NPR Topics: Politics
Status Report: Obama And The Middle East
Less than one year ago, President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Cairo in which he promised to redefine the relationship between the U.S. and the Islamic world. The speech was well-received across the Middle East, but it's unclear if perceptions or policy have changed.
11 March 2010, 5:01am
House Leaders Ban Earmarks To Corporations
With midterm elections approaching, Democrats and Republicans are battling to claim the clean-ethics crown. That's one reason Rep. David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said he's killing off one of lawmakers' most lucrative perks: corporate earmarks. Most of the earmarks come from the subcommittee that oversees defense spending.
11 March 2010, 9:42am
Overhaul Rules Stuck On Financial Protection Agency
Senate Democrats and Republicans are trying to work out differences over how to overhaul financial regulations following the financial crisis. One of the big sticking points is the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Democrats, including President Obama, want a separate and independent agency. Republicans want it to be part of an existing agency but Democrats say that's been tried and didn't work.
11 March 2010, 9:00am
Obama Campaigns For Heath Overhaul In Missouri
President Obama says the time for talk is over and that Congress needs to take an up-or-down vote on the health care overhaul plan. He traveled to St. Charles, Mo., to sell his plan Wednesday. It was his second trip outside of Washington this week to try to win congressional support for the plan. He also helped raise some cash for Democrats made vulnerable by the long legislative fight.
11 March 2010, 9:00am
Insurance Mandate May Need Strict Penalties
The health care plans before Congress require individuals to purchase insurance. But the penalty for violating the individual mandate may be so low that healthy people might be tempted to pay it instead of buying insurance. That would leave insurers with less healthy customers, prompting companies to raise their rates, prompting more people to drop out, and so forth.
11 March 2010, 9:00am
'Al-Qaeda 7' Controversy: Detainees And Politics
Justice Department attorneys who once helped represent terrorism detainees are at the center of a raging dispute. Conservatives say that the politically appointed lawyers are influencing U.S. policy to help their former clients.
11 March 2010, 5:00am
Expert: House, Senate Democrats Have Trust Deficit
The divide on Capitol Hill is commonly depicted as Democrats versus Republicans and for good reason — the greatest rift in Congress is indeed partisan.
But there's also a cleft between members of the same party, Democrats specifically, with a split between House and Senate members.
10 March 2010, 11:15pm
Obama: Time To Crack Down On Health Care Fraud
The president denounced waste, inefficiency and downright fraud in the government's health care system on Wednesday as he sought to rally public support for his revamped overhaul plan.
10 March 2010, 10:52pm
Senate Approves Measure To Extend Jobless Benefits
The legislation would give months of continued jobless checks to people who have been out of work for more than half a year and help the unemployed pay for health insurance. The 62-36 vote came over protests from conservatives who say the bill adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt.
10 March 2010, 8:21pm
House, Senate Tension Stalls Legislation
The relationship between the House and the Senate is becoming heated, affecting Democratic efforts to get health care and other legislation passed. Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, offers his insight.
10 March 2010, 8:00pm
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