The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged specter

Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Lifting Antitrust Exemption for Health Insurers

By | 10.14.09 | 1:12 pm

As the debate over health care reform rages on, there’s been almost no attention to the fact that health and medical malpractice insurance companies since 1945 have been exempt from the federal antitrust laws aimed at keeping every other private market competitive. The McCarran-Ferguson Act has allowed insurance More…

Amendment Requiring NSL to Target Foreign Terrorism Voted Down

By | 10.08.09 | 11:42 am

An amendment to the Patriot Act provision authorizing National Security Letters that would have required the letters to target only people with some connection to a foreign power or the activities of a foreign power, so as to ensure that the NSL is actually issued to investigate terrorism rather than, More…

Big Money Fuels Fight Over Labor Bill

By | 03.12.09 | 4:42 pm

The nonpartisan money-in-politics-tracking Website, OpenSecrets.org, has an eye-opening roundup of the money spent in support or opposition the Employee Free Choice Act, introduced in Congress yesterday.

The bill, which would allow employees to form a union if they can gather signatures from a majority of workers, rather than More…

HOLDER HEARING: Specter and Holder and Rich

By | 01.15.09 | 11:08 am

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) predictably started right in on questioning Eric Holder on his involvement with Marc Rich. Starting with this generous quote:

“it’s a little hard for me to see how you came to the conclusion you did,” Specter opened. “Conceding the fact that none of us is perfect.” More…

Full Witness List for Holder Hearings Released

By | 01.13.09 | 8:31 pm

The complete witness list for Eric Holder’s confirmation hearings this Thursday was just released tonight.

Here it is, after the jump: