Free Republic

When President Barack Obama offers his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, it will mark exactly 1,000 days since the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate has passed a budget. The Senate has not bothered to pass a budget since April 29, 2009. “The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the Paul Ryan budget that reduced Obama’s spending levels by six trillion dollars over the next decade. The Democrat-controlled Senate has not passed a budget in three years," said Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. "When President Obama tries to blame a ‘do nothing’ congress for his problems….he is half right. The...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Nevada Senator Harry Reid discussed how Republican obstruction is costing Nevadans thousands of jobs following last night’s vote where they blocked the American Jobs Act, which would have helped struggling families and small businesses in Nevada by putting people back to work. “In spite of Nevadans demanding action on job creation, all we are getting from Washington Republicans is obstruction and stall tactics to score political points,” said Reid. “The time is long past for both parties to come together to create jobs in Nevada by helping small businesses hire workers; rebuilding our roads, bridges and...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Monday night to send a temporary spending bill to the House to avoid a government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans appeared to have reached a final-hour resolution to an impasse over disaster aid. The vote in the Senate was 79 to 12 to fund the government through Nov. 18, giving the two sides more time to haggle over long-term spending levels. The Senate also approved an even shorter-term spending bill -- funding the government into next week -- by a voice vote to give the House time to reconvene and approve the followup legislation.<snip>"Senate Democrats have...

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s unemployment rate jumped to 11.1 percent in June, up from 10.8 percent in May and the first time in nearly 26 years that the rate has topped 11 percent. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released the rate on Friday, July 17. “Ohio’s labor market continued to weaken in June,” Douglas Lumpkin, ODJFS director, said in a press release. “Significant job losses in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries led to an increase in the unemployment rate to 11 .1 percent. The state’s nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 33,000 over the month, from 5,133,200...

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - When Jim Clymer announced on Monday that he was going to be on the ballot for U.S. Senate this Nov. 2, a lot of Republicans groaned. They worry that Clymer, who ran a strong but unsuccessful campaign for Lancaster County commissioner in 2003, will doom Republican Sen. Arlen Specter’s chance to win re-election. A conservative, third-party candidate such as Clymer, of the Constitution Party, will siphon votes from Specter and benefit Democrat Joe Hoeffel, they believe. And a Hoeffel victory could tip the Senate’s balance of power in favor of the Democrats. The Democrats think so...