The so-called “fast track” trade bill has stalled as Republicans failed to clear a 60 vote procedural hurdle necessary to move forward in the United States Senate. The bill, which is opposed by organized labor and liberal groups and supported by the US Chamber of Commerce, would prevent Congress from modifying a free trade deal…
Progressives in Washington, D.C. are pushing centrist Democrats in U.S. Congress to oppose legislation that President Barack Obama has warned could kill a nuclear deal with Iran. In an open letter to Democrat leaders in Congress published Wednesday by Politico, progressive organizations including Credo, MoveOn, and Daily Kos write, “Senate Democrats are now faced with…
Secretary of State John Kerry blasted Senate Republicans on Wednesday during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry, whose appearance before the committee was related to a use of military force authorization being debated in Congress, was asked about a letter that forty-seven Senate Republicans sent to Iran. The letter warned Iran’s leaders that…
The United States Senate voted 62-36 on Thursday to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Nine Democrats crossed the aisle to support the legislation, including Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana. “As a longtime supporter of the Keystone XL pipeline, I am pleased the Senate passed this commonsense legislation because this project would help promote economic competitiveness…
With Congress on the verge of taking up the controversial, corporate-friendly Trans Pacific Partnership, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is demanding that the chief trade representative for the United States turn over the full text of the proposed trade agreement. “It is incomprehensible to me that the leaders of major corporate interests who stand to…
The former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency defended the agency’s use of torture during a CNN interview on Thursday. The Senate’s Intelligence Committee underwent an exhaustive investigation of the CIA torture program. The result of the investigation was an over 6,000 page report that detailed CIA torture during the Bush administration. The classified report…
As the U.S. Senate readies for a vote on legislation designed to constrain some of the troubling aspects of domestic surveillance and the national security state, both advocacy groups and private industry are weighing in on the measure. A coalition of big-name technology and Internet companies — including Facebook, Apple, Twitter, and Dropbox — is…
Senator Joe Donnelly is calling for more bipartisanship in the United States Senate. The senator joined more than 30 of his colleagues in urging Democratic leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell to host monthly lunches between the two party caucuses to help “build stronger and more productive relationships among all members of the…
Colorado Senator Mark Udall (D), one of the few congressional dissenters against U.S. government agencies’ secrecy and spying, was voted out of office last week. Now, transparency advocates are urging Udall to exit with a flourish, by using his congressional access and immunity — while he still has them — to expose to the public…
President Obama offered his reaction to the 2014 midterm election results that saw his party lose control of the United States Senate and governorships across the country. The president struck a conciliatory tone, recognizing the GOP’s victories, but sounding less somber than after the party’s 2010 “shellacking” where Democrats lost their House majority, only to…
