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
Awkward: Candidates Struggle to Reply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in Senate Debate
Answering a simple “yes or no” question at last night’s debate in Colorado’s U.S. Senate wasn’t easy for either the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Mark Udall, or his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner. “I don’t think we should shortchange serious issues with yes or no answers without being able to talk about them now,” Gardner said…Kelsey Bolar -
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Senate Armed Services Democrat, Republican Differ on Boots on the Ground in Iraq
With airstrikes continuing in Iraq and Syria as part of the campaign to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, a Democrat and a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee today expressed differing opinions on whether there should be American boots on the ground in Iraq. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., discussed the United…Melissa Quinn -
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9 Senate Races That Could Tip the Balance of Power
With Congress officially in recess until November, campaign season is in full swing and this fall brings no shortage of competition for control of the U.S. Senate. Since Republicans need to net just six seats to regain the majority in the upper chamber, Senate races from Alaska to Colorado to New Hampshire command the attention…Kelsey Bolar -
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Senators Skip Town Despite Harry Reid’s Promise ‘There Will Be No Weekends Off’
Just days before the Senate took a five-week summer recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., warned his colleagues that, come September, “There will be no weekends off.” In a July 31 address on the Senate floor, Reid detailed a handful of tasks that would keep the Senate busy throughout the month of September: We…Gabriella Morrongiello -
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For Lawmakers, an ‘Agonizing’ Decision on How to Confront ISIS
One popular notion is that members of Congress who oppose helping Syrian rebels confront the Islamic State terrorists fall into one of two groups: anti-war Democrats who don't want America in combat in the Middle East and hawkish Republicans who think more direct force is needed. But comments today from Republicans who voted in the House against aid…Josh Siegel -
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Mike Lee to Take Over Conservative Senate Group
In what is being billed as a reason for conservatives to be encouraged, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has been tapped to head the Senate Steering Committee, a conference of Republican lawmakers working to advance a conservative agenda. Lee will take the helm from Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, chairman for the past two years. In…Melissa Quinn -
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Why Is the Senate Considering Legislation That Would Discourage Raises?
How would a law that makes employers afraid to give raises benefit women?! Yet many senators appear to believe it would. They have announced their support for the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA), which is currently being debated in the Senate and could be up for a vote as soon as this week. This law would…James Sherk -
- Opinion
Senate Democrats No. 1 Priority After the Recess? Gutting the First Amendment
When the Senate reconvenes today, the No.1 legislative priority of Democrats is to pass a resolution that would gut the First Amendment, one of the few times in American history an amendment has been proposed to cut back on part of the Bill of Rights. It’s probably no surprise they want to restrict political speech…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Lawmaker Moves to Tax Sugary Drinks
A Connecticut lawmaker hopes to open another front in the war on childhood obesity and diabetes. On Wednesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat, introduced a bill that would impose a national tax on sugary soft drinks. DeLauro’s legislation, the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Act, would levy a one-cent excise tax for every teaspoon of sugar within…Philip Wegmann -
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Lawmakers Ponder Ways to ‘Get Politics Out of the IRS’
Could the IRS be governed by multiple commissioners? Some lawmakers hope so. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday heard pitches for proposed reforms aimed at preventing future targeting scandals at the Internal Revenue Service. One proposal is to name multiple members from both major political parties to a commission to govern the agency….Melissa Quinn -
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Vitter’s Senate Bill Seeks to Stem Flow of Border-Crossing Children
As lawmakers debate how to stem the flood of unaccompanied minors across the southern border, The Daily Signal has learned that Sen. David Vitter, R-La., will introduce a bill this morning to modify the anti-trafficking law identified as a key factor in the surge of young illegal immigrants. In a statement to The Daily Signal,…Melissa Quinn -
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Cruz Rips Senate Democrats’ Bill to Reverse Hobby Lobby Decision
Today on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had a message for President Obama and Senate Democrats voting to undermine the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision: “If you’re litigating against nuns, you have probably done something wrong.” Sixty votes were needed to debate the bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Mark…Kelsey Bolar -
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Lawmakers Throw Light on Secretive ‘Operation Choke Point’
Is “Operation Choke Point” about to get choked by Congress? Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sure hopes so. Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is calling for the dismantling of what he calls a secretive initiative launched by the Obama administration in early 2013. Critics say that Operation Choke Point, so dubbed by…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Hobby Lobby Does Want Bosses Out of the Bedroom. Why Are These Liberal Senators Against That?
Obamacare has been on a collision course with Americans’ individual liberty and religious freedom from the beginning. Last week’s Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case prevented Obamacare’s Department of Health and Human Services mandate from careening into the religious freedom of family business owners, on the basis of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration…Sarah Torre -
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Lawmakers Split Over Busting Budget Cap to Fight Wildfires
In asking for $3.7 billion from Congress yesterday to combat the border crisis, President Obama attached another request that has nothing to do with illegal immigration. The president wants $615 million to fight wildfires. Acting on similar bipartisan proposals in Congress, Obama also requested a change that he says would treat spending to fight wildfires…Josh Siegel -
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Lawmaker Questions Whether Ex-Im Benefits Small Businesses
Proponents of the Export-Import Bank tout the agency as a champion of small businesses, but Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., yesterday challenged that claim during a hearing and told the story of of a small Kentucky company that was overwhelmed by related regulations. Ex-Im Bank, an 80-year-old agency that provides taxpayer-backed loans to foreign companies and…Melissa Quinn -
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House Passes Measure to Assess Grid Vulnerability to Electromagnetic Pulse
Members of Congress want to know more about whether America’s adversaries possess the capability to shut down the nation’s power grid. The intelligence authorization bill passed by the House of Representatives on May 30 includes a provision mandating the director of national intelligence submit to Congress within six months of the bill’s passage “a report…Josh Peterson -
- Opinion
House Committee Passes Temporary FSOC Reforms
The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed two good reform bills aimed at fixing the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Both pieces of legislation address major problems with the council, but they provide only a temporary solution. The FSOC’s very existence perpetuates the too-big-to-fail problem. Future government bailouts are now more likely because…Norbert Michel -
- Opinion
Senate’s Minibus Falls Short on Spending Reforms
The Senate’s “minibus” spending bill lumps together three appropriations bills—Commerce/Justice/Science, Transportation/Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture—into one funding bill. The proposed minibus bill (which has recently stalled in the Senate) not only continues to fund programs that don’t work; it actually proposes to toss them more money in the process. Just consider the $51.2 billion…Michael Sargent -
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Mississippi’s U.S. Senate Race Presents Referendum on Federal Spending
Do Mississippians want more federal money or less government? That’s essentially the choice being offered to them in the June 24 U.S. Senate GOP primary runoff election between incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and state Sen. Chris McDaniel. The winner faces Democrat and former U.S. congressman Travis Childers in November. Federal spending in Mississippi is not chicken feed. State Budget…Steve Wilson