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Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Obama rubs his eye as he listens to a question from a reporter during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Aug. 9, 2013. The president said the U.S. will pause and reassess relations with Russia because of Putin's 'backward' thinking. (Associated Press)

Obama vows tighter oversight of NSA surveillance

Seeking to shore up foundering support for government snooping, President Obama said Friday he is willing to change the Patriot Act and to make modifications to the secret court that oversees programs such as the National Security Agency's phone-records collection program.

August 9, 2013
**FILE** House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 15, 2013. (Associated Press)

House GOP: State Dept. must say who ordered Benghazi changes

House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa sent a letter Thursday asking Victoria Nuland, who at the time was the State Department's spokeswoman, who she meant when she said her "building leadership" wanted to see changes to the administration's talking points following the Benghazi terrorist attack last year.

August 8, 2013
**FILE** Spanish language election campaign signs promoting President Obama hang on the windows at Lechonera El Barrio Restaurant in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 26, 2012. The sign reads "We are united. Hispanics for Obama." (Associated Press)

Hispanics favor Democrats more than 2-to-1: Gallup

Hispanics are more than twice as likely to be Democrats as they are to be Republicans, according to polling by Gallup released Thursday, a survey that calls into question how much room there is for Republicans to compete for Hispanic voters.

August 8, 2013
Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discusses a plan July 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill to move mail to cluster box and curbside delivery in a move to cut costs at the cash-strapped Postal Service by up to $4.5 billion a year. With the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the tradition of mail delivery to the door could be virtually phased out by 2022 under a proposal in Congress. At left is the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. (Associated Press)

House investigating FEC and IRS communications over tax exempt groups

House investigators this week said they want to see communications between the Federal Election Commission and the IRS that could shed light on whether the two agencies colluded to target conservative organizations, as questions about the IRS targeting scandal expanded.

August 8, 2013
** FILE ** Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican (The Washington Times)

Wolf at the door: Immigrant rights issue follows lawmakers home

Five dozen immigration rights activists picketed outside Rep. Frank R. Wolf's Herndon office Wednesday, demanding he vote for a bill that would extend citizenship rights to 11 million illegal immigrants — a scene that is being repeated outside countless Republican congressional district offices this summer.

August 7, 2013
**FILE** President Obama speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 17, 2013. (Associated Press)

Federal deficit hits lowest point of Obama administration

The federal deficit continues to drop, powered by a better economy, higher tax rates and the spending cuts that have left the government's bottom line in much better shape than at any time under President Obama, according to the Congressional Budget Office's latest numbers released Wednesday.

August 7, 2013
**FILE** Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel talks with Air Force personnel at Joint Base Charleston near Charleston, S.C., on July 17, 2013, the last day of a three-day trip to visit bases in the Carolinas and Florida. (Associated Press)

DOD reversal: Sequester pain less than anticipated

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that the Pentagon has been able to find enough savings to further reduce the number of days civilian worker are being furloughed this year, in the latest sign that the budget sequesters aren't biting as deeply as the administration had warned.

August 6, 2013
Courtesy of greenbrier.com

Judges attend lavish conferences on taxpayer dime amid budget cuts

Even as courts warn of job cuts and furloughs to their employees due to the sequester, federal judges continue to attend taxpayer-funded conferences at lavish resorts, according to a top senator who is calling on the courts to change their priorities.

August 5, 2013
**FILE** Capitol Police officers try to clear a street on Capitol Hill in Washington on Aug. 1, 2013, that was blocked by immigration reform supporters during a rally protesting immigration policies and the House GOP’s inability to pass a bill that contains a pathway to citizenship. (Associated Press)

Tea party warns of ‘bait and switch’ on immigration

Tea party groups on Friday warned House Republicans they fear GOP leaders are preparing to "pull a bait and switch" that will ultimately allow a broad immigration bill pass that legalizes illegal immigrants.

August 2, 2013
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he and the ICE agents are "considering our options" after a judge tossed out their suit trying to halt the administration's nondeportation policies. (Associated Press)

ICE agents weigh appeal in deportation policy fight

Immigration agents are weighing an appeal after a judge this week tossed out their lawsuit trying to halt the administration's nondeportation policies, saying the federal courts don't have jurisdiction over a personnel matter, agents said Thursday.

August 1, 2013
Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discusses a plan July 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill to move mail to cluster box and curbside delivery in a move to cut costs at the cash-strapped Postal Service by up to $4.5 billion a year. With the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the tradition of mail delivery to the door could be virtually phased out by 2022 under a proposal in Congress. At left is the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. (Associated Press)

House issues subpoenas to get Benghazi documents from State Department

As they prepared to head home for summer vacation, House Republicans fired off three subpoenas Thursday seeking more information from the State Department on the terrorist attack last year in Benghazi, Libya, and on the science the Environmental Protection Agency used to impose new clean air regulations.

August 1, 2013
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., right, and Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., center, join immigration reform supporters as they block a street on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, during a rally protesting against immigration policies and the House GOP’s inability to pass a bill that contains a pathway to citizenship. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Immigration activists arrested at Capitol

Seeking to revive the chances for getting an immigration bill done this year, dozens of immigrant-rights activists staged a sit-in and got arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday — and they vowed to repeat the civil disobedience throughout the country the rest of the summer.

August 1, 2013
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy told intelligence and law enforcement officials that "the trust of the American people is wearing thin." (Associated Press)

Obama open to changes at NSA; intel officials fight to maintain secrecy

The Obama administration signaled Wednesday that it is ready to accept some changes to the National Security Agency telephone snooping program, as intelligence officials fought fiercely against congressional critics to preserve what they say is a vital tool in rooting out terrorist plots.

July 31, 2013
**FILE** From left: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, and Vice President Joseph R. Biden participate in a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 19, 2013. (Associated Press)

Congress will leave for summer recess with little accomplished

Congress is slinking toward an August exit from Washington with little to show for the past few weeks, and House Republicans suffered a major setback Wednesday when they had to pull their first domestic spending bill of the year from the floor, realizing they didn't have the votes to pass it.

July 31, 2013
** FILE ** Janet A. Napolitano leaves a mixed legacy as secretary of homeland security. Her celebrated response to weather emergencies, for example, is balanced by the unpopular addition of strict airline security measures. (Associated Press)

Judge tosses immigration agents’ suit against Napolitano

A federal judge dismissed immigration agents' lawsuit trying to overturn the administration's non-deportation policies, arguing the court didn't have jurisdiction because it was a personnel matter subject to collective bargaining.

July 31, 2013
President Obama responds to a reporter's question as he leaves a meeting with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 31, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obama, Democrats vow unified stance on debt

President Obama emerged from closed-door meetings with House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday with a new mantra for his focus the rest of this year: "Jobs. Middle class. Growth."

July 31, 2013