Seth McLaughlin

GOP disputes deficit effect of health law repeal

Congress' official scorekeeper said Thursday that the House Republicans' first major bill, which would repeal last year's health care law, would increase deficits by $230 billion over 10 years - setting off a firestorm of criticism from Democrats who said the GOP is already walking away from its pledges of fiscal restraint.

January 6, 2011

Centrists likely to sway priority issues on Hill

Tea partyers may be getting all the attention, but the centrist wings of both parties remain the fulcrum in Congress, though which way they swing depends on the issues lawmakers tackle first.

January 5, 2011

Tea party organizers warn: ‘We are watching’

Eager to dispel the notion that their protest movement is a mere flash in the pan, the nation's tea party activists are preparing to welcome the newest crop of lawmakers to Washington by reminding them of the consequences if they walk away from their campaign promises.

January 4, 2011

Legislators acted with eye on 2012 races

It's no coincidence the tax-cut deal President Obama and Republicans reached extends the Bush-era tax breaks for two years, or just in time for the next national election.

December 26, 2010

Collins, Lieberman prove formidable team

The repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy owes much to Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph I. Lieberman, who kept the issue alive when it appeared dead in the kind of partnership that is likely to become a model for getting things done in next year's divided Congress.

December 21, 2010

Virginian: Bar gays from National Guard

Responding to the federal repeal of the military policy banning open gays from serving in the armed forces, a state lawmaker in Virginia plans to fight back with legislation that bars "active homosexuals" from serving in the Virginia National Guard.

December 19, 2010

House approves tax-cut compromise bill

Staving off the largest tax increase in history, lawmakers Friday morning passed President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans through the House after fending off a last-minute effort to increase the estate tax beyond what was proposed.

December 16, 2010

‘Don’t ask’ bill OK’d by House, sent to Senate

Democrats jammed through the House a repeal of the ban on gays openly serving in the military, breathing new life Wednesday into a proposal that appeared dead a week ago and putting the pressure on the Senate to take up the vote before the end of the year.

December 15, 2010

Cuccinelli savors health care win

The man who put the first dent in the president's health care law, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, is a newcomer to the national stage, but he's long been a crusader against the expansion of federal powers — winning his share of friends and foes along the way.

December 14, 2010

Democrats not pleased with deal on estate taxes

Sen. Bernard Sanders' impassioned eight-hour speech Friday, slamming President Obama's tentative tax-cut deal with Republicans, directed some of his sharpest attacks at the plan's provisions to tax dead people's estates.

December 12, 2010

Hill economist gets hosannas and hoots

Mark Zandi, Moody's Analytics chief economist, has become an oracle of sorts on Capitol Hill, where members of both parties have recited his financial forecasts in an attempt to seize the high ground in battles over stimulus packages, deficit reduction plans and the tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush administration.

December 9, 2010

Debt commission falls short on test vote

President Obama’s high-profile debt commission Friday fell three votes short of the support it needed to forward a far-reaching deficit reduction plan to Congress, with 11 of the 18 members voting to back the proposal. A supermajority of 14 votes was needed to formally endorse the blueprint.

December 3, 2010

Support erodes for deficit panel plan

Six members of President Obama's deficit commission are expected to vote on Friday against its final report, meaning the panel will not be able to submit any recommendations to Congress for action.

December 2, 2010

Deficit plan gains new support

Two top Republicans on the president's high-profile deficit reduction commission said Thursday they will support the blueprint rolled out this week by the panel's co-chairmen — edging the plan closer to garnering the support it needs to be forwarded to Congress.

December 2, 2010

Deficit panel leaders upbeat

The chairmen of President Obama's deficit-reduction commission said members are halfway to securing the support they need to forward their recommendations of unpopular spending cuts and tax increases to Congress, where Democratic leaders have vowed to hold a vote before the end of the lame-duck session.

December 1, 2010

Deficit panel’s plan a mix of sweeping cuts, tax increases

Warning that the nation is on an unsustainable fiscal path, the co-chairmen of President Obama's deficit reduction commission rolled out a final plan this morning that challenges lawmakers to put politics aside and to embrace a series of unpopular spending cuts and tax increases to get the "crushing debt burden off our backs."

December 1, 2010

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