Stephen Dinan

Obama fights his party to defend tax-cut deal

Facing a backlash from Democrats over the tax-cut deal he struck with the GOP, a fiery President Obama lashed out at members of his own party Tuesday, telling them not to let a partisan fight scuttle the chance to keep taxes low for middle-class Americans.

December 7, 2010

Upton flips a switch on CFL bulbs

Three years after he led the charge to require consumers to ditch their comfortable old incandescent lights in favor of those twisty CFL bulbs, Rep. Fred Upton now wants to be the man to help undo that law as the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

December 6, 2010

Senate blocks Obama’s tax plan

The Senate blocked President Obama's and Democratic leaders' tax cut plans Saturday in a foreordained symbolic vote that now sends both sides back to the negotiating table to work out a viable deal.

December 4, 2010

Obama makes surprise trip to Afghanistan

Making a surprise trip to Afghanistan to get a first-hand look at the state of the war on terror, President Obama told U.S. troops there that they are succeeding in the mission he gave them.

December 3, 2010

Divided House votes to censure Rangel on ethics

Acknowledging they were breaking new ground, deeply divided House lawmakers voted Thursday to censure Rep. Charles B. Rangel for breaking tax laws and House rules, saying Congress needed to live up to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's pledge to be open, honest and ethical.

December 2, 2010

House tax-cut vote not likely to sway Senate

Flexing their soon-to-expire legislative muscle, House Democrats on Thursday won a symbolic but potentially hollow victory to extend only some of the Bush-era tax cuts while letting taxes rise beginning next month for wealthier Americans.

December 2, 2010

Divided House votes to censure Rangel

Acknowledging they were breaking new ground, deeply divided House lawmakers voted Thursday to censure Rep. Charles B. Rangel for breaking tax laws and House rules, saying Congress needed to live up to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's pledge to be open, honest and ethical.

December 2, 2010

House Dems ram through tax vote

Flexing their soon-to-expire legislative muscle, House Democrats on Thursday won a symbolic but hollow victory to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans starting Jan. 1, while preserving cuts for all lower-income taxpayers.

December 2, 2010

Immigration bill faces last chance before GOP takes House control

Both chambers of Congress will vote in the coming days on a bill to legalize children and young adult illegal immigrants - a last-minute attempt to pass something before Republicans take control of the House next year and likely put legalization out of reach.

December 1, 2010

GOP senators press Democrats to tackle spending bills, tax cuts

Republican senators said Wednesday they will block all business in the chamber until Democrats tackle the long-overdue spending bills and impending tax increases, raising the level of brinkmanship to new heights even as House Democrats prepared to push ahead with a partisan tax vote Thursday.

December 1, 2010

GOP vows to stall Senate until tax cuts are passed

Republican senators said Wednesday they'll block all business in the chamber until Democrats tackle the long-overdue spending bills and tax increases impending at the end of this year, raising the level of brinksmanship to new heights.

December 1, 2010

Earmark ban fails in Senate, succeeds in adding support

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a moratorium on earmark spending, in a test vote that nonetheless showed surging support for a ban and left foes of pork-barrel spending predicting that the end of the practice is near.

November 30, 2010

Obama, GOP leaders seek truce on tax cuts

With tax increases looming, President Obama and congressional leaders tapped a group of high-level negotiators Tuesday to seek a compromise that will extend the George W. Bush-era tax breaks due to expire on Jan. 1.

November 30, 2010

Obama, GOP agree to tax-cut task force

Seeking to bridge a deep divide on tax cuts, President Obama and congressional Republicans said they will form a short-term task force to try to come up with a compromise on extending the Bush-era tax breaks, and to report back within several days.

November 30, 2010

Obama, GOP will try to reach accord on taxes and arms

Nearly two years after a newly installed President Obama ended an argument with congressional Republicans with the simple line "I won," he goes back into a room with them on Tuesday having now lost, and badly.

November 29, 2010

Obama demands 2-year pay freeze for federal workers

Calling it a starting point for a looming showdown on budget cuts, President Obama on Monday demanded a two-year pay freeze for federal civilian workers, aligning himself with congressional Republicans and against his labor union allies who warned that the freeze would "stick it" to the government work force.

November 29, 2010

Obama to freeze federal pay for 2 years

President Obama called for a two-year federal civilian worker pay freeze Monday, fighting back against a sentiment that government workers have done better than private-sector workers during the economic slump.

November 29, 2010

House GOP vows unfettered vote on raising of debt ceiling

For the first time in years, House lawmakers will soon have the chance to vote on a standalone measure to increase the federal debt limit next year under the new Republican majority — a vote that's shaping up as the first early test of the GOP's commitment to spending restraint.

November 7, 2010

New split on Hill resets old divides

So much for cooperation. Two days after voters split control of Congress, Republicans and Democrats already were fighting over the direction they'll take when they come back to Washington.

November 4, 2010

McConnell: Obama must ‘move in our direction’

The Senate Republican leader said Thursday his party can't "reverse the damage Democrats have done" as long as President Obama still holds the veto, but said if the president wants to get anything done over the next two years he will have "to move in our direction."

November 4, 2010