March 9, 2010 10:48 pm
Fox News, “Senate Staffers Warned to Stay Clear of Drudge Report”
In the very body sworn to protect and defend the Constitution, an e-mail is circulating warning U.S. Senate staffers not to view one of the most popular news sites on the Web, claiming it could spread computer viruses.
The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, the chamber’s official gatekeeper, said the Drudge Report, a news aggregator, and whitepages.com, a telephone directory site, “are responsible for the many viruses popping up throughout the Senate,” according to an e-mail from the Environment and Public Works Committee obtained by FoxNews.com.
Another e-mail from a separate office warned that staffers who had visited the Drudge Report or White Pages had experienced viruses on their PCs.
Fox News article continues here.
March 3, 2010 3:51 pm
The New York Times, “Senator Relents, and Jobless Bill Passes”
by Carl Hulse
The Senate ended a politically charged impasse over unemployment pay on Tuesday night, voting to allow jobless Americans in danger of exhausting their benefits another month of aid.
The bipartisan 78 to 19 vote in favor of the extended compensation came after Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, dropped his objection to extending unemployment compensation in exchange for a largely symbolic vote on paying for the aid.
The measure, which now goes to President Obama, should also allow 2,000 federal workers furloughed from the Department of Transportation to return to work as early as Wednesday and construction to resume on dozens of highway projects. Senators now will begin debating in earnest a much broader bill that would extend the safety net programs through the end of the year.
The New York Times article continues here.
February 10, 2010 10:15 am
Fox News, “Senator Brown’s Pickup Arrives on Capitol Hill”
by John Wallace and Anite Siegfriedt
The newest member of the Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) just finished casting his first votes of his Senatorial career today but what might be equally important to his supporters is that his beloved green GMC truck, one of the most memorable symbols of the campaign, has arrived at the Capitol. Brown’s staff said he and his wife drove it down from Massachusetts.
Brown used the truck to crisscross Massachusetts during his historic campaign, and it played a prominent role in his campaign ads as well as his opponent’s.
After his upset victory over Democrat Martha Coakley, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Brown that he could park it anywhere he’d like on Capitol Hill. Looks like Brown has taken McConnell up on the offer.
The snow-covered pickup was parked just outside of Brown’s office building, across from the Capitol, where it will likely make a regular appearance. Senators are permitted to park close to their offices.
Fox News article continues here.
February 5, 2010 12:01 am
January 28, 2010 4:17 pm
The Wall Street Journal, “Senate Votes to Confirm Bernanke”
by Sudeep Reddy
The Senate voted 70-30 to reappoint Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Earlier, senators voted 77-23 to end debate, clearing the way for a final vote. During more than two hours of debate on the Senate floor, Bernanke backers warned that voting him down risked sparking turmoil in U.S. and foreign markets and thwarting a budding economic recovery. They said the Fed chairman deserved an opportunity to finish what he started.
“To vote against confirmation could unnerve investors and exacerbate economic uncertainty in the marketplace, which is exactly what we do not need at this time,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey. “We need the wisdom of patience,” he said. “Let us not judge the man or the work prematurely.”
The Wall Street Journal article continues here.
January 28, 2010 4:02 pm
Breitbart (AP), “Senate permits gov’t to borrow an additional $1.9T”
by Andrew Taylor
The Democratic-controlled Senate has muscled through a plan to allow the government to go a whopping $1.9 trillion deeper in debt.
The party-line 60-40 vote was successful only because Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown has yet to be seated. Sixty votes were required to approve the increase. The measure would lift the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion. That’s about $45,000 for every American.
Democrats had to scramble to approve the plan, which means they won’t have to vote on another increase until after the midterm elections this fall. To win the votes of moderate Democrats, President Barack Obama promised to appoint a special task force to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit. The House must still vote on the measure before it’s sent to Obama for his signature.
Breitbart (AP) article continues here.
January 20, 2010 11:29 pm
January 20, 2010 11:26 pm
Politico, “Harry Reid: We’ll wait on Scott Brown for health care vote”
by Erika Lovley
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that there is no firm commitment for Democrats to rush a health care bill through Congress this year.
“First of all, we’re not going to rush into anything,” he said. “We’re going to wait until the new senator arrives until we do anything more on health care.”
In a press conference the day after Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown shattered the Democratic supermajority in the Senate, Reid said he’d spoken with President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a number of issues, including the fate of the health care bill.
Politico article continues here.
January 17, 2010 5:30 pm
The Hill, “Reid: Senate has time for climate bill”
by Ben Geman
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said that there is room on the busy Senate calendar to bring up a sweeping energy and climate change bill this spring.
His comments – in a speech before a geothermal energy group in New York – come amid speculation that tackling controversial plans to impose limits on greenhouse gases may fall by the wayside.
“We have a lot on our plate. We have to finish reforming health insurance and Wall Street, and also must help bring Americans out of unemployment. But we are not so busy that we can’t find the time to address comprehensive energy and climate legislation,” Reid said, according to his prepared remarks.
The Hill article continues here.
January 10, 2010 3:37 am
Yahoo! News (AP), “Reid apologies for ‘no Negro dialect’ comment”
WASHINGTON – The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama’s race during the 2008 presidential bid.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described then-Sen. Barack Obama as “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect.” Obama is the nation’s first African-American president.
“I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments,” Reid said in a statement released after the excerpts were reported on the Web site of The Atlantic.
“I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama’s legislative agenda.”
Yahoo! News (AP) article continues here.
