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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Reid uses ‘nuclear option’ to block GOP amendments

In a move that threatened to calcify an already dysfunctional Senate, Democrats on Thursday voted to change chamber precedent, in effect rewriting the rules to ban a work-around Republicans had used to force votes even when the Democrats in the majority didn't want to hold them.

October 6, 2011
"The opposite danger is interpreting those words in a way that they will no longer work for a country of 308 million Americans who are living in the 21st century — work in the way those framers would have wanted them to work had they been able to understand our society." - Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer

In Hill testimony, justices lift high court’s veil

Partially lifting the veil that usually guards their actions, two Supreme Court justices on Wednesday painted the court as a bulwark for the Constitution and said some of today's cynicism about government stems from the public's scanty understanding of the founding document.

October 5, 2011

Napolitano: U.S. will set record for deportations

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that the government is poised to set another record for deportations in just-ended fiscal 2011, citing the numbers as proof that the administration is not pursuing a backdoor amnesty for illegal immigrants that critics charge.

October 5, 2011
White House press secretary Jay Carney says the GOP favors "reduced economic growth, reduced job creation" over wealthy jet owners. (Associated Press)

Obama ends long delay on free-trade agreements

President Obama on Monday finally sent Congress long-delayed free-trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia, breaking a deadlock that extends back to the George W. Bush administration and setting up a showdown on Capitol Hill.

October 3, 2011

Senators see GAO budget cuts as payback

Pushed by budget hawks, the Senate Appropriations Committee has been searching in every nook and cranny for spending cuts, but it may have gone too far in calling for slashing nearly 8 percent from the budget of the government's chief watchdog next year.

October 2, 2011
President Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan (left), delivers his back-to school speech on Sept. 28, 2011, at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C. (Associated Press)

Obama defends handling of illegal immigration

President Obama told a largely Latino audience Wednesday that his administration has not become more aggressive in deporting illegal immigrants, despite statistics to the contrary that he calls misleading.

September 28, 2011

Watchdog: EPA cut corners on global-warming decision

The EPA's internal watchdog said this week that the Obama administration cut corners in evaluating the science it used to back up its 2009 finding that carbon is a dangerous pollutant and can be regulated under existing federal law.

September 28, 2011
Logo of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

House GOP asks for data on abortion spending

House Republicans have begun an investigation into Planned Parenthood's use of federal funds, questioning whether the national network of abortion providers has proper checks in place to prevent violations of federal law.

September 27, 2011

Senate delays jobs bill to take on China

President Obama is still pressing Congress to pass his jobs-stimulus bill immediately, but Democratic Party leaders in the Senate once again have delayed taking a vote on the legislation and instead will take up a bill to punish China over its currency valuation.

September 27, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, is joined by fellow Democrats (from left) Sens. Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Chuck Schumer of New York and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan after Monday's vote on a short-term funding bill. (Associated Press)

Senate OKs stopgap bill to prevent shutdown

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Monday night to avert a potential government shutdown after the Obama administration discovered it had enough money in its disaster accounts to last through the end of this month, leaving lawmakers with "nothing to fight about."

September 26, 2011

Obama stumps for jobs stimulus plan

Declaring himself "a warrior for the middle class," President Obama traveled Thursday to a bridge that connects Ohio to Kentucky — the homes of the two top Republicans in Congress — and said they have the power to kill or pass his jobs-stimulus plan.

September 22, 2011
Rep. Lamar Smith (Associated Press)

E-Verify bill stirs broader immigration debate

House Republicans on Wednesday jump-started the immigration debate, pushing through the Judiciary Committee a key immigration-enforcement measure to require businesses to check new employees' work status against a government database — but the fight highlighted deep divides that make it unlikely any bill clears Congress in the near future.

September 21, 2011