House Democrats

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Pelosi Gambles on Climate Bill Vote Despite Dem Grumbling

Speaker may need GOP backing

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote this Friday on a controversial climate change bill despite the strong reservations of some Democrats, the Hill reports. Farmbelt lawmakers fear that the sprawling bill's measures to curb emissions will put a disproportionate burden on their states with no reward. The House speaker and...

House Aide's E-Mail Tantrum Goes Viral

Flipping out over nickname is one way to wind up on MSNBC

(Newser) - Rep. Jim McDermott has a staffer named Elizabeth Becton. That's "Elizabeth," not "Liz"—ever. A contact attempting to set up a meeting with the Washington Democrat found that out the hard way after making the tragic mistake of calling Becton “Liz.” Her enraged response,...

Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats
Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats
Jun 17, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

Obama Clashes With Rural Democrats

Environmental rules, car dealerships among sticking points

(Newser) - Democrats from rural areas aren’t pleased with President Obama, and they’re threatening to show it by revolting against key parts of his domestic agenda, Politico reports. The tension boiled to the surface last week when rural and moderate Democrats decried plans to close 3,400 General Motors and...

Dems Rip GOP for Sharing Interrogation Secrets

House Republicans go on record after closed-door briefing

(Newser) - Democrats are seething today after Republicans told the press about classified intelligence gleaned in a closed-door briefing about interrogation techniques. GOP members told the Hill they were informed that harsh techniques led to information that prevented terrorist attacks. That led Democrats to blast their rivals for disclosing secret information, triggering...

Dems Go to Bat for Pelosi as Accusations Fly

Speaker 'not in any trouble' as loyal caucus backs her in CIA ruckus

(Newser) - Republicans have all but slapped a bulls-eye on Nancy Pelosi over what she knew about CIA interrogation practices, but as the Washington Post reports, House Democrats have rallied behind the speaker. In a sign of the considerable unity of the party caucus, several leading Democrats said yesterday that they believe...

Democrats Lose Patience Over Wars, Gitmo

Support ebbs on left as Obama's security plans look uncertain

(Newser) - Democrats are having misgivings about the war in Afghanistan and the shuttering of Guantanamo Bay, particularly in the more liberal House, the New York Times reports. Though Congress is sure to approve another $96.7 billion in war funding, the House took out $80 million to close Guantanamo, saying the...

Obama Wants Health Care Bill by Year's End

(Newser) - President Obama today called on lawmakers to send him a health care reform bill before the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We've got to get it done this year,” the president said in a meeting with House Democrats. “We don't have any excuses,...

CIA Told Pelosi About Waterboarding: Report

Newly released documents show speaker was briefed in 2002

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders received multiple briefings on the CIA's use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques, according to new information released by the Obama administration. Records suggest that Pelosi learned of the CIA's interrogation of Abu Zubaydah in a September 2002 briefing that covered the "...

Hoyer and Pelosi: Unlikely Allies
 Hoyer and Pelosi: 
 Unlikely Allies 
Analysis
May 6, 2009 9:47 AM CDT

Hoyer and Pelosi: Unlikely Allies

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer are about as different as Democrats get; he’s an affable Blue Dog budget hawk, she’s the pugilistic progressive poster girl. When Hoyer ran for House majority leader, Pelosi backed the other guy. But these days, the two are thick as thieves, Politico reports,...

Dems Deny Obama Funds to Close Gitmo

House Democrats say president needs to come up with a plan first

(Newser) - President Obama's request for $80 million to close Guantanamo Bay was cut from the House version of a war spending bill unveiled yesterday, CNN reports. Democratic lawmakers, whose bill totaled $94.2 billion, said if the president wants money to close Guantanamo Bay then he'll first have to come up...

House Dems Want to Impeach Judge for Torture Memos

GOP, Obama can't halt proceeding vs. Bybee

(Newser) - House Democrats may start a constitutional confrontation over the fate of Judge Jay Bybee, and there’s nothing anybody—not even lukewarm President Obama—can do to stop them, reports Politico. As liberal think-tanker John Podesta argues, Bybee “authorized things that were illegal under US law” when he wrote...

Dems Slash Obama's Budget

Congressional Dems scrap future plans to bail out financial sector

(Newser) - Democratic leaders trying to trim the federal deficit have taken a hatchet to President Obama's budget plan, reports the Washington Post. Congressional Democrats are expected to formally announce plans today to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the budget over the next five years, and eliminate plans to steer...

House OKs 90% Tax on AIG Bonuses

(Newser) - By a 328-93 vote, the House today approved a bill that would recover most of the bonus money awarded to executives of bailout-buoyed AIG by taxing it at 90%. The measure drew significant Republican support, and some Democrats made it clear the legislation is an attempt to persuade execs to...

Moderate Dems Balk Over Obama Deficit
Moderate Dems
Balk Over
Obama Deficit
Mar 11, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

Moderate Dems Balk Over Obama Deficit

Right wing of the president's party will fight to shave budget

(Newser) - Barack Obama may be president, but it’s Congress that passes the budget, and moderate Democrats are the ones holding the keys to the federal treasury, reports Time. Obama’s 2010 budget calls for $3.6 trillion in federal spending. And though deficit-hawks appreciate the president’s honest numbers (in...

Pelosi Says Another Stimulus Is Possible

(Newser) - These days, $787 billion just doesn't go as far as it used to. A meeting of House Democratic leaders and their economic advisers today has raised the prospect of a second stimulus package, the Hill reports. “We have to keep the door open,” Nancy Pelosi said after the...

Dems Hit With Revolt in the Ranks

Line-by-line lawmaking drives wedge into plans

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats figured Obama's aggressive legislative agenda would face challenges from the GOP, but they've been surprised by squabbling within their own party that's broken out even before they've gotten to the new initiatives, the Washington Post reports. Among the people holding up the $410 billion spending bill leftover from...

New Bill Looks to Topple 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Could prove a political headache for Obama

(Newser) - The controversy that derailed Bill Clinton’s first 100 days is heading for Barack Obama, Politico reports, with a California congresswoman to introduce legislation today to overturn the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Obama has made no secret of his desire to overturn the unpopular “don’...

Senate Centrists Hold House Dems Hostage

Stick up to Reid, Dems urge Pelosi

(Newser) - The Senate requires 60 votes to avoid filibuster, so the 58-strong Democrats are at the mercy of centrist Republicans Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins. Politico reports that House Dems, who have no trouble passing bills on their own, are unhappy that their legislation has to run this gauntlet....

On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close
On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close
ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2009 12:36 PM CST

On Stimulus, White House Kept Congress Close

Prez still didn't get much GOP support

(Newser) - President Obama promised a new spirit of cooperation in Washington, and in his relationship with Congress, he did his best to deliver, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama left congressional leaders wide leeway in crafting the stimulus bill and stayed in close touch with members. Joe Biden stayed on pivotal...

Obama Is Selling It, But It's Not His Bill
Obama Is
Selling It, But
It's Not His Bill
Analysis
Feb 5, 2009 12:37 PM CST

Obama Is Selling It, But It's Not His Bill

President let Congress write stimulus, and probably regrets it

(Newser) - Barack Obama is working mightily to sell the stimulus bill, but looks have made one major mistake, Massimo Calabresi writes in Time: He let Congress write it. Obama aides let committee staffers draft the bill, relying on their legislative expertise. “They did a good job of really deferring to...

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