U.S. Senate News

As a method to control spending, conservative lawmakers often propose imposing a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution that would require the federal government not to spend more than it earns. This effort has always failed. Such an amendment has never been enacted at the federal level. But that isn’t stopping one freshman…

After a series of undercover videos produced last year by pro-life activists raised questions about Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of fetal tissue from aborted babies, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., attempted to address the issue of whether or not the practice is legally and ethically permissible when used for medical research. The topic was debated on Wednesday…

Speaking at a hearing investigating the procurement of fetal tissue from aborted babies, Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., asked a panel of experts Wednesday: “Have we reached a point in our society where there effectively is an Amazon.com for human parts, including human babies?” While asking the question, Black showed those testifying an email from a…

Senate Democrats are predicting with certainty that Republicans will fold on their pledge not to hold hearings on President Obama’s eventual Supreme Court pick. “We’ve been here with Republican leadership before,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a press conference Wednesday. Schumer and other Democrats say they see the GOP’s current strategy as a bad…

Months before the 1992 presidential election, Joe Biden urged fellow U.S. senators to shut down the nomination process and block President George H.W. Bush’s judicial picks from a confirmation vote. Today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called on the Senate to follow what he dubbed “the Biden Rules.” The lawmakers should leave Antonin Scalia’s…

The battle over the Obama administration’s effort to require convenience stores, pizzerias, and other eateries to list calorie counts for food offerings goes next to the Senate, with the House’s passage of legislation to rein in the Obamacare-related regulations. “Accidentally putting too many pickles on a sandwich and increasing its calorie count shouldn’t be a criminal offense,”…

Lawmakers speaking at the recent Conservative Policy Summit in Washington shared hopeful visions of what could be accomplished if Americans embrace conservative reforms. The public will be won over by real solutions, “not talking points,” Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., said during the afternoon session. The Conservative Policy Summit, an annual event organized by Heritage Action for America,…

Conservative members of Congress think Republicans could improve on their outreach to the black community. “I think we need to do a better job of reaching out to the African American community,” Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, said at The Heritage Foundation’s monthly Conversations With Conservatives. “We need to do a better job of showing the…

Senate Republicans are quickly running out of runway to get a filibuster overhaul package off the ground. The political will is directly proportional to the proximity of the general election: The closer November comes, the less likely reform becomes. One of the chief advocates for change, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., says he knows how tight…

The House of Representatives concluded a tense debate Thursday by voting 250-169 to end a controversial Obama administration program called Operation Choke Point. Critics say the secretive program, run by the Department of Justice, has been used to target politically unpopular industries such as gun sellers. “We’re elated,” Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told The Daily Signal after…

Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., says he has “saved” taxpayers $2 million over the past five years by not spending all of his office budget. Webster says he returned $384,256.64 unused last month in his latest penny-pinching. He adds that Congress could reap $1.5 billion in savings over five years if every member followed his example. “There are plenty of places…

A bill to repeal a rule allowing transgender individuals in Washington state to use public bathrooms based on their gender identity has cleared a state Senate committee. The Daily Signal reported previously that the state’s Human Rights Commission approved the rule, which requires such access to sex-specific facilities including bathrooms and locker rooms. It took effect Dec….

A Missouri state senator proposes to ban abortion based on prenatal screenings for Down syndrome. State Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, told The Daily Signal he is sponsoring S.B. 802 in the Missouri Senate at a time when other state legislatures have taken similar action to protect unborn children with Down syndrome. “I think it is discrimination…