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NEWS ABOUT: US Senate

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Last Week's Gun Control Vote Won't Impact 2014

Nate Silver explains why

(Newser) - With as much as 90% of the public in favor of expanding background checks for gun purchases, you'd think all those senators who voted against last week's proposal to do just that may have been sticking their necks out. But in the New York Times , Nate Silver explain... More »

Letter Sent to Senator Tests Positive for Ricin

Envelope for Roger Wicker intercepted at mail-sorting facility

(Newser) - Scary story breaking out of DC: A letter addressed to Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker tested positive for the poison ricin, reports Politico . The envelope never got to him, reports CNN , which says it was intercepted at an off-site facility that sorts mail for the Capitol. Three separate tests turned... More »

McConnell: I'll Filibuster Gun Control Bill

Plus, Senate Dems are scrambling to decide on which bill to push

(Newser) - A gun control bill—though it's not clear which one—is expected to hit the Senate floor this week , and the latest Republican to threaten it is Mitch McConnell. The minority leader joins a group of GOP colleagues, now numbering 13, who intend to filibuster any gun bill that... More »

Senate Approves Obama's Choice to Head SEC

Mary Jo White said she will hold 'all wrongdoers' accountable

(AP) - The US Senate has confirmed Mary Jo White's nomination as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, making her the first former prosecutor to lead the federal agency that oversees Wall Street. White was approved today by a Senate voice vote. She will replace Elisse Walter, who has been... More »

2 More Red-State Democrats 'Evolve' on Gay Marriage

But don't expect many more flips, says Nate Silver

(Newser) - Add two more senators to the list of gay-marriage "evolvers" —North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp and Indiana's Joe Donnelly said today that they support same-sex marriage, reports the Huffington Post . Both are Democrats from conservative states and both are safe from re-election campaigns until 2018. "The... More »

Rand Paul: I Thought About Using a Catheter

Ultimately decided against it, filibustering senator jokes

(Newser) - Rand Paul's obviously not that committed to fighting the White House policy on drone strikes against Americans on US soil ... because if he was, he could have used a catheter yesterday, and could thus still be filibustering away . "I did think about it," the senator joked to... More »

Affleck Also Not Running for Senate

Joins Ted Kennedy Jr. in declining to run for Kerry's seat

(Newser) - Ben Affleck is done being coy about his political ambitions, and is joining the growing list of people who won't be running for John Kerry's Senate seat, reports Politico . "I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office," Affleck wrote on... More »

NRA Darling Gillibrand Shifts on Gun Control

New York's once-fierce proponent of gun rights now calls for tighter gun control

(Newser) - New York's junior senator once bragged about the two rifles under her bed and her A-rating from the NRA, but Kirsten Gillibrand has shifted away from her once-vigorous defense of the Second Amendment, reports the New York Post. In the wake of high-profile shootings of her friend Gabrielle Giffords... More »

Who Gets John Kerry's Senate Seat?

Scott Brown is a good bet, but Kennedys are dropping hints

(Newser) - John Kerry's confirmation hearings for secretary of State haven't yet started, but that's not stopping quite a crowd from measuring the drapes for his Senate office. According to Massachusetts state law, Gov. Deval Patrick would appoint Kerry's successor—likely a placeholder—then a special election would... More »

Cory Booker: I'm Exploring Senate Run

Newark mayor looks to replace fellow Dem Frank Lautenberg in 2014

(Newser) - Cory Booker has made his decision : The popular Newark mayor will explore a run for the Senate, he announced today. "Let there be no doubt: I will complete my full second term as mayor of Newark, New Jersey," Booker says in a YouTube video and website post today.... More »

Harry Reid: Bob Dole Hospitalized

It's not a checkup, he's 'infirm': Reid

(Newser) - Bob Dole has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday. An aide for Dole said the 89-year-old onetime presidential nominee was at the hospital for a routine checkup, but Reid says that's not the case, reports Politico . "He is there... More »

Maine's New Senator to Caucus With Democrats

Not a shocking move for independent King, but strengthens Dems' hold

(Newser) - Maine's independent senator-elect, Angus King, will caucus with Democrats, increasing the left's hold on the Senate to a 10-vote advantage, reports CNN . The former governor until now refused to say which party he'd caucus with, though both sides expected the left-leaning King to go for the Democrats.... More »

Elizabeth Warren Goes to Washington

Will she hold fast to populist stances, or learn art of compromise?

(Newser) - Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren is heading back to Washington, this time riding in as a member of the very institution that sent her unceremoniously packing over her anti-Wall Street rhetoric and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the New York Times takes a look at what sort of legislator the latest... More »

Let's Banish the Filibuster

It's now just an obstruction, not a voice for minority party: Ezra Klein

(Newser) - With the election behind us, it's time to get rid of the power to filibuster in the Senate, writes Ezra Klein at Bloomberg View . What was once a rare legislative move is now abused on a regular basis—it's become "simply a rule that the minority party... More »

This Congress Is Least Productive on Record

Another new low for unloved 112th Congress

(Newser) - Harry Truman called the 80th Congress "do-nothing" in 1948, but they look like massive overachievers compared to today's crop of lawmakers, a USA Today analysis finds. The 112th Congress has passed just 61 bills out of 3,914 into law this year, putting it on course to be... More »

UN Scientist: Blame Extreme Weather on Climate Change

Dire warnings heard at first congressional hearing in two years

(Newser) - Get used to droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, and wildfires, scientists warned Congress today, because the extreme weather is a result of global warming. The comments were made to the Senate's environmental committee during the first hearing on the subject in more than two years, reports the Guardian . "There... More »

Senators Want 'Lunatic' Deleted From Federal Laws

It's an outdated, offensive term, says proposed legislation

(Newser) - Two senators have introduced a bill to erase the word "lunatic" from the federal code because the term is considered outdated and offensive, reports the Los Angeles Times . "Federal law should reflect the 21st century understanding of mental illness and disease," says Kent Conrad of North Dakota,... More »

GOP Senators Derail 'Buffett Rule'

Democrats timed symbolic vote for day before taxes are due

(AP) - Senate Republicans derailed a "Buffett rule" bill today, using the day before Americans' taxes are due to defy President Barack Obama on one of his signature election-year issues. By a near party-line 51-45 tally, senators voted to keep the bill alive but fell nine votes short of the 60... More »

2011 Senate 'Laziest' in Decades

2011 saw least-productive session since 1992

(Newser) - The 2011 Senate produced less legislation than any other since 1992, according to a report by the chamber's own secretary. Throughout its 170 days, the Senate was in session an average of just 6.5 hours per day; only 2008's Senate had a lower figure, with three members... More »

John McCain: It's Time to Bomb Syria

Senator makes plea on Capitol Hill as US, Europe approach Putin

(AP) - A leading Republican senator today urged the US to launch airstrikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to force him out of power—a call for dramatic military intervention against the growing violence that was not supported by the Obama administration or its European or Arab partners. The statement... More »

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