Recently in Congress Category

I can see it now. Cage matches on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell in a loser leaves town, no holds barred, Texas death match to decide the fate of health care reform. Chuck Schumer hits John Cornyn on the head with a folding chair during an argument over extending tax cuts. Stacy Keibler on CSPAN (OK, that part might not be so bad)."Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon...

Sharron Angle, the gift that keeps on giving. The well of stupid that never runs dry. From an interview with Action News in Las Vegas on the subject of "Obamacare": "I think we get confused a little bit. Our healthcare system is the best in the world. There's nothing wrong with our healthcare system. Our doctors are the best," says Angle."But how many people get access to the best healthcare in the world," asks Action...

Not that Republicans are serious about this balanced budget amendment nonsense, but let's take a look at what it might look like if it had been in effect in 2009. If, as the amendment would require, federal spending could not exceed federal revenue. Federal revenues for 2009 totaled $2.105 trillion:Mandatory, as in required by law, spending plus interest on the national debt totaled $2.148 trillion: That means nothing for Defense, nothing for Homeland Security, nothing...

Steve Benen at Washington Monthly quoting Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, after today's jobs report which showed a gain of 71,000 jobs in the private sector but a loss of 202,000 (143,000 of those census workers) in the public sector: "The economic case for more government action to create jobs is about as clear as they come." It's crystal clear. What is needed is government spending to create jobs, the much-maligned (by the...

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, is supposedly a rising star in the GOP largely due to his "Roadmap for America's Future." Ryan's Roadmap is billed as "an elaborate...plan that aims to erase the federal debt by 2063, simplify the tax code and significantly alter...Medicare and Social Security" and "an answer to those who have accused Republicans of saying no, while having no ideas of their own."Fred Barnes...

Attention teachers, police officers, and firefighters: Remember this when you go to the polls in November. John Boehner, the man who would be Speaker if Republicans take control of the House, considers you to be "liberal special interests" and funds to save your jobs a "special interest bailout." He also seems to think that his time would be much better spent on the golf course than in Washington voting on a bill to save your...

Not that we needed any further proof of Republican hypocrisy when it comes to jobs and deficits, but there it was again yesterday in the cloture vote on a bill to provide $26 billion in aid to states and school districts.Here is a bill that keeps 140,000 teachers in the classroom instead of standing in line at the unemployment office (which is where Republicans actually want them to be, along with everyone else), doesn't add...

As if we needed further proof that Republicans have absolutely no intention of working with Democrats on anything, they filibustered a bill yesterday that comes straight from their own talking points.  The small business lending bill would have given tax breaks and guaranteed loans from small banks to aid small businesses in today's tight credit market.  Every single Republican voted to continue the filibuster, claiming that Democrats wouldn't discuss their own amendments to the bill. From MSNBC: Much...

This time it's a bill that extends medical care for first responders and victims of 9/11. Republicans oppose it because it "creates a massive new entitlement program"  and is paid for with a tax that would result in "potential job losses." Politico has the story: "The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009, sponsored by New York City Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), provides medical monitoring to those exposed to toxins at Ground...

Before House Republicans left Washington for their August recess yesterday, Rep. Mike Pence handed out his 22-page plan for how Republicans can disseminate their propaganda get their message out to voters over the break. "The recess document...lays out key topics to address in the dog days of August and early September: "Week One: Jobs. Week Two: Government Reform. Week Three: Spending. Week Four: National Security. Week Five: Healthcare. Week Six: JOBS."[...]Under the heading "Job Creation,"...