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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.

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.

Congress OKs stopgap, broader budget battle begins

March 22, 2013 01:46
American lawmakers averted a feared government shutdown by approving a stopgap spending bill, but heated debate over future federal spending took shape as they clashed over budget plans. A trio of key votes bookended the action in Congress Wednesday ahead of a two-week congressional recess, the most urgent one being on the so-called continuing resolution, a $1.2 trillion appropriations measure that will keep the doors of federal agencies open through September, the end of the fiscal year.

Congress OKs stopgap, broader budget battle begins

March 21, 2013 22:15
US lawmakers approved a funding stopgap Thursday that prevents a government shutdown, but their clash over budget blueprints signaled a contentious debate over the future of federal spending. A trio of key votes bookended the action in Congress ahead of a two-week congressional recess, the most urgent one being on the so-called continuing resolution, a $1.2 trillion appropriations measure that will keep the doors of federal agencies open through September, the end of the fiscal year.

Congress OKs budget stopgap, broader battle begins

March 21, 2013 17:31
US lawmakers approved a funding stopgap on Thursday to keep the US government operating through September and took a step towards adopting a blueprint for a decade of budget austerity. The two votes came in rapid-fire succession in the House of Representatives ahead of a two-week congressional recess. The more urgent vote was the so-called continuing resolution, or CR, a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill that will keep the doors of federal agencies open through the remainder of the fiscal year.

US immigration deal gains steam on Capitol Hill

March 20, 2013 17:16
Lawmakers from both sides of the US political divide expressed optimism this week about striking a deal on immigration reform in 2013, but a potential pathway to citizenship remains a hurdle. Senator Rand Paul became the latest Republican since his party's November election drubbing, when more than 70 percent of Hispanic voters supported Democratic President Barack Obama, to call for a comprehensive plan that brings 11 million undocumented migrants out of the shadows toward legalized status.

Boehner backs bipartisan action on immigration reform

March 19, 2013 17:45
Washington, Mar 19 (EFE).- House Speaker John Boehner gave his support Tuesday for a provisional plan for U.S. immigration reform, to be worked on by a bipartisan group of eight House members. "Last week the senior leaders met with our four members, who've been meeting with four Democrats now for over four years. And they're essentially in agreement over how to proceed," the Ohio Republican told a press conference. The provisional plan of the bipartisan group is "a pretty responsible solution" to the immigration problem in the United States, Boehner said.

U.S. budget cuts end White House tours, but not finger-pointing

March 9, 2013 02:15
* Tours suspended until further notice * Required by budget cuts - Obama spokesman * Tours of the Capitol will continue By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The sixth-grade class at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Waverly, Iowa, sent a message this week that was heard in the White House briefing room. "The White House is our house," the class said in a video posted on Facebook. "Please let us visit."

White House regrets canceling guided tours due to sequester

March 8, 2013 13:31
Washington, Mar 8 (EFE).- The White House regretted having to cancel the public's access to guided tours of the presidential mansion due to the $85 billion in cutbacks that took effect last week as part of the so-called sequester, and blamed it on Congress. "And we are obviously disappointed about that kind of decision, but it would have been far better, in our view, if Congress had taken action to delay the sequester," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in response to a question at his daily press briefing.

Boehner warns Senate Democrats on U.S. government funding bill

March 7, 2013 14:00
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday warned Senate Democrats against making big changes to a House-passed government funding measure, or Republicans may strip the flexibility it gives for applying military spending cuts. The Republican-controlled House on Wednesday passed a stop-gap bill to keep government agencies and programs, including defense, funded through Sept. 30, largely with Democratic support. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to vote on similar legislation next week.
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