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Insider says Obama administration 'sent a message' to black Democratic lawmakers that they should skip Netanyahu speech to Congress, as Biden says he'll be a no-show **SNIP** That disapproval apparently was orchestrated, or at least strongly encouraged, by the White House through comamunications with lawmakers connected to the Congressional Black Caucus. 'I'm not saying the president called anyone personally,' a current White House staffer told Daily Mail Online. 'But yeah, the White House sent a message to some at the CBC that they should suddenly be very upset about the speech.' The source said it was a 'back-channel' arrangement that...

Vice President Joe Biden will not be attending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before a joint session of Congress next month, news agencies reported. A statement released by aides to Biden, who is usually in his seat whenever a foreign leader addresses the legislature by dint of his position as president of the Senate, indicated that the vice president will be traveling abroad during the speech. "We are not ready to announce details of his trip yet, and normally our office wouldn't announce this early, but the planning process has been underway for a while," an official in the vice...

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., wants to know why members of Congress and their staff are exempted from Obamacare. “Washington insiders should be forced to live under Obamacare just like the rest of America without a special taxpayer funded subsidy,” says @DavidVitter Vitter, who launched an investigation this week, said in a statement that “false information may have been filed with the D.C. Health Benefits Exchange to allow Congress to be exempt from [the] Obamacare exchange.” The chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee cited a court filing obtained by Judicial Watch that admits Congress—with more than 16,000 employees—doesn’t fit...

I am a member of Congress. I'm not going to tell you from where, or from which party. But I serve, and I am honored to serve. I serve with good people (and some less good ones), and we try to do our best. e.g.: 5) "We don't have a Congress but a parliament "Over the last several decades, party loyalty has increased to near-unanimity. If a member of Congress doesn't vote with his or her party 99 percent of the time, he's considered unreliable and excluded from party decision-making. "Gone are the days when you were expected to vote...

Pope Francis will address a joint session of Congress during his September visit to the U.S., House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday. Mr. Boehner said the speech, slated for Sept. 24, is the first time a pope will have spoken to Congress.

This week, President Obama released his budget for fiscal year 2016. It reflected much of what he had laid out in his State of the Union Speech, where he faced the recently elected members of the 114th Congress. Others might have paused first to consider the implications of the mid-term elections in which Republicans won big: They increased their control of the House and regained control of the Senate. But Obama, who had 90 fewer elected Democrats in his audience than has any other Democratic president in the past 90 years (246 of the 435 representatives and 54 of the...

Vice President Joe Biden won’t commit to attending Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress next month. He’s not the only one. Dozens of House Democrats are privately threatening to skip the March 3 address, according to lawmakers and aides, in in what’s become the lowest point of a relationship between the Israeli prime minister and President Barack Obama that’s never been good. Democrats have had to balance publicly supporting Israel with backing Obama, who’s trying to close a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programs over vehement opposition from Netanyahu, who has expressed concerns that the...

The headline in one Washington newspaper read: “Senate Dems block legislation reversing immigration actions.” That’s one way to see it. A more accurate headline would have been: “Senate Democrats block debate over legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security.” The latter is exactly what all 45 Senate Democrats did earlier this week when they voted against “the motion to proceed” ... Democrats have clearly decided their only hope of winning this battle is to frame the GOP as the obstructionist party as long as the media will let them get away with it. And so far they have...

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem --- February 4, 2015 ... A newly released report at Politico says “some House Democrats are privately threatening to skip” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s March 3 address, while US Vice President Joe Biden has yet to confirm his attendance. They might want to rethink their position, as a new Rasmussen poll finds considerable public support for Netanyahu’s speech. According to Rasmussen, voters support Netanyahu’s address to Congress over the objections of President Obama by a margin of 52 to 25%, with 23% undecided. The poll also found 44% of voters worried that relations...

Three House Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday in voting against a bill that would repeal President Obama’s health care law. Illinois Rep. Robert Dold, New York Rep. John Katko and Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin all voted against the legislation which guts Obamacare while calling for a conservative replacement. “Casting yet another symbolic vote for full repeal of the law, without any replacement legislation, simply distracts us from the work that must be done to drive costs down, restore access to care and make healthcare work for everyone,” Dold said after the vote. Added the congressman: “The people of the 10th...

The House Freedom Caucus is only a few weeks old, but some members say the new conservative faction is already pulling the House Republican Conference to the right. Before the HFC convened a single meeting, it so complicated the GOP debate on a proposed border security bill that leadership eventually had to pull the measure from the floor. But even more than a formalized “hell no” caucus that can thwart GOP leadership’s most moderate plans, the HFC could be a springboard for a new conservative leader — even if that’s not the group’s intention. (snip) It’s an early bit of...

Members of the House Armed Services Committee met with Jordan's King Abdullah Tuesday not long after news broke that ISIS had burned to death a Jordanian pilot captured in the fight against the terrorist group. In a private session with lawmakers, the king showed an extraordinary measure of anger — anger which he expressed by citing American movie icon Clint Eastwood.

The House Freedom Caucus is only a few weeks old, but some members say the new conservative faction is already pulling the House Republican Conference to the right. Before the HFC convened a single meeting, it so complicated the GOP debate on a proposed border security bill that leadership eventually had to pull the measure from the floor. But even more than a formalized “hell no” caucus that can thwart GOP leadership’s most moderate plans, the HFC could be a springboard for a new conservative leader — even if that’s not the group’s intention. “I don’t look for any springboards,”...

The US officially adopted the federal income tax 102 years ago today. The Supreme Court had ruled in 1895 that the income tax violated Article I of the Constitution, so the amendment was necessary to empower the federal government to impose the income tax. But the story of the income tax goes back much further than 1913, culminating in some sneaky political maneuvering. Conservatives — who aren't the biggest fans of the income tax — actually introduced the 16th amendment. They figured it would never pass hoped its introduction would stop liberals from pushing for an income tax as part...

Editor's note: Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) coauthored this piece. Today, the House of Representatives will vote to fully repeal ObamaCare - the first time that 58 of our newest Members will have a chance to go on the record regarding the law and the first full repeal vote since Republicans took control of the Senate. Today's vote fulfills a key commitment Republicans made to voters and is a result of the hard work of Republican Study Committee (RSC) Members, who pressed the House to act. Between now and April 15th, millions of Americans across the country will sit down at their kitchen...

There sure are a lot of Patriot haters and sore losers out there today. Including Big Guy.Never Won to miss an opportunity to stick his finger in the eye of the loyal opposition, Barry used the normally innocuous presidential half-time interview as an opportunity to spike his deflated balls.Barry’s Balls: Don’t touchWhen Savannah Guthrie asked BO if he was planning to take a more conciliatory approach with Congress now that the Republican are now in control of both houses his response was classic ball-spiker:  “My job is to present the right ideas, and if Republicans think they’ve got better ideas,...

correction appearing in the New York Times quietly unravels what has become a major story as phony agitprop, intended to discredit the leaders of Israel and the House of Representatives. Of course, the story is still believed by many, and has well served those in the White House and media who created and disseminated it. Omri Ceren spotted the correction and explained on Twitter: NYT tries to promote anti-Netanyahu talking point that #Israel blindsided Obama. They got just 1 tiny detail wrong.

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act may have been temporarily halted in Congress, but it’s full speed ahead in areas of the country where there’s less political red tape to slow it down. The new GOP-led Congress lost the chance to move forward lifesaving legislation last week that would ban abortions after five months. A third of the country has some form of this legislation, The Washington Examiner reports. The 5-month mark is a significant one, for that is the period at which unborn babies can feel pain. It’s a scientific fact. Thankfully, ten states acknowledged this and already have legislation in place...

Here are five reasons Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should politely decline House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to address a joint session of Congress: ● It’s inappropriate. It doesn’t matter what good allies the United States and Israel are, and it doesn’t matter how bad relations may be between Netanyahu and President Obama. Allies don’t go big-footing around in each other’s politics. It also doesn’t matter how worthy the cause. In 1793, when Citizen Genêt traveled through the United States, drumming up support for revolutionary France (and overtly violating President George Washington’s policy of U.S. neutrality), he no doubt thought...

US lawmakers propose PM move speech to joint session of Congress until after Israel election on March 17.WASHINGTON – Democrats in the House of Representatives are suggesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postpone his speech to a joint session of Congress until after the Israeli election on March 17. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said it was “not appropriate” for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to invite Netanyahu without first notifying the White House – a move that angered the Obama administration.Netanyahu is expected to advocate for a different policy on Iran that the president has thus far pursued. “Such...