Minimum Wage Rises Today

(NEWSER) - President Obama visited Capitol Hill today for a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats to push for his budget plan. As Senate and House panels began debating their own versions, Obama urged Democrats to retain his budget's core principles on health care, energy, education, and deficit reduction. He also asked them to fight back against Republican attacks that he's spending too much, reports Politico. More»

(NEWSER) - House Democrats, who held a 36-seat lead going in, beefed up their advantage tonight and appeared likely to keep padding it as results continued to pour in. Christopher Shays, the lone Republican in the New England delegation, was the highest-profile victim of an emerging landslide, but John Murtha of Pennsylvania appeared to have dodged the bullet he fired at his own foot by calling his district "racist." At least seven seats flipped in the East, while just one moved into the GOP column. More»

Witty Mass. Democrat willing to forge deals between left-wing base, White House

(NEWSER) - Barney Frank has taken on a central role in Congress: that of an inter-party deal-maker. While he doesn’t hesitate to voice his strong opinions—often with a healthy dose of wit—Republicans and Democrats respect the man administration officials have called “scary smart,” the New York Times reports. The Democratic Massachusetts congressman—chair of an influential financial panel—“doesn’t waste anybody’s time, your time or his,” says Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. More»

Congress may unite to hand him first override of his presidency

(NEWSER) - President Bush is gearing up for another battle with Congress, but his latest fray could result in the first overriding of one of his vetoes, the Washington Post reports. His rejection yesterday of the water resources bill, popular with Democrats and Republicans, is a gamble because it may endear him to fiscal conservatives but erode his authority on Capitol Hill. More»

Dems take step toward universal coverage over GOP objections

(NEWSER) - The House has passed a sweeping expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program that will extend covered to 4 million uninsured kids using revenue from cigarette taxes and cuts in subsidies to private Medicare plans. The bill, which was approved 225-204, is a step toward universal coverage over Republican objections, reports the New York Times. More»