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Obama approval ratings remain steady, riding through the ups and downs of economy, controversy

The Canadian PressMay 23, 2013 03:30
WASHINGTON - The economy is recovering, the White House is dealing with multiple controversies, and President Barack Obama appears generally unaffected either way. He's getting no significant uptick in approval from gains in housing, jobs and the stock market. Likewise, he has so far seen no downtick from the recent storms over the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS and a leak investigation that has swept up the phone records of Associated Press journalists.

Debt limit resets at higher level, budget impasse grinds on

May 20, 2013 22:15
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government added $306 billion in new debt during a four-month suspension of the federal borrowing limit, the Treasury Department said on Monday, but there was no sign on Capitol Hill of any movement toward a budget compromise. As of Friday, the last business day before the debt limit was officially reset on Sunday, the Treasury said in its daily statement that U.S. debt subject to the limit was $16.7 trillion, compared to $16.394 trillion prior to the suspension in February.

US Treasury: no impact from debt cap before Sept

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 14:01
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said on Friday that the government would not feel the pinch from a cap on debt before September, as net new borrowings were to halt this weekend. "Extraordinary measures" to sustain the government without being forced to slash spending or default on the debt due to the borrowing limit "will not be exhausted until after Labor Day," or September 2, Lew told Congress.

House GOP pushes full repeal of Obama's health care law - 37th vote to scale back or kill it

The Canadian PressMay 16, 2013 18:46
WASHINGTON - One more time, with feeling! The Republican-led House voted yet again Thursday to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, knowing full well that won't stop it. Only months away from the rollout of coverage for uninsured Americans, it was the 37th attempt in a little more than two years by House Republicans to eliminate, defund or partly scale back the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic-led Senate and the president will simply ignore the House action, which came on a virtual party line vote, 229-195.

US House speaker: 'Who's going to jail' over IRS scandal?

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 13:53
US House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he wants someone to go to jail over the IRS's targeting of political groups, as his Republicans blasted the Obama administration's "culture of rot and abuse." The Internal Revenue Service acknowledged in an inspector general's report that its agents used "inappropriate" political criteria when probing conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, and that lax management allowed the abuse to continue for 18 months.

Battle over immigration bill starts in Congress

May 15, 2013 12:33
By Caren Bohan and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress this week opens its first debate in six years on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, testing whether business and labor groups can hold together on a delicately crafted deal that already is under attack. For 11 million illegal residents, the legislation in the Senate is their best hope of removing the threat of deportation and charting a path to eventual U.S. citizenship after a major push in Congress to reform a 1986 law died in 2007.

GOP leaders say they won't name candidates to health care advisory board

The Canadian PressMay 9, 2013 14:01
WASHINGTON - House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act.

Personality-driven House race plays well for Colbert Busch

May 9, 2013 03:58
By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - In a House race where personalities have overshadowed politics, Democratic Party newcomer Elizabeth Colbert Busch's message often has been lost in the din. The first-time candidate has tried to present herself as strong on jobs and education while opponents accuse her of cashing in on the celebrity of her well-known brother, TV political satirist Stephen Colbert.

Golfing with Obama, Republican senator scores hole-in-one

May 9, 2013 03:55
By Roberta Rampton and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took his second-term "schmooze offensive" to the golf course on Monday, bonding in a bipartisan foursome as Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss hit a hole-in-one. Obama, an avid golfer with a respectable 17 handicap, rarely takes politics to the greens, preferring instead to golf with friends and staffers far out of the sight of the reporters who travel with him.

House passes bill to prioritize US payments to bondholders and Social Security recipients

The Canadian PressMay 9, 2013 03:27
WASHINGTON - The GOP-controlled House voted Thursday to make sure U.S. bondholders and people on Social Security get paid if the government hits its borrowing limit. The move comes as Republicans grapple with the hot-potato issue of raising the government's borrowing limit later this year, one of the few must-do items on a dysfunctional Washington's agenda this year. The legislation is a nonstarter with Democrats controlling the rest of Washington and is likely to be an afterthought when the debt limit debate turn serious this summer or fall.
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