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Johnny Isakson: 2-year budget would prevent this mess

WASHINGTON -- On Shutdown Day 7, Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson took to the Senate floor (video here) to pitch his bill for a two-year-budget as a way to avoid this kind of morass. Contained within Isakson's paean to "regular order" -- the long-forgotten method by which Congress passed a ...

No sign of deal to end budget impasse

As the federal government shutdown rolled through the weekend, there were no signs either party was giving in, as lawmakers in the Congress and the White House traded more shots over who is to blame for the ongoing budget impasse. Republicans in the House plan to push through more mini-funding ...

White House scraps Obama trip to Asia

The budget impasse that has led to a government shutdown has forced President Obama to cancel a scheduled trip to Asia, as the White House announced Thursday night that visits to Indonesia and Brunei would be canceled, as Secretary of State John Kerry will instead lead the U.S. delegation. "The ...

No path right now to a shutdown deal

Even before Congressional leaders went to the White House on Wednesday afternoon, there didn't seem to be any easy way to end the legislative standoff in Washington, D.C. that has resulted in a government shutdown. And when you talk to Republicans in the Congress, you get the feeling they don't ...

Shutdown: Day Two

As the sun rose in Washington, D.C. on a second day of a government shutdown, the White House announced that President Obama would cancel stops in Malaysia and the Philippines, shortening a trip to Asia scheduled for next week, as the political fallout continues over a government shutdown. Down the ...

Congress stumbles into a shutdown

It was a quiet group of lawmakers who left the floor of the House just before 1:30 am after a very long Monday at work. There was little in the way of chest thumping or back slapping amongst Republicans who had forced their leadership into a round of legislative chicken ...

Shutdown a-comin', but troops will be paid

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate today cast aside a House-passed spending bill that included a one-year delay of the new health care law, and the House geared up for another broadside against the law tonight -- delaying its mandate that everyone buy health insurance. In short, we're all but guaranteed ...

The budget mess in Congress

As we count down to midnight Monday night and a possible government shutdown, remember that we are fighting over how to fund the government for only a few months. Not for a full fiscal year, but just until mid-October under a funding plan from Democrats and to mid-November from the ...

David Scott to GOP: 'The people elected President Obama -- and you hate that'

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives has sent a stopgap spending bill to the Senate, attaching a one-year delay of Obamacare and a repeal of the law's tax on medical devices. The House version of "Saturday Night Live" wrapped up just after midnight and included a unanimous vote to ...

Weekend of work ahead for Congress

As expected, the Senate on Friday approved a stop gap budget plan from Democrats that dropped Republican efforts to block money for the Obama health law, as a deal to avoid a government shutdown remained elusive in the halls of Congress. "I don't know of anyone who wants to shutdown ...

Tom Graves rallying conservatives behind one-year Obamacare delay

Updated 5:30 p.m. WASHINGTON -- With the continuing resolution ball back in the House's court, where leaders lack any clear strategy, Rep. Tom Graves of Ranger is drumming up conservative backing for his own amendment that would delay Obamacare for one year. The amendment has yielded 61 co-sponsors so far, ...

Your Daily Jolt: Tune in for the shutdown countdown

This week is turning CSPAN-2 into must-see TV. In honor of today's binge-watching culture, we had a 21-hour Ted Cruz marathon on the Senate floor the other day, with a side of Green Eggs and Ham. And Thursday afternoon, in honor of the proliferation of debate shows, Cruz battled Tennessee ...

GOP divisions spill onto Senate floor

There is nothing new about sharp debate on the House and Senate floor. Usually though, it is between members of different parties. But on Thursday afternoon, the divisions among Republicans were showcased for all to see in an internal battle over a plan to fund the government. Reporters have been ...

Senate moves to speed up budget debate

Looking for a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Senators agreed Wednesday night to officially start debate on a House-passed bill to fund the government, as Democrats offered a plan that would not include language to block funding for the Obama health law. "We’ll be back tomorrow hoping that we ...

Senate takes first step on stop-gap budget

Despite sharp divisions over the best way to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate voted 100-0 on the first procedural vote related to a House-passed stop gap budget bill that would both keep the government running into mid-December and block money for the Obama health law. The vote came an ...

Feds roll out cost details on health insurance

With the clock ticking to open enrollment next week for those who need to buy health insurance, the Obama Administration today released detailed figures on how much it will cost to buy insurance in the new Obama health law exchanges. "Premiums before tax credits will be more than 16 percent ...

Cruz starts making records for Senate speech

After taking the floor at 2:41 pm on Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke through the night on the Senate floor, and just before sunrise in Washington, D.C., the effort now has given him the fifth longest speech in Senate history. With help from a series of Senators through ...

Johnny Isakson, Saxby Chambliss won't back Ted Cruz 'defund' filibuster

WASHINGTON -- Georgia Republican U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss will back a procedural vote Wednesday on a bill to extend government spending into December, spurning the "defund Obamacare" charge led by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The Cruz effort has tied itself into a knot: He is urging ...

Senate staffers told to delay health law signup

With the start of open enrollment just one week away on October 1, staffers in the U.S. Senate are being told to hold off on signing up for health insurance coverage, as details of their coverage plan still hasn't been finalized by federal officials. "IMPORTANT Health Insurance Information," was the ...

Some talk of avoiding government shutdown

Even as the start of the work week in the Senate featured sharp exchanges and calls for action by both political parties, the seeds of a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown began to take shape - but was by no means a guarantee. "In the course of the ...

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