Former Pentagon chiefs to Congress: If you’re serious about defense, don’t pass current GOP tax bill

Former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks during a discussion on countering violent extremism on Oct. 23 in Washington. Three former secretaries of defense are warning lawmakers not to enact proposed Republican tax restructuring plans, arguing they will jeopardize future military spending.

Tax bill thrown into uncertainty as first GOP senator comes out against it

Uncertainty gripped the Senate on Wednesday over efforts to pass a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax cut after a Wisconsin Republican became the first senator in his party to declare that he could not vote for the tax bill as written, and other senators expressed serious misgivings over the cost and effect on the middle class. The House is set Thursday to pass its own version of the tax bill, which would cut taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over 10 years and broadly rewrite the business tax code.

GOP Swamp Leaders Plotting ‘Drastic Plan’ To Steal Senate …

As Steve Bannon warned at CPAC back in February, "If you think they're going to give your country back to you without a fight you are sadly mistaken." Republican leaders are plotting a "drastic plan," to block Judge Roy Moore from becoming the next Senator of Alabama.

The Latest: Senate bill adds tax break for family leave

A new tax break for businesses that give their workers paid family leave has been put into the Senate Republican tax bill now moving toward approval. The proposal by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., was included in a late revision to the bill written by Sen. Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

GOP senators from NC come out against Trump EPA nominee

North Carolina's two Republican senators said Wednesday they oppose President Donald Trump's pick to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency, putting his nomination at serious risk. Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis issued statements saying they will vote against Michael L. Dourson to serve as head of EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

Trump’s sanctions seek regime change in Venezuela

On November 3, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro proposed a meeting with creditors, for November 13 in Caracas, to discuss a restructuring of Venezuelan public debt. On November 8, the US administration reacted by warning US bondholders that attending this meeting could put them in violation of US economic sanctions against Venezuela.

North Carolina senators oppose Trump’s EPA nominee: reports

North Carolina Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis said they will not support the Trump administration's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency's chemical safety office, media reports said. If one more Republican votes against Michael Dourson, he likely wouldn't be confirmed to the post, the Hill reported on Wednesday.

The Pentagon Has Avoided Audit For 27 Years

To achieve this budget, which is expected to sail through the Senate after the Thanksgiving break, Congress will have to raise the caps set into place during the Budget Control Act. But if there is a will - which there certainly is, considering the powerful defense industry lobby, coupled with members' own special interests for their districts - there is a way.

Roy Moore lawyer calls accuser’s account into question, demands yearbook

Attorney Phillip L. Jauregui says Judge Roy Moore has been falsely accused, wants Gloria Allred to release Beverly Young Nelson's yearbook for handwriting analysis. An attorney for Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore on Wednesday called into question the account of the fifth woman to accuse the candidate of past sexual misconduct, demanding she turn over evidence for an expert to review.

Roy Moore’s lawyer challenges Alabama woman’s claim of sexual assault

The Senate campaign of Roy Moore of Alabama sought Wednesday to discredit a woman's accusation that he sexually assaulted her when she was 16, suggesting that what looks like his signature on her high school yearbook could be a forgery. Moore's attorney, Phillip L. Jauregui, Jr., also disputed a statement by Beverly Young Nelson that she'd had no contact with Moore since the alleged assault took place in 1977 in Gadsden, Ala.

The GOP Has Its First Casualty In Tax Reform Push

Well, the smooth road to tax reform just it a bump with Sen. Ron Johnson signaling that he will be a "no" vote on the legislation. The Wisconsin Republican is the first to definitively say he will be against the bill, as he feels it gives too much to corporations at the expense of other businesses.

2017 Silver Eagle Award Honors Merlyn Carlson

Nebraska Farm Bureau has selected former Nebraska Director of Agriculture Merlyn Carlson as the 2017 recipient of its highest honor, the Silver Eagle Award. The award will be presented to Carlson on Merlyn Carlson and his wife Janice raised their family on their ranch near Lodgepole, where they raised cattle.

1st GOP senator opposes tax bill in early sign of problems

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., points to boxes of petitions supporting the Republican tax reform bill that is set for a vote later this week as he arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tue... WASHINGTON - Wisconsin's Ron Johnson on Wednesday became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's tax bill, signaling potential problems for GOP leaders. Passage of a similar package seemed certain Thursday in the House, where a handful of dissidents conceded they expected to be steamrolled by a GOP frantic to claim its first major legislative victory of the year.

GOP Inches Closer To Opening ANWR To Drilling

Legislation to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration advanced out of a Senate committee on Wednesday, largely along party lines. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, joined with GOP lawmakers to pass ANWR legislation in a 13-10 vote.

Hatch Defends ‘Obamacare’ Repeal in Tax Bill

The head of the Senate's tax-writing committee is defending the decision to include in the tax bill a repeal of the Obamacare requirement for Americans to get health insurance. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Wednesday the requirement that nearly everyone have insurance coverage or face a fine is a tax.