Senate GOP letter calls for blocking most bills

GOP says it'll block bills until tax cuts extended
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans threatened Wednesday to block virtually all Legislation until expiring Tax Cuts are extended and a bill is passed to fund the Federal Government, vastly complicating Democratic attempts to leave their own stamp on the final days of the post-election Congress. "While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a j...

Playtime is Over
I mean, yeah, you have the high ground, but what are you going to do with it? Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block any Legislation until a deal is reached to extend the expiring Bush-era Tax Cuts, potentially derailing the Democrats’ busy end-of-year agenda. The blunt threat was made in a letter to the majorit

House GOP scuttles bill central to First Ladys anti-obesity campaign
A day after Senate Republicans announced they would Filibuster any Lame Duck Legislation until the Senate dealt with funding the government and extending the Bush-era Tax Cuts, their counterpart in the House played a little political hardball of their own. They scuttled a $4.5 billion bill that would expand eligibility and funding for School Lunch programs by adding a poison-pill amendment requiring criminal Background Checks for childcare workers. The School Lunch Legislation was a cornerstone ...

GOP says it'll block bills until tax cuts extended
Rear, from left, Budget Director Jacob Lew, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., meets with, foreground, from left, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Rep. Dave Cap, R-Mich., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010, during a bi-partisan tax negotiation meeting. Senate Republicans threatened Wednesday to block virtually all Legislation until expiring Tax Cuts are extended and a bil...

Senate Republicans Threaten Tax Dispute Blockade
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN NYT WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block any Legislation until a deal is reached to extend the expiring Bush-era Tax Cuts, potentially derailing the Democrats’ busy end-of-year agenda. The blunt threat was made in a letter to the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nev

Gridlock, partisan anger threaten lame duck (Politico)
Senate Republicans’ aggressive move to block virtually all business in Congress has created a fresh round of partisan anger, threatening to derail or delay the rest of the Democratic agenda in an already gridlocked lame-duck session of Congress. A day after both sides signaled a willingness to work together at the White House, all 42 Senate Republicans sent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a warning shot: Any bill brought up before votes to extend the Bush-era Tax Cuts and a stopgap fund...

Hopes for cooperation quickly dashed
A day that started off with the rare sight of top Obama officials sitting down with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to hash out a tax-cut deal deteriorated almost immediately Wednesday, as both parties reverted to partisan form. Senate Republicans threatened to grind the Senate to a halt. House Democrats announced plans force to a vote on middle-class only Tax Cuts – with Republicans crying foul. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 And the idea of a Bipartisan tax-c...

You Get What You Pay For
Riddle me this. How can the Republicans explain the fact that at the same time as they were meeting with the President offering to work together with the President and Democrats on urgent issues facing the American People they were simultaneously circulating a letter among the entire Republican body of the Senate promising to block all Democratic Legislation that does not have to do with Tax Cuts or spending? Is there any reasonable explanation for this kind of betrayal of trust? priority lett...

McCain calls study on gays in military flawed
Directly challenging the Pentagon's top leadership, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain on Thursday snubbed a Military study on gays as flawed and said letting them serve openly would be dangerous in a time of war McCain's opposition foreshadows the upcoming Senate debate on a bill that would overturn the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, which bans gays from serving openly in the service. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised a vote, but McCain has helped to block previous deb...

Michelle Obamas Child Nutrition Bill Dies in the House
First Lady Michelle Obama must be quite disappointed. The Republicans wrecked her chance to spend nearly $5 billion. The Hill reported: House Republicans on Wednesday scuttled a Democratic bid to pass a child nutrition bill that’s at the center of first lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity agenda. The $4.5 billion Legislation, which has already been approved unanimously by the Senate, expands eligibility and funding for School Lunch programs. Democrats had expected it to pass on Wednesday a...

Senate Republicans Threaten Blockade Over Tax Dispute
The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. The blunt threat was made in a letter to the Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and signed by all 42 Senate Republicans. And it was reiterated by the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in a Speech in which he accused Democratic leaders and Mr. Obama of ignoring the Midterm Election results. The move put Democrats in a vise and sharply heightened tensions on...

The Lessons of Harry Reid
President Obama should consider the lessons learned by the Reelection of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who confounded pundits and triumphed against gale-force winds of personal attacks and Republican waves. Harry Reid is the Papa Grizzly of the Democrats who fights for himself and every Senate Democrat. Reid is also the great legislator who negotiates honorably with Republicans and always keeps his word. Reid believes in the art of war to win campaigns and the art of the deal to go...

GOP says it'll block bills until tax cuts extended (AP)
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans threatened Wednesday to block virtually all Legislation until expiring Tax Cuts are extended and a bill is passed to fund the Federal Government, vastly complicating Democratic attempts to leave their own stamp on the final days of the post-election Congress. "While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a j...

Bush stem cell policy may return
Congress is running out of time to pass Legislation allowing Federal Funding for embryonic Stem Cell research, potentially setting up the resumption of a Bush-era policy that President Obama reversed with fanfare shortly after taking office. Without legislative action by year’s end, Federal Funding for the Controversial research could once again be highly restricted, as it was under former President George W. Bush. An appeals court could rule either way within the next few months, but legis...

Senators' threat ends 'new dialogue' hope
WASHINGTON: Barack Obama's hopes for a ''new dialogue'' following a meeting with Republican congressional leaders have been quickly dashed by a threat by Republican senators to block any Legislation until a deal is reached to extend Tax Cuts that are due to expire at the end of the year. The threat, which came less than 24 hours after the meeting, was made in a letter to the Democrats' Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, signed by all 42 Republican senators. It heightened tensions on Capitol H...

GOP holds national security, jobless benefits, economy hostage for rich tax cuts
In a not particularly surprising announcement on Wednesday, Republican Senate leaders stated that they will block the passage of all Legislation - critical or otherwise - until their demands for extending the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthiest of Americans are met.  Now amongst other pieces of legislation, a critical Unemployment benefit extension, a key Nuclear Weapons treaty, the defense Budget and the fiscal Budget for 2011 itself have all been placed in limbo by GOP Senators despite the h...

Weiner Knocks Obama On Meeting With Republicans, Says Search For Bi-Partisanship Like Hunting For Unicorns
Yesterday, President Obama met with incoming House Speaker John Boehner and Senate G.O.P Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to find common ground. Last night, Anthony Weiner told The Politicker that such ground could not be found. "I think that President Obama sees Bipartisanship as an ends rather than a means," he said. "We have kind of now seen for the last couple of years the Republicans see rank Partisanship as a successful tactic. I may want there to be such a thing as a unicorn but it doesn...

Republicans threaten to bring Senate to halt over tax issue
WASHINGTON -- Not even 24 hours after President Barack Obama met with senior Republican congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a "new dialogue," renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block any Legislation until a deal is reached to extend the expiring Bush-era Tax Cuts, potentially derailing the Democrats' busy end-of-year agenda. The threat was made in a letter to the Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and signed by all 42 Senate Republ...

The Constitution presents a small roadblock to Harry Reid
While Harry Reid focuses on all sorts of things other than the fact that the funding of the government ends this weekend and that taxes are set to increase on January 1, it turns out that even the House Democrats are balking at his run around the Constitution. The Constitution states quite clearly that all bills raising revenue must originate in the House, but the Senate Majority Leader either forgot about that or figured that it would be okay to ignore that provision with the new Food Safety bi...

FAIL: Senate Dems' Unconstitutional Mishap Could Kill Food Safety Bill
In what amounts to an epic constitutionality #fail, Senate Democrats may have blown their chances to see their Food Safety bill signed into law. The U.S. constitution requires that any revenue-raising bill must originate in the House of Representatives. To honor this provision, the Senate often finds a discarded old House Bill, strips it bare, and uses it as a "shell" and passes it back to the House. They somehow forgot to do that this time. Now House and Senate Democratic leaders are scramb...

Today in Washington - December 2, 2010
Keeping taxes low is finally front and center on the Congressional agenda.  Today, Democrats in the House are pushing for a vote Obama version of limited tax relief for American families making under $250,000 and individuals making under $200,000.  Republicans in Congress are pledging to fight for Tax Cuts for job creators making more than that amount and retention of lower rates on capital gains, dividends and the death tax.  Negotiations continue between the White House and

Senate republicans defend tax cuts for wealthy with legisltive blockade
Unless the Democrats agree to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for the top 2% income brackets, the Republicans are refusing to vote on any Legislation at all. The move sounds more like a Terrorist Threat than legislative government, but apparently, maintaining Budget-busting tax discounts for the wealthiest Americans is more important than ratifying the START Treaty on Nuclear Weapons, extending Unemployment Benefits,Don’t ask don’t tell, or enacting Immigration Reform Legislation through th...

McCain on Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Don't Rush
In his opening remarks at a hearing on the Military’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy on Thursday, Senator John McCain of Arizona, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, reiterated his strong concerns about ending the ban on open service by gay and Lesbian Soldiers. Mr. McCain dismissed a recently released report by the Pentagon showing that a Repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell would pose a low risk to the Military’s effectiveness, even at a time of war. “

GOP letter calls for blocking most Democratic bills
Bipartisanship in Washington? Republicans are telling the Democrats to dream on. GOP Senators are quietly circulating and signing a letter promising to block all Democratic Legislation except for bills relating to Tax Cuts and Government Spending. If the Republican strategy is carried out, Democratic-backed plans allowing Openly Gay members to serve in the Military and giving legal status to some immigrants who attend state colleges or join the Military are likely to be doomed. The names of t...

McConnell warns of filibuster on tax bill
Washington (CNN) - Senate Republicans will Filibuster any bill that doesn't extend Bush-era Tax Cuts to all income groups, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. "The reality is that 42 Republican senators don't believe we should raise taxes on anybody, and there are also an indeterminate number of Democrats who agree with that," McConnell told CNN. "You know how the Senate works," he said, referring to Senate rules that allow just 41 votes to Filibuster Legislation. "We're goi...