Stephen Dinan

Republicans patch over constitutional snafu

Call it a constitutional do-over. Two days after they took control of the House, Republicans on Friday had to clean up the mess left when two of their members failed to properly take the oath of office, even though they had been voting and conducting business as if they had.

January 7, 2011

Constitution read for first time, but not in its entirety

More than 200 years after the first part was written, the Constitution produced standing ovations and strident but respectful debate as lawmakers from both parties read the government's founding document on the House floor in its entirety — or nearly so.

January 6, 2011

GOP faces spending test as debt nears $14.3T ceiling

The Obama administration on Thursday told Congress the government is about to hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and will need authority to borrow more, kicking off the first major test of spending restraint and the strength of Republicans' new congressional power.

January 6, 2011

CBO: Health repeal will increase deficit

Congress's official scorekeeper said Thursday that the House Republicans' first major bill — repealing last year's health care law — would actually increase deficits by about $145 billion over 10 years.

January 6, 2011

Boehner takes reins in House

The 112th Congress gaveled open Wednesday with Republicans taking control of the House and immediately rewriting the chamber's rules, making it easier to cut spending and taxes, harder to add new spending, and more open to voters who want to keep tabs on what lawmakers are doing.

January 5, 2011

House to vote on repeal of health care law

It didn't save them from catastrophic losses at the polls, but Democrats say the nuts-and-bolts benefits already in place thanks to the health care law, such as coverage for young adults and people with pre-existing health conditions, will derail House Republicans' repeal efforts.

January 4, 2011

GOP to scrutinize Obama’s feats

With Congress split this year between Republicans and Democrats, the GOP may not be able to pass much of its repeal agenda, but it still expects to play a major role in shaping government through hearings and investigations into much of what the Obama administration has done.

January 2, 2011

New House rules end official commendations

With little fanfare earlier this month, the House passed a commending resolution recognizing the University of Wisconsin's football team for making it to the Rose Bowl. But if the team wins, it's likely to have to go without a pat on the back from the country's 435 House members — at least as far as official recognition goes.

December 29, 2010

Obama trails Bush on judicial confirmations

President Obama won two Supreme Court nominations in his first Congress, but his overall stamp on the federal judiciary has been muted as fights over judges have taken a lower profile than in recent years.

December 27, 2010

‘We the people’ to open next Congress

The Constitution frequently gets lip service in Congress, but House Republicans next year will make sure it gets a lot more than that - the new rules the incoming majority party proposed this week call for a full reading of the country's founding document on the floor of the House on Jan. 6.

December 23, 2010

Obama signs bill to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

Breaking a new barrier in gay rights, President Obama signed a bill Wednesday that sets in motion a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay troops.

December 22, 2010

Senate passes short-term spending stopgap

The Senate on Tuesday cleared the last must-pass bill of the year, a stopgap spending measure that funds basic government operations through March 4 at the same rate as in 2010.

December 21, 2010

Hot off the press: Obsolete bill costs $78,000 to print

Sometimes in Congress, the physical size of the bill matters.

December 20, 2010

Senate repeals ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

Setting the stage for a major social change, the Senate voted Saturday to overturn the military's policy banning openly gay and lesbian troops, know as "don't ask, don't tell," sending the repeal to President Obama for his signature.

December 18, 2010

Senate rejects legalization for illegal immigrant students

In a final showdown on immigration legislation, the Senate on Saturday blocked a bill to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant children and young adults, likely taking the issue off the table for several years.

December 18, 2010

House approves tax-cut compromise bill

Staving off the largest tax increase in history, lawmakers Friday morning passed President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans through the House after fending off a last-minute effort to increase the estate tax beyond what was proposed.

December 16, 2010

Reid pulls $1.1T omnibus spending bill

Senate Democrats conceded defeat Thursday and pulled their $1.1 trillion spending bill loaded with earmarks from the chamber floor, stymied by Republicans who unified to block the massive bill in the final days of a contentious session of Congress.

December 16, 2010

Reid: Earmarks are ‘what we’re supposed to do’

Preparing for a final showdown on the massive $1.1 trillion spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defended the thousands of earmarks in the measure as the basic function of Congress.

December 16, 2010

Senate votes to begin debate on START

The Senate voted Wednesday to begin debating a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia in a test vote that signals the treaty — which would cut the number of nuclear weapons that the U.S. and Russia have deployed — has enough support to be ratified.

December 15, 2010

Senate approves Obama-GOP tax-cut deal

Taking a major step toward staving off the largest tax increase in history, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass the tax-cut deal President Obama and congressional Republicans struck last week.

December 15, 2010