Chicago budget gap to shrink, but pension payment spike looms
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago said its budget deficit was on track to shrink to just below $300 million in 2015, but a state-mandated increase in pension payments would expand gaps in the future.
Representative Cantor to resign House seat early
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representative Eric Cantor said on Friday he will resign his seat effective Aug. 18, months earlier than expected following a stunning defeat in a Republican primary election.
Grimm choice: Tax fraud trial could dog NY re-election campaign
NEW YORK (Reuters) – This fall, when Representative Michael Grimm asks New York voters to send him to Washington for a third term in Congress he may be splitting his time between the campaign trail and a courtroom where he is due to face tax evasion ch…
Senate committee approves Treasury undersecretary nominee
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate committee has approved the Obama administration’s nominee for the Treasury’s top post for international affairs, clearing the way for a final vote in the full Senate.
U.S. Senate confirms first ambassador to Russia in five months
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously approved President Barack Obama’s choice of John Tefft to be the next American ambassador to Russia, filling a post that had been vacant since February.
U.S. Congress extends transport funding though May, averting cuts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress on Thursday approved a $10.9 billion funding extension for transportation construction projects through May 2015, averting a cutback in federal payments to states that was due to start on Friday.
Obamacare subsidy case could be reviewed by U.S. Supreme Court
(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review a case about whether the federal government can subsidize health insurance for millions of Americans, a party involved in the lawsuit said on Thursday.
U.S. Senate passes $16.3 billion veterans health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate late on Thursday overwhelmingly gave final congressional approval to a $16.3 billion plan to ease long healthcare delays at the scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs Department, adding the bulk of the cost to the feder…
Tea Party out-muscles Boehner on border-security funding
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bill to fund border security blew up in House Speaker John Boehner’s face on Thursday, leaving Republicans in disarray and struggling to reconcile Tea Party demands with the need to deal with a humanitarian crisis on the southw…
U.S. Justice Ginsburg hits back at liberals who want her to retire
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a message for liberals who have been saying the 81-year-old should step down while Democratic President Barack Obama is in office so he can appoint her successor: Who are you goi…