December 20, 2015 Jobless benefits bill clears key Senate hurdle, over GOP complaints on cost A controversial jobless benefits bill narrowly cleared a key Senate hurdle on Tuesday, over the objections of Republicans who complain the $6 billion measure is not paid for and accuse Democrats of playing politics.
December 20, 2015 Effort to restore jobless benefits begins with uncertain Senate vote The effort on Capitol Hill to restore long-term unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans is set to begin Monday with a critical first vote in the Senate.
December 20, 2015 Extreme cold strands senators, delaying Capitol Hill vote on unemployment benefits A preliminary Senate vote to extend unemployment benefits was postponed Monday night after the extreme cold across much of the country prevented some senators from traveling back to Washington.
December 20, 2015 Hill Democrats, Republicans set 2014 agendas with midterm elections in mind Congressional Democrats and Republicans sharpened their political knives Sunday as lawmakers return to Washington this week to begin executing legislative agendas designed to help their respective parties in the November elections.
December 20, 2015 New GOP Congress sets sights on Keystone, immigration and jobs With control of the House and now the Senate, Republicans will return to Congress next week looking for early victories on such key issues as immigration and domestic energy to set the tone for the next two years and position their party to win the White House in 2016.
December 20, 2015 Obama threatens to wield veto pen to counter GOP-led Congress The new Congress hasn't yet been sworn in, but President Obama already is warning he plans to use his veto pen to counter initiatives from the incoming Republican majority.
December 20, 2015 Paul, Rubio clash over Obama's Cuba policy Flipping the script on a Republican rival, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Friday criticized Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as "an isolationist" as the GOP's intra-party feud over President Obama's new Cuba policy intensified. The charge was unusual for the libertarian-minded Paul, often cast as an isolationist himself. On Friday, however, Paul made the case for opening up trade and engagement with communist Cuba.
December 20, 2015 Keystone pipeline to top Senate agenda next year Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared Tuesday that approving the Keystone XL pipeline will top the Senate agenda in January, potentially setting up an early veto confrontation with President Barack Obama.
December 20, 2015 Growing divide among Senate Republicans on spending bill? Republican aren’t mincing words about some in their own party as the political divide grows and the deadline to pass a spending bill nears.
December 20, 2015 A look inside the massive $1.1 trillion spending bill School kids, truckers, marijuana smokers and fans of old-fashioned light bulbs are among millions of Americans with something extra riding on passage of a giant spending bill needed to keep the government running. The $1.1 trillion, 1,603-page bill awaiting a Monday Senate vote is mostly spending choices, such as adding $5.4 billion to fight the Ebola virus or trimming the Environmental Protection Agency's budget by $60 million.
