Stephen Dinan

Third Obama jobs bill blocked in Senate

President Obama is now 0-for-3 in his push to stimulate jobs after Republicans led a filibuster Thursday of his latest proposal to boost infrastructure spending. Published November 3, 2011

House subpoenas White House for Solyndra documents

Showing a growing frustration with the Obama administration, congressional Republicans on Thursday authorized their second subpoena this week, this time demanding documents from the White House on contacts that President Obama's top aides might have had with failed solar-technology company Solyndra. Published November 3, 2011

Obama calls for action by Congress on jobs bill

With yet another part of his jobs package on the line in Congress on Thursday, President Obama traveled across Washington on Wednesday to press his case — and claimed the support of the Almighty for his plans. Published November 2, 2011

Subpoena OK’d for ICE’s illegal-immigration data

Signaling growing unrest with the Obama administration's level of cooperation, House Republicans on an immigration subcommittee voted Wednesday to authorize a subpoena to get data on illegal immigrants against whom the government has declined to pursue deportation cases. Published November 2, 2011

House GOP to subpoena immigration data

House Republicans are moving to subpoena a list of all immigrants whom the Obama administration has flagged under its secure communities program but failed to arrest for deportation, after the Homeland Security Department missed a congressionally imposed deadline to produce the information this week. Published November 1, 2011

Justice Department sues over S. Carolina’s immigration law

The Justice Department sued Monday to block South Carolina's new immigration crackdown law, making it the third state to face such a challenge from the Obama administration, which argues only the federal government can decide immigration enforcement. Published October 31, 2011

Johnson hits Perry on death penalty

Former New Mexico governor and current Republican presidential hopeful Gary E. Johnson said he saw the dangers of the death penalty up close during his two terms in office — and says he is convinced Texas has executed innocent people. Published October 27, 2011

House OKs small part of Obama’s jobs plan

The House overwhelmingly passed a slim portion of President Obama's jobs package Thursday, but the striking outbreak of bipartisanship is likely short-lived with no easy follow-up bill on the schedule and both sides still avoiding compromise. Published October 27, 2011

Napolitano queried on lack of ‘Fast and Furious’ probe

Congressional Republicans are trying to expand the scope of questions over the disastrous ATF gun-sting operation "Fast and Furious" to Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano, asking her why she never investigated even after suspected guns showed up at the scene of a dead U.S. Border Patrol agent. Published October 26, 2011

White House backs House GOP jobs bill

Signaling a brief spark of bipartisanship in Washington, the White House on Tuesday said it backs House Republicans' effort to repeal a 3 percent withholding tax on government contractors, which is part of the GOP's own job-creation push. Published October 25, 2011

Senate Dems begin push to repeal federal marriage law

Senate Democrats next week will begin a push to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that defines marriage for federal purposes and, to date, has meant states don't have to recognize gay marriages performed in other states. Published October 25, 2011

Senators flout own immigration law on worker verification

Sen. John Boozman is co-sponsoring a bill that would require every employer in the country to use the E-Verify program to screen for illegal workers — but until earlier this month, the senator himself wasn't signed up for the system, thus violating a 1996 law that makes its use mandatory for all congressional offices. Published October 24, 2011

Withholding tax comes back to bite businesses

The last time Congress went on a deficit-cutting spree, lawmakers thought they had settled on a great way to squeeze more money from deadbeat contractors: Withhold 3 percent of all government contracts to make sure those companies paid their full tax bills each year. Published October 23, 2011

Senators find sweet spot in ending benefits to millionaires

Finding a rare piece of common ground when it comes to spending limits, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate voted overwhelmingly Friday morning to cut off federal farm payment handouts to farmers who already make more than $1 million a year. Published October 21, 2011

Obama’s jobs bill fails second Senate test

After halting President Obama's entire $447 billion jobs-stimulus bill last week, the Senate blocked a $35 billion slice of the package in a late-night filibuster vote Thursday that highlighted the lingering questions among both parties over the White House's plans. Published October 20, 2011

$3.2B wrongly taken in tuition tax credits

The federal government wrongly paid as much as $3.2 billion in college-tuition tax credits in the first five months of 2010, including payments to more than 1.7 million people who apparently weren't qualifying undergraduates, according to a new oversight report. Published October 20, 2011

Napolitano tells panel 400,000 deported in year

Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano says her department has the resources to deport about 400,000 aliens each year, and the new guidance her department issued will only change the makeup of who gets deported. Published October 19, 2011

Man living as an ‘adult baby’ is cleared of Social Security fraud

The California man who lives part of his life as an "adult baby" and collects Social Security disability payments says the federal agency has cleared him of wrongdoing and will continue sending checks. Published October 18, 2011

Deficit hit $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2011

The federal deficit reached $1.3 trillion for fiscal 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Published October 7, 2011

Reid uses ‘nuclear option’ to block GOP amendments

In a move that threatened to calcify an already dysfunctional Senate, Democrats on Thursday voted to change chamber precedent, in effect rewriting the rules to ban a work-around Republicans had used to force votes even when the Democrats in the majority didn't want to hold them. Published October 6, 2011