Taxes

Switcheroo: Democrats And Republicans To Trade Places On Taxes, Spending

Brian Beutler | November 23, 2011, 6:00AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama

For at least the next several weeks, politics will undergo a strange transposition, during which Republicans will warn of the economic dangers of cutting government spending, and President Obama will barnstorm the country warning voters that Republicans are inviting a tax increase on the majority of Americans.

The timelines won't align perfectly, and the Democrats will have a greater sense of urgency. But in the wake of Super Committee failure, Democrats and Republicans are staring down uncomfortable deadlines, and each party's best bet for avoiding outcomes that harm their interests is to adopt the other's rhetoric.

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Defense Spending

Defense Budget Hawks To Super Committee: Not In My Backyard

Susan Crabtree | October 14, 2011, 5:59PM

The Republican and Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate defense committees are pleading with the deficit-reduction super committee to spare the Pentagon when it's looking for places to slash spending.

Both Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who heads the Senate counterpart, sent letters to the super committee Friday urging, if not downright begging, the 12 deficit deciders not to touch the Pentagon's discretionary budget, although Levin suggested the panel propose a commission to look into finding savings in the military retirement and health care systems.

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Claire McCaskill

McCaskill: House GOP Is Skirting Its Own Earmark Ban

Igor Bobic | May 19, 2011, 4:40PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

When it comes to earmarks, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is accusing House Republicans of wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

House Republicans, she told reporters earlier this week, have added numerous line items for special projects into the defense-authorization bill, and thus, are violating their own self-imposed earmark moratorium.

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War On Terror

Congress Poised To Give President Power To Continue GWOT Indefinitely

Brian Beutler | May 11, 2011, 1:23PM

House progressives are trying to draw attention to language Republicans have included in an annual must-pass defense bill, which they say will dramatically expand Presidential power in the war on terrorism. The pushback comes just over a week after U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and reignites one of the most controversial disputes the country's faced over the past decade. At stake is the question of whether Congress will allow the war on terrorism to continue indefinitely, or let it slowly dissipate as the years since September 11, 2001 pass.

The origin of the language in the defense bill dates back to March, when President Obama signed an executive order -- derided by some of his closest allies -- that effectively formalized an indefinite detention system at Guantanamo.

In response, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and his colleagues unveiled legislation intended to codify the intent of that executive order, and update the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force -- the legal underpinning off the war on terrorism.

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War Powers Act

Angry Lawmakers Grill Gates On Libya And War Powers Act

Susan Crabtree | March 31, 2011, 1:52PM

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, got a browbeating from Congress today over the White House's decision to ignore Congress and forge ahead with air strikes aimed at ousting Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi and supporting rebel forces.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Gates defended the administration's decision to intervene and retooled earlier comments that the U.S. didn't have a vital interest in the North African country after a rash of criticism.

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Guantanamo Bay

Republicans Move To Strip Detainee Authority From Holder And Future Attorneys General

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 6:47PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are teaming up with Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee to write legislation that would take decisions about trying detainees out of the attorney general's hands and hand that power to the secretary of defense.

In the wake of the White House's new executive order allowing Guantanamo detainees to be held indefinitely, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) unveiled legislation that would, among other things, affirm the military's right to detain, hold and interrogate detainees at its discretion without Department of Justice or Attorney General Eric Holder involvement.

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Republicans

Meet The Chairmen! House GOPers Get Back To The Gavels

Eric Kleefeld | December 10, 2010, 8:40AM

The Republicans' midterm sweep in the House of Representatives doesn't just mean that John Boehner will become Speaker -- it means a drastic shift of leadership and legislative priorities throughout the whole chamber.

This week, House Republicans officially rolled out the list of committee chairs in the new Congress. And as can be expected, some of them are really interesting personalities. It is these individuals who will be holding hearings on legislation and oversight of the executive branch -- that is, attacking the Obama administration and trying to dig up scandals, as typically occurs during periods of divided government.

So let's take a look at several of the key GOPers who will be heading up these important House panels: Their backgrounds, their positions, their histories -- and a few gaffes, too.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

McKeon, Wilson Call For 'Comprehensive Oversight' Of DADT Report

Eric Kleefeld | November 30, 2010, 2:46PM

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Reps. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC), who will hold key chairmanships on military policy in the next Congress, have released a joint statement on the Pentagon report calling for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military -- with these two House Republicans instead calling for "comprehensive oversight" of the recommendations.

McKeon will be the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Wilson will be heading up the subcommittee on Military Personnel. They note in their statement that they were briefed earlier today on the contents of the report, which said that there would be no serious disruption from an orderly repeal.

As McKeon says: "Today's briefing and the release of the Pentagon's report are the first steps in what should be a comprehensive process to study whether implementing these recommendations would undermine military readiness or negatively impact the war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Wilson chimes in, as well, strongly opposing any effort to pass the repeal immediately, as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for: "Using the last days of a lame duck Congress to hastily repeal 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' would be highly irresponsible. Today's Pentagon report must be thoroughly examined by the committees of jurisdiction to determine potential impacts on military recruitment, readiness, and morale. Lawmakers and military leaders need to have as much information as possible before any action is taken on such a significant military policy."

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