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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- Opinion
Senators Vow to ‘Use Any Means Necessary’ to Ensure Taxpayer Bailout of Private Union Pension Plan
As Congress closes up shop for 2016, a group of four Democratic senators is determined to “use whatever means necessary” to secure a special-interest taxpayer bailout for the United Mine Workers of America union. According to the senators, those “means” will include “blocking other bills” until the bailout is secure. The UMWA represents roughly 100,000…Rachel Greszler -
- News
Sen. Mike Lee Calls for 12-Year Term Limits for Lawmakers
The 2016 election cycle has sent a signal “loud and clear” that the federal government needs fixing, a U.S. senator said Tuesday. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, voiced his support for 12-year term limits on members in either body of Congress while speaking at The Heritage Foundation this week. “I’m distressed any time I see the…Leah Jessen -
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Conservative Lawmakers Say Current Welfare System Is ‘Anti-Family’
With a new Republican administration in tow, conservative lawmakers are renewing their call for welfare reform that incentivizes families rather than punishing them. “When we look at what we want for our society, when we look at the key ingredients that have to be contained within any thriving civilization, there are a couple of common…Kelsey Bolar -
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House Passes Bill Blocking Sale of Aircraft to Iran
House Republicans voted Thursday to block the sale of aircraft to Iran, a move GOP lawmakers and some Democrats said would protect taxpayer dollars from being used to finance the export of airplanes to Tehran. The House voted 243 to 174 to pass legislation sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., prohibiting the secretary of the…Melissa Quinn -
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Lawmaker Proposes Bill That Could Defund Post-Election Student Coping Sessions
“Suck it up, buttercup,” an Iowa lawmaker tells college students upset over President-elect Donald Trump’s win. “I’m trying to prepare kids for the fact that life is going to hand you lemons,” Iowa state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, told The Daily Signal. “And every time it does, if you don’t get your way, you don’t…Leah Jessen -
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As National Debt Nears $20 Trillion, Senator Takes Aim at Government Waste
How do you begin addressing the U.S. government’s nearly $20 trillion debt? For one senator, the answer begins with wasteful spending. In an interview with The Daily Signal on Monday, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., announced he would release the second edition of his “Federal Fumbles” report on Nov. 28. The first report, which exposed 100 wasteful…Rachel del Guidice -
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How Republicans Could Overcome Filibusters by Senate Democrats
As Democrats strategize on how to stop conservative legislation from making its way to Donald Trump’s desk in the White House, Republicans have a little-known rule in their toolbox that would allow them to pass legislation, including a repeal of Obamacare, with a simple majority. Democrats were able to keep 48 seats in the Senate…Melissa Quinn -
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What Chuck Schumer Would Do as Top Senate Democrat
Republicans buoyant about their newfound power in Washington, D.C., still have to contend with a powerful figure in the opposing party. The Senate’s new Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, is well known in Washington political circles as perhaps the dominant player in helping fellow Democrats defeat Republican opponents. Schumer, the 65-year-old New Yorker and former chairman…Josh Siegel -
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Top Senate Republican Meets With Lobbyists on Spending Plans
Hours after Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sat down with Washington lobbyists to outline priorities for a lame-duck session of Congress later this month. According to Politico, McConnell, R-Ky., met Wednesday night with Republican lobbyists from corporations and consulting firms. One of the subjects was possibilities…Melissa Quinn -
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2 GOP Senators Advocate Post-Election Vote on Supreme Court Nominee
Two Republican senators are breaking ranks with GOP leadership over the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s stalled Supreme Court nominee. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., predicted that Merrick Garland would be confirmed by the Senate during the lame-duck session of Congress. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has also advocated for action on Garland’s nomination in the post-election…Rachel del Guidice -
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Democrat VP Candidate Predicts Senate Will Change Rules to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee
Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says Democrats would “change the Senate rules” to confirm a ninth Supreme Court justice if they win control of the upper chamber in November. “I have a prediction,” Kaine said in an interview last week with The Huffington Post. “This is not a guarantee and I’m not revealing inside intel….Rachel del Guidice -
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Senators Promise to Block Potential Clinton Supreme Court Nominees
Two U.S. senators say they plan to oppose Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court nominees should she win the presidency. In the past week, both Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, have indicated they would continue to block confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee next year. According to CNN, McCain said in a radio…Rachel del Guidice -
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Lawmakers’ New Project Aims to Support Religious Institutions
A new project has been launched to show the need of religious institutions, which are in danger of losing influence in society as they face challenges to their existence today. “We need our faith-based institutions,” Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores, R-Texas, said at the launch of the America Without Faith project at the Hillsdale…Mark McKerrick -
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GOP-Controlled Senate Passes Spending Bill Without Conservative Policy Riders
Three days before the federal government’s spending authority expired, the Senate advanced a 10-week continuing resolution by a 72-26 vote, putting spending on autopilot and avoiding a looming government shutdown. The makeshift spending agreement allows lawmakers in the upper chamber to skip Capitol Hill for the campaign trail with barely a month before the November…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
House Passes Structuring Reform
For years, the IRS has used a law meant to facilitate the tracking of illicit financial transactions by drug and terrorist organizations to seize and forfeit vast sums of money from people with absolutely no connection to the criminal underworld. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to curb this practice by passing…Jason Snead -
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One Lawmaker’s Plan to Rein in Spending and Assert Conservative Principles
Before lawmakers in the House could read the Senate’s plan to fund the government after the end of the month, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was dismissing the measure out of hand, calling it “unconstitutional.” Congress is trying to hammer out a compromise to extend federal funding before the government’s annual spending authority expires Oct. 1….Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
GOP Senators Side With Democrats to Bail Out Union’s Pension Fund
It’s not every day you see a significant portion of Republican senators supporting a taxpayer bailout—especially for a private union pension plan. But today, six of the 14 Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee joined with Democratic counterparts in favor of a multibillion-dollar bailout of the United Mine Workers of America’s pension and health…Rachel Greszler -
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House, Senate Republicans Jockey to Advance Short-Term Spending Measure
The chairman of the largest conservative caucus in Congress is pushing House Republicans to pass a stopgap spending package before the Senate can finish work on its version. The government’s authority to spend money expires at the end of the fiscal year, Oct. 1. And Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is racing ahead on the…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
The Trick Lawmakers Use to Hide Their Wasteful Spending
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re running a restaurant (and if you are already, congratulations). Imagine, further, that every month you serve more and more of your food, but never restock the groceries, and never come up with a plan to buy more. At some point, your restaurant is going to hit a wall: You’ll…Jim DeMint -
- Opinion
Conservatives Should Worry: Democrat Senator Says Progressive Supreme Court Top Goal
Sen. Chuck Schumer has reminded us just how important the upcoming presidential election will be in shaping the federal judiciary, calling getting a progressive Supreme Court his “number one goal.” “A progressive majority on the Supreme Court is an imperative, and if I become majority leader, I will make it happen,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said to…Tiffany Bates