Topic: Lamar Alexander
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Student loans: GOP filibuster blocks Senate move to freeze low rates
Student loans will cost more come July 1 unless Congress acts. While both parties say they support extending low rates on federally subsidized loans, election-year politics have intervened.
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A Congress with no room for Olympia Snowe and other centrists?
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine is the latest centrist to depart Congress. For several years now, the partisans have been staying and the moderates have been either losing or leaving.
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Rick Santorum sweater vest: 'What not to wear' or sleeveless genius?
Rick Santorum's sleeveless sweater vest has taken on a life of its own this week, even garnishing its own Twitter account. Candidates' sartorial choices many times take on special significance.
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Six days left: Slowly, for super committee, failure is becoming an option
Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on how much tax hikes should contribute to deficit reduction. The deadline for the super committee to reach a deal is next Wednesday.
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Tax VOX
A fix on the horizon for the online sales tax mess
The new measure would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes on all purchases, as long as the states first agree to simplify their sales tax rules. Remarkably, the idea has broad support in the business community and may actually pass.
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Senate vote: first step toward dismantling No Child Left Behind
A Senate panel votes to drop a signature provision of No Child Left Behind, the Bush-era education reform. The new law would eliminate the mandate for 'adequate yearly progress.'
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'Stimulus 2.0'? Senate rejects bid to revive parts of Obama jobs bill.
Senate Republicans and moderate Democrats blocked the first attempt by to pass a scaled-down version of the $447 billion Obama jobs bill, calling it a 'bailout.'
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Can new No Child Left Behind law pass before 2012 elections?
A new No Child Left Behind bill is finally getting a hearing in the Senate Wednesday – after three years of sitting in limbo. The bill has bipartisan support, and plenty of detractors.
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Senate to vote, again, on bill to fund government, disaster aid
The Senate is set to vote late Monday on a spending bill to keep government running. This one, like a version rejected Friday, does not resolve the sticking point: how to pay for new disaster aid.
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How one school district won prestigious prize for narrowing achievement gap
The 2011 Broad Prize for Urban Education went to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, which has narrowed the achievement gap for both African-American and Hispanic students.
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On the Economy
A first look at the Obama jobs plan
Will an estimated $300 billion in spending fix the economy?
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Debt ceiling: Why Sunday could be make-or-break day for 'grand bargain'
President Obama is pushing for a comprehensive deal to raise the debt ceiling and trim long-term deficits. But any big deal will require arm-twisting in Congress, and time is running out.
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Obama touts auto industry recovery while GOP asks 'What jobs?'
Obama says his administration took the right steps in preventing the auto industry from total collapse. But the US economy is slow to add jobs, and that's a major political target for Republicans.
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Bill to chop Big Oil's tax breaks falls short – but makes its point
Senate Republicans halt a bill that would take away multibillion-dollar tax breaks for oil companies. Wednesday, Democrats are expected stop a bill that would force Obama's hand on Gulf drilling permits. 'It’s summertime symbolic politics' in Washington.
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Sen. Jon Kyl retirement sets off two races: one in Arizona, another in D.C.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona announces his retirement, opening the door to candidates for his Senate seat as well as his position as the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.
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Vitriol in political rhetoric: Did it play a part in the Arizona shooting?
The Arizona shooting suspect has been called 'unstable,' and no motive has been identified. But did the vitriol that has been present in the debates over immigration and health care trigger the attack?
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Robert Reich
The real reason Republicans don't want the new START treaty
What's behind GOP opposition to START?
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The Vote
Senate ban on budget earmarks: Can it really work?
Pressure on senators to direct money to their states can be tremendous, whether it's done by budget earmarks or some other way. Appropriations bills are only one avenue to deliver the goods.
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How tea party senators stared down Mitch McConnell on earmark ban
Pressure from tea party-backed Republican freshmen senators led Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell to reverse course: He said Monday he would back an earmark ban.
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Global warming heats up a nuclear energy renaissance
Global warming and the BP oil spill have helped rehabilitate nuclear energy in the eyes of the public – and some environmentalists.
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Obama wants 'price' on carbon emissions. Republicans see 'tax.'
Putting a price on carbon emissions will help America reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels and speed the transition to clean energy, Obama told a bipartisan group of senators Tuesday. Republicans decried that idea as a tax that will hurt the economy.
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Robert Byrd: a zeal for preserving the Senate's power and civility
Sen. Robert Byrd, who died early Monday, had an unrivaled grasp of Senate procedure. He’ll also be remembered for the outsize share of federal dollars he won for his state, West Virginia.
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Senate bogs down on tax extenders and unemployment benefits
The bill would have extended tax credits and unemployment benefits, but it failed on a procedural vote. Many Republicans say they support the aims of the legislation, but they want to see more effort to cut spending.
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Senate Democrats to Obama on energy bill: Help us
Senate Democrats feel pressure to 'do something' on the long-stalled energy bill. The Gulf oil spill has widened the partisan divide. The White House will hold a bipartisan meeting Wednesday.
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Senate Republicans unmoved by Obama visit: 'We were props'
President Obama hoped to reach out to Senate Republicans in a meeting Tuesday. But 'we simply have a large difference of opinion,' one said.
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