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Articles by Stephen Dinan

**FILE** President Obama speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 10, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obama’s vow to cut federal websites in half is still a distant goal

It already has taken twice as long as President Obama ordered, and yet his administration is still only about halfway to meeting his June 2011 vow to cut the number of federal websites in half within a year — one of the marquee pledges in his Campaign to Cut Waste.

June 12, 2013

Immigration debate bogs down over how to vote on amendments

The immigration debate is getting off to a bad start with Republicans and Democrats already sparring over how to even vote on amendments — with Democrats insisting every vote achieve a 60-vote filibuster-style threshold in order to pass.

June 12, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Associated Press)

Gay-rights amendment could complicate immigration debate

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy introduced an amendment to the immigration bill Tuesday that would extend immigration benefits to gay partners of American citizens, potentially injecting that contentious issue into the middle of the immigration debate.

June 11, 2013
The Senate's bipartisan "Gang of Eight" holds a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, April 18, 2013. In front from left to right are Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican; Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat; Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican; and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican. The legislation would dramatically remake the U.S. immigration system by ushering in new visa programs for low- and high-skilled workers, requiring a tough new focus on border security, instituting a new requirement for all employers to check the legal status of their workers, and installing a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Poison pills enter bruising Senate battle over immigration reform

Senators headed off a filibuster Tuesday and officially brought the immigration reform bill to the chamber floor, marking the first time since 2007 that the full, thorny issue has been back in front of Congress — and with lawmakers anticipating plenty of hurdles ahead.

June 11, 2013
**FILE** Police in Chandler, Ariz., respond to a report of copper theft from a shopping plaza roof on Jan. 18, 2012. (Associated Press)

Senate moving to make copper theft a federal crime

The Senate is moving to make metal theft a federal crime, with the Judiciary Committee poised to take action later this week on a bill that would impose a 10-year prison sentence on anyone caught stealing metal from telephone or cell towers, highway equipment or other critical infrastructure.

June 11, 2013
** FILE ** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, following a Republican policy luncheon. (Associated Press)

McConnell: Immigration bill has ‘serious flaws’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the immigration bill making its way to the chamber floor later in the day has "serious flaws" that must be fixed before the legislation can pass.

June 11, 2013
President Barack Obama applauds as he attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009.

Obama to boost immigration in White House speech

President Obama kicks off the immigration debate Tuesday by making a speech at the White House reprising his role as chief cheerleader for the issue — though he will continue to keep at arms length from the actual debate on Capitol Hill.

June 11, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigrant women and immigration reform on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 18, 2013. (Associated Press)

Lessons of 1986 amnesty loom in immigration debate

As Congress takes up immigration reform, the last major amnesty in 1986 hangs heavily over the debate — a lesson for both sides in the perils of failing on border and employment security, even as they move for another round of legalization.

June 10, 2013
U.S. Border Patrol agents patrol the border fence in Naco, Ariz., on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, near where Agent Nicholas Ivie was shot and killed and one other was shot and injured. (Associated Press)

Border Patrol union quiet on immigration bill debate

They bill themselves as "the real border security experts," but the National Border Patrol Council — the union representing U.S. Border Patrol agents — has been uniquely silent as Congress prepares to debate immigration.

June 10, 2013
**FILE** Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos stands April 15, 2013, in a corral area outside the former cattle slaughterhouse he has converted to a horse slaughter facility in Roswell, N.M. The plant — which has been waiting more than a year for federal approval of its operations — has become ground zero for an emotional, national debate over a return to domestic horse slaughter. (Associated Press)

N.M. moves to halt first U.S. horse slaughterhouse

New Mexico's attorney general has ruled that horse meat is an adulterated product, which animal rights advocates said should halt a slaughterhouse that had applied to become the first in the U.S. to resume horse slaughter for human consumption.

June 10, 2013
**FILE** Men recently deported from Arizona wait in line to be registered with Mexican authorities at the border in Nogales, Mexico, on April 28, 2010. (Associated Press)

GOP votes to lift deportation limits; signals trouble for broader reform bill

The immigration fight wasn't supposed to begin until next week but it got a head start Thursday when House Republicans voted to overturn President Obama's policies and start deporting rank-and-file illegal immigrants again — an early signal that a broad legalization bill will have trouble passing Congress this year.

June 6, 2013
**FILE** Men recently deported from Arizona wait in line to be registered with Mexican authorities at the border in Nogales, Mexico, on April 28, 2010. (Associated Press)

House rebukes Obama, challenges deportation policy

The House voted Thursday to overturn all of President Obama's non-deportation policies, in a vote freighted with meaning as Congress warily eyes a broader immigration debate later over the next few months.

June 6, 2013
**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Republican, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 4, 2013, following a Democratic strategy session. (Associated Press)

Immigration bill heads to Senate floor

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday officially began the process of bringing the immigration bill to the Senate floor, setting up the first major test vote for next Monday.

June 6, 2013
Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, said: “If people want immigration reform, we’re going to have to improve the border sector and the border-security elements of the immigration bill.” (Associated Press)

Sen. Marco Rubio flexible on immigration bill; House negotiators finishing work

Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he'd be all right with breaking up the immigration bill into smaller pieces, but said the most important part of this month's debate will be how best to improve security so voters believe government is finally serious about controlling the border and weeding out illegal immigrants.

June 6, 2013
Volunteers pass through the first full body scanner, which uses backscatter technology, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on March 10, 2010. Those airport scanners with their all-too revealing body images will soon be going away. The Transportation Security Administration says the X-ray scanners will be gone by June 2013 because the company that makes them can't fix the privacy issues. (Associated Press)

TSA screenings lack objectivity, probe finds

The TSA's program to let agents pick out people for closer screening based on the agents' observation fails to meet basic standards of training of objectivity, according to a report released Wednesday by the agency's auditor.

June 5, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican (Associated Press)

Senate immigration bill could double guest workers

The Senate immigration bill could nearly double the number of guest workers allowed into the U.S., according to a new analysis the Center for Immigration Studies is releasing Wednesday that says the jump is four times the increase of the last immigration bill in 2007.

June 5, 2013
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., asks a question during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing of organizations that say they were unfairly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service while seeking tax-exempt status, in Washington, on Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

IRS spent $4.1M on California junket

Already reeling after admitting it unfairly targeted conservatives, the IRS suffered a new setback Tuesday when its internal auditor released a report showing the agency spent $4.1 million on a lavish conference in California in 2010, including two free drinks for every attendee, and upgrades to suites for more than 100 employees.

June 4, 2013