S.A. Miller

New bill targets ‘distracted flying’

Sen. Robert Menendez, spurred by revelations that two Northwest Airlines pilots were tapping away on laptop computers when they overshot an airport by 150 miles, announced Thursday that he will introduce "distracted flying" legislation to prohibit the use of nonessential portable electronics in the cockpit.

October 29, 2009

GOP lawmakers call for probe of donor perks

Congressional Republicans called for an investigation into perks President Obama handed out to top Democratic donors following a report in The Washington Times that the party's money men got VIP access to the White House, private briefings from administration advisers, and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings.

October 28, 2009

Work flow slows as House awaits health bill

The House on Tuesday took up a resolution to honor the 2,560th birthday of Confucius -- and that's pretty much all the floor business Democratic leaders scheduled for the day, as noncontroversial bills fill up the empty hours for lawmakers awaiting health care legislation.

October 28, 2009

Democrats play defense in 2009 elections

The Iraq war and President Bush have faded from voters' thoughts in the year since President Obama won the White House, leaving this year's Democratic candidates to justify $787 billion in stimulus spending despite lingering high unemployment and pushing a health care overhaul amid widespread voter skepticism.

October 27, 2009

Low black-voter turnout threatens Dems in Va., N.J. races

Voter doldrums - especially among blacks far less energized than they were for Barack Obama's historic presidential bid last year - pose problems for Democrats struggling in the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey.

October 23, 2009

Legal fund aids defense of woman in ACORN sting

A defense fund for the woman sued by ACORN for posing as a prostitute to expose abuses at the community activist group is drawing support for a lengthy and expensive legal battle, the woman's lawyer said Monday.

October 20, 2009

Seniors reap aid, still wary of health reform

President Obama's push for a $250 bonus for Social Security recipients is but the latest in a series of paydays and promises the administration has showered on seniors.

October 19, 2009

Tea partiers, GOP regulars scuffle in N.Y. House race

Republican officials turned to a conservative icon and invoked an anti-tax pledge Thursday to salvage the slumping campaign of a New York congressional candidate competing with a more conservative third-party challenger, part of an ongoing battle between the fiscally hawkish "tea party" movement and the Republican establishment.

October 16, 2009

Insurers, others attack health reform

The insurance industry came off the bench too late in the game to block Senate Finance Committee approval Tuesday of a health care overhaul bill.

October 14, 2009

Maverick geologist lauds greenhouse gas

Fueled by doomsday climate-change predictions, Democratic lawmakers want to slap strict limits on carbon-dioxide emissions, the Obama administration has designated the gas a pollutant and President Obama boasted to the United Nations that "we know what needs to be done" in curtailing CO2 pollution. But geologist H. Leighton Steward says they got it all wrong.

October 13, 2009

Key Democrats align with military on Afghan buildup

The Democratic chairmen of several key committees overseeing war policy say they back the military's request for a troop buildup in Afghanistan.

October 9, 2009

Obama puts union strings on federal jobs

Delivering on President Obama's promise to boost the labor movement, the administration has announced a $35 million federal construction project in New Hampshire that requires union representation for the workers and forces nonunion employees to pay dues and contribute to a union pension fund.

October 7, 2009

Rangel rakes in cash from island rum scrum

The outcome of a legislative tussle over rum taxes between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remains in doubt, but there is already one clear winner -- the House's top tax writer, Rep. Charles B. Rangel.

October 6, 2009

Trial lawyers lobby sinks $6.2M in debt

The trial lawyers lobby has been awash in debt and bleeding members - just as it embarks on a national campaign to block any clampdown on medical malpractice lawsuits as part of President Obama's health care overhaul.

September 28, 2009

ACORN sues Breitbart, loses IRS gig

ACORN on Wednesday sued the duo who shot hidden-camera videos that are damaging the organization's reputation and the Web site that aired them.

September 24, 2009

Justice Dept.’s grants to ACORN probed

The Justice Department's independent inspector general, facing calls for more federal scrutiny of ACORN, opened an investigation of the department's grants to the embattled liberal community activist group.

September 22, 2009

Health reformers targeting ‘enemies’

The plan for a series of grass-roots demonstrations Tuesday to promote President Obama's health care agenda calls for tightly scripted events and an "escalation" of efforts against "enemies" of reform.

September 19, 2009

Health reformers plan ‘escalation’ against ‘enemies’

The field plan for a series of grassroots demonstrations Tuesday to push President Obama's health care agenda show the events will be tightly scripted with plans for "escalation," but organizers insist there is no comparison to rowdy town hall meetings and "tea party" protests challenging White House policies that they say conservatives staged.

September 19, 2009

ACORN loses its funding, allies in House

House Democrats on Thursday unexpectedly abandoned their longtime ally ACORN, joining Republicans in an overwhelming vote to end all federal funding for the embattled liberal activist group.

September 18, 2009

House joins Senate in cutting ACORN funding

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday to end all federal funding for the liberal community activist group ACORN, the latest blow to the embattled organization.

September 17, 2009