Stories by John Stanton:
July 8, 2011
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday returned to the Capitol from a one-on-one meeting with President Barack Obama and reiterated her position that Medicare and Social Security are out of bounds as part of any deal to raise the nation’s debt limit.
July 5, 2011
The House this week is set to take up that most rare of things: an Energy and water development spending bill free of earmarks, and one that is not making Congressional appropriators a punching bag for fiscal hawks and government watchdogs.
July 1, 2011
Republicans are finding out the hard way that in Washington, even the best of friends can occasionally find themselves on opposite sides of the fence.
June 30, 2011
Politics in the Senate took a turn for the absurd Thursday, as the GOP boycotted the Senate Finance Committee’s “mock markup” of trade legislation because they said it would make it difficult for them to start their July Fourth recess — which itself had been curtailed earlier in the day.
June 29, 2011
There is little chance Congress will pass legislation overhauling the country's immigration system before the 2012 elections, but supporters of reform intend to keep pushing lawmakers on the issue.
June 28, 2011
How does a policy earmark worth more than $214 million garner the votes of conservatives such as GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Texas)?
June 27, 2011
The House might have sworn off earmarks, but that didn’t stop the chamber from essentially passing one last week that would allow a single drug company to avoid generic competition while saving a powerful law firm from paying out $214 million in a malpractice suit.
June 26, 2011
It was always going to come down to this question on the debt limit: Can Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) negotiate a compromise with President Barack Obama that wins the backing of the majority of his Conference while averting a fiscal disaster for the nation?
June 23, 2011
The House has finally put to rest the sex scandal that dogged former Rep. Anthony Weiner and House Democrats for weeks by reading the New York Democrat’s resignation letter on the floor Thursday.
June 23, 2011
The House passed an overhaul of the Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, despite pressure from a host of GOP factions to kill the legislation.
June 23, 2011
The House will take up a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as lawmakers struggle to cut a deal for increasing the nation’s debt limit, Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced Thursday.
June 23, 2011
After Republican deputies abandoned debt talks Thursday, the negotiations are now squarely in the hands of the top leaders — Speaker John Boehner, President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — whether or not they’re ready to tackle the massive task.
June 22, 2011
President Barack Obama’s decision to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan by 33,000 by September 2012 drew mixed reviews on Capitol Hill, particularly from top Republicans who appeared deeply divided over the proposal.
June 22, 2011
Speaker John Boehner is setting up the second showdown with the White House over Libya in less than a month.
June 22, 2011
A long-sought patent reform bill was foundering in the House on Wednesday as leadership faced a multipronged uprising from within the GOP ranks over issues ranging from union influence on the Patent and Trademark Office to how the program is paid for.
June 22, 2011
Although Rep. Anthony Weiner announced Thursday that he would resign from the House and wrote a letter Monday that should have made it effective at midnight Tuesday, his departure still isn’t official.
June 21, 2011
Two weeks ago lobbyists for banks and retailers were waging rhetorical "cage matches" over debit card swipe fees. Now, they are holding hands on patent reform in advance of a key vote.
June 21, 2011
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Tuesday dismissed the notion of pursuing a short-term increase to the debt limit, saying he sees no utility in delaying deep cuts to spending that will be needed for a long-term deal.
June 20, 2011
Rep. Anthony Weiner formally submitted his resignation to New York officials Monday, a key step in bringing the sex scandal that drove him out of office to a close.
June 17, 2011
He might be one of the most powerful men in Washington, but you wouldn't know it to look at Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp.
June 16, 2011
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned from the House on Thursday afternoon, bowing to mounting pressure from Democratic leaders and weeks of public ridicule.
June 16, 2011
While Rep. Anthony Weiner may no longer have the benefit of Congress’ generous health care plan once he resigns, he will still be able to collect his pension and other benefits that could total more than $1 million during his lifetime.
June 15, 2011
House Democratic leaders will huddle Thursday to discuss the ongoing sex scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner and what, if anything, they can do to bring the matter to a close.
June 15, 2011
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was released Wednesday from TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital in Houston, marking a milestone in her recovery from a Jan. 8 shooting.
June 14, 2011
House Democrats on Tuesday sought to turn the page on Rep. Anthony Weiner's scandal and to return to policy issues such as the economy and Medicare, even as they held out hope the embattled New York lawmaker would soon resign.
