Seth McLaughlin

Vote on deficit-slashing measures delayed

The leaders of President Obama's independent deficit commission said Tuesday they'll delay a vote on their recommendations until the end of the week in order to give members a chance to digest their revamped plan.

November 30, 2010

Value-added tax, or VAT, back as proposal to solve revenue ills

Seven months after the Senate knocked down the idea of a value-added tax, the VAT is back on the table -- one of a host of familiar proposals that has been recycled as a proposed answer to the nation's financial problems.

November 29, 2010

Hill pressured to kill ‘death tax’

Anti-tax and family advocacy groups are pressuring lawmakers not to breathe new life into the "death tax" — a levy on personal fortunes that was taken off the books this year, but is scheduled to return at a higher rate in 2011.

November 23, 2010

Tax cuts, federal budget await Congress’ return from holiday

Coming off an election in which voters unleashed their fury over Washington's perceived inability to grapple with tough issues, lawmakers spent much of the first week of the lame-duck session going after low-hanging fruit while leaving a number of big-ticket items on the table.

November 22, 2010

Debt commission co-chairman predicts ‘bloodbath’

A leader of President Obama’s bipartisan deficit-reduction commission on Friday predicted that there will be a “bloodbath” on Capitol Hill next year when lawmakers consider increasing the nation’s debt ceiling, which could force both parties to take their recommendations seriously.

November 19, 2010

Democrats to push for end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ now

The push to end the policy barring openly gay men and women from serving in the military has new life on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have announced plans to push forward with their efforts despite opposition from most Republicans.

November 18, 2010

Democrats call for vote on gays in military

Sen. Joseph Lieberman said party leaders are the last remaining obstacles to a vote that would likely lead to the repeal the policy barring open gays from serving in the military.

November 18, 2010

Bipartisan panel urges tax breaks, spending cuts

A bipartisan task force on Wednesday called for Congress and President Obama to enact a Social Security payroll tax holiday and a "debt-reduction sales tax" as part of a sweeping plan aimed at getting the government's financial house in order.

November 17, 2010

Senate GOP curtails earmarks

Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to ban "pork-barrel" spending as a couple of Democrats rushed to join the fight on a politically potent issue that has enraged voters and helped give rise to the GOP's "tea party"-infused midterm election victories.

November 16, 2010

McConnell agrees to temporary earmark ban

Bowing to political pressure from conservatives in his party and to voter anxiety over the federal budget, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday reversed course and supported a temporary ban on earmarks in order to show he is serious about cutting federal spending.

November 15, 2010

McConnell backs earmark ban

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday he will support an earmark ban in the Senate Republican conference, a move that appears to leave House Democrats as the sole supporters of pork-barrel spending.

November 15, 2010

Lame-duck Congress to confront agenda of competing demands

Lawmakers returning Monday for the start of the lame-duck session on Capitol Hill face an age-old political conundrum: How to respond to voter anger over federal spending without cutting into the entitlement programs and tax breaks that so many of their constituents enjoy.

November 11, 2010

GOP senators ask colleagues to back ban on earmarks

A group of Senate conservatives issued an early challenge to their Republican colleagues, calling on them in an open letter to support a ban on earmarks — a stance the House GOP embraced earlier this year.

November 9, 2010

Maine’s Snowe next ‘tea party’ target?

Republicans last week painted the country's northeastern corner red last week, grabbing control of the state House, Senate and governor's mansion in Maine for the first time in more than four decades in a stunning electoral sweep.

November 8, 2010

Republicans net at least six Senate seats

Republicans held all of their Senate seats left open by retirements and picked off several seats held by Democrats to capture at least six seats in the midterm election, giving them a louder voice in the legislative chamber most likely to shape President Obama's agenda for the next two years.

November 3, 2010