December 21, 2015 Budget deal wins final approval in Senate The Senate on Wednesday approved a two-year budget deal, sending it to President Obama's desk and staving off the threat of a partial government shutdown.
December 21, 2015 Senate GOP fails in final bid to block military pension cuts in budget bill A final effort by Senate Republicans to halt cuts to military retiree pensions failed late Tuesday, after Democrats blocked an amendment to the controversial budget bill.
December 21, 2015 Senators introduce bill to crack down on 'lavish' portrait expenses Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said in a Thursday press release they are introducing a bill that would only allow $20,000 of taxpayer funds to be spent on each portrait, and would only cover paintings of lawmakers in the line of succession to the presidency.
December 21, 2015 5 Days Left: Congress races against deadlines as doc cuts, price spikes loom Payments to doctors, the price of milk, long-term jobless benefits and more are all on the line this week as lawmakers scramble to beat several end-of-year deadlines -- and all by Friday.
December 21, 2015 Senate approves defense bill, sends measure to Obama The Senate has approved a comprehensive defense bill that would crack down on sexual assault in the military.
December 21, 2015 Elie Wiesel urges tougher sanctions against Iran in full-page ads in WSJ, NYT Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel is challenging the Obama administration’s strategy in Iran, pushing for stronger sanctions and demanding Tehran not be allowed to have any nuclear capabilities. “Sanctions have come at a terrible economic cost for the people of Iran,” he said. “But, unfortunately, sanctions are what have brought the Iranian regime to the negotiating table.”
December 21, 2015 Budget bill clears key test vote in Senate The Senate on Tuesday advanced a two-year budget deal, despite last-ditch efforts by Republicans to strip a provision that cuts into military retiree benefits.
December 21, 2015 Travelers hit with higher fees under budget deal The bipartisan budget deal struck in Congress last week contains no broad-based tax increases, but it aims to generate billions in new revenue by essentially nickel-and-diming American taxpayers.
December 21, 2015 'Unacceptable': Lawmakers battle military retiree cuts ahead of key budget vote America's veterans and military retirees suddenly have emerged at the center of the budget debate and could be the determining factor in whether the House-passed deal makes it through the Senate.
December 20, 2015 Threat of plastic guns grows as undetectable firearm law set to expire With a law banning undetectable firearms about to expire, federal agents are focusing attention on the latest twist in high-tech weaponry: guns made entirely out of plastic.