Stephen Dinan

Senate approves modest earmark cut

Taking its first baby steps to rein in pork-barrel spending, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to rescind old transportation earmarks, though lawmakers also resoundingly defeated a more ambitious effort to ban all earmarks through 2011. Published March 17, 2010

Holder: Bin Laden capture seen unlikely

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. predicted Tuesday Osama bin Laden will never face justice in an American courthouse because he will never be taken alive by U.S. troops. Published March 17, 2010

Holder: Bin Laden won’t be captured alive

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday Osama bin Laden will never be taken alive by U.S. troops. Published March 16, 2010

Temporary foreign workers threaten immigration deal

Among all the other potential pitfalls, the divide over how to handle the future flow of foreign workers, which has bedeviled the immigration issue for years, once again threatens to halt any progress on immigration reform. Published March 16, 2010

GOP names nominees to debt panel

Congressional Republicans named six conservative opponents of tax increases to President Obama's debt commission Friday, and the panel now only awaits House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's picks before it can get started. Published March 12, 2010

With ban, GOP calls duel on earmarks

In a move to break with the GOP's big-spending past, House Republicans voted Thursday to ban members from requesting the pork-barrel spending that directs money to pet projects. Published March 12, 2010

Immigrant rights advocates, poised to rally, pressure Obama

Immigrant rights groups say President Obama has bought himself some breathing space after a tense meeting Thursday, but that the White House will have to show real progress on an immigration bill by March 21 when tens of thousands of immigrant rights marchers are scheduled to rally in Washington. Published March 12, 2010

Pay raise sought for bilingual fed workers

A key member of Congress says federal workers should be paid more for using their bilingual skills at work, and he's introduced a bill to boost those folks' pay by 5 percent. Published March 12, 2010

House GOP bans earmarks for members

House Republicans voted Thursday to ban their members this year from requesting earmarks, or pork-barrel spending projects, in a move to break with Republicans' big-spending past. Published March 11, 2010

Both parties in House start war over pork

Democrats said they'll ban earmarks where the government sends money to for-profit corporations; Republicans will vote on whether to impose a complete one-year moratorium on themselves. Published March 11, 2010

House KOs call for speedy Afghanistan withdrawal

The House on Wednesday soundly defeated a resolution setting a timetable for withdrawal, marking the chamber's first full debate on the war since Obama's surge announcement. Published March 11, 2010

Bipartisan blowout blocks Afghanistan withdrawal

The House on Wednesday soundly defeated a resolution setting a timetable for withdrawal, marking the chamber's first debate on that war since the surge was announced. Published March 11, 2010

Feds pay to ferret out stimulus fraud

Federal investigators have received more than 730 allegations of waste or fraud in stimulus act funding, canceled contracts of some bad actors and sent dozens of cases to prosecutors. Published March 10, 2010

Activists tell Obama to protect illegals

Immigrant rights groups on Monday demanded that President Obama impose a full moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants, arguing that his policies have been worse for their cause than those of his Republican predecessor. Published March 9, 2010

Reid’s gaffe undercuts momentum

It had been a good two weeks for Majority Leader Harry Reid, who used tough parliamentary tactics to push through the Senate three measures, all of which could be described as "jobs bills." Published March 8, 2010

Climate scientists to fight back at skeptics

Undaunted by a rash of scandals over the science underpinning climate change, top climate researchers are plotting to respond with what one scientist involved said needs to be "an outlandishly aggressively partisan approach" to gut the credibility of skeptics. Published March 5, 2010

Monthly deficit hits record $223B in Feb.

The federal government recorded its biggest monthly deficit ever in February, topping $200 billion for the first time in history and marking a record 17th straight month the government has ended in the hole. Published March 5, 2010

Rep. Deal to stay to vote against health bill

Mr. Deal, Georgia Republican will delay his resignation from the House until March 31 -- underscoring the stakes in the health care debate. Published March 4, 2010

Stark out, Levin in at Ways and Means

The fallout from the ethical troubles of Rep. Charles B. Rangel continued Thursday as his successor chairman on the Ways and Means Committee stepped down just a day after becoming acting chairman. Published March 4, 2010

Both sides seek to rewrite stimulus law

Though bruised and battered in the public, more than a year into its existence the stimulus bill remains essentially intact - but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week are launching bids to rewrite major parts of the $862 billion law. Published March 4, 2010