Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Republicans to Block Obama Consumer Financial Bureau Chief
Feb 4 2013 // U.S. Senate Republicans on Friday pledged to block President Barack Obama’s choice to lead the consumer finance watchdog until Democrats agree to restructure it, ramping up an expected fight this year over the...
Washington Senate Delays Vote On Workers’ Compensation Bills
Feb 1 2013 // The Washington state Senate on Wednesday passed its first bills of the 2013 legislative session, but put off a vote on a set of contentious measures intended to save businesses money by changing workers’ compensation...
Florida Senate Democrats to Oppose Property Insurance Rate Hikes
Jan 31 2013 // With Florida lawmakers expected to consider formal changes to the state’s property insurance market next week, state Democrats are signaling that they will likely oppose any measure that results in higher...
Florida Senate to Unveil Property Insurance Reforms
Jan 31 2013 // Florida lawmakers are planning next week to release a draft version of a property insurance reform bill. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee has taken the lead on property insurance reform this year and so far has...
Senate Passes $50 Billion Sandy Aid Package; Bill Goes to Obama
Jan 28 2013 // A long-delayed $50.5 billion aid package for victims of Superstorm Sandy cleared the Senate on Monday, three months after the storm destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in coastal New York,...
Florida Too Slow with Obamacare Regulations, Say Democrats
Jan 28 2013 // Florida Democrats expressed frustration with state insurance regulators Friday, accusing them of dragging their feet on drafting policies to comply with the new federal health overhaul. For nearly two years after the...
Washington Senate Panel Considers Workers’ Compensation Bills
Jan 25 2013 // The GOP-led Washington state Senate Commerce and Labor Committee this week was scheduled to consider five bills intended to save businesses money by changing workers’ compensation rules. Proponents say the measures,...
House Sends $50.5 Billion Sandy Disaster Aid Bill to Senate
Jan 15 2013 // The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved $50.5 billion in long-delayed federal disaster aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy, but not before Republicans flexed their budget-cutting muscle to strike some spending...
Obama Administration Urges Congress to Pass Farm, Crop Insurance Bill
Jan 15 2013 // Congress should reform U.S. farm subsidies, and end a $5 billion a year “direct payment,” as part of delivering an overdue overhaul of the farm program this year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on...
House, Senate OK $9.7B More for Flood Insurance Claims
Jan 4 2013 // The House of Representatives voted today 354-67 to increase the borrowing authority of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by $9.7 billion. The Senate, which already approved a similar increase but as part of a...
House Republicans Look to Split $60B Sandy Aid Bill in Half
Jan 1 2013 // The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to split a $60.4 billion Superstorm Sandy disaster aid bill into two parts, staging votes on $27 billion to fund immediate recovery needs and $33 billion for long-term and...
Senate Passes Sandy Disaster Aid, Flood Insurance Increase
Dec 31 2012 // The Senate on Friday approved a $60.4 billion supplemental package to provide additional aid for northeast states hit by Superstorm Sandy that includes an increase in the borrowing authority of the federal flood insurance...
Missouri Republicans to Tackle Workers’ Compensation
Dec 28 2012 // Nearly two dozen years after Monroe Gunter retired from a long career at a Missouri power company, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer often caused by exposure to asbestos. Gunter sued his former employer, claiming...
Senate Republicans Move to Cut Sandy Aid to $24 Billion
Dec 20 2012 // U.S. Senate Republicans sought to slash a $60.4 billion aid bill to cover reconstruction after Superstorm Sandy, proposing on Wednesday to fund only $23.8 billion in immediate disaster relief while assessing longer-term...
Senate Begins Debating $60 Billion Sandy Relief Bill
Dec 19 2012 // The U.S. Senate on Monday began debating a $60.4 billion aid bill to rebuild communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy amid criticism by conservative groups who said the measure was loaded with wasteful, non-disaster...
Senate Deals Blow to Bank Deposit Insurance
Dec 14 2012 // Efforts by small banks to protect a financial crisis-era deposit insurance program suffered a significant setback on Thursday when a bill to extend the program failed to survive a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate. The...
Senate Debates Renewal of Federal Deposit Insurance But House May Balk
Dec 11 2012 // The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to begin debating a bill that would keep a financial crisis-era deposit insurance program in place for two more years, but it will likely face strong opposition from the...
Florida’s Ex-Republican Governor Crist Eyes Return as Democrat
Dec 10 2012 // Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state’s chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, has announced that he’s switching to the...
Time Running Out for Senate on Farm, Crop Insurance Bill
Dec 7 2012 // With a week left to act, agricultural leaders in Congress are still deadlocked on two major issues for a new U.S. farm bill, cuts in crop subsidies and reductions in food stamps, said two of the four key negotiators on...
US Senate OK’s Russia Trade w/ Human Rights Bill; Angry Russian Reaction
Dec 7 2012 // The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved legislation to punish Russian human rights violators as part of a broader bill to expand U.S. trade with Washington’s former Cold War enemy. Passage of the bill, by a 92-4 vote,...
