By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Internet taxes? Not so fast. A bill that would let states collect Internet sales taxes from online retailers and their customers may have sailed through the Senate, but it is expected to face much more resistance from tax-wary Republicans in the House.
Internet taxes? Not so fast. A bill that would allow states to collect Internet sales taxes from online retailers and their customers may have sailed through the Senate, but it is expected to face much more resistance from tax-wary Republicans in the House.
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said the Obama administration should ratchet up its focus on homegrown terrorists and their links to overseas jihadists despite the death of Osama bin Laden, citing the Boston Marathon bombings as a reminder that radicalized Islam is a constant threat.
Internet retailers soon could be required to collect the same sales taxes that consumers pay to their bricks-and-mortar peers, after the Senate agreed Monday to send the Marketplace Fairness Act to the floor for a final vote in coming weeks.
The immigration reform bill that senators are writing in secret would move U.S. policy to a points-based system that would reward immigrants who are taking care of disabled parents at the same level as those who have earned master's degrees in high-tech fields, according to a draft of the legislation reviewed by The Washington Times.
Lawmakers on both sides of a proposal to expand gun-purchase background checks to sales online and at gun shows said Sunday that they don't know whether it will pass — a hurdle that, if not cleared, likely would kill the prospects of significant gun control legislation on Capitol Hill.
Immigration rights advocates are turning their fire on one of their own champions, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, demanding he stop taking donations from lobbyists for private prisons, which earn money by holding illegal immigrants for the U.S. government.
Members of the “Gang of Eight” tasked with carving out a comprehensive immigration package said Wednesday that they hope to file a bill when they return to Washington from their Easter break, and suggested that they are on the verge of a deal between business and labor leaders on visas for low-skilled workers.
In a nonbinding vote, the Senate on Friday showed a willingness to give states greater power to collect sales taxes on purchases from sites such as eBay and Amazon.
Republicans presented a united front on debt and taxes Sunday, ruling out tax increases as a way of reaching a "grand bargain" on the budget despite President Obama's recent efforts to pour on the charm.
Five hours into Sen. Rand Paul's old-fashioned, hold-the-floor filibuster Wednesday, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid came to the floor to try to end the affair, asking whether Mr. Paul would settle for going only 30 more minutes before the chamber voted on confirmation of a CIA director.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, announced new legislation on the Senate floor Monday that would make gun trafficking a federal crime and crack down on straw purchasing — one of the first bipartisan gun-related measures to be introduced after the Newtown, Conn., shootings in December.
They spent the weekend blaming each other for the $85 billion in sequestration cuts that began taking effect Friday — but top Democrats and Republicans were careful Sunday to keep the door open to a breakthrough deal on the federal budget.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee argued Tuesday that a balance exists between enacting new gun laws and protecting the Second Amendment, while Republicans cautioned that any ban on so-called assault weapons treads dangerously on the U.S. Constitution — an ideological divide seared into the current gun debate that hard-liners on both sides are unlikely to cross.
"Our bill," he said, "addresses that directly."
Giuliani: Boston bombings show threat of homegrown jihadists →
But Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said burgeoning efforts at immigration reform is the answer, helping the United States track potentially dangerous individuals who enter or exit the country.
Giuliani: Boston bombings show threat of homegrown jihadists →
