GOP Blocks Democrats' Last-Ditch Spending Spree

Congress beats deadline, passes stop-gap budget
Facing a midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown, Congress passed a bill Tuesday that will fund the Federal Government through March 4. The bill, which also will freeze federal salaries for two years, narrowly passed the House, 193 to 165, several hours after it easily cleared the Senate on an 79 to 16 vote. President Obama was standing by at the White House to sign the measure. The last-minute scramble was required after the Senate last week withdrew a $1.2 Trillion omnibus approp...

GOP links whistle-blower bill to WikiLeaks scandal (AP)
WASHINGTON – House Democrats scrambled on Tuesday to salvage Legislation that would bar federal agencies from punishing employees who report Corruption, waste and mismanagement after Republicans linked the bill to the Wikileaks Scandal. In hopes of securing needed GOP support, Democrats offered to strip from the bill provisions that extend whistle-blower protections to workers at U.S. intelligence agencies — seen as a major concession by backers of the bill. Even though the bill's ...

Keeping them honest.
As the lame-duck session winds down, the question that the new Congress will need to answer and back up with action, is will they bring some fiscal sanity back to Washington? It seems like every state Budget across the country is in trouble, with the federal Budget being in the worst shape.    And the lastest total Debt figure knocks on 14 Trillion dollars.   The new Republican-led House of Representatives will be in charge of the spending starting this January. 
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Lindsey Graham Gives Away the Game
There has been a lot of speculation this week about why the GOP rolled over in the Senate on virtually every issue. From Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s Repeal to START to you name it — the GOP became the party of capitulation. So much so that even Lindsey Graham is blasting the Senate GOP “for a ‘capitulation … of dramatic proportions’ to Democrats and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the lame-duck Congress.” In his statement about why t...

GOP pushes budget cuts, including Social Security and Medicare
Fresh on the heels of the Bipartisan extension of the Bush tax policy and the introduction of a Social Security Payroll Tax cut, Mitch McConnell is predicting that the next area of Bipartisan cooperation will focus on cutting spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare: CROWLEY: And, finally, I mean, that — we’ll say that you and the president are going to disagree on that, but in our last 30 seconds, what’s the next big thing you can see yourself working with t...

Beaver Management, Parachute Museums, and Other Earmarks: What Makes Wasteful Spending?
(Credit: CBS) As Congress continues to negotiate the Federal Government's Budget for this Fiscal Year, Conservatives aren't letting up their campaign against Earmarks. Lawmakers and conservative Political Activists alike are wailing that the regionally-specific federal spending projects are the hallmark of government waste. Conservative Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma released his annual Wastebook today, which purports to highlight some of the most wasteful Government Spending of 201...

No looking back for Pelosi as Democratic House speaker prepares to pass gavel
Here's how she's letting go of the gavel. This Story No looking back for Pelosi as Democratic House Speaker prepares to pass gavel A look at Nancy Pelosi's career on Capitol Hill As Democrats lose House, Nancy Pelosi's historic reign as speaker ends Nancy Pelosi: A career of highs and lows World cloud: Describing the Speaker View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story House Speaker Nancy Pelosi strode into the chamber, which Tuesday morning was silent and mostly empty. She ...

Analysis: A political rebound, but can it hold?
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, whose first two years were marked by staunchly partisan votes on his signature initiatives, finds himself at a crossroads. In the seven weeks since the election, Obama negotiated with Republican leaders on taxes and left angry liberals on the sidelines. On a major Nuclear Treaty with Russia, he sidelined GOP Senate leaders and negotiated with like-minded Republicans. And with a landmark Repeal of the ban on Openly Gay Military service, he delighted liber...

Neutrality on Net, but not in sphere of politics
Setting the stage for a likely court battle and a showdown with Republicans in the new Congress, a sharply divided Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved sweeping Internet regulations designed to promote "Net Neutrality" and deliver on a key campaign promise of President Obama. In a 3-2 vote split along party lines, the FCC board approved Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan to establish enforceable rules of the road for the Web, with regulations that prohibit phone and cable compan...

Anti-Earmark Hysteria Sweeping The GOP?
I didn’t know this but after reading this post on TPM, I’m informed that an anti-earmark hysteria is sweeping through the GOP in DC. If TPM is declaring it, then it must be true. After all, it isn’t like TPMDC is some Far Left, Soros-funded, distribute-the-wealth website that used to accept everything that proceeded from President Obama’s or Speaker Pelosi’s mouth as gospel fact. On second though, I’d better retract those opening paragraphs. Here’s TPM&...

House passes spending bill, sets up Obama-GOP budget fight
House lawmakers on Tuesday approved a last-minute measure extending current levels of government funding through March 4.  The vote — 193 to 165 — sends the year’s last piece of must-pass Legislation to the White House, and sets up a certain partisan battle early next year over federal spending, Deficit reduction and whose priorities should rule the land. The Senate approved the measure earlier on Tuesday in a 79-16 vote. House GOP leaders have interpreted the lopsided Midterm Elect

Federal spending bill marching forward
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- For the third time in a month, Congress is racing to the wire to approve a temporary spending bill to keep the government open for business. The current measure funding the government -- a so-called continuing resolution -- is set to expire Tuesday at midnight. Email Print Comment The previous extension, passed Friday, was intended to give the Senate time to work on a longer-term solution. The framework for such a deal -- one that would fund the government through Mar...

Shocker: Nancy Pelosi Feels No Regrets
Ms. Pelosi channels her inner Edith Piaf, via the Politico: Nancy Pelosi: No regrets By: David Rogers December 21, 201 “ Every minute is a new minute to me ,” says Nancy Pelosi, and, with boxes packed in the hall outside, the soon-to-be-former speaker has already jumped ahead to her vision of the “humming, whirling entity” House Democrats can still be in the coming Congress. This seems to be true. Ms. Pelosi does not seem to have any short term memory. Perhaps it was destroyed

Tsunami Thursday ends an era
John C. Wohlstetter is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a trustee of the Hudson Institute, author of The Long War Ahead and the Short War Upon Us, and founder of the issues blog Letter From the Capitol. Mark Thursday, Dec. 17, 2010, on your political calendar as the day twin cultures were defeated. The culture of spending, embraced by both parties, was repudiated decisively when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rose to pull the monster 1,924-page, 6,630-earmark omnibus spending bill....

Key test vote in Senate for 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON—The Senate is headed for a key test vote on a bill that would provide up $6.2 billion to aid people who became sick after being exposed to Toxins at the World Trade Center ruins. Bill supporters say they're confident they have the 60 votes needed to prevail on the vote expected Wednesday. But they worry that Republicans who oppose the measure could try to stall a final vote as the holidays near and Congress' Lame Duck session winds down. The bill would provide medical and econo...

Fiscal Conservatives Push for 'Anti-Appropriations Committee'
In the spirit of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence -- who suggested a Department of Peace to counterbalance the War Office (later named the Department of Defense) -- some Conservatives are now proposing an Anti-Appropriations Committee for Congress. Americans for Tax Reform, along with a coalition of 46 groups -- including the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) -- have sent a letter to Speaker-elect John Boehner, urging him "to...

SPIN METER: Tax deal doesn't mean future accords
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are congratulating themselves for their Bipartisan tax-cut Compromise, hoping to be viewed as pragmatists who can work across party lines. That may be smart politics as both parties compete for Centrist and independent voters who will be pivotal in the 2012 presidential and congressional Elections. But it hardly augurs future cooperation when the president and Congress turn to tougher tasks like tackling record Budget Deficits. T...

A Pick Now Collector of Bones
Oh baby baby. While I see Rob's point, puh-leeze. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) lashed out at fellow Republicans Tuesday for a "capitulation ... of dramatic proportions" to Democrats and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the lame-duck Congress. Republican senators have broken with the party's leaders on several key votes in order to advance some of President Obama's top policies during the lame-duck. GOP members defected to pass a Repeal of "Don't ask, d...

Signing won't end 'don't ask' right away
President Barack Obama in Washington, Dec. 17, 2010. UPI/Olivier Douliery/POOL WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A bill being signed into law by President Obama to end the U.S. Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy" will not alter the policy immediately, officials said. The president, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, must first certify to Congress in writing the U.S. Armed Forces have drafted necessary new policies and regulations and a...

POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The new nuclear Arms Control pact with Russia cleared a key procedural hurdle Tuesday as the Senate voted to cut off debate on the measure. The 67-28 vote indicated a near-certain win for President Barack Obama on one of his top Foreign Policy priorities as Democrats continued to push through a series of measures before the end of the lame-duck session of Congress. Obama signed the treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April, and he made its ratification a major priority for current c...

The partys over (Rep. Tom McClintock)
Congressman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) delivered the following remarks today on the House floor: Mr. Speaker, On Nov. 2, the American People spoke loudly and clearly: stop the spending. Instead of graciously bowing to the public will, the Left has embarked on a frantic lame-duck Spending Spree with a majority already turned out of office by the voters. First, they exacted another $136 billion in spending as the price to prevent a devastating Tax Increase on New Year’s Day. They tried - unsu...

Congress freezes federal pay
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's official: Federal workers won't be getting a pay increase for the next two years, despite the best efforts of the unions that represent them. First proposed by President Obama three weeks ago, the freeze required the approval of Congress. On Tuesday, both chambers passed a short-term Budget fix that included the pay freeze. Email Print Comment Once President Obama signs that bill, it's a done deal. And federal workers are none too happy. "We are suffering th...

Obama set to celebrate pre-Christmas wins
President Barack Obama is poised to cheer a new START and end an era of Military Discrimination on Wednesday, in a sweet coda to a year marked by anemic Economic Growth and a Republican revival. Obama will sign into law a Repeal of a ban on gays serving openly in the Military -- a long-held liberal dream -- while the Senate is expected to ratify a new START nuclear arms deal with Russia, a cornerstone of his Foreign Policy. He will travel to the Interior Department in Washington early Wednesda...

Stopgap spending measure clears Congress
WASHINGTON — Congress cleared a stopgap funding bill Tuesday to keep the Federal Government open into March, a temporary truce until Republicans and President Barack Obama rejoin the battle over the Budget next year. The bill was passed by the House in the evening just hours after speeding through the Senate. Obama was poised to sign it by midnight to avoid a government shutdown. The measure would freeze agency budgets at current levels. That's still too high for Republicans set to take ov...

Senate poised to pass nuclear treaty, giving Obama a major victory
Reporting from Washington — A new arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia seemed headed for certain Senate ratification after Republican opposition crumbled Tuesday beneath a torrid campaign of White House pressure. Eleven Republican senators joined Democrats in cutting off debate over the treaty, and more could join when the Senate votes on the treaty Wednesday, giving the White House a major Foreign Policy victory. The Republican support for the agreement, known as ...