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Slaughter Warily Endorses House STOCK Act

By Staff on February 8, 2012

By Lily Benitez De Luna Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) told reporters Wednesday that she will endorse the House version of the STOCK Act, despite concerns that her Republican colleagues had diluted it. “The thing we greatly feared has come upon us. [The STOCK Act] has been weakened,” Slaughter said, pointing…

Senate GOP’ers Join Pledge To Reverse Birth-Control Mandate

By Benny Martinez on February 8, 2012

Senate Republicans echoed the sentiment of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) after he vowed on the House floor Wednesday to repeal a regulation that requires employers, including religious entities, to provide their employees with coverage for contraceptives.

Congress’ Approval Rating Drops Even Lower

By Staff on February 8, 2012

Congress’ job approval appears to be at a record low. According to Gallup, approval now rests at 10 percent, a full point short of the previous low in December. 86 percent of those surveyed disapprove of lawmakers’ performance. Divided by party, only 11 percent of Democrats and 12 percent of…

House Nearing Vote On Strengthened STOCK Act

By Benny Martinez on February 8, 2012

Prior to voting on a Senate-passed version of the STOCK Act, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced that the lower chamber will be considering a “strengthened” version of the bill set to put an end to congressional insider trading. “It is unacceptable for any member of Congress, federal official…

Slavery at Sea World

By Ernest Istook on February 8, 2012

An animal rights group claims that killer whales—orcas–have the same rights as people. So they claim it’s slavery for Sea World to keep the whales at their amusement parks. PETA–People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has filed a federal lawsuit to free the whales. It’s just part of the…

Hoyer Says Congress Has A “Vacuous Agenda”

By Staff on February 7, 2012

By Lily Benitez De Luna Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) noted Tuesday  that time is ticking for Congress to make a final decision on the extension of the payroll tax cut, but key issues have yet to be resolved. “This week is another example of what I refer to as…

Scalise To Obama: Let (Religious) Freedom Ring

By Elana Goldberg on February 6, 2012

Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) urged the Obama administration Monday to reverse its healthcare law requiring religious organizations to include medications used to induce abortion, contraceptives, and sterilizations in the health care plans of their employees. Scalise initiated a bipartisan letter with 154 co-signers against the Obama healthcare measure, deeming it…

Cain: Payroll Tax Cut Having Little Impact

By Geoff Holtzman on February 6, 2012

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain says “most people could not even notice” the extra money in their paychecks made possible by the current two percent payroll tax cut.

Some Unions Unhappy With FAA Reauthorization Language

By Elana Goldberg on February 6, 2012

As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation approaches the Senate this week, there is an increasing voice of dissent over the bill among union workers and other progressives, who argue that the bill would harm unions nationwide.

Good News, Bad News on Jobs

By Ernest Istook on February 6, 2012

It’s hard to separate the facts from the politics about job creation in America. More jobs than expected were created in January. Almost a quarter million new jobs is about 100,000 more than projected. We continued a three-month trend of 200,000 or more new jobs each month. That’s a good…