Indiana’s two senators took divergent paths in their votes on so-called “fast track” trade authority. Senator Dan Coats, a Republican who announced that he is retiring in 2016, voted to give President Obama the authority to finalize a free trade deal known as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Senator Joe Donnelly, a first-term Democrat, voted…
Representative Jackie Walorski voted to repeal the estate tax during a House roll call on Wednesday. As we reported yesterday, the estate tax repeal vote occurred on Tax Day when millions of Americans filed their income taxes. The estate tax is a tax on the estate of deceased taxpayers. An estate would need to be…
There will be no victory party for Scottish independence. At least not today. The majority of voters who participated in Thursday’s historic referendum on independence for Scotland decided they would rather stay part of the United Kingdom, with final results showing the 55% who voted ‘No’ overwhelming the 45% who went to the polls and…
Amid deep skepticism and fears of expanding war, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to authorize President Barack Obama’s plan to train and arm “moderate” rebels in Syria in opposition to the extremist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. House leaders inserted the approval into a broader…
The United States Senate voted down a constitutional amendment Thursday that would reverse the Supreme Courts’ Citizens United decision, which opened unlimited corporate and union cash into federal elections (the Court later ruled that state and local elections were also covered). It would also partially reverse the 1970s era Buckley v. Valeo, which held that…
The South Bend Common Council voted down a smoking ban in bars on Monday night. The vote was held after the proposal was tabled in May. Valerie Schey, one of the original co-sponsors, dropped support last week. “At [the] request of South Bend bar owners, I will not be supporting this bill,” the South Bend…
