Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Budget buffet: Obama moves to take horse meat off the menu
Buried inside President Obama's budget this week is a demand that Congress stop inspections of horse meat slaughter plants — a move that would halt the industry, just as it's poised to ramp up again. Published April 11, 2013
Immigration activists say it’s time to deliver; thousands rally in D.C.
Thousands of immigrant rights activists rallied on the lawn in front of Capitol Hill on Wednesday, saying Hispanic voters delivered for President Obama last year and now want to cash in on his promise to legalize many of the estimated 11 million in the U.S. illegally. Published April 10, 2013
Budget scalpel blunted as book detailing program trims is cut
President Obama's new budget is slimmer in one major way he left out the details of the specific spending cuts he wants Congress to make. Published April 10, 2013
Illegal border crossings leap ahead of immigration bill
Apprehensions of illegal immigrants are up 13 percent this year, the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol testified to Congress on Wednesday as lawmakers continued to bash the Obama administration for failing to have a way of measuring how secure the borders are. Published April 10, 2013
Worried immigration activists look for support on Capitol Hill
Tens of thousands of immigrant rights supporters will convene Wednesday on Capitol Hill to demand action at a key moment in the debate: Negotiators are struggling to write legislation and activists are getting antsy, arguing that every day that passes means 1,100 more immigrants are deported. Published April 9, 2013
Obama budget to propose $25 billion in specific cuts
President Obama's budget will call for more than $25 billion in specific spending cuts, the White House budget office said Tuesday, a day ahead of the blueprint's release. Published April 9, 2013
Search error: Feds pay for data they could have just Googled, audit finds
Congress's top auditor said Tuesday that the Commerce Department has been charging other government agencies millions of dollars for reports that the other agencies could just as easily have gotten online, for free. Published April 9, 2013
New GOP bill gives administration two years to secure the borders
A group of top congressional Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require the Homeland Security Department to come up with a way to measure how secure the borders are — at a time when the Obama administration has been resisting those efforts. Published April 9, 2013
Margaret Thatcher a ‘fiercely loyal’ and tough ally of the U.S.
Margaret Thatcher captured Americans’ hearts and minds in a way few other foreign leaders have done, and much of that was because of the symbiotic relationship she had with President Reagan — a relationship that in many ways mirrored the storied “special” friendship between the two countries. Published April 8, 2013
EPA promises to retrain employees to follow open-records laws
The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that it will retrain all employees on how to comply with open-records laws and acknowledged that it needs to do better at storing instant-message communications, after the agency came under severe fire from members of Congress who say it appears to have broken those laws. Published April 8, 2013
Assimilating immigrants into the U.S.: New citizens view America differently
Even as Congress prepares to debate whether to legalize 11 million illegal immigrants and give them a path to citizenship, analysts are cautioning lawmakers to focus on the other part of immigration: assimilating them fully into America. Published April 8, 2013
Poll: Majority of Americans favor legalizing use of pot
A majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana use — the first time public support has crossed the 50 percent threshold, according to new polling from the Pew Research Center. Published April 4, 2013
White House tells agencies to protect priorities in sequester
The White House budget office Thursday told agencies to try to use as much flexibility as they can to blunt the effects of the budget sequesters that took effect last month. Published April 4, 2013
Obama returning part of pay due to ‘sequester’ uncertainty
President Obama will give back 5 percent of his salary to the Treasury in a show of solidarity with federal workers facing furloughs due to "sequester" budget cuts, the White House said Wednesday. Published April 3, 2013
‘D.C. Groper’ deported to Nicaragua
A man who police said terrorized a tony Washington neighborhood last year by groping women in broad daylight was deported Wednesday by the Obama administration. Published April 3, 2013
Sen. Schumer’s prison lobby ties alarm immigrant advocates
Immigration rights advocates are turning their fire on one of their own champions, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, demanding he stop taking donations from lobbyists for private prisons, which earn money by holding illegal immigrants for the U.S. government. Published April 2, 2013
Court rules legal immigrants can carry concealed weapons
While the debate over restricting guns rages in Congress and state legislatures, firearms advocates are turning to the courts to expand the playing field for carrying concealed weapons — and scoring some victories. Published April 2, 2013
Lawsuit against EPA seeks evidence of hidden messages
Top Environmental Protection Agency officials used computer instant messages to try to circumvent open-records laws, according to a lawsuit filed by a researcher who has been hounding the agency to comply with the law. Published April 1, 2013
Congress passes bill to avoid government shutdown
Acting with striking unity, Congress on Thursday passed a $1 trillion spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, heading off a government-shutdown showdown and beginning to rearrange some of the sequester cuts. Published March 21, 2013
Shutdown averted: Congress passes 2013 spending bill
Acting with striking unity, Congress on Thursday passed a $1 trillion spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, heading off a government shutdown showdown and beginning to rearrange some of the sequester cuts. Published March 21, 2013
