Topic: Tom Harkin
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Top 10 senators seeking earmarks
The omnibus spending bill died Thursday in the Senate amid controversy over the practice of earmarking, or inserting funding for pet projects into legislation. Here are the senators who sought the most spending for their states, ranked by the monetary value of proposed earmarks, whether alone or with others.
All Content
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In 'fiscal cliff' deal, Joe Biden upstages President Obama (+ video)
With 'fiscal cliff' talks teetering, Vice President Joe Biden – a former longtime senator – stepped in to broker a deal with his old colleagues and and stave off big tax hikes for most Americans.
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Decoder Wire
What counts as a tax hike? Not Boehner 'fallback' plan, says antitax groupLawmakers who vote to let tax cuts lapse for millionaires would not be violating an antitax pledge, says a group led by activist Grover Norquist. House Speaker John Boehner has put forward such a bill, stirring fury of other conservatives.
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Workplace has no 401(k). Could states help?
Six in 10 private-sector employees aren't offered a retirement plan at work. So California and a few states are looking to offer them retirement plans.
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Medicare, social program cuts: Will Democrats go along?
Medicare, Obamacare, and other social programs are at the heart of a disconnect over the 'fiscal cliff' in Washington. Republicans appear willing for tax increases but only if Democrats accept big cuts in Medicare and other social programs.
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The Monitor's View: Create jobs – or create more graduates for existing jobs?
On the presidential campaign trail, Obama and Romney debate job creation when the easier path is tooling up graduates of higher education for jobs that already exist. But a political divide deters even that solution.
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Dreaded sequester looming, Congress demands White House identify cuts
In a rare, nearly unanimous vote, the House and Senate called on the Obama administration to itemize within 30 days what, exactly, the $109 billion in mandated spending cuts will affect Jan. 1.
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Disabled Americans: Jobless rate still high 22 years after landmark law
Twenty-two years after passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, there's progress, but employment rates for the disabled remain dismally low. Advocates hope to change that.
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Tax VOX
JPMorgan and the London Whale: Should we tax securities investments?Ever since the U.S. financial crash of 2008 and the beginnings of the pending Euro-zone financial collapse, governments have been debating whether securities transactions should be subject to a new tax. Such a levy would discourage bad behavior in the financial markets, but it could have dire unintended consequences.
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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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Decoder Wire
Student loans: Romney, congressional GOP race to embrace students (+video)As President Obama puts a spotlight on student loans, Mitt Romney says that he, too, supports extending the 3.4 percent interest rate – and blames the president for poor job prospects for college graduates.
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Payroll tax vote exposes divisions within each party
Despite the bipartisan support for the payroll tax bill, blocks in both parties had reservations: Republicans angry that the measure was not paid for, and Democrats worried about the health of Social Security.
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How payroll tax gridlock in Congress finally came unstuck
A deal to prolong the payroll tax cut has also paved the way for Congress to extend long-term unemployment benefits and the Medicare 'doc fix' to the end of the year.
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Congress to vote on $1 trillion bill to fund government 9 more months
The House and Senate are set to vote Friday on a huge omnibus bill to fund government for the rest of fiscal 2012. Unemployment insurance and payroll tax cut are still up in the air.
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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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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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Relief ahead for states from No Child Left Behind law, but with strings
States can be excused from some certain requirements of No Child Left Behind, the US education reform law, the Obama administration said Monday. But it wants them to adopt different reforms.
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Education secretary tells Congress: Change No Child Left Behind – or I will
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says time is running out to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. If Congress doesn't move soon, he said he'll take matters into his own hands.
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Why House conservatives are offering fresh plan on federal debt
Reeling from the reaction to Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal to reform Medicare, an influential group of House Republicans offers an alternative plan to lock in spending and rein in the federal debt.
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For-profit colleges: Great deal for taxpayers. But for students?
For-profit colleges leave students with too much debt, some in Washington are saying. Even though graduates of for-profit colleges might have huge loans to repay, they are a good deal for taxpayers, a recent study says.
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Can Obama, Congress meet minds to revamp No Child Left Behind?
A new version of No Child Left Behind may target only the bottom 5 percent of schools for intervention. For most schools, mandates based on student test scores would be rolled back.
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Top 10 senators seeking earmarks
The omnibus spending bill died Thursday in the Senate amid controversy over the practice of earmarking, or inserting funding for pet projects into legislation. Here are the senators who sought the most spending for their states, ranked by the monetary value of proposed earmarks, whether alone or with others.
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Unemployment benefits: not until Bush tax cuts pass, Senate GOP says
Senate Republicans pledge not to take up any issues, including extending unemployment benefits, until the Bush tax cuts and federal spending bills are sorted out.
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Food safety bill 101: What are the facts and myths?
The Food Safety Modernization Act has riled everyone from liberal 'locavores' to conservative tea party groups. Here's a rundown of what's really in the Senate bill.
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Health-care reform in GOP cross hairs
Republicans plan an all-out assault on the new health-care reform law, which they see as the biggest symbol of over-reach by Democrats. President Obama's veto pen is the first defense.
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For-profit colleges hit with claims of fraud, aggressive recruiting
At a Senate hearing Wednesday, government investigators released evidence that some for-profit colleges encouraged students to falsify financial aid documents.
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