immigration legislation on Monday in an effort to reach a budget deal before the federal government’s current funding runs out on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The bipartisan piece of legislation provides recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, commonly known as “Dreamers,” an opportunity for citizenship while ordering a study to figure out what border security measures are needed, according to the Journal.

DACA aimed to protect from deportation certain immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children. Continue reading “McCain, Coons to introduce new immigration bill that omits wall funding: report”

2018 Republican Agenda Not What Lawmakers Envisioned

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website February 5, 2018:

Plan for the year ahead coming out of GOP retreat is leaner than Republicans had hoped

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., right, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrive for a news conference at the media center during the House and Senate Republican retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Thursday. Credit:Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

The 2018 Republican legislative agenda is on a diet.

As House and Senate GOP lawmakers huddled at a West Virginia resortWednesday through Friday for their annual retreat, they discussed a handful of legislative items they would like to tackle this year, including defense, infrastructure, workforce development and the budget process.

It was a whittled-down version of what many Republicans had originally envisioned, reflecting the pressures of a midterm election year and its typically unfavorable climate for major legislative achievements.

The 2018 legislative calendar is tight, given that floor time in the coming weeks, and possibly months, will be eaten up by must-pass government spending and immigration bills, as well as scheduled recesses, including a long October break for campaigning. Continue reading “2018 Republican Agenda Not What Lawmakers Envisioned”

Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo

The following article by Elise Viebeck and Shane Harris was posted on the Washington Post website February 4, 2018:

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said on Feb. 4 that the Republicans’ controversial Nunes memo won’t have an effect on the Russia investigation. (Reuters)

A fierce partisan battle over the Justice Department and its role in the Russia investigation moves into its second week Monday as Democrats try to persuade the House Intelligence Committee to release a 10-page rebuttal to a controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuse.

The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), is expected to offer a motion to release his party’s response to the Republican document during a committee meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday. It was not immediately clear whether Republicans would join Democrats in voting for the document’s release, as some members of the GOP have expressed concerns about its contents. Continue reading “Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo”

Congress Left Health Care For Millions Of Poor People In The Lurch

The following article by Jonathan Cohn was posted on the Huffington Post website February 4, 2018:

This time the issue is funding for community clinics — which, in theory, everybody supports.

LOS ANGELES ― Jim Mangia, CEO of the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, spent much of the last year wondering how many of his facilities he would have to shutter. St. John’s is a network of health clinics serving roughly 100,000 of the poorest people in Los Angeles. If Republicans had succeeded in repealing the Affordable Care Act, St. John’s revenue would have dropped as more of its patients became uninsured, making layoffs and closings all but inevitable.

The threat of repeal seems to have subsided, at least for the moment. But these days Mangia has a new worry. A federal program called the Community Health Center Fund, which subsidizes federal clinics through direct grants, officially expired in the fall. Congress has since made a pair of short-term appropriations, in order to keep the grant money flowing, and leaders in both parties talked about coming together on a deal that would finance the clinics for a longer period of time. Continue reading “Congress Left Health Care For Millions Of Poor People In The Lurch”