Tag: Olympia Snowe

The NewsHour on Wednesday tapped retiring moderate U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to discuss congressional dysfunction. Interviewed by Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill, the two provided a free-wheeling inside view of what has happened over the last couple of decades on the Hill. They touched on the roll played by the media, no-tax pledges, no-comprise candidate platforms and sacred-cow entitlement programs. They also offered suggestions on what they would do, if they could, to address the gridlock that poll after poll suggests is detested by the vast majority of American citizens.

Although the DREAM Act began its life a decade ago as a Republican proposal and has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, Republicans and key conservative...

In a last-ditch effort to salvage climate change legislation before the end of the year, the emphasis now is on a utility-only carbon cap...

Today, Congress plans to vote to extend unemployment benefits, which have been held up in the Senate for an unprecedented two months. Lawmakers will reconsider H.R. 4213, also known as the jobs bill or the extenders package, as the vehicle for a $34 billion extension of benefits — retroactive to June 2, when they lapsed, and continuing through the end of November.

WASHINGTON-- On Wednesday night, a bare-bones measure to keep federally funded unemployment insurance checks headed to the long-term unemployed failed in the Senate. Moderate Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine had signed on to vote for cloture on the $34 billion bill. But without Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who passed away earlier in the week, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — the majority leader who hails from the state with the worst unemployment rate in the country — once again found himself stuck at 59 votes. By the time Byrd’s replacement is in place, in mid-July, two million Americans will have lost their benefits, and the bill extending them will have languished for some 11 weeks.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is telling reporters today that he has won the votes of two Republicans for his extension of federal...

The U.S. Senate yesterday passed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act named for Matthew Shepard, the young man who died at a Fort Collins hospital...

Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) brings the heat on Twitter, offering one of what will be many friendly fire attacks on Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Got...

Taking a cue from Talking Points Memo, the Obama campaign put up an interactive map on Friday to track "some of the most toxic attacks" from the McCain campaign in the form of robocalls and printed material in Colorado and other battleground states.