Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Republicans say Obamacare official leaked IRS data
House Republican investigators Wednesday accused the woman in charge of the IRS' Obamacare compliance office of having leaked private taxpayer information to the White House, saying that calls into question the agency's trustworthiness in administering the new health care reform law. Published October 9, 2013
Park Service relents, opens World War II Memorial — somewhat
The barricades are still up at the World War II Memorial but the Park Service has left an opening — figuratively and literally — for Americans who want to exercise their First Amendment rights. Published October 9, 2013
Koch Industries: We’re not controlling the shutdown
Koch Industries sent a letter Wednesday to senators declaring they are not pulling the strings behind the scene to orchestrate the government shutdown. Published October 9, 2013
Supreme Court skeptical of campaign finance cap
Supreme Court justices signaled Tuesday that they aren't sold on current campaign finance laws that limit how much Americans can contribute directly to candidates and political parties, as the court met for the first major oral argument of its new term. Published October 8, 2013
Alaska slams feds for keeping hunters off land
Alaska lawmakers accused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of violating federal law by shutting down hunting on its lands during the government shutdown, saying a 1980 law guarantees state residents must have access to the land. Published October 8, 2013
Supreme Court signals skepticism of campaign finance limits
The Supreme Court seemed skeptical Tuesday of the web of campaign finance regulations they and Congress have left in place, as the justices heard a case that legal analysts said could end up erasing one of the remaining campaign finance limits on individuals. Published October 8, 2013
Congress flies blind during shutdown with deficit of budget reports
One casualty of the government shutdown is that key agencies no longer are producing exactly the kind of budget information on deficits, spending and the economy that could help inform Congress as it debates just those issues. Published October 7, 2013
Lawyer bilked Social Security while representing hundreds of clients
In testimony more befitting a legal thriller than a congressional hearing, Social Security employees told the Senate on Monday of an agency office in West Virginia rife with intimidation, retaliation and corruption — including a successful scheme that allowed a lawyer to bilk more than $4 million in taxpayers' money from the disability system. Published October 7, 2013
National Park rangers ordered to keep visitors out of privately run businesses
The National Park Service has closed privately run marinas, restaurants and inns throughout the country and in some cases even posted guards to keep people from using them during the government shutdown, arguing that it doesn't have the money, manpower or authority to let them operate. Published October 6, 2013
Debt fight to escalate shutdown showdown; Boehner attaches Obamacare strings
Legislative activity has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill as both sides have become entrenched on the spending bills and now the looming debt fight, with House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, saying Sunday that he will insist on conditions being attached to any bill to raise the federal borrowing limit. Published October 6, 2013
House approves retroactive pay for furloughed government workers
Seeking to dent President Obama's refusal to chip away at the government shutdown piece-by-piece, House Republicans passed a bill Saturday to guarantee all federal employees get paid after the government shutdown — including those who have been sent home and aren't on the job. Published October 5, 2013
Obama backs part of House shutdown strategy
President Obama opposes the House Republican caucus strategy to pass government funding in pieces, but the White House signaled Friday he will sign at least one of those bills — a measure that would ensure federal employees get paid even if they were forced out of work. Published October 4, 2013
Blue Ridge hotel defies Park Service shutdown
Park rangers on Friday were turning away people who want to visit the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway in an effort to enforce the National Park Service's decision to shut down the private establishment during the government shutdown. Published October 4, 2013
Boehner: Shutdown ‘isn’t some damn game’
Republicans on Friday were furious over a Wall Street Journal report that the White House believes it is "winning" the shutdown fight. Published October 4, 2013
Reid apologizes for nasty tone on Senate floor
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid delivered a striking mea culpa on the Senate floor Friday as he opened the chamber, saying he and his colleagues have simply gotten too personal and nasty in their floor debates. Published October 4, 2013
House passes bills to fund safety and security agencies during shutdown
The House on Thursday passed bills to pay National Guard troops and fund Veterans Affairs services during the government shutdown and signaled that it would take up a bill to make sure all federal employees — including those on furlough — eventually get paid. Published October 3, 2013
California grants driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Thursday granting illegal immigrants driver's licenses, in a decision immigrant rights groups hailed as a major step forward for their movement. Published October 3, 2013
Senate Democrats block reopening of NIH, national parks
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday blocked a House bill providing funding to reopen national parks amid the government shutdown, saying he would not allow the GOP to pick and choose from among favored programs and insisting the only way out is to pass all spending at the same time. Published October 3, 2013
Marriage group to sue IRS over donor leak, says list went to political enemies
The National Organization for Marriage will sue the IRS on Thursday, saying it has evidence that someone within the agency leaked the organization's private donor list to its political enemies in 2012 but that nobody has been held responsible. Published October 3, 2013
Democrats’ immigration bill leaves out security
Tired of waiting for the GOP, House Democrats announced their own immigration bill Wednesday that grants illegal immigrants a path to citizenship but strips out the tough new border security measures passed by the Senate earlier this year. Published October 2, 2013
