Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Obama administration grants protected status to Syrians
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday said she will grant special status to Syrians currently in the U.S., allowing them to stay here past their current visas while their home country remains in turmoil. Published March 23, 2012
Senate to hold hearings on NFL ‘bounties’
The Senate will hold hearings looking into "bounties" one NFL team paid its players to injure opponents, a top lawmaker announced Thursday, bringing the football scandal to the halls of Congress. Published March 22, 2012
Figures point to securer border, but risk of death for illegals still high
Amid all of the apparently good news about security along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, one dark spot stands out: The number of people dying in the desert as they attempt to make illegal crossings remains stubbornly high. Published March 22, 2012
‘Buffett rule’ fails its first test in Congress
House Republicans on the Budget Committee on Wednesday rejected an effort to impose the "Buffett rule" tax on Americans, arguing it would stifle investment without doing any work to lower the deficit. Published March 21, 2012
Ryan budget shoots for lower deficit, flatter tax
Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, presented his colleagues Tuesday a sweeping rewrite of the federal budget that would move toward a flatter income tax and dramatically cut spending, balancing the budget in the long run by holding down the growth of Medicare and shrinking Medicaid. Published March 20, 2012
GOP debates thinned field, but didn’t produce clear consensus
Rick Santorum said Sunday that he wants to go head-to-head in a debate with Mitt Romney before the primary season is over — raising the possibility of one last showdown at some point. Published March 18, 2012
CBO: Obama budget deepens debt by $3.5 trillion
President Obama's budget would pile up an additional $3.5 trillion in debt over the next 10 years and shows the government's trust funds running out of money in 2020, Congress's official non-partisan scorekeeper said Friday. Published March 16, 2012
Stay keeps lawyers out of the pool for 60 days
The Justice Department on Thursday issued a 60-day stay for hundreds of thousands of public pools that had been required to install ramps and wheelchair lifts by today or else face lawsuits over violating disability laws. Published March 15, 2012
E-Verify job-check system has room to grow, agency says
U.S. immigration services have the capacity to handle additional requests if more states mandate that businesses use E-Verify but would need time to accommodate a nationwide program, the agency's director said Thursday. Published March 15, 2012
Drive for natural gas substitute to power trucks stalls
For the last few years oil magnate T. Boone Pickens has had one chief goal: to get the government to push natural gas, particularly onto the country's fleet of commercial trucks. Published March 13, 2012
Paul nets first win, but not in delegates
Rep. Ron Paul won his first victory of the Republican primary season over the weekend, but fell short in several tests of his delegate-hoarding strategy, and the candidate himself hinted to reporters that he is "suspicious" of fraud in some of the vote-counting. Published March 12, 2012
Obama clashes against states’ rights, this time with Texas voter ID law
The Justice Department blocked Texas' new voter-identification law Monday, arguing that it targets the state's Hispanics — and igniting yet another clash between President Obama's administration and a GOP-run state. Published March 12, 2012
U.S. on pace for $1 trillion deficit
The federal government set a new monthly record deficit of $232 billion in February and has notched a total of $581 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year, according to the Treasury Department's official count released Monday. Published March 12, 2012
Santorum wins Kansas caucuses; Romney builds delegate lead
Rick Santorum won Kansas' GOP caucuses handily on Saturday, notching yet another win in the country's heartland as he tried to keep pace with front-runner Mitt Romney. Published March 10, 2012
Now is the time for Paul to pick up delegates
Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign always has banked on playing the caucus game to try to maximize his support where it counts — the delegates who will attend the national convention this summer in Tampa, Fla. Published March 8, 2012
RNC’s delegate count shows Gingrich ahead of Santorum
Rick Santorum may have won more primaries but the Republican National Committee's current delegate count shows former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has more bound delegates than Mr. Santorum in the race for the party's presidential nomination. Published March 8, 2012
Senate backs Obama in pipeline rejection
Democratic senators voted Thursday to ratify President Obama's decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, leaving the project in limbo but ensuring it remains a political issue through this year's elections. Published March 8, 2012
Govt. sets record deficit in February
The federal government recorded its worst monthly deficit in history in February, according to a preliminary report Wednesday from the Congressional Budget Office that said the deficit in fiscal year 2012 is already more than half a trillion dollars. Published March 8, 2012
Romney drew GOP faithful; Santorum got crossover help
Though he has called himself the true conservative in the Republican presidential field, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania continued to benefit from crossover Democrats in Super Tuesday's primaries, while front-runner Mitt Romney easily won the vote among actual Republicans, according to a Washington Times analysis. Published March 7, 2012
Immigration group blasts Boehner for failing to crack down on illegal workers
Fed up with Republican congressional leaders, a group advocating a crackdown on immigration will begin running ads Thursday demanding that House Speaker John A. Boehner allow a vote on legislation requiring businesses to use E-Verify, the government database to check workers' legal status. Published March 7, 2012