U.S. Senate News
This section focuses on the upper chamber of Congress, from major policy debates to confirmation hearings. The Daily Signal provides a conservative look at Senate priorities.
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- News
Lawmaker Works to Save Taxpayers’ Money With New Energy Bill
An Arizona congressman is working to remove energy subsidies that are part of the 2014 farm bill. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., recently released legislation that he says could save the American taxpayer more than a billion dollars over five years. Biggs told The Daily Signal in an interview that he wants his bill “to actually…Rachel del Guidice -
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Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill Would Expand Crony Handouts for Cotton Industry
What are Senate appropriators doing to address two new farm programs whose costs are spiraling out of control? They are increasing the costs even more. Cotton growers just can’t seem to get enough handouts, and many Senate appropriators are happy to funnel even more money their way at the expense of taxpayers. The Senate agriculture…Daren Bakst -
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Oregon Lawmakers Vote to Bail Out Planned Parenthood
The demand for abortion in Oregon is going down, so why do pro-abortion lawmakers there seem so determined to increase it? From 2011 to 2014, Oregon saw a 15 percent decline in the number of abortions. It also saw a 7 percent decline in the number of abortion providers. But, apparently that isn’t a trend…Genevieve Wood -
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House and Senate Set to Protect Consumers From an Overreaching Federal Agency
On Thursday, Republicans in both the House and Senate took a major step toward nullifying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s harmful arbitration rule. In the House, Financial Services Committee member Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa., sponsored a resolution of disapproval that will allow Congress to invalidate the rule through the Congressional Review Act. At almost the…Norbert Michel -
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Senate Health Care Bill Could Be Greatest Entitlement Reform in a Generation
The Senate health care bill (the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017) would fundamentally reform federal Medicaid payment. As Washington Post columnist George Will has written, the bill’s Medicaid provisions, as crafted by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., “makes it this century’s most significant domestic policy reform.” Will is correct. Medicaid financing needs reform. Jointly financed…Robert Moffit -
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GOP Lawmakers Say Their Budget Plan Spotlights ‘Path Back to Solvency’
The House’s largest caucus of conservatives is throwing its weight behind a budget proposal that it says would cut more government spending and advance conservative principles further than the official Republican plan. The Republican Study Committee’s budget plan, released Tuesday, “is a showcase of reform measures” introduced by caucus members, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., told…Rachel del Guidice -
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Why the Revised Senate Health Care Bill Is a Major Improvement Over the Status Quo
On Thursday, the Senate Republican leadership unveiled an updated version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. While it is an imperfect legislative product, it is nonetheless a major improvement over the status quo. Obamacare has wrecked both the individual and small group health insurance markets. After seven years, millions of Americans enrolled in…Robert Moffit -
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This Senate Effort Could Lead to Another Housing Bubble
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing last week to lay out guiding principles for housing finance reform legislation. While it is a positive development that the Senate is getting to work on housing finance, conservatives should be wary of the way things are starting out. First, here are some basic facts….John Ligon -
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Conservative Lawmakers Ask Congressional Leadership to Cancel August Recess
A conservative lawmaker is leading an effort in the House of Representatives to ask congressional leadership to cancel lawmakers’ August recess to give members more time to work on legislative priorities such as Obamacare repeal and tax reform. “We request that you cancel Congress’s current plans to recess for the month of August to ensure…Rachel del Guidice -
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Here Are 3 Reasons the Senate Health Care Bill Should Expand Individual Health Accounts
As Congress works to undo the damage caused by Obamacare, members are looking for ways to maximize their opportunity to address Obamacare’s problems that drove up premium costs for insurance and reduced access to plans. One innovative idea currently under consideration: expanding the use of health savings accounts. These are tax-advantaged accounts that let individuals…Jarrett Stepman -
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What the CBO Score Means for the Senate Health Care Bill
The Congressional Budget Office released its score on Monday of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. The top-line score is very similar to the American Health Care Act that was passed earlier in the House. This budgetary analysis projects that if passed into law, the Better Care Reconciliation Act would reduce the number of…Drew Gonshorowski -
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The Senate Should Offer a Range of Options to Encourage Continuous Insurance Coverage
As Senate Republicans work on legislation to start reversing Obamacare’s damage to insurance markets, one problem they need to address is the perverse incentive created by two Obamacare mandates. Those mandates required insurers to accept all applicants and prohibited them from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. The problem to address is that the combination of…Edmund Haislmaier -
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4 Conservative Senators Say They Can’t Vote for GOP’s Draft Health Care Bill
Four conservative senators promptly said they can’t support the draft of a health care bill released Thursday by the Senate’s Republican leadership as a cure for Obamacare. “Currently, for a variety of reasons, we are not ready to vote for this bill, but we are open to negotiation and obtaining more information before it is…Rachel del Guidice -
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The Senate Health Care Bill Misses a Key Opportunity. Here’s What Should Be Done.
While the ongoing congressional effort to reform health care is falling short of repealing Obamacare, it is critical that Congress maximize every opportunity to undo Obamacare’s damage. The draft bill released on Thursday by the Senate misses important opportunities to move closer toward that objective. On net, the Senate bill is better than Obamacare because…Edmund Haislmaier -
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Senators Seek to Stop Government Subsidies for Sports Stadiums
Two senators are calling foul on government subsidies for professional sports stadiums. Sens. James Lankford, R- Okla., and Cory Booker, D – N.J., introduced a bill Tuesday named “Eliminating Federal Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act”. “The federal government is responsible for a lot of important functions, but financing sports stadiums for multi-million—sometimes billion—dollar franchises is…Katrina Willis -
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Lawmaker Says CHOICE Act Could Bring Deregulation and Promote Economic Growth
The House of Representatives will vote on legislation Thursday afternoon that one lawmaker says, if it passes, will promote economic growth and provide regulatory relief. “The Financial CHOICE Act is designed to give working Americans that pay increase that they have earned and to unshackle the economy and let the animal spirit move yet again…Rachel del Guidice -
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How This Lawmaker Wants to Advance Conservative Ideas by Changing the Spending Process
A Georgia congressman proposes a timing change in government spending that he says would advance conservative principles as well as fast-track the budget process. “Just given the known time constraints we have, this is just a new idea to make the government funding process work and [do so] in a transparent way, while at the…Rachel del Guidice -
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Chronic Illness Is an Epidemic in America. This Senate Bill Will Help Address It.
Americans today are facing an epidemic of chronic illness, including arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, chronic illness is now the biggest single driver of medical costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in America. As of 2012, the last time…Robert Moffit -
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Senate Democrats Want to Make It Harder for Congress to Remove Regulations
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker wants to make it more difficult to remove government regulations through congressional review, Reuters reported Tuesday. President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have repealed 14 regulations through the Congressional Review Act since Jan. 20, but that is too fast for Booker. The untitled bill introduced Tuesday, temporarily called “A bill to repeal the Congressional…Thomas Phippen -
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This Republican Senator Pushes Congress for ISIS War Authorization
For political and practical reasons, lawmakers across the partisan divide have permitted President Barack Obama, and now, President Donald Trump, to carry out a bombing campaign against ISIS without specific congressional approval. More than 40 times in U.S. history, Congress has authorized the use of military force in the form of what’s known as an…Josh Siegel