Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Feds’ deficit streak hits record 33rd straight month
The federal government notched its 33rd straight month in the red in June, extending its record deficit streak to three times the previous low-water mark, according to preliminary estimates Friday from the Congressional Budget Office. Published July 8, 2011
House vote lets Obama continue U.S. Libya deployment
The House on Thursday gave implicit approval to President Obama to continue his deployment of American military forces to support the NATO mission in Libya, turning back repeated efforts to end U.S. involvement. Published July 7, 2011
Hill stalemate gives Obama free hand on Libya
Capitol Hill is keen to shape or even halt President Obama's troop deployment to Libya, but lawmakers' own inability to settle on a unified stance is undermining their efforts and leaving the president with a free hand to pursue the war his own way. Published July 6, 2011
Obama prods Congress on debt deal
President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to "do something big" to reduce the federal budget deficit, spurned talk of a short-term deal with Republicans to raise the debt limit and invited leaders to come Thursday to the White House to revive negotiations. Published July 5, 2011
Appeals court upholds Obama’s health care law
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled the individual mandate in the Democrats' health care law is constitutional, becoming the highest court to back the key part of President Obama's signature achievement. Published June 29, 2011
GOP wants Senate to cancel vacation
Frustrated with his former colleagues in Congress, President Obama on Wednesday demanded they stay in town next week to work on debt negotiations — and found unlikely allies in Senate Republicans, who said there were trying to force their chamber to cancel a vacation and remain in session. Published June 29, 2011
Senate panel OKs use of force in Libya
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Tuesday to back President Obama's deployment of U.S. forces to Libya in a strong bipartisan vote that delivered a critical boost to a White House that has found itself under assault from Capitol Hill. Published June 28, 2011
House rebukes Obama on Libya but lets funding continue
The House defeated two competing measures Friday that would have given President Obama differing levels of authority to continue the war in Libya, signaling a majority want to limit the president but that there is no consensus yet on how to do it. Published June 24, 2011
Slaughter ban sending horses across borders
Congress imposed a back-door ban on horse slaughter in 2006 to try to improve humane conditions, but a new government report says it has backfired and the same horses are now being exported for slaughter in Canada and Mexico, and they likely are suffering more along the journey. Published June 23, 2011
Obama administration to let the oil flow
Seeking to cap summertime gas prices, the Obama administration said Thursday it will tap the country's strategic oil stockpiles for a temporary boost. Published June 23, 2011
A do-nothing Congress could solve deficit woes, CBO says
Inside the latest long-term budget analysis from Congress' chief scorekeeper is a stunning bit of news: If Congress did nothing, the government's deficit problems would be mostly solved. Published June 22, 2011
Senate-House showdown draws near on Libya
Congress moved toward a showdown on President Obama's troop deployment in Libya, with two veteran senators on Tuesday introducing legislation to validate his moves and the House setting up competing votes, including one that would force him to end combat missions. Published June 21, 2011
Senators move to authorize Libya mission
Congress moved toward a showdown on President Obama's troop deployment in Libya, with two veteran senators on Tuesday introducing legislation to validate his moves and the House setting up competing votes, including one that would force him to end combat missions. Published June 21, 2011
Huntsman vows to be different GOP candidate
Painting himself as the sunny, optimistic Republican choice, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Tuesday officially joined the 2012 GOP presidential field, laying out a broad call to push through tough economic times, but with few specifics on how he would do so. Published June 21, 2011
Libya testing limits of War Powers Resolution
American unmanned aerial vehicles are making surgical strikes on Libyan targets, and U.S. forces have expended $400 million worth of munitions in defending the rebellion against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces, but the administration says that doesn't mean the country is at war — at least not for the purposes of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Published June 20, 2011
President’s fidelity to oath on autopilot?
One day after Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. helped President Obama bungle the oath of office on Inauguration Day 2009, the president held a do-over at the White House out of "an abundance of caution" over constitutional hiccups. Published June 19, 2011
Obama extends National Guard deployment on southern border
President Obama notified Congress Friday he will keep 1,200 National Guard troops on the border for at least another three months, following demands from southwest lawmakers who said there is still work to be done on security. Published June 17, 2011
Obama administration changes deportation focus
Under fire for its stepped-up deportation program, the Obama administration said Friday it will take a number of steps intended to focus on criminal aliens and make it less likely illegal immigrants without convictions are deported. Published June 17, 2011
Senate strikes at ethanol handout
In a signal that austerity is now the prevailing attitude on Capitol Hill, the Senate voted Thursday to end billions of dollars in annual tax credits for blended ethanol — a once-sacrosanct program that has fallen victim to troubled government finances. Published June 16, 2011
Objecting ATF agents ‘told to fall in line’
Federal agents testified to Congress on Wednesday that their superiors told them to stand down and watch as weapons flowed from gun dealers in Arizona to criminals and violent drug cartels in Mexico part of a now-discredited operation designed to catch gunrunners. Published June 15, 2011
