Hours after President Obama rejected the latest spending offer from the House GOP on his weekly radio address, Senate Democrat leaders rejected a competing proposal offered by Senate Republicans. While Obama and the Democrats have remained united on a simple
On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid failed to receive the 60 votes he needed to move forward with his plan for a 14-month extension of the debt ceiling. Reid’s plan contained no off-setting spending cuts or reforms and was
President Obama used his weekly radio address to reject the latest offer from House Republicans to end the fiscal stalemate. The outline of their proposal was released Friday and would have reopened government through December and lifted the debt ceiling
In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama rejected any short-term increase in the debt ceiling. The move was a preemptive rejection of a potential House proposal to allow a short-term increase in the debt along with reopening government, which
House Republicans have sent the White House a revised proposal to lift the debt ceiling for six weeks, as well as reopen government through December 15th, which was their original spending proposal before the partial shutdown. The revised GOP plan
On Friday, Senate Republicans will meet with President Obama at the White House to offer their plan to end the fiscal stalemate. Splitting with the House GOP, the Senate GOP plan would lift the debt ceiling, likely for six months,
Since the beginning of the fiscal showdown, President Obama has stressed that he wouldn’t negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. His top economic advisor Gene Sperling has regularly repeated Obama’s stance, “If you sanction through negotiation the legitimacy of somebody threatening
In a meeting Thursday afternoon with House Republicans, President Obama rejected their latest offer to extend the debt ceiling for 6 weeks, allowing negotiations over a longer-term budget deal. Obama said he was open to a short-term extension of the
Five very persistent people have been able to enroll in ObamaCare in Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports. The paper reports the five successful employees the “Hardy Handful,” noting the ultimately successful enrollees experienced long delays and were repeatedly booted
House Republicans are preparing a proposal for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling, expected to last about six weeks. The move would allow talks between the House, Senate and Obama on a longer-term plan dealing with government spending and
On Tuesday, President Obama broke ranks with Harry Reid and Senate Democrats and said he was open to a short-term deal to reopen government and lift the debt ceiling. Obama, in response to an AP reporter’s question, said that, with
America faces existential fiscal and economic challenges. Federal, state, and local governments face tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities. The economy seems to be undergoing a structural transformation which is experiencing almost no growth, even after trillions in government stimulus.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is preparing legislation to lift the debt ceiling by $1.1 trillion, enough to cover borrowing through the end of 2014. The move would push the next debate over the debt limit until well after the
The media and most pundits frame the current budget and debt showdown as a fight between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner. The question on their minds is, which one of the leaders will blink first. A closer look at
Rep. Darrell Issa, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, recently informed the IRS that the committee’s investigation has revealed that senior IRS officials were using their private emails to transmit confidential tax information. The investigation was sparked by the agency’s
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, suggested possible GOP support for a tax hike as part of a deal to end the stalemate on government spending and debt. As the government shutdown enters its second week,
As the government shutdown enters its second week, House Republicans are pushing for another “supercommittee” to negotiate a deal to restore government funding and raise the debt ceiling. The House is set to vote on the proposal Tuesday and send
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared Monday night on “The Daily Show” and said she didn’t know how many people had signed up for ObamaCare. “Fully enrolled?” Sebelius told host Jon Stewart. “I can’t tell you. I don’t know.” Someone ought
The sitting President is usually the titular leader of his party. This role can diminish late in a second-term, when possible successors take the national stage. President Obama, it seems, however, has been dethroned early, just months after having won
Speaking Monday morning in Washington, Obama’s top economic advisors shot down the idea that President Obama could unilaterally raise the debt ceiling if Congress fails to act. “Only Congress has the authority to borrow,” Jason Furman, Chair of Obama’s Council
On Saturday, the House voted, unanimously, to give furloughed federal workers back-pay when the government re-opens. The 800,000 “non-essential” workers who are currently prohibited from working will be compensated for their non-work. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dismissed the measure
The latest Gallup tracking poll finds that just 41% of Americans approve of President Obama’s job performance. A solid majority, 52%, disapprove of Obama. This latest Gallup poll is the first in which all the interviews were conducted after the
Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was “closed” due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles
The media and the DC establishment are abuzz with reports that Senate Republicans recently lashed out at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over the government shutdown. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte confronted Cruz with copies of ads run by an outside
Since the government shutdown on Tuesday, House Republicans have pushed legislation to reopen selected parts of the federal government. They have proposed legislation to reopen National Parks, the Veterans Administration and fully fund the National Guard, among other measures. To
