S.A. Miller

Bill gives taxpayers stock in troubled auto giants

A Republican senator wants taxpayers to get their share — literally — of the federal government's takeover of two of the nation's biggest automakers.

June 4, 2009

GOP eyes GM takeover as election tool

Republicans plan to use the government takeover of General Motors Corp. as ammunition in their bid to defeat congressional Democrats next year, saying its a glaring example of big government intrusion into the marketplace that will rankle average voters.

June 2, 2009

Center-left, center-right? Attitude surveys conflict

The 2008 election is in the history books, but the fight over the true sentiments of the American voter remains as lively as ever, with two new surveys offering conflicting views on whether the U.S. body politic leans a bit to the left or a bit to the right.

June 2, 2009

Byrd hospital stay extended by staph infection

The health of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving member in Senate history, has taken a turn for the worse and prompted doctors to extend the lawmaker's hospital stay, his office said Monday.

June 1, 2009

Visclosky subpoenaed in lobbying probe

Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana Democrat, said Friday he has been subpoenaed in a federal grand jury probe of the lobbying firm PMA Group, the first tangible sign that the corruption investigation of the well-connected firm has spread to Capitol Hill.

May 30, 2009

Visclosky’s records subpoenaed in probe

Rep. Pete Visclosky said Friday that he has been subpoenaed in a federal grand jury probe of lobbying firm PMA Group, the first tangible evidence the corruption investigation has spread to Capitol Hill.

May 29, 2009

Sestak ‘close’ to run against Specter

In defiance of President Obama's support for newly-turned Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter's re-election run, Rep. Joe Sestak said he is getting ready to jump into the 2010 Senate race in Pennsylvania.

May 29, 2009

Past votes no guarantee of GOP support for high court nominee

Some of the same Republican senators who helped put Sonia Sotomayor on the federal appeals bench a decade ago say they will closely re-examine her qualifications and character now that she has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

May 28, 2009

Sotomayor deflected Republicans before

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can expect a confirmation hearing grilling over her perceived biases in rulings and comments she made condoning judicial activism, but she has experience at deflecting senators' pointed questions.

May 27, 2009

GOP senators promise a fair hearing

Senate Republicans waded cautiously into a possible Supreme Court confirmation fight with President Obama, promising a fair hearing of nominee Sonia Sotomayor while vowing "careful scrutiny" of her qualifications and her ability to render impartial judgments.

May 26, 2009

Democrats in power hand victories to NRA

President Obama and his allies in Congress have given the gun lobby a string of victories - from forgoing new gun laws to easing restrictions already on the books - since Mr. Obama took office and Democrats assumed complete command of political power in Washington.

May 26, 2009

Senate upholds IMF contribution

The Senate blocked a Republican bid to strip a $100 billion contribution to the International Monetary Fund from President Obama's emergency war-spending bill, as the legislation moved toward passage late Thursday evening.

May 22, 2009

A champion for veterans on Capitol Hill

House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner is rushing from a staff meeting at his Capitol Hill office to the House floor to cast a vote against President Obama's funding request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all the while beaming as he reminisces about the billions of dollars in benefits he has championed for veterans of those and earlier wars.

May 21, 2009

Dems reject funding to close Gitmo

Senate Democrats broke Tuesday with President Obama over funds to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, refusing to bankroll the project until the White House presents a plan for relocating hundreds of terrorism suspects imprisoned there.

May 20, 2009

GAO details abuse cases in schools

The use of seclusion and physical restraint in schools to discipline children has resulted in hundreds of possible abuse cases during the past two decades, including some ending in death, according to a government report released Tuesday.

May 20, 2009

House Democrats challenge CIA records

UPDATED: House Democrats on Tuesday challenged the accuracy of CIA records showing who was briefed on enhanced interrogation techniques, with Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey saying they have discovered an inaccuracy in the records.

May 19, 2009

Democrats struggling with Gitmo plan

Senate Democrats struggled Monday to shore up support for President Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for terrorism suspects, which has emerged as a chief sticking point for a $91 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

May 19, 2009

CIA rejects deceit charge from Pelosi

The CIA chief said Friday that it was not agency "policy or practice to mislead Congress" after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused intelligence officials of lying to her and other lawmakers about harsh interrogation methods.

May 16, 2009

Pelosi admits waterboard briefing

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday acknowledged for the first time that in 2003 she was told waterboarding and other tough tactics were being used on suspected terrorists and did not object to them.

May 15, 2009

Bill fails to solve Guantanamo debate

New money to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won passage in the House and cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, but fierce debate continued over whether to provide money for President Obama's plan to close the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.