Latest Politics Headlines

All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Oklahoma House Republicans Roll Out Their Workers’ Comp Reform Plan

Jan 15 2010 // Republicans in the Oklahoma House of Representative followed their counterparts in the state Senate on Jan. 14 by introducing their plan to overhaul Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system. Senate Republicans...

Congressional Pressure Builds to Disclose AIG Payments to Banks

Jan 13 2010 // U.S. lawmakers moved Tuesday to force release of documents that may show whether the New York Federal Reserve pressured insurer AIG to limit discussions about payments to banks when current Treasury Secretary Geithner led...

House, Senate Democrats Struggle to Find Healthcare Compromise

Jan 13 2010 // Democrats in the House struggled Tuesday to find common ground with the Senate on how to pay for a healthcare reform bill, with the differences over taxes emerging as the biggest stumbling block to a quick deal. Returning...

Former State Rep. Ausley, Democrat, to Run for Florida CFO Post

Jan 13 2010 // Former state Rep. Loranne Ausley is running for chief financial officer. Ausley is the only major Democrat now seeking the seat Alex Sink is giving up to run for governor. Ausley, 46, of Tallahassee served in the House for...

Restructuring Workers’ Comp Among Goals for Oklahoma Senate GOP

Jan 13 2010 // Reforming Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system will be among state Senate Republicans’ top legislative goals for 2010. Republicans, who enjoy a majority in the Oklahoma Senate, are led by Senate...

Democrats Optimistic on Health Care Bill Prospect

Jan 6 2010 // House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she was sure Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate would produce a final health care reform plan that would hold insurers accountable and make medical coverage...

Key Differences in Senate, House Health Bills

Jan 6 2010 // Democrats in the U.S. Congress are preparing to merge the two health care bills passed in 2009 by the Senate and House of Representatives into a single bill. This compromise bill would have to be passed by both chambers of...

Michigan Auto Insurance Bills Stall As Senate Adjourns Without Acting

Dec 28 2009 // The Michigan Senate adjourned before Christmas without taking action on a property/casualty insurance bill package already passed by the House of Representatives. The package would, among other things, give the insurance...

Health Bill Passes Key Senate Vote

Dec 21 2009 // A broad healthcare overhaul passed its first crucial test in the Senate Monday, with 60 Democrats voting to put President Barack Obama’s top legislative priority on a path to passage by Christmas. In a...

What Senate Health Bill Would Do

Dec 21 2009 // A sweeping healthcare reform bill appears headed for passage in the U.S. Senate after surviving a test vote early Monday morning. The bill has been criticized by some liberals who complain that without a new government...

Medicare Expansion May Not Survive in Senate Healthcare Bill

Dec 15 2009 // U.S. Senate Democrats struggled Monday to agree on a broad healthcare overhaul and said a compromise plan to allow an expansion of the Medicare health program for the elderly would likely be dropped. After a meeting to...

Michigan House, Senate Pass Bills Banning Texting While Driving

Dec 10 2009 // The Michigan House has voted to prohibit the use of cell phones to send text messages while driving. The main bill in the package passed the House by a 94-13 vote Tuesday. A similar measure passed a Senate committee...

Democrats Weigh Replacing Public Option, Expanding Medicare

Dec 9 2009 // U.S. Senate Democratic healthcare negotiators said they agreed Tuesday to replace a government-run insurance option with a scaled-back non-profit plan and would seek cost estimates on the deal. “We have a broad...

How House, Senate Health Care Bills Compare

Dec 6 2009 // The federal health care legislation released by the U.S. Senate’s Democratic leaders on Nov. 18 resembles a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 7 in many ways but there are some major differences...

House Extends Estate Tax But Senate Likely to Change

Dec 4 2009 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed a permanent extension of the federal estate tax on Thursday, but the measure, which taxes estates at rate of 45 percent after exempting the first $3.5 million, is likely to be...

Winners, Losers in Senate Health Bill

Nov 23 2009 // Democrats in the Senate cleared the first procedural hurdle for sweeping healthcare reform Saturday by voting to open debate on the historic legislation. The Senate debate due to start on Nov. 30 is expected to last for at...

U.S. Senate Gears Up for First Key Healthcare Reform Vote

Nov 20 2009 // Democrats in the U.S. Senate geared up for a fierce battle over a new healthcare reform plan Thursday as Republicans condemned the bill’s price tag and tax hikes before the first crucial test vote Saturday. Senate...

House, Senate Healthcare Bills Have Major Differences

Nov 19 2009 // The healthcare legislation released by the Senate’s Democratic leaders Wednesday resembles a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 7 in many ways but there are some major differences between the...

Insurance Agent Seeks GOP Nod in Pennsylvania Congressional Race

Nov 17 2009 // An insurance agent from Meadville, Pennsylvania says he’ll seek the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District in northwestern Pennsylvania. Fifty-one-year-old Steven Fisher says he’ll challenge...

Senate Financial Regulation Bill Hikes Credit Rating Firms’ Liability

Nov 16 2009 // Credit rating agencies, accused of assigning top ratings to shoddy securities, would be exposed to greater liability under a wide-ranging financial services reform bill released by a leading U.S. senator. The draft bill...