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
Lawmakers Are Saying They Can’t Defund Planned Parenthood. Here’s How to Respond to 8 of Their Claims.
Abortion giant Planned Parenthood has been a recipient of federal funding under Title X of the Public Health Service Act and via Medicaid reimbursements, among other sources. Last reporting year, Planned Parenthood received $528 million—41 percent of its total revenue—a significant portion of which comes from these federal government programs. This issue is now before Congress… -
news
McCarthy Speakership Could Challenge GOP Senate Leadership
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Monday that he will be running for House speaker. If elected, McCarthy will replace Speaker John Boehner, who is set to resign at the end of October. “We have made real progress towards shrinking an overgrown federal government and reforming our broken entitlement system,” McCarthy wrote in an email… -
news
Senate Advances Spending Bill With Funding for Planned Parenthood
The Senate voted 77-19 Monday to advance a short-term government spending bill, narrowing the chances of a federal shutdown days before Wednesday’s deadline. The Senate’s continuing resolution leaves intact taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, shelving a fight that conservatives wanted Republican leadership to wage with President Barack Obama. Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, is under scrutiny following a series… -
opinion
Failure Theater in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote for Monday that would fund the government through Dec. 11. The vote would not end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, but rather kick the can down the road for two-and-a-half months. Make no mistake: If Planned Parenthood is not dealt with now, Congress will have zero political will to… -
news
Senators Block Spending Bill Defunding Planned Parenthood for One Year
A government spending bill that prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving federal dollars for one year and kept the government operating failed in the Senate today. The continuing resolution, introduced earlier this week by Senate Republican leaders, fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the upper chamber after senators blocked the measure, 47-52. Republican… -
news
Senate Republican Leaders Introduce Government Spending Bill Withholding Planned Parenthood Funding for One Year
Senate Republican leaders unveiled a continuing resolution today that would fund the government for just under three months and prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding for one year. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Thursday, which funds the government at a rate of $1.017 trillion annually until Dec. 11 and places… -
news
Senate Democrats Block Bill Banning Late-Term Abortions
Senate Democrats have blocked the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act from moving forward in the Senate. The Pain-Capable Act needed 60 votes in order to invoke cloture, but failed Tuesday in a 54-42 vote. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., were the only Democrats to support the bill. Sens. Mark… -
news
Lawmakers Push to Declare ISIS’ Targeting of Christians ‘Genocide’
U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan resolution Wednesday to formally declare the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s targeting of Christians “genocide.” “Christianity in the Middle East is shattered,” Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., said in a statement. “The ancient faith tradition lies beaten, broken, and dying.” In its fight to establish a caliphate governed by strict Sharia… -
news
Conservative Lawmakers Criticize Leadership on Planned Parenthood Fight: What Would Be Different If ‘Reid Were in Charge’?
Conservatives in Congress are gearing up for battle this fall over the issue of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding—hoping to leave President Obama in a difficult position. The goal is to back the president into a corner by forcing him to choose between signing a bill that would strip Planned Parenthood of its taxpayer dollars and… -
news
Will Boehner’s Leadership Be Challenged? Conservative Lawmaker Says It Depends on Budget, Planned Parenthood
GLEN ALLEN, VA.—For one conservative lawmaker, Congress’s upcoming debate on funding the government and stripping Planned Parenthood of federal dollars could play a significant role in whether a challenge to House Speaker John Boehner is mounted. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., warned that Boehner’s, R-Ohio, future as the party… -
news
Bipartisan Group of Senators Set to Announce Deal to Reduce Prison Population
When Congress returns from recess early next month, lawmakers will face a bevy of partisan-infused battles on issues such as the Iran nuclear deal, Planned Parenthood, and government funding. But along with the bickering, there will also likely be harmony—and action—on an issue uniting both sides of the aisle and even President Obama: criminal justice reform…. -
news
4 Ways the Senate Could End Taxpayer Funding of Planned Parenthood
As the war on Planned Parenthood heats up, so does the Republican divide on how to best go about taking away the organization’s federal funding. Leadership in both chambers of Congress signaled they’re willing to go only so far in their fight to strip the organization of its government dollars—putting them at odds with conservatives… -
news
The Iran Deal Whip Count: How Will Lawmakers Vote on the Accord?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week President Barack Obama has “a great likelihood of success” in overcoming congressional opposition to his historic Iran nuclear deal. But as a growing number of Democrats have announced their opposition to the deal, Republicans are holding out hope to override a presidential veto. Republicans in both the House and Senate are expected… -
news
Second Senate Democrat Comes Out Against Iran Nuclear Deal
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a key Democrat in the upper chamber, announced his opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran today, becoming the second Senate Democrat to do so. “I have looked into my own soul, and my devotion to principle may once again lead me to an unpopular course, but if Iran… -
news
11 Questions Lawmakers Want Answered in Probe of Planned Parenthood’s Federal Funding
Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are investigating how Planned Parenthood is using the federal funds that the organization receives. Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent letters to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Planned Parenthood President and CEO Cecile Richards inquiring about Planned Parenthood’s “potentially… -
news
Local Voters Throw Water on Higher Taxes Sought by Firefighters Union, State Lawmakers
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—In a battle of political wills in Rhode Island, local voters so far have held their ground against efforts by union leaders and state officials to make them pay more for fire and rescue services. State lawmakers and local activists who side with the voters, however, see the situation as an ongoing threat to… -
news
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Asks Treasury Department to Return $29,500 Taken From Innocent Dairy Farmers
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee is coming together to ask the Treasury Department to return nearly $30,000 it seized from Maryland dairy farmers in 2012. The letter, sent August 11 to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, calls on the agency to return $29,500 the Internal Revenue Service seized… -
news
Democratic Senator Defends Planned Parenthood Funding, After Revealing She Has Not Seen Videos
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Tuesday the federal government should continue to fund Planned Parenthood, revealing she had not watched the covert videos showing top officials from the group discussing the sale of fetal tissue. Gillibrand told The Blaze she had no intention of watching the series of videos. “I think what Planned Parenthood does around… -
news
Senate Republicans Allege Collusion Between EPA and Environmental Group Over Climate Regulations
A day after the Obama administration finalized a “historic” plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, Republicans on a prominent Senate committee are alleging that an outside group colluded with the Environmental Protection Agency to create the standards. The allegations are detailed in a report released by the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on… -
opinion
How Lawmakers Can Beat Planned Parenthood’s Stalling Tactics
On Monday, federal district court Judge William Orrick ordered the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) not to publish undercover video taken at the National Abortion Federation’s (NAF) annual meetings in 2014 and 2015. CMP has released five undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s program of selling aborted babies’ body parts—and they promise that more videos are…