Stephen Dinan

Congress passes second bill to avert shutdown

Congress on Thursday pushed a government shutdown back another three weeks then approved taking a vacation next week, leaving the hard work of striking a long-term deal for another day.

March 17, 2011

GAO’s report on waste suddenly a Hill must-read

Move over, Tom Clancy — the newest thriller to go viral, at least by federal government report standards, is the Government Accountability Office's just-published look at waste and duplication in federal agencies.

March 15, 2011

Democrats key for passage of spending bill

Facing a rebellion among their conservative members, House Republicans had to turn to Democrats on Tuesday to pass a short-term spending bill that will delay a government shutdown by three weeks.

March 15, 2011

Cutting budget tougher as fiscal year’s funds dwindle

Republicans are finding that the logistics of cutting spending becomes trickier as the fiscal year winds down and more money gets spent.

March 14, 2011

Napolitano: Slain agent wasn’t unarmed

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was armed with a pistol and a rifle during the December gunbattle with border bandits that cost him his life, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a letter last week meant to counter lingering questions about the agent's death.

March 11, 2011

Congress readies new stopgap spending bill

Looking to avert a March 18 government shutdown, Congressional leaders have written another short-term spending bill that moves that deadline back three weeks while cutting additional billions of dollars from last year's spending.

March 11, 2011

Utah Legislature goes for gold, silver as currency options

The Utah Legislature on Thursday passed a bill allowing gold and silver coins to be used as legal tender in the state — and for the value of their precious metal, not just the face value of the coins.

March 10, 2011

Senators hail defeat of rival spending cuts as March 18 looms ahead

The Senate on Wednesday first rejected House Republicans' broad spending-cuts bill, then turned around and defeated the much shallower cuts backed by Democrats and President Obama, and both sides said it constituted progress.

March 9, 2011

In key test, GOP plan bests Democrats’

Republicans' plan to make $57 billion in deep spending cuts won more support than Democrats' $4.7 billion shallow cuts proposal in competing Senate votes Wednesday, though neither gained anywhere near enough support to pass.

March 9, 2011

Napolitano: Agents can use lethal force

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a congressional panel Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and his fellow agents were not under orders to refrain from using lethal force in a December gunbattle near the Mexican border that resulted in Mr. Terry's death.

March 9, 2011

Senate set to kill parties’ competing spending-cut bills

House Republicans said Tuesday they will likely have to write another short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown on March 18, as a deal over funding the final seven months of the fiscal year remained elusive.

March 8, 2011

U.S. sets $223B deficit record

The federal government posted its largest monthly deficit in history in February, a $223 billion shortfall that put a sharp point on the current fight on Capitol Hill about how deeply to cut this year's spending.

March 7, 2011

$6 billion budget cut: A ‘limit’ for Democrats, a nick for Republicans

A top Senate Democrat said Sunday that the $6 billion in additional spending cuts that his party offered is the limit Democrats can accept — drawing a line well short of Republicans' goal with less than two weeks to go before a government shutdown if the two sides can't agree.

March 6, 2011

Senate Democrats offer $6 billion in spending cuts

Senate Democrats introduced a bill Friday calling for an additional $6 billion in spending cuts this year, putting meat to the bones of President Obama's opening offer this week to come to the table and negotiate with House Republicans.

March 4, 2011

White House antes up $6 billion in cuts

The White House offered its ante in the great spending-cuts debate, saying Thursday it's willing to cut at least another $6 billion in spending this year — which stacks up against House Republicans' $57 billion in cuts.

March 3, 2011

With government shutdown averted, parties debate next move

With a government shutdown averted, at least for the time being, President Obama on Wednesday invited congressional leaders to sit down and hash out the rest of this year's spending bills — but Republicans said they have done their work and want to see Democrats put their own proposal on the table first.

March 2, 2011

House’s 2-week stopgap bill cuts $4 billion

Congress cleared the path Tuesday to avert an end-of-the-week government shutdown as Democrats and Republicans rallied around the GOP's two-week funding bill that cuts $4 billion from 2010 spending levels.

March 1, 2011

Short-term spending measure likely to be passed

Congress is nearing passage of a short-term spending bill to keep the government from shutting down at the end of this week, but the deal does little to resolve the long-term fight over spending for the rest of 2011 and beyond.

February 28, 2011

State compacts on health care eyed as end run around Obama

With efforts to repeal the health care law stalling on Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers in states across the country are turning to another tool in the Constitution to try to limit the law's reach — interstate compacts.

February 27, 2011

Government shutdown solution appears near

Congress appeared to be closing in Friday on a short-term spending bill to prevent a government shutdown next week, with House Republicans proposing a two-week extension that would cut $4 billion from last year's spending levels.

February 25, 2011