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
17 of the 100 Ways This Senator Says the Government Wastes Your Money
The federal government has “dropped the ball” by failing to curb wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars, Sen. James Lankford says. In a new report, he cites 100 examples. “With a massive $19 trillion federal debt and a half-a-trillion-dollar deficit, we must tackle our federal budget and root out inefficiencies, duplication and wasteful spending wherever they…Leah Jessen -
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In ‘First Step’ to Address Terrorism Fear, House Easily Passes Bill to Toughen Screenings of Syrian Refugees
Wanting to show assertiveness in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to block Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the U.S. unless they pass strict background checks. In a rush before Thanksgiving to comfort nervous constituents back home, Republicans were boosted by the support of 47 Democrats, who…Josh Siegel -
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GOP Lawmakers Prepare to Order ‘Pause’ to Syrian Refugees Entering US
Feeling pressure to respond to President Barack Obama’s ongoing plan to resettle Syrian refugees to the United States, House and Senate Republican lawmakers on Tuesday united around the idea of pausing such admissions into the country. After more than half of the nation’s governors voiced opposition to taking in Syrian refugees into their states, both…Josh Siegel -
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Auditing the Fed and 3 Other Monetary Policy Reforms Lawmakers Slated to Vote on This Week
Proponents of monetary policy reform and financial deregulation have had very little to cheer about during the last few years. Even many of the positive reform efforts in the U.S. House have been largely isolated to the Financial Services Committee, with little hope of even receiving a vote in the House, much less becoming law….Norbert Michel -
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The Senate’s Dysfunction Helped Administrative State Grow
It’s billed as “the world’s greatest deliberative body.” But at a time when public polls routinely place the popularity of federal lawmakers in single digits, it’s time to ask: What happened to the U.S. Senate? That’s a question that has troubled many, both inside and outside Washington, for a long time. The dysfunction has reached…Ed Feulner -
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These Lawmakers Are Breaking Down Establishment Power Structures
A few weeks ago, the House Freedom Caucus was being roundly pummeled by the media, liberal and pseudo-conservative alike. This small band of conservative House members had the audacity to challenge the status quo in Congress, and in the eyes of Washington’s comfortable elites, that’s a serious offense. For years, Washington’s chattering class has guarded…Jim DeMint -
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What Americans Want Paul Ryan (and Other Lawmakers) to Do
A year ago, no one would have thought this was possible. The newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has verbally agreed to change the way leadership distributes power and authority in Congress. Before, many key deals would be pre-negotiated between House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and passed with…Rep. Dave Brat -
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This Aide Doesn’t Want Senate Filibuster Rules to Change. Will He Convince Paul Ryan to Stay Out of It?
Republicans in the U.S. Senate who are taking aim at filibuster rules in the upper chamber won’t find an ally in House Speaker Paul Ryan, if the speaker’s new chief of staff has his way. Although Ryan, R-Wis., has been silent on the issue since assuming the speakership Oct. 29, top aide David Hoppe consistently…Philip Wegmann -
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Senate Democrats Take Military Funding Hostage
Today Senate Democrats voted for the third time this year to prevent the defense appropriations bill from moving forward. The Democrats did this for one simple reason: they want leverage to push their liberal priorities in all the other spending bills. In short, they are using military funding as a hostage. Just last week, the…Justin Johnson -
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House Votes Down Measure That Would Block Iran From Receiving Taxpayer-Backed Subsidies
The House today rejected an amendment that would have prohibited the Export-Import Bank from providing loans, loan guarantees, and credit to state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the amendment amid concerns that President Barack Obama would issue waivers to state sponsors of terrorism that…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
The Senate Has Passed a Resolution to Stop the EPA’s Water Rule: Now It’s the House’s Turn
The Senate has passed a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s and Army Corp of Engineers’ water rule that would seek to regulate almost every water “body” in the nation. The vote was 53-44. The House needs to follow suit. The Congressional Review Act creates an expedited process for…Daren Bakst -
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Why One Freshman Senator Waited a Year to Tell Congress ‘The People Despise Us All’
Sen. Ben Sasse, a 43-year-old conservative from Nebraska and former university president who possesses five college degrees, didn’t need to experience Congress very long to learn that the institution is broken. But Sasse, who refers to himself as a “historian by training,” decided he would reject the norms of today and return to tradition by…Josh Siegel -
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19 Million People Have Watched This Senator’s Speech. How Did It Go Viral?
Sen. Mike Lee’s Facebook post thanking Sen. Rand Paul for a floor speech fighting against the two-year budget deal is blazing across social media, reaching more than 55 million people in three days. The nearly 3-minute video of Paul, meanwhile, has 19 million views. Lee, R-Utah, slammed lawmakers for pushing through the budget deal at 3 a.m. Friday,…Natalie Johnson -
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The Key Difference Between the Two Lawmakers Running for Paul Ryan’s Old Job
The two representatives jockeying for Speaker Paul Ryan’s old job as chairman of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee are similar in many ways, but they have at least one distinguishing characteristic. The contenders, Reps. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, voted differently on a controversial discharge petition paving the way for…Philip Wegmann -
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Senator Defends Suspended Football Coach: ‘He Was Simply Kneeling Down to Pray’
Bremerton School District in Washington state has created a “faith-free zone,” according to Sen. James Lankford. Lankford was referring to the school district’s decision to suspend high school football coach Joe Kennedy for his post-game prayers on the 50-yard line. “Government does not have the authority to confine your faith to the location of government’s…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Senate’s Highway Trust Fund Shenanigans Don’t Add Up
History proves that the U.S. Congress consistently excels in at least one thing: spending other people’s money. Lawmakers regularly budget to spend more than they collect, and it rarely occurs to them that they should spend less. The latest example is the U.S. Senate’s plan to “save” the highway trust fund. Congress has mishandled the fund—which, technically,…Norbert Michel -
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Cruz Attacks GOP Senate Leadership: McConnell ‘Very Effective Democratic Leader’
In a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sharply criticized the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, a budget deal between former House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama. Cruz said the deal is yet another example of the failure of the “so-called Republican majority” to deliver on their promises to…Kate Scanlon -
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Temporary Patch Gives Lawmakers More Time to Pass Long-Term Highway Bill
House Republicans introduced legislation late last week to temporarily extend federal transportation funding for three weeks, giving lawmakers more time to work on a long-term highway bill. The funding “patch,” H.R. 3819, authorizes federal transportation spending for an additional three weeks by pushing the current expiration date back from October 29 to November 20. The…Philip Wegmann -
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Be Careful What You Wish For. Getting Rid of the Senate Filibuster Is a Bad Idea.
Republicans hold majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. They got those majorities by making promises that, once elected, they announced they couldn’t keep. The ongoing leadership shake-up in the House is one outcome of broken promises. But another one may be in the works that has a much more significant and, in…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
How Conservative Lawmakers Could Govern Better
What is missed by the mainstream pundits about the conservative movement in America and in Congress? First, let us acknowledge that during the post-New Deal political era, Republicans have rarely been in control of one chamber of Congress, and even more rarely has the GOP controlled both the House and the Senate. During the reign…Rep. Jeff Duncan