Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Democrats who wrote Obamacare tell Supreme Court to reject lawsuit
The congressional Democrats involved in writing the Affordable Care Act told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that they intended for consumers in all states to be eligible for subsidies, and they argue that the law they drafted reflects that intention. Published January 28, 2015
Up to 20 percent of taxpayers to claim Obamacare exemption
Up to 30 million taxpayers will claim an exemption from Obamacare on their tax forms this year, the administration predicted Wednesday as officials tried to prepare the country and a skeptical Congress for the first wave of tax penalties under the Affordable Care Act. Published January 28, 2015
Rand Paul reintroduces Audit the Fed bill
Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday reintroduced legislation to force a government watchdog audit of the Federal Reserve, and the bill has its best chance yet of finally clearing Congress. Published January 28, 2015
John Boehner suggests only courts can stop Obama amnesty, considers House lawsuit
Speaker John A. Boehner told his House GOP colleagues Tuesday morning that a judge could be the only thing that can stop President Obama's deportation amnesties, in comments that signaled just how little power Republican leaders believe they have to push back against the White House's executive actions. Published January 27, 2015
John Boehner: ‘There’ve been a couple of stumbles’
House Speaker John A. Boehner acknowledged Tuesday he and his colleagues have stumbled over their agenda early in this new Congress after they had to nix votes this week on a border security bill that didn't have enough support to pass. Published January 27, 2015
Obama lawyers seek dismissal of House Republicans’ Obamacare lawsuit
The administration asked the federal court late Monday to dismiss the House lawsuit against President Obama, saying he is faithfully carrying out his health law and the GOP lawmakers who filed the legal challenge have no right to sue. Published January 26, 2015
Federal budget shows short-term rebound, long-term deficits
The U.S. economy will rebound strongly over the next two years then settle into a more normal economic cycle with steady but slow growth, albeit significantly less than in the 1980s and 1990s, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday. Published January 26, 2015
Democrats filibuster Keystone, force Republicans to rethink strategy, amendments
Democrats successfully blocked the Keystone XL pipeline Monday, launching a filibuster in the Senate that keeps the long-delayed project on ice for at least the near term while Republicans try to figure out whether they can revive the bill. Published January 26, 2015
GOP nixes vote on border and abortion bills
Facing a rebellion in their own ranks, House Republican leaders scrapped their plans to vote this week on their first border security bill of the new Congress, blaming the weather for the delay but buying themselves time to try to stiffen the bill and make it more palatable to conservatives. Published January 26, 2015
Feds’ unemployment benefits made job recession worse: Study
If you pay people not to work, they won't work — and cutting off their payments sends them scurrying back into the job market, according to new research by three academics who looked at the federal government's extended unemployment benefit program and concluded that it actually deepened, rather than helped, the jobs recession. Published January 26, 2015
Climate change is real and caused by humans, majority of senators believe
Forced to finally vote on climate change, a majority of senators have signaled that they believe the phenomenon is real and that humans have at least some role to play. But how much, and what to do about it, remains murky. Published January 25, 2015
Border Patrol agents say GOP’s border security bill is weak ‘window dressing’
Border Patrol agents' labor union announced their opposition Friday to the House GOP's new border security bill, calling it "window dressing" that doesn't add any new agents or updated their firepower to get the job done in sealing off the U.S.-Mexico border. Published January 24, 2015
TSA cites secrecy in deleting airport security breaches from report
The TSA has a number of security problems at John F. Kennedy airport in New York, but it declared many of the details classified to try to hide the embarrassing information from the public, the agency's internal auditor charged in a report released Friday. Published January 23, 2015
Sen. Dean Heller tells NFL to punish cheaters before Super Bowl betting
Nevada Sen. Dean Heller said Thursday that NFL cheating could be a problem for his state, where sports betting is legal, and he called on the football league to punish cheaters after reports surfaced that the New England Patriots may have doctored footballs in last weekend's game. Published January 22, 2015
GOP border bill faces opposition from conservatives
Republicans are about to face another immigration fight within their own ranks after conservatives rebelled this week against a border security bill, saying it's a fig leaf that doesn't tackle any of the issues surrounding President Obama's lax enforcement of immigration laws. Published January 22, 2015
Nancy Pelosi accuses John Boehner of ‘hubris’ in running Congress
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi accused Speaker John A. Boehner of "hubris" Thursday, saying his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress broke with custom, and his decision to cut the size of House committees was dictatorial. Published January 22, 2015
House nixes fetal-pain abortion vote, substitutes anti-Obamacare bill instead
Facing yet another internal division, Republican leaders scratched a planned Thursday vote on a bill banning abortions at 20 weeks and said they would replace it with a bill designed to eliminate taxpayer funding for abortions. Published January 21, 2015
John Boehner invites Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress
Democrats and Republicans alike brushed off President Obama's threat to veto stiffer Iran sanctions, insisting Wednesday that the White House is being bamboozled by the ayatollahs, and it's up to Congress to stiffen the administration's spine as it negotiates over Tehran's nuclear program. Published January 21, 2015
Obama sets record for veto threats in State of the Union address
President Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday set a record for most veto threats as he promised to nix legislation to tweak Obamacare, change the Dodd-Frank Wall Street legislation, undo his deportation amnesty, and approve stronger sanctions to punish Iran for its nuclear program. Published January 20, 2015
Obama calls for civility, then immediately taunts Republicans
President Obama spent much of Tuesday's State of the Union calling for civility in politics — then taunted Republicans over his two election victories, after many of them applauded the looming end of his political career. Published January 20, 2015
