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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

** FILE ** Linda Norman (right) and Joanna Galt, both from Florida, hold their banners during a "Exempt America from Obamacare" rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 10, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obamacare has been amended or delayed 19 times: study

President Obama has already signed 14 laws that amend, rescind or otherwise change parts of his health care law, and he's taken five independent steps to delay the Affordable Care Act on his own, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service, released Wednesday. Published September 11, 2013

The Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)

Obama speech on Syria fails to sway support on Capitol Hill

President Obama managed to sway at least one lawmaker Tuesday night as he laid out his case for military strikes on Syria: Rep. Sean Duffy, a Wisconsin Republican, who said he went "from 'no' to 'Hell no!' " Published September 11, 2013

** FILE ** "Every public official has to use her best judgment in ensuring appropriate use of personal emails," says Environmental Protection Agency ex-chief Lisa P. Jackson. (Associated Press)

Technology entangles federal officials in open-records quagmires

Lisa P. Jackson, the former EPA chief who used both secondary and private email accounts to conduct government business, said she never intended to violate open-records laws and said only those who want to "theorize that there is a hidden agenda" would see her actions negatively. Published September 10, 2013

President Obama addresses the nation in a live televised speech from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

Obama asks Congress to delay Syria vote, give diplomacy a chance to work

President Obama and his Western allies faced off against Russia on the international stage Tuesday, battling over how exactly to force Syria to turn over its chemical weapons, even as the president pleaded with Congress to give him time to see the diplomatic efforts through. Published September 10, 2013

**FILE** House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 15, 2013. (Associated Press)

Issa accuses law firm of meddling in congressional investigation

The House's top investigator accused a prominent Washington law and lobbying firm of trying to meddle with Congress's investigation into transparency when one of the company's lobbyists pleaded that lawmakers not ask their client any questions at a hearing Tuesday. Published September 10, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at his meeting with elected region leaders in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Sept. 10, 2013. (Associated Press/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)

Putin: Obama must back off for Syria plan to work

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his government's plan to have Syria turn over chemical weapons will only work if President Obama calls off his plans for military strikes — something the White House has rejected. Published September 10, 2013

**FILE** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, accompanied by Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (right), Texas Republican, and Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18, 2013. (Associated Press)

McConnell to vote against Syria strikes

The top Republican in the Senate said Tuesday he will oppose President Obama's call for strikes on Syria, saying the president has not made a credible case and that direct U.S. national security interests are not at stake. Published September 10, 2013

** FILE ** U.S. President Barack Obama, right, speaks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during arrivals for the G-20 summit at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

All sides claim win in Syria-Russia chemical weapons offer

Even as Capitol Hill waited to see how the Russian chemical weapons offer played out, lawmakers on both sides of the question of Syria strikes claimed credit for helping force the Assad regime's hand. Published September 10, 2013

**FILE** Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson (Associated Press)

Ex-EPA chief Lisa Jackson denies trying to avoid sunshine laws

Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson told Congress on Tuesday that she didn't abuse her official email accounts, nor did she use her own private account to try to circumvent open-records laws. Published September 10, 2013

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Senate puts off Syria vote

The Senate has put off a key test vote on the resolution authorizing President Obama to attack Syria, with Majority Leader Harry Reid saying Monday it's more important to get the debate right than to get it done fast. Published September 9, 2013

Dollar bills are on display at the Diversified table during a job fair at the Radisson Martinique hotel, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010 in New York. The insurance company is giving away dollar bills to attract sales representatives. The Labor Department said Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, that first-time claims for jobless aid fell by 17,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 421,000 in the week ending Dec. 4. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Government red ink jumps 25% in August

The federal deficit surged nearly 25 percent in August to reach $753 billion through the first 11 months of the fiscal year, but the Congressional Budget Office said Monday it expects the final year-end total to be lower. Published September 9, 2013

**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, heads to the Senate floor on Sept. 6, 2013, to introduce a resolution for the authorization of military action in support of President Obama's request for a strike against Syria. (Associated Press)

Senate moves to Syria debate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid officially moved to bring the Syria war debate to the chamber floor Monday afternoon, and said there will be an early test vote on Wednesday. Published September 9, 2013

“With each classified briefing that I’ve gotten, I have become less inclined rather than more inclined to think that we should have any involvement in that civil war, and [last] week was no exception.” — Sen. Michael Lee, Utah Republican. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Syria attack: High-stakes decisions on Capitol Hill are yes, no and maybe

Their constituents are against it, their party leaders in Congress are generally for it, and President Obama has declared it a moral imperative — leaving rank-and-file members to sort it all out and take a career-defining vote on whether to authorize military strikes on Syria. Published September 8, 2013

**FILE** Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Republican, testifies July 17, 2013, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Voting Rights Act on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)

Patriot Act’s author files court papers to stop ‘frightening’ Obama abuses

The chief author of the Patriot Act has filed court papers in support of a lawsuit seeking to stop the National Security Agency's bulk collection of records, saying that the Obama administration is going far beyond what he intended when he wrote the law in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Published September 6, 2013

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Republican, arrives on Capitol Hill for a closed-door briefing with national security officials on the situation in Syria on Sept. 5, 2013. President Obama has requested congressional authorization of military intervention in Syria in response to last month's alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war. (Associated Press)

In U.S. and around world, doubts grow over attack on Syria

President Obama, traveling in Russia, struggled to make his case to skeptical foreign leaders for military strikes in Syria, while his administration faced growing opposition from Congress back home, where head counts Thursday showed his war plan in danger of being defeated. Published September 5, 2013