Stephen Dinan

Senate votes against a value-added tax

Senators voted overwhelming Thursday to say they don't want to create a new value-added tax, or VAT, in a vote designed to take the wind out of an idea that had been circulating among policymakers for the last several weeks. Published April 16, 2010

Holder blames Gitmo lag on Congress

President Obama has faced criticism for failing to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but the attorney general said the delay has been caused by Congress, which has not yet approved a new facility to hold suspected terrorist detainees. Published April 15, 2010

Holder says closing Gitmo in Congress’ hands

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. says Congress is responsible for the delay in closing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility because lawmakers have not yet approved a new prison to hold suspected terrorist detainees. Published April 14, 2010

Debt panel’s bind: Cut funds or hike taxes

Postponements and taxes and cuts — oh my! Published April 14, 2010

Hill Republicans vow to fight for cuts

Senate Republicans vowed Monday that they will try to force Congress to start cutting programs to pay for new spending. Democrats promised to make the GOP suffer for making their first stand on a bill to extend the time frame that the jobless can collect unemployment benefits. Published April 13, 2010

Economists warn against more state aid

States say they've been kept afloat during the economic downturn by critical federal aid, but, with stimulus money set to run out soon, a report from conservative economists argues that another infusion would postpone, and could worsen, states' eventual reckoning with troubled budgets. Published April 12, 2010

Stupak announces end to House career

Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat who led a months-long battle with President Obama and his party's leaders over abortion language before ultimately supporting their health care bill, said Friday he won't seek re-election this year. Published April 12, 2010

Stupak won’t seek re-election

UPDATED: Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat who led a months-long battle with President Obama and his party's leaders over abortion language before ultimately supporting their health care bill, said Friday he won't seek re-election this year. Published April 9, 2010

Immigration effort lacks 2nd backer from GOP

As President Obama and Senate Democrats push to pass an immigration bill this year, one key ingredient is still conspicuously missing: a second Republican to co-sponsor the legislation. Published April 5, 2010

Strategists: GOP is peaking too early

Former President Bill Clinton's top political strategists, who had a front-row seat for the Republicans' 1994 electoral successes, said Wednesday that the GOP today is peaking too early and is unlikely to see a repeat performance this November. Published March 31, 2010

Rocky kickoff to changes for student loans

The government's Web site for handling student loans was broken most of Tuesday - the very day President Obama signed a law putting the government in charge of all subsidized student lending. Published March 31, 2010

Student loan Web site broken on first day

The government's Web site for handling student loans was broken most of Tuesday — the very day President Obama signed a law putting the government in charge of all subsidized student lending. Published March 31, 2010

Health care votes fuel fundraising pitches

Looking to break out of the pack of Republicans vying to unseat Rep. Bart Stupak in this year's election, Daniel J. "Dan" Benishek set a fundraising goal of $219,000 this month — $1,000 for every vote House Democrats cast for the health care bill. Published March 30, 2010

Democrats politicking like it’s 1994

President Obama has positioned himself in one week for success on health care and the nettlesome issue of gays serving in the military - the big issues that bedeviled and ultimately weakened President Clinton during his first two years in office. Published March 26, 2010

Gas up $1 a gallon on Obama’s watch

Prices have risen $1 since just after Obama took office in January 2009 and are now closing in on the $3 mark, prompting an evaluation of the administration's energy record and calls for the White House to open more U.S. land for oil exploration. Published March 25, 2010

DHS IG: Immigration plan will bury agency

The federal government is not equipped to process the flood of applications from a proposed immigration legalization bill and the agency that would oversee that program won't be ready for "a few years," the office of the Homeland Security Department's inspector general told Congress on Tuesday. Published March 24, 2010

Immigration advocates pressure Obama

Flexing their political muscle, a swell of tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters took to the nation's front yard of the National Mall on Sunday to demand immigration reform move atop the crowded legislative agenda and to warn President Obama and Congress that their patience is running out. Published March 22, 2010

Obama backs plan to legalize illegals

The president gave a thumbs up to the outline of a plan -- being constructed by a Republican and a Democrat -- to legalize illegal immigrants and create a flow of low-skilled foreign workers for the future. Published March 18, 2010

CBO feels crush of health care requests

President Obama's agenda has so overloaded Congress that its legislative gatekeepers - the analysts who score each bill and the auditors who weed out waste and fraud - can't keep up. Published March 18, 2010

Obama team takes heat over unemployment

Bipartisan frustration boiled over on Capitol Hill Tuesday at the Obama administration's inability to bring down the unemployment rate, with one liberal House Democrat telling top administration officials they have shown "no urgency" about fixing the problem. Published March 17, 2010