The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged roland burris

Reid thumb

Lame duck preview: The last hurrah for a Democratic Congress

By | 11.15.10 | 6:00 am

The midterm hangover having finally worn off, the 111th Congress returns today to kick off the lame-duck session, its last hurrah before its successor takes over. And the 112th Congress will look radically different, with Republicans in control of the House and the Democratic majority in the Senate significantly reduced. More…

What does Kirk’s early Senate entry mean for the DREAM Act?

By | 11.04.10 | 5:13 pm

Mark Kirk, the Republican senator-elect from Illinois, could be sworn in as early as Nov. 29 due to special circumstances regarding his seat, which used to belong to President Obama but was handed over to Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) when Obama took office. Kirk will serve in the More…

Safety_net_2

With Loss of COBRA Subsidy, Newly Unemployed Face Tripling of Insurance Costs

By | 08.24.10 | 4:45 am

In the first week of July, Andie Davis’ husband, who worked in manufacturing, lost his job, as hundreds of thousands of Michiganders have since the onset of the recession. Soon after, he started collecting unemployment insurance benefits that might last the family of four as long as 99 weeks. Davis More…

MA-Sen: The RNC’s Scene-Setting Memo

By | 01.19.10 | 7:20 pm

BOSTON — The Republican National Committee’s well-timed poll of what Massachusetts voters want after the ballots are counted tonight provides a roadmap to the party’s strategy if Scott Brown wins tonight. The key bit:

Should the winner of this special election be seated in the U.S. Senate immediately or should

More…

A Last-Minute Push to End Insurers’ Anti-Trust Exemption

By | 01.14.10 | 1:42 pm

A group of powerful Senate Democrats is urging leadership today to repeal the federal anti-trust exemption that insurance companies have enjoyed for more than six decades. In a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the Democrats More…

Senate Public Option Deal Fuels Uncertainty

By | 12.09.09 | 5:26 pm

Announcing the Democrats’ tentative deal on a public option, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last night that the nascent proposal strikes a good balance between liberals, who say a federal plan will lower patient costs, and conservatives who want to limit the government’s hand More…

Ethics Panel Gives Free Pass to Burris

By | 11.20.09 | 12:08 pm

In a letter released today, the Senate Ethics Committee admonished Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) for “actions and statements reflecting unfavorably upon the Senate” in connection to the senator’s actions during his appointment to the upper chamber last year.

The Committee found that you should have known that you

More…

Protecting Coal, but at What Cost?

By | 11.16.09 | 3:10 pm

The push is on to dilute the climate change bills moving through Congress, and it’s not coming only from conservatives. Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard reports today that 14 Senate Democrats are urging their leadership to amend the proposal to grant more free polluting permits to the coal-burning utilities More…

Roland Burris Has a Lot of Questions About How the Federal Government Works

By | 10.26.09 | 2:20 pm

I’ve just gotten my hands on the transcript of last Thursday’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on czars. There’s a lot in there, but the first thing I want to highlight is the dramatically incoherent testimony of Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.). I don’t know where to More…