Topic: U.S. House Committee on Appropriations

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Who's who on Congress's debt 'super committee'

Congress has created a special super committee to find at least $1.2 trillion in US budget cuts. If the plan is voted down, automatic spending cuts are slated to occur. Here are the 12 lawmakers named to the super committee.

All Content

Joe the Plumber goes to Congress? Why he's a huge underdog.

Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, on Tuesday won the GOP primary for Ohio’s Ninth Congressional District. His next step is to square off against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur.
North Korea nuclear moratorium: Will it last?

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US “still has profound concerns” about the North Korea nuclear moratorium, even as it considers the agreement “a step in the right direction.”
Obama to slash NASA budget. Will space exploration suffer?

NASA’s planetary science division would shoulder a heavy share of the cut. Under the president’s proposal, its budget would drop from $1.5 billion to $1.2 billion, a 20 percent reduction.
How Democrats' anger at disaster funding helped doom House spending bill

Conservative Republicans joined the Democrats in opposing the spending bill, whose defeat revives the threat of a government shutdown. A way forward for House leaders is unclear.
Who's who on Congress's debt 'super committee'

Congress has created a special super committee to find at least $1.2 trillion in US budget cuts. If the plan is voted down, automatic spending cuts are slated to occur. Here are the 12 lawmakers named to the super committee.
Spending deal revealed: What got cut to avoid a government shutdown?

The spending deal to avoid a government shutdown had been agreed to last Friday, but the details of the $39 billion in cuts were not released until Tuesday.
Government shutdown Friday? Why Tuesday could be crucial.

Rep. Paul Ryan will release a 'dramatic' budget for 2012 Tuesday that looks to cut $4 trillion over 10 years. That plan makes the $30 billion at issue in a potential government shutdown over 2011 spending look like small potatoes.
Will House Republicans revolt against bill to avoid government shutdown?

House Republicans are set to put forward a new short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. Its toughest opponents? House Republicans.
House Republicans propose new budget deadline, again: April 8

With the House and Senate no closer to agreeing on a federal budget – already five months overdue – House Republicans suggest moving back the deadline for a sixth time.
What are pros and cons of a no-fly zone over Libya?

As some Congressional leaders urges military intervention in Libya, the Pentagon emphasizes the difficulty of implementing a no-fly zone or other proposed military solutions.
Pressure mounts for no-fly zone in Libya

As Libyan rebels encounter rough going, the calls for attacking Muammar Qaddafi’s air force are growing in the United States. The Pentagon and the White House resist the idea.
Terrorism & Security
Nations weigh imposing no-fly zone on Libya

The Arab League expressed support for a no-fly zone to prevent Qaddafi's forces from carrying out air strikes in Libya, while other countries debated the military action.
The Vote
House passes bill to avert government shutdown. What's in it, exactly?

Washington has managed to avoid a government shutdown, for the moment. In general, the bill keeps government spending for most discretionary programs at last year’s level, until March 18.
Republicans take a $100 billion whack at Obama budget

Bending to party conservatives – notably tea partiers – House GOP leaders propose steep cuts in many popular programs for the rest of the fiscal year. Will it lead to a government shut-down?
House GOP wants $74 billion in budget cuts: Draconian or only a start?

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan releases his spending limits for the 2011 House budget. Democrats say the cuts are unconscionable. Some Republicans say they're too small.
The Vote
What has House GOP done to cut budgets so far?

The new set of House rules requires that new spending be offset by cuts, not new revenues. And members are supposed to roll back spending by their own offices, too.
Stopgap spending bill clears Congress. What happens next?

Passage of the spending bill, which goes to Obama for signing, averts a midnight government shutdown. It also leaves the bitter fight over spending to the next Congress.
Federal, state officials review high speed rail using stimulus funds

As highway funding from the gas tax inevitably declines, revenue sources from high speed rail is being scrutinized. Obama pledged $8 billion in stimulus funds to the technology, of which Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont have received $160 million so far.
'Pork barrel' spending: A big liability for lawmakers in 2010 election?

With the federal deficit at $1.5 trillion, some voters are balking at politicians who tout a record of securing ‘pork barrel’ projects.
WikiLeaks: Facing 90,000 documents, US officials take go-slow approach

WikiLeaks documents didn’t undermine Congress's plan to pass a war-funding bill. And the Pentagon is rejecting calls for changes in how the military shares information with uniformed members.
WikiLeaks controversy hovers, but House passes war funding bill

WikiLeaks documents barely made a dent in Congress’s decision to continue funding a surge of US forces into Afghanistan. The House passed the measure 308 to 114.
Squabble over $10 billion for teachers delays Afghanistan war money

A Democratic House leader wants Congress to spend $10 billion to save teacher jobs. The White House has threatened a veto. Meanwhile, funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are in limbo.
Nancy Pelosi puts her stamp on the House

Nancy Pelosi is a master tactician and the most powerful speaker in a half century. Behind her personal brand of power politics – and whether she will still be speaker after the midterm elections.
Arizona lawmaker Russell Pearce takes aim at automatic citizenship

Legal scholars laugh out loud at Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce's proposal to limit automatic citizenship and warn that it would be blatantly unconstitutional.
Powerful House Democrat David Obey to retire

Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, will not seek another term in office, he said Wednesday.