S.A. Miller

Coleman refuses to throw in towel

Republican Norm Coleman vows to fight another day.

April 15, 2009

Reid, under GOP fire, raises more funds

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid knows Republicans have put a target on his back, but the Nevada Democrat has braced for what figures to be a tough 2010 re-election run.

April 13, 2009

Recession, rivalries sap union revival

Tumultuous infighting is erupting within the long-suffering U.S. labor movement just when it appeared on the brink of a renaissance, with Democrats at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue advancing its agenda.

April 10, 2009

Obama wants extra $83 billion for wars

President Obama asked Congress on Thursday for $83.4 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, putting him in the awkward position of requesting the same type of supplemental war spending he opposed as a senator when it was requested by President George W. Bush.

April 10, 2009

Pakistan: We need a Marshall Plan

Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani Tuesday called for a $30 billion dollar Marshall Plan for Pakistan and Afghanistan over the next five years to fight al Qaeda, blunt anti-American sentiment and secure Pakistan from extremists bent on destabilizing its civilian government.

April 8, 2009

Specter critic preps for primary run

Conservative activist Pat Toomey is expected to step down as president of his anti-tax group Monday to launch his primary challenge against embattled Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter in 2010, according to a campaign operative close to the challenger.

April 2, 2009

Justice moves to clear Stevens

The Justice Department has moved to set aside the conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens, leaving fellow Alaskans and Republicans fuming that prosecutors had cost the Senate's longest-serving Republican his chances for re-election.

April 2, 2009

GOP fumes over lost Alaska seat

The Senate's top Republican said Wednesday there was "no question" former Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens would have won re-election last year if the Justice Department had thrown his corruption case out before the vote.

April 2, 2009

Conyers weighing probe of ACORN

Opponents of the liberal activist group ACORN have found an unlikely champion in House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., who is clashing with his own party to pursue hearings on accusations that the group has committed crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

April 1, 2009

Democrats out to close elusive tax gap

Democrats at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue say they are going after the Holy Grail of deficit reduction: the "tax gap."

March 31, 2009

Dem factions curb Obama budget

Forget about Republican objections. The biggest obstacle to President Obama's progressive budget comes from Democrats from states with a lot of conservative voters, a lot of farms or a lot of old-time industry.

March 26, 2009

Durbin: Humane Senator of the Year

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin's efforts to crack down on puppy mills and improve pet food safety earned him the title of 2008 Humane Senator of the Year.

March 25, 2009

‘Card-check’ bill dealt setback

Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said Tuesday that he would oppose a fiercely contested bill designed to make it easier to unionize workplaces, dealing a devastating blow to President Obama's effort to repay labor supporters with legislation they have long coveted.

March 25, 2009

Geithner seeks new takeover powers

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner pressed a congressional panel Tuesday for sweeping new powers to take over financial firms, while he fended off sharp criticism for allowing executive bonuses at bailed-out insurance giant American International Group.

March 25, 2009

Treasury head seeks to claw back AIG bonuses

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a congressional panel Tuesday that the administration is exploring legal avenues to recoup bonuses paid at bailed-out insurance giant American International Group.

March 24, 2009

Senate Dems: Keep bonuses, for now

Rank-and-file Senate Democrats on Monday helped put the brakes on their own congressional leaders' frenzied dash to enact new taxes to take back executive bonuses at bailed-out Wall Street firms.

March 24, 2009

Conyers suggests probe of ACORN

In an startling partisan shift, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. on Thursday proposed holding hearings on claims the liberal activist group ACORN engaged in a pattern of crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

March 20, 2009

Hill panel testimony to accuse ACORN of mob tactics

A lawyer for a whistleblower on the activist group ACORN is prepared to tell a House panel Thursday that the group provided liberal causes with protest-for-hire services and coerced donations from the targets of demonstrations through a mob-style "protection" racket.

March 19, 2009

Democrats to tap tax code to curb AIG

UPDATED: The Obama administration and Congress looked to the tax code to claw back bonuses given to traders at insurance giant American International Group Inc. while softening the losses for victims of Bernard Madoff.

March 18, 2009

GOP blames Dems for AIG fiasco

UPDATED: Republicans on Tuesday dispensed with their bipartisan spirit of outrage over huge cash bonuses for executives bailed out by federal money, pointing a finger of blame at Democrats in control of Congress and their party leader, President Obama.

March 18, 2009