Free Republic

Senate Democrats vented their frustrations over the faulty rollout of the Affordable Care Act in a meeting Thursday with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior officials. “There’s a lot of frustration, everywhere,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said after the meeting. McDonough tried to assure angry senators he is personally taking charge of the disparate federal offices in charge of implementing the massive law, which has been plagued by technical errors. “He gave us the impression that he’s taking charge of the different elements and cracking the whip. He said to let him know if we had...

<p>Long before the Internal Revenue Service revealed it had improperly targeted conservative 501(c)(4) groups, a group of Democratic senators led by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer urged the IRS to do just that.</p> <p>The IRS’s admission last Friday that it had singled out tea party and other groups for extra audits and delays has raised concerns that President Barack Obama’s administration quietly attempted to stymy opponents through intimidation. But many prominent Democrats — including Montana Sen. Max Baucus, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the New York Times editorial board — had been publicly calling for tighter restrictions on 501(c)(4) groups affiliated with the tea party and conservatives.</p>

WASHINGTON - Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and six other Democrats charged Tuesday that modern political campaigns - and democracy itself - are threatened by a pair of "awful" Supreme Court decisions that can only be fixed by changing the U.S. Constitution itself. The senators said during a news conference that adding a new provision to the Constitution is necessary if Congress wants to nullify a 1976 ruling that said campaign spending was the same as free speech and a 2010 ruling that removed all limits on campaign spending for special interests, corporations and labor unions. "In the mid-70s the activist...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, along with her colleagues Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Tom Harkin (D-IA), have introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to finally prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Senator Collins has long been a strong supporter of this legislation. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2011 would prohibit employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and joint labor-management committees from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against those employed or seeking employment, on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. Such protections are already in...

Senators demand explanation for Clinton’s remarksBy The Canadian Press Published: October 21, 2010 2:33 PM CALGARY — Two U.S. senators are demanding an explanation from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who last week suggested she was “inclined to” approve the controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. At a speaking engagement in San Francisco last Friday, Clinton was challenged on the State Department’s decision to approve Enbridge Inc.’s (TSX:ENB) Alberta Clipper pipeline, which ships oilsands crude to Wisconsin. Construction wrapped up on Alberta Clipper this spring. Clinton responded by saying a decision had yet to be made on another pipeline,...

Democrats are looking at the possibility of raising taxes on families below the $250,000-a-year threshold promised by President Barack Obama during the election. The majority party on Capitol Hill does not feel bound by that pledge, saying the threshold for tax hikes will depend on several factors, such as the revenue differences between setting the threshold at $200,000 and setting it at $250,000. “You could go lower, too — why not $200,000?” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). “With the debt and deficit we have, you can’t make promises to people. This is a very serious situation.” Sen. Byron Dorgan (N.D.),...

<p>U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., apparently persuaded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to add a provision to force construction businesses of five or more employees to provide insurance coverage or face hefty fines.</p>

Homeland Security: Provisions of the law that spared New York another 9/11 are set to expire Dec. 31. So why do Democrats want to gut this law and remove the immunity telecom companies have for helping protect America? To borrow a British expression from World War II, it was a very near thing. The capture, arrest and indictment of 24-year-old Afghan immigrant Najubullah Zazi before he could set off bombs made from store-bought chemicals prevented a tragedy of potentially devastating proportions. It wouldn't have happened if the critics of Patriot Act had their way. The capture of Zazi was made...