Senate

Obama’s $3.8 Trillion Budget: Social Security, Medicare Cut

Posted on 04/10/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.8 trillion spending blueprint on Wednesday that strives to achieve a “grand bargain” to tame runaway deficits, raising taxes on the wealthy and trimming popular benefit programs including Social Security and Medicare. The president’s budget projects deficit reductions of $1.8 trillion over the next decade, achieved with higher taxes, reductions in payments to Medicare providers and cutbacks in the cost-of-living adjustments paid to millions …

Congress Works on Budget for 2013 — and the Future

Posted on 03/19/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is finally cleaning up its unfinished budget business for the 2013 budget year with a bipartisan government-wide funding bill. But even as that measure heads toward approval, the House and Senate are gearing up for divisive votes that will underscore sharp differences on a bigger problem: how to fix the nation’s long-term deficit woes. The Senate is positioned to approve the catchall spending bill Tuesday after it cleared a …

FAQs: How Do Competing Budgets Compare on Health Care Savings?

Posted on 03/13/2013 by | News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsFrom Kaiser Health News Republican and Democratic leaders from both chambers of Congress this week offered competing budget proposals that both look for savings in health care. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about what’s next for the proposals, and what President Obama could offer himself. > > Listen to the audio or read a transcript below. Jackie Judd: Good day, this is Health on the Hill. I’m Jackie Judd. Congressional budget leaders have now laid out their vision for federal spending …

Even Without Carl Levin, There’ll Be Plenty of Gray Hair in the Senate

Posted on 03/11/2013 by | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsEven the exit of a crop of senators born before World War II doesn’t seem to be having much effect on the average age in the U.S. Senate, the Washington Post reports. That’s because the freshmen arriving in recent years haven’t exactly been dewy-faced youngsters. (Example: 68-year-old Angus King, a Maine independent.) Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, 78, last week became the fourth senator age 70 and older to announce he’ll retire instead of running for reelection next year. The other …

On the Ground: How Medicare Is Playing in Congressional Races

Posted on 08/20/2012 by | Politics | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsNew York Times (8/15): Medicare Fight Recasts Races For Congress The fight over Medicare, the popular federal health care program for older Americans, is rapidly intensifying in House and Senate races around the nation after the selection of Rep. Paul D. Ryan as the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Congressional Democrats and some analysts say that development could transform the fight for control of Congress, given his role as the author of a House-approved budget plan that would reshape Medicare. Philadelphia Inquirer …

Mikulski: A New Spirit of Service

Posted on 03/25/2009 by | General News | Comments

VolunteeringSPECIAL GUEST BLOG FOR SHAARPSESSION BY SENATOR BARBARA A. MIKULSKI: “There is a new, invigorated spirit of service in the United States of America. Americans everywhere are looking to serve and give back to their country. They want to know how they can give and how they can help. They want to be part of an effort to improve society. “Last month, more than 9,700 applications were submitted to AmeriCorps, more than triple the amount of applications submitted at the …

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