(CNN) - The second-ranking Senate Democrat said Sunday that extending unemployment benefits won't necessarily be a sticking point for his party in budget negotiations, though he hopes they are included.
"No, I don't think we've reached that point where we've said this is it - take it or leave it," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said on ABC's "The Week" when asked if his party would demand the extension of jobless benefits be included budget talks.
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Washington (CNN) – A top lobbying group for federal workers rushed to Capitol Hill Thursday, following news that budget negotiators were considering a $20 billion change in government workers’ paychecks. The fast pushback is a potential political issue for budget leaders who aides say have been getting closer to a deal.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, who sits on the budget compromise committee, told reporters Thursday that Republicans were pushing for, and negotiators have been discussing, a proposal to increase how much most federal workers contribute toward their pension. A senior Republican House aide confirmed to CNN that the idea has been on the table in spending talks.
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Washington (CNN) – The Republican congressman and Democratic senator charged with hashing out a federal budget deal are "closer" to an agreement but not there yet, according to senior aides in both parties.
A senior Democratic aide tells CNN that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray met Wednesday afternoon and are narrowing down the issues in a potential spending deal.
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Washington (CNN) - Congressional budget talks have entered a pivotal phase with some lawmakers working to lower expectations. But the two top negotiators and their staff have outlined how a possible deal, if they agree on one, could get through the House and Senate.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Washington, are leading a conference committee convened to work out differences between House and Senate budget resolutions.
The marquee issue is more forced spending cuts, or sequester, set to take effect in mid-January.
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Washington (CNN) - Hovering above Congress with the unpleasant scent of deja vu are concerns that current budget talks seem poised to fail and that the word "shutdown" is back on the rise.
First, there's the apparent budget impasse.
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(CNN)–After a week of falling approval ratings and criticism of the botched Obamacare website, President Barack Obama, in his weekly address Saturday, turned his attention to Washington's perennial funding battle.
"We need to grow and create more good jobs faster," the President said. "That’s my driving focus. And I’ll go anywhere and do anything to make it happen."
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President Obama used his weekly address on Saturday to once again address Americans' frustration with policymakers in Washington, saying, not for the first time, that "there were no winners" in the protracted conflicts over the debt ceiling and the partial government shutdown.
"At a time when our economy needs more growth and more jobs, the manufactured crises of these last few weeks actually harmed jobs and growth," the president said. "And it's understandable that your frustration with what goes on in Washington has never been higher."
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(CNN) – After all the bickering and grandstanding, the billions lost and trust squandered, it was much ado about nothing
The partial government shutdown's finally over. The debt ceiling debacle has been averted. Obamacare remains virtually unscathed.
FULL STORY Washington (CNN) - Up to 800,000 federal workers faced the prospect of life without a paycheck as Day One of the government shutdown kicked in, while Democrats and Republicans persisted in talking past at each other without actually talking to each other in order to end the nation's latest fiscal crisis.
The Republican-led House offered its latest gambit on Tuesday night but failed in separate votes to approve piecemeal funding for three specific programs - the District of Columbia, veterans affairs, and national parks. The votes required a two-thirds majority for passage, which required hefty Democratic support to have a chance. That did not materialize.
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Washington (CNN) – Furloughed workers. Shuttered offices. Lost pay.
By now, we know well the awful mess we're in due to the government grinding to a halt.
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