The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged chuck schumer

Sen. Harkin supports amending Constitution to address Citizens United

By | 11.10.11 | 4:53 pm | More from The Iowa Independent

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Iowa Democratic Party.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin is under no illusions that there will be an easy path forward for a joint resolution aimed at curtailing the amount of money being used to influence voters, but he also isn’t willing to wait on a better political climate.

Channeling Silicon Valley supporters, Romney endorses green cards for foreign grads

By | 08.12.11 | 5:56 pm

Much was said about walls, borders and welfare during the immigration section of the Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday. But the most exceptional comment of the night on immigration came from former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney — the only mainstream candidate to endorse a specific immigration policy idea More…

Senators agree on high-skilled immigration reform, but Democrats insist it must be comprehensive

By | 07.27.11 | 6:43 pm

The current employment-based immigration system is dysfunctional and needs reform, panelists and lawmakers stated at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) presided over the hearing, which heard testimony from leaders in the business, higher education and immigrant communities, as well as three American mayors.

FRAC Act could leave some rural wells unprotected

By | 04.01.11 | 9:22 am

Image by: Matt MahurinLegislation to restore federal regulation of fracking would not protect households that draw water from private wells because such wells are not overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fracking opponents warn.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a method of collecting methane (natural gas) from shale deposits by blasting the More…

Schumer’s gun proposal may face heavy opposition as gun rights bills gain traction across U.S.

By | 02.25.11 | 4:36 pm

On Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appeared alongside New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a New York police station to announce his intention to soon introduce a gun control bill in the U.S. Senate. The bill would tighten background check requirements for firearms purchasers across all 50 states More…

Democrats play hot potato with DSCC chairmanship

By | 11.16.10 | 9:12 am

The Democratic and Republican leadership elections are finally upon us, and it seems that most of the drama and uncertainty has already worked itself out well in advance. On the GOP side, the only contested race — which featured Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas) facing off against Tea Party favorite Rep. More…

Why the DISCLOSE Act failed, and why it’s likely to fail again

By | 11.09.10 | 11:23 am

A poll earlier this year showed that 80 percent of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Most people want corporate campaign spending to be limited; even more want it to be transparent. So why can’t Congress pass legislation to require independently funded campaign ads to reveal More…

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing

Lack of trust may derail DISCLOSE Act in lame duck

By | 11.09.10 | 6:00 am

Despite widespread public opposition to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and multiple exhortations by the president for Congress to act, Senate Democrats were unable to overcome a Republican filibuster to pass the DISCLOSE Act, a bill requiring interest groups to name the donors behind their campaign ads, More…

Senate Races to Watch for Immigration Policy

By | 11.02.10 | 3:22 pm

Today’s elections will almost certainly make it harder for Congress to push through progressive agenda items such as comprehensive immigration reform. Although a lot of the changes will be broad — more Republicans will mean more arguments for border security and enforcement and less support for paths to legalization — More…

Increasing Security on Immigration Documents

By | 10.25.10 | 10:00 am

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials will issue new documents for naturalized citizens beginning today to help prevent fraud. The agency has attempted to increase the security of its documents, unveiling new green cards this summer meant to be more difficult to counterfeit. The new citizenship More…