WASHINGTON (AP) — The applause rolled through the big chamber, growing ever louder as hundreds of Republicans and Democrats suddenly realized Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was back in the House. But this time she had come to say goodbye. (more)
The informal cohort of anti-war members of Congress — who have challenged the war in Iraq, opposed an escalation in Afghanistan and attempted to end the intervention in Libya — will lose some of its most prominent members in the next congressional session. (more)
An often-overlooked portion of President Barack Obama’s prized health care law, the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), will face heat in the coming months from Congress and from the courts. Congressman Phil Roe, Tennessee Republican, told The Daily Caller the IPAB is the “real death panel” in the health care law, as compared to “end-of-life counseling” provisions in Obamacare that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin once deemed “death panels.” (more)
If you’re wondering why your grocery bill is so high, one place to look is your car. (more)
For all the sound and fury of the class of GOP freshmen that succeeded in pushing Speaker John Boehner to cut extra funds from the continuing resolution spending bill, a Friday vote to cut $22 billion more actually split the class, only garnering the support of about 65 percent of them. (more)
Arizona Republican Rep. Jeff Flake picked up a prominent endorsement Thursday in his race for Senate from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. (more)
Republican Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake believes that birthers should “accept the reality” and acknowledge the fact that President Obama was born in the US. (more)
Rep. Jeff Flake launched a campaign Monday for the Arizona Senate seat in 2012 left open by Sen. John Kyl, confirming rumors that he was mulling a run. (more)
Arizona Republican Rep. Jeff Flake didn’t rule out the option of running for the open Senate seat that will be left vacant by Sen. Jon Kyl, who announced his retirement this afternoon. (more)
A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that would cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending. (more)
— “It is unlikely that House Republicans will take the vote to repeal the health care law, shrug their shoulders when it doesn’t reach the Senate, and move on,” writes The Daily Caller’s Chris Moody. “We aren’t going to just check the box off and say that we had one vote and we’re going to move on to other topics,” Rep. Michele Bachmann said Tuesday. Rep. Steve King echoed Bachmann’s sentiments, saying, “This is going to be a debate that goes on not just today and tomorrow and next week. It’s going to go on for the next year or two. It’s probably going to go on until we elect a president that will sign a final repeal of Obamacare. So this is an ongoing debate.” The GOP will fight, just like the Spartans fought at Thermopylae, until they are all dead of old age/exasperation, or until Americans return both the legislative branch and the executive branch to the second worst party in the country. In the meantime, House Republicans will build their own health care bill, starting with the key accomplishment of Obamacare: “A measure to restrict insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions.” (more)
President Obama’s executive order loosening restrictions on travel and sending money to Cuba has unleashed a multitude of different responses on Capitol Hill – with politicians on both sides of the aisle both praising and condemning the move. (more)
The first significant policy push in the new Congress by Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the incoming chair of the House Republican Study Committee, will be an effort to reduce the House’s ability to spend funds from savings derived from defeated earmark proposals. (more)
Spending reform, a pivotal motivation of the November “shellacking” suffered by Democrats, has shown some signs of life ahead of the 112th Congress — the Republican Pledge to America outlined several steps GOP lawmakers took in the minority to stem the flow of spending and has been reiterated in the adopted conference rules package and congressional calendar. Republicans have eschewed the institutional practices that aid federal profligacy, pledging waiting periods for bills before they can be heard on the floor. These initiatives show that taxpayers may have reason to be hopeful heading into the new Congress. (more)
The tax cut deal between President Obama and Republicans gained momentum Wednesday, as Republican and Democratic party leaders appeared to have contained the most serious objections to it. (more)
In a move at odds with a Republican transition into control of the House of Representatives that has left many on the right smiling, GOP leaders Tuesday paved the way for three moderates to head crucial committee slots over their more conservative challengers. (more)
Sen. Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who bucked his party leadership during the midterm elections, was back at it again Tuesday night, saying he would not vote for the tax cut deal brokered between the GOP and President Obama because it increases the deficit. (more)
House Speaker-designate John Boehner endorsed Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake, who has been dubbed an “anti-earmark crusader,” to serve on the House Appropriations Committee Monday, a move that is likely to appeal to the new batch of conservative House members who have vowed to keep a close eye on party leadership. (more)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took Capitol Hill by surprise Monday when he endorsed a two-year timeout from earmarks. McConnell, who originally opposed a moratorium, switched his stance after hearing from constituents fed up with the earmark favor factory. (more)
