Washington Insider Blog
CBO: Immigration bill reduces deficit
In a boost for supporters of a major immigration reform bill now on the Senate floor, the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday reported that the plan would reduce the nation's budget deficit over the next two decades, as backers said it showed the "economic imperative" to approve immigration law changes. ...
McCain raps Obama on secret e-mails
Republican complaints about the use of aliases and secret e-mail accounts by Obama Administration officials suddenly gained new attention on Monday, as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sent President Obama a letter demanding that the White House be more open to journalists and Congress alike. "Four years ago you pledged to ...
U.S. Intelligence denies warrantless eavesdropping
The office of the nation's top intelligence official on Sunday denied the assertions of a Democratic lawmaker in Congress that U.S. analysts are able to listen in on telephone calls involving Americans without a court warrant. "The statement that a single analyst can eavesdrop on domestic communications without proper legal ...
Justice Department conferences get attention in Congress
Once again this week, there were questions for a federal agency about travel and conference spending, as a Senate GOP budget hawk pressed the Justice Department for answers on why it spent more than $58 million on conferences in Fiscal Year 2012. And as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) noted in ...
Congress struggles for answers on NSA surveillance
Promising to provide as much public detail as possible on surveillance activities, the head of the National Security Agency repeatedly told Senators on Wednesday that two programs made public last week have both protected the nation from terror attacks as well as preserved the constitutional rights of American citizens. "It's ...
Top U.S. general disputes Benghazi attack story
The nation's highest ranking military officer on Wednesday disputed the story of a top American diplomat who served in Libya, saying no military forces were told to "stand down" after attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. "They weren't told to stand down," Army General Martin Dempsey told the ...
Details of Senate immigration reform bill
With strong support in both parties, the U.S. Senate voted 84-15 on Tuesday to officially begin debate on sweeping immigration reform legislation, as a majority of Republicans joined with Democrats to move past the first procedural hurdles to the bill. "We should do what we think is right," said Sen. ...
Amendment filed in House to restrict NSA surveillance
As the House prepares to work on a major defense policy bill this week, one Democrat has filed an amendment that could spur a floor debate over surveillance efforts by the National Security Agency and how those could snare information from U.S. citizens. The plan, offered by Rep. Alan Grayson ...
Immigration reform takes next step in Senate
After months of work by backers in both parties, the Senate is ready to take the first procedural votes Tuesday afternoon on sweeping immigration reform legislation, starting an intense debate on the future of millions of who illegally live in the United States. "The time is now for the Senate ...
Dueling transcripts as parties clash on IRS targeting
Last week, Democrats grumbled as Republicans released excerpts from certain interviews done with IRS agents about targeting of Tea Party groups; on Sunday, it was the GOP gritting its teeth as Democrats released their own favorable transcript details, showcasing the maneuvering and the political stakes in this investigation. "Conservative Republican ...
Obama defends intelligence gathering efforts
Weighing in for the first time since two major national security leaks about intelligence gathering operations of the United States, President Obama defended secret surveillance efforts during his administration, saying the Congress has repeatedly authorized the collection of phone records and internet use. “They help us prevent terrorist attacks," the ...
Obama embraces Bush intelligence policies
As the administration of President George W. Bush came to a close, Democrats predicted a much different approach to the War on Terror under President Obama, one that would not allow U.S. intelligence gathering to trample on civil liberties. Instead, the Obama Administration has continued some controversial intelligence gathering techniques ...
White House defends collection of phone data
The White House has given its first defense of the collection of domestic telephone data for use by U.S. intelligence agencies, arguing it is "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats." The comment comes in the wake of a blockbuster leak of a secret court order, which ...
House takes aim at DC bureaucracy
As the House began work Wednesday on a $38.9 billion measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security in 2014, both parties took the chance on the House floor to shift money away from management and bureaucracy, and into operations outside of Washington, D.C. The underlying bill included an almost ...
House takes first steps on 2014 budget
The House on Tuesday pushed ahead with the first budget bill for next year, easily approving a $73.3 billion plan that increases funding for veterans programs. The vote was 421-4. But while that margin was overwhelming, it by no means signaled that the Congress is ready to break an 18 ...
$48 million in IRS conference spending
The Internal Revenue Service released a report on conference spending by the tax agency from 2010-2012, highlighted by a $4.1 million gathering for 2,600 employees in Anaheim, California in 2010, which included thousands of dollars in swag for attendees, as well as luxury hotel rooms and free food. The inspector ...
EPA watchdog uncovers warehouse filled with surplus
Raising questions about what could be thousands of dollars in possible waste and fraud, internal watchdogs at the Environmental Protection Agency recently uncovered a warehouse filled with items bought with taxpayer dollars that were sitting unused, while the workers there seemed to have used the facility for their own personal ...
Congress back at work with focus on IRS
One week off did nothing to dim the focus in Congress on questionable actions by the Internal Revenue Service, as the new acting chief of the tax agency will face lawmakers on Monday, while outrage continues to build against the IRS on a number of fronts. "The IRS spent $50 ...
Key IRS official placed on administrative leave
A day after invoking her Fifth Amendment rights before a U.S. House committee, IRS official Lois Lerner refused a request from the new head of the tax agency to resign from her post, and was then placed on administrative leave, as the fallout spread from the IRS targeting of more ...
Obama speech on terrorism
President Obama on Thursday spoke at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., outlining his vision for the future of the U.S. fight against terrorism. Here is the text of the speech, as provided by the White House: (As Prepared for Delivery --) It’s an honor to return to the ...
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