Boehner, McConnell Talk Prospects for Next Congress

Presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters today that he will work toward a “smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington, D.C.” Though his remarks were short on policy, Boehner said he would aim to repeal the health care bill and extend the Bush tax cuts. More…

McConnell’s ‘Bipartisan’ Plan to Create Jobs: Drill, Baby, Drill

Following this morning’s White House jobs meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement laying out his four-part plan to tackle the nation’s unemployment crisis.

Let’s just say there’s a bit of a theme:

Rewriting History on That Deficit Task Force

Here’s how history gets rewritten: Last week, the Senate killed legislation to create a bipartisan panel designed to tackle the country’s skyrocketing debt. President Obama endorsed it — as did many conservative Republicans — but it failed after six GOP co-sponsors and Senate Minority More…

When Leadership Isn’t

After a good deal of public airing, the Senate last week shot down a proposal empowering a bipartisan budget panel to recommend deficit-slashing strategies that Congress would then be forced to consider. Politico’s Mike Allen pointed out Tuesday that six GOP co-sponsors, including 2008 president candidate More…

Cloture Vote on Unemployment Extension Scheduled for Wednesday Afternoon

The Senate will hold a procedural vote tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. to limit debate on legislation extending unemployment benefits in all states, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) just announced on the chamber floor. Senate rules mandate that the final vote can’t come earlier than 30 hours after the cloture vote. To More…

Conservatives Worried Unemployment Vote Foreshadows Health Reform Debate

After three weeks of stalling over controversial amendments to legislation extending unemployment benefits, Senate GOP leaders are floating a new message as they criticize the way Democrats have managed the process: they’re trying to paint the unemployment insurance debate as a kind of forewarning of what might happen More…

End of Medicare ‘Gag Order’ Doesn’t Quite Satisfy McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants a “further review” in the wake of new White House guidelines reversing an earlier policy that prohibited health insurers from urging Medicare beneficiaries to oppose the Democrats’ health reforms, which include clipping more than $100 billion from Medicare Advantage plans.

The More…

McConnell: CBO Score Is Much Ado About Nothing

Even as Senate Finance Committee Democrats are patting themselves on the back over a damn fine cost estimate for their enormous health reform proposal, Republican leaders are quick to remind us that it’s a far different bill than the rest of the chamber will be voting on. Senate More…