Category: US Senate

The Republicans’ Fake Investigations

The following op-ed commentary by Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch was posted on the New York Times website January 2, 2018:

Credit: Credit Harry Campbell

A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be “as foolish as the man who went bear hunting and stopped to chase rabbits.”

Today, amid a growing criminal inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, congressional Republicans are again chasing rabbits. We know because we’re their favorite quarry. Continue reading “The Republicans’ Fake Investigations”

It’s Not Just Romney: Hatch Retirement Could Lead to Decisions for Grassley, Crapo

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website January 2 2018:

Judiciary chairman appears to have time left as leader of Finance panel

Sens Charles E. Grassley and Orrin G. Hatch have served alongside each other at the Finance and Judiciary committees. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call file photo)

When GOP Sen. Orrin G. Hatch announced Tuesday that he will retire from the Senate after serving Utah for more than four decades, talk quickly turned to whether Mitt Romney will seek to succeed him.

But on Capitol Hill, the pending departure of the Finance Committee chairman — who could have wielded the tax writing gavel for two more years under conference rules — also raises questions about which senator will lead the GOP on taxes, trade, health care and entitlements. Continue reading “It’s Not Just Romney: Hatch Retirement Could Lead to Decisions for Grassley, Crapo”

After Equifax breach, anger but no action in Congress

The following article by Martin Matishak was posted on the Politico website January 1, 2018:

The aftermath of the data breach played out like a familiar script: White-hot bipartisan outrage, then hearings and proposals that went nowhere.

Former Equifax CEO Richard Smith prepares to testify to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Oct. 3. Smith stepped down after it was reported that hackers made off with Equifax data from nearly 145 million Americans. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The massive Equifax data breach, which compromised the identities of more than 145 million Americans, prompted a telling response from Congress: It did nothing.

Some industry leaders and lawmakers thought September’s revelation of the massive intrusion — which took place months after the credit reporting agency failed to act on a warning from the Homeland Security Department — might be the long-envisioned incident that prompted Congress to finally fix the country’s confusing and ineffectual data security laws.

Instead, the aftermath of the breach played out like a familiar script: white-hot, bipartisan outrage, followed by hearings and a flurry of proposals that went nowhere. As is often the case, Congress gradually shifted to other priorities — this time the most sweeping tax code overhaul in a generation, and another mad scramble to fund the federal government.

Continue reading “After Equifax breach, anger but no action in Congress”

James Comey Expresses Hope For ‘More Ethical Leadership’ In 2018

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website January 1, 2018:

The former FBI director tweeted that he’d like to see a focus on “the truth and lasting values” in the new year.

In what appears to be a not-so-subtle dig at President Donald Trump, ousted FBI Director James Comey tweeted Sunday that he hoped the new year would bring “more ethical leadership focused on the truth and lasting values.”

James Comey

✔@Comey

Here’s hoping 2018 brings more ethical leadership, focused on the truth and lasting values. Happy New Year, everybody.

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Continue reading “James Comey Expresses Hope For ‘More Ethical Leadership’ In 2018”

As U.S. budget fight looms, Republicans flip their fiscal script

The following article by the Reuters Staff was posted on their website December 31, 2017:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of a conservative Republican faction in the U.S. Congress, who voted this month for a huge expansion of the national debt to pay for tax cuts, called himself a “fiscal conservative” on Sunday and urged budget restraint in 2018.

In keeping with a sharp pivot under way among Republicans, U.S. Representative Mark Meadows, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” drew a hard line on federal spending, which lawmakers are bracing to do battle over in January. Continue reading “As U.S. budget fight looms, Republicans flip their fiscal script”

New tax law expected to slow rise of home values, creating winners and losers

The following article by Kathy Orton and Aaron Greg was posted on the Washington Post website December 29, 2017:

Credit: kconnors via morguefile.com

The steady increase in housing prices in many of the nation’s priciest markets, including the Washington region, is expected to slow in coming years, analysts say, as the Republican tax law begins to reshape a major part of the U.S. economy.

For generations, the tax code has subsidized homeownership, particularly for people in the ­upper middle class and beyond. The Republican tax legislation, however, pushed in the opposite direction, scaling back subsidies once thought untouchable. Continue reading “New tax law expected to slow rise of home values, creating winners and losers”

Health-care fights could complicate 2018 funding deal

The following article by Nathaniel Weixel was posted on the Hill website December 28, 2017:

© Greg Nash

A host of health-care issues could complicate a deal to fund the government in what will be a hectic January for Congress.

Lawmakers agreed to a short-term continuing resolution that funds the government through Jan. 19. When they return, they will face a number of dicey issues with two weeks to reach a new full-year funding deal.

Among the big issues are finding a path to long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and community health centers, a priority for Democrats. In the Senate, Republicans plan to take up two bills to help shore up ObamaCare insurance markets. But that will be a hard sell in the House, where conservatives oppose those measures. Continue reading “Health-care fights could complicate 2018 funding deal”

Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the Mic.com website December 26, 2017:

A handful of Republican lawmakers have embarked on an effort to discredit the top federal law enforcement agency, charging the FBI with bias as it investigates President Donald Trump and his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.

On Tuesday, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) became the latest Republican member of Congress to attack the Department of Justice and the FBI, charging both with bias against Trump.

“I would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say look, we’ve got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here, those are the people that I want the American people to see and know that good work’s being done, not these people who are kind of the deep state,” Rooney said Tuesday on MSNBC. Continue reading “Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation”

Utah paper tells Hatch to ‘call it a career’ in blistering editorial

The following article by Avery Anapol was posted on the Hill website December 25, 2017:

Utah’s largest newspaper slammed Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) in a Christmas Day editorial on Monday, calling on the senior GOP senator to retire.

The Salt Lake Tribune’s editorial board named Hatch their 2017 “Utahn of the Year,” a designation the paper says is given to someone who has “had the biggest impact. For good or for ill.” Continue reading “Utah paper tells Hatch to ‘call it a career’ in blistering editorial”