Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Forest Service hit for Border Patrol call
A federal department ruled last week that the Forest Service violated a Spanish-speaking woman's civil rights by calling the Border Patrol to help translate during a routine stop, saying it was "humiliating" to Hispanics and an illicit backdoor way to capture more illegal immigrants. Published June 4, 2012
Congressional fight gives peek at intelligence spending
Most of the recent battles over government spending have been dramatic, bloody and excruciatingly fought in public, but disputes over the approximately $80 billion budgeted every year for the intelligence community has generally been hidden - until now. Published May 31, 2012
House orders solid base line on border
When the Obama administration scrapped the old definition for measuring border security two years ago, it left the government without any way of measuring how much of the U.S.-Mexico border is under operational control. Published May 30, 2012
Republican offers Dream option for illegals
Wading directly into the thorny immigration debate, a key House Republican on Wednesday introduced the GOP's first version of the Dream Act in this Congress in a bill that would give a select group of high-achieving illegal immigrants the chance to become U.S. citizens. Published May 30, 2012
Republicans introduce their own version of Dream Act
Rep. David Rivera on Wednesday introduced the first Republican version of the Dream Act in this Congress which would give a select group of high-achieving illegal immigrant students the chance to stay and study in the U.S. Published May 30, 2012
Equal pay bill puts Romney on the line on women
Mitt Romney survived an April skirmish over women's pay, but he and fellow Republicans are about to face a tougher test as the Senate takes up the Paycheck Fairness Act — the next big fight in pay equality between the sexes. Published May 29, 2012
Obama honors veterans, vows end to Afghan war
President Obama on Monday officially kicked off a years-long commemoration of the Vietnam War, saying the country should use the 50th anniversary of the conflict's start as a chance to apologize for poor treatment of returning veterans, which he called "one of the most painful chapters" in U.S. history. Published May 28, 2012
Long battle to get Civil War officer Medal of Honor in final charge
When the House this month voted to waive the time constraints on issuing the Medal of Honor for Lt. Alonzo Cushing, it brought the artillery officer and hero of the Union stand at Pickett's Charge one step closer to the military's highest honor — though in the eyes of his supporters, it's 149 years late. Published May 27, 2012
Senate defeats bills to reduce student loan rates
The Senate on Thursday blocked President Obama's student loan interest-rate reduction plan and also shot down a GOP proposal, leaving the chamber without a solution and little more than a month to go before rates are scheduled to double. Published May 24, 2012
Feds promise swimming pool rules are ‘flexible’
The Justice Department promised Thursday to be "flexible" in enforcing new rules ordering public pools to pay for lifts or ramps for the disabled — backing away from what some pool operators had said was an invitation to a flood of lawsuits against small businesses. Published May 24, 2012
Obama’s pick for nuke chief is Yucca Mountain opponent
President Obama on Thursday announced he will nominate a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site opponent to be chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, replacing the current embattled chairman. Published May 24, 2012
Romney sees D.C. school vouchers as model for U.S.
Mitt Romney vowed Wednesday to expand Washington's school voucher program as part of a broader nationwide push for school choice, and he accused President Obama of failing to fulfill his own education promises from 2008 because he is too beholden to teachers unions. Published May 23, 2012
Romney outpaces Obama in Ky., Ark. primaries
President Obama won 58 percent of the vote in Kentucky's Democratic primary on Tuesday but lost 42 percent of the vote to "uncommitted" — another worrisome sign for him as he seeks re-election. Published May 22, 2012
Congress staring over edge of ‘fiscal cliff’
For Congress, the outlines of the pending fiscal crisis are clear: Don't do a thing, and watch the economy slip into a double-dip recession early next year. Or cancel the looming tax increases and spending cuts, watch the deficit rise, and push the government ever closer to a European-style debt crisis. Published May 22, 2012
Sequesters, tax increases would cause double-dip recession
The automatic spending cuts and tax increases slated to take effect at the end of this year would cut the federal deficit dramatically, but would send the country back into a short recession, according to the latest analysis from Congress's official scorekeepers. Published May 22, 2012
Embattled nuclear chief sets exit strategy
The embattled chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday he'll resign as soon as a successor can be found, succumbing to pressure from fellow commissioners who accused him of tyrannical behavior, and setting up what's expected to be a bruising battle over a replacement. Published May 21, 2012
Census surveys aren’t down for the count
After the House voted this month to defund a major part of the U.S. Census Bureau, the agency is taking the threat very seriously, with its supporters in both business and government rallying to preserve the annual questionnaire. Published May 20, 2012
House GOP leaders order Holder to cooperate on gun-running probe
House Republican leaders on Friday sent a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. demanding he comply with the GOP's official investigation into Obama administration gun-running operation Fast & Furious, which allowed hundreds of guns to be sneaked across the border to Mexican cartels. Published May 18, 2012
GOP blocks debate on Afghanistan withdrawal
More than 10 years after Congress authorized the war in Afghanistan, American voters and many lawmakers said it's time for troops to come home in an orderly withdrawal — but Republicans denied them a chance to have that debate on the House floor this week. Published May 17, 2012
Democrat-led Senate votes down 4 GOP budgets for 2013
The Senate on Wednesday rejected every single budget being offered this year, leaving the chamber — and therefore the federal government — without a plan to address Medicare, Social Security and the other major entitlement programs that are driving deficits and debt. Published May 16, 2012
