Topic: Pat Toomey

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Could 'fiscal cliff' push US into recession? Four questions answered.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned in a report Tuesday that if Congress does not deal with a raft of fiscal measures by Dec. 31, the US could enter another recession. So what is this fiscal cliff and what is Congress doing about it?

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Surveillance court to declassify documents in 2008 Yahoo case

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will declassify a 2008 court case in which Yahoo protested the government's collection of its users' data.
Gun vote backlash: Five senators who said 'no' see ratings plunge

Approval ratings have plummeted for five senators who voted against expanded background checks for gun buyers, says a PPP survey. But only one is up for reelection in 2014. Will it still matter in 2016 or 2018?
'Shame on you!' Gun vote shamed by Obama, Giffords, Maisch

'Shame' was the word of the day after the U.S. Senate failed to pass gun control legislation yesterday. A spectator in the gallery yelled out 'Shame on you!' while President Obama referred to the vote as 'pretty shameful' and Rep. Gabby Giffords wrote 'Shame on them' in an op-ed about the senators.
Senate's failure to pass meaningful gun control 'shameful,' Obama says (+video)

The Senate on Wednesday failed to get the 60 votes necessary to pass a bipartisan bill that would have expanded gun-control background checks to gun shows and Internet sales.
Decoder Wire Four reasons the Senate gun control bill may be kaput

The Senate is slated to vote Wednesday on nine gun control provisions, but prospects for passage for several – including expanding background checks to more gun buyers – look dim. Here's why.
Monitor Breakfast Mark Kelly on gun control bill: 'We do have a problem' with many senators

The husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an advocate of stricter gun laws, warned a fellow Arizonan of repercussions at the ballot box if he votes against a gun control measure to expand background checks. A lot of senators, said Mark Kelly, want a reason 'to get to no.'
Is the National Rifle Association beginning to lose its clout? (+video)

A major gun rights group has announced its support for a compromise Senate measure that would expand background checks on gun buyers. The National Rifle Association continues to oppose such checks even though most NRA members support them.
Senate ends gun control filibuster, but GOP still skeptical of bill

In a bipartisan vote Thursday, the Senate voted to override a filibuster and proceed with debate on a package of gun control bills. But support for debate doesn't mean support for the bill.
Gun background checks: How would Senate proposal work, exactly? (+video)

The Senate gun proposal extends background checks to purchases made at gun shows or online, but it doesn't affect sales to 'friends' or 'neighbors,' and it 'bans' creation of a national registry of gun owners.
Bipartisan deal on background checks: Biggest gun control win yet?

Two senators announced a bipartisan deal on a gun control bill that would expand background checks. Its passage is hardly assured, but just the compromise is significant.
Opinion Senate deal on background checks aside, outdated tracing system hurts gun control

Though Sens. Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey have reached a deal on background checks, a key piece of the White House’s gun control plan is still at risk of failure. The federal government is using 1960s era technology to trace guns used in crimes. The system must be updated.
Will Senate vote on gun control? Untangling the politics of filibusters (+video)

The Senate will hold a vote on gun control legislation Thursday – but it's only to break a filibuster and allow debate to proceed. Will the bill actually become law? That's a different question.
USA Update Newtown family members entreat Congress over need for gun controls

Family members of the children and educators killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting are on Capitol Hill Tuesday, lobbying on behalf of Obama's push for gun control legislation.
Sandy Hook families on Air Force One: why it matters

In an unusual move, 11 family members of Sandy Hook victims will fly with President Obama back to Washington on Air Force One so they can lobby Congress on gun control.
To Republicans, Margaret Thatcher was first conservative-as-insurgent

Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister, embodied much of what inspires US Republicans with her iron-willed stand on the effectiveness of conservative principles.
Why Republicans think Obama's back is against the wall on 'sequester'

President Obama has spent the past week trying to put Republicans on the defensive over the sequester. But many Republicans believe the pressure is on him.
Ben Bernanke: Bring down the federal debt, don't just 'stabilize' it

Reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio is the most important long-term fiscal policy for the US, said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke during his semiannual report to Congress.
Decoder Wire Karl Rove takes on the tea party. Is a GOP civil war looming?

GOP strategist Karl Rove launches a group to back candidates it sees as most electable, reports say. Tea party groups and others are crying foul.
Decoder Wire Republicans talk up a 'government shutdown.' Do they mean it?

With a series of fiscal deadlines approaching, some Republicans in Congress say they're ready to shut down the government to get real spending cuts, a reprise of the famous shutdowns of 1995.
Why did Sen. Jim DeMint quit the Senate? (+video)

Tea party hero Sen. Jim DeMint will head the conservative Heritage think tank, and some say freedom from party politics could make him an even bigger player on the right.
Longtime GOP Senate moderate Arlen Specter bucked his party

A political moderate, Arlen Specter was swept into the Senate in the Reagan landslide of 1980. But the former Democrat was not shy about bucking fellow Republicans.
For a moment, at least, presidential campaigns get back to issues

On the Sunday TV talk shows, presidential campaign surrogates of both parties zeroed in on Medicare. But inevitably, Mitt Romney's so-far unreleased tax returns came up too.
Ted Cruz, pulling an upset, is poised to boost tea party ranks in Senate

Ted Cruz, the new darling of the tea party, easily won his primary runoff against Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and is favored to win in November. He could become a spokesman for no-compromise conservatives.
Fiscal cliff: Will GOP put taxes on the table to avoid blow to economy?

In a bid to blunt attacks by Democrats, Sen. Pat Toomey reprises his 2011 offer of a GOP tax hike. Republicans, he says, are not determined to protect the wealthy at all costs and tax hikes could be part of a deal.
Senators push Bernanke: Was Fed asleep in the LIBOR rate scandal?

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was questioned by senators Tuesday about the central bank's role in the LIBOR rate-setting scandal. He said the Fed had pushed for reform of the rate setting process in 2008 when it became concerned about manipulation of the influential benchmark.