Government Shutdown

Battle Over Disaster Relief Foils Stopgap Spending Bill

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2011, 5:54PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

GOP legislation to continue funding the federal government failed in the House Wednesday by a vote of 195-230, after Democrats rejected a controversial measure to nix a popular manufacturing program to offset federal disaster aid.

A successful Democratic whip effort left Republicans without enough support in their caucus to pass the bill along party lines. Over 40 Republicans, demanding steeper cuts to federal programs, rebelled against GOP leadership.

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Congress

Outrage Index: Near Majority Blames GOP For Frustration With Washington

Kyle Leighton | September 15, 2011, 10:00AM

House Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the foreground.

It seems that the combination of brinkmanship and lukewarm reception to most anything President Obama proposes has caught up with Republicans in Congress.

The debt fight caused Washington's approval ratings to drop to new lows, but new data from a Bloomberg national poll shows that it hit the Congressional GOP the strongest: of the Americans who said they were frustrated with Washington, 45 percent said it was because of the GOP.

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Jobs

GOP Jobs Plan: More Snakes?

Benjy Sarlin | September 14, 2011, 4:34PM

EcoPrint / Shutterstock

Democrats and Republicans all agree that the nation needs to move on a jobs agenda. And Republicans have a new plan: unleash the reins of snake commerce.

GOP members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today called attention to a proposed regulation that would restrict the transportation and importation of nine types of snakes, including the Burmese Python.

In a new report entitled "Broken Government: How the Administrative State has Broken President Obama's Promise of Regulatory Reform," GOP members cited the proposed snake ban as one of seven examples of red tape choking off job growth in an already ailing economy.

One witness invited to testify, snake breeder David Barke, told lawmakers that the rules "threatens as many as a million law-abiding American citizens and their families with the penalty of a felony conviction for pursuing their livelihoods, for pursuing their hobby, or for simply moving with their pet to new state."

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