Washington (CNN) - In response to President Barack Obama's repeated calls for Congress to pass his jobs bill right away, Senate Republicans tried to call his bluff and force a quick vote on that legislation Tuesday.
The move, which Democrats blocked, was designed by Republicans to highlight that even some Democratic senators oppose the president's plan and it can't pass.
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(CNN) – The Senate Thursday approved a bill to fund retraining for workers who lose their jobs because of free trade agreements the U.S. enters into with other countries.
The final vote was 70 to 27 on the bill.
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Washington (CNN) - Senate Democrats still have not decided when to take up the jobs bill President Barack Obama announced with great fanfare to a joint session of Congress almost two weeks ago. In addition, they are still working to determine if they will vote on the bill in its entirety or augment it with additional job growth ideas of their own.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared testy at a news conference Tuesday when asked about the schedule for the bill and whether all Democrats would support it.
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Washington (CNN) Senate Democrats huddled with top Obama administration officials in the Capitol Thursday to pore through the details of the president’s jobs bill and figure out the best way to pass it through the chamber.
Most senators departing the 90-minute meeting with White House aides Gene Sperling, David Plouffe and others said they support the $447 billion proposal, which is designed to boost employment. However, some expressed concerns about the price tag of the bill and the president’s plan to raise some taxes to cover the costs.
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Washington (CNN) - Immediately following President Barack Obama's jobs speech to Congress Thursday night, senators are scheduled to return to their chamber to vote to begin debate on a measure disapproving of raising the debt ceiling while effectively continuing the process of increasing it.
So, yes, it's likely they will be supporting the disapproval of something as part of the process of actually making it happen.
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Washington (CNN) - With competing Republican and Democratic legislation to lift the debt ceiling bogged down in each chamber, key lawmakers say it is more and more likely it will be up to House and Senate leaders from each party to cut a late deal to stave off default before the August 2 deadline.
"There's going to have to be a compromise," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who said the top five bipartisan congressional leaders will need to get in a room together and find agreement. "That's the end of the game; you can't have four of the five," Schumer said, referring to the top two party leaders in each chamber and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
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Washington (CNN) - Even as the impasse over the debt ceiling continues, behind-the-scenes talks are underway between Democratic and Republican leaders about a bipartisan deal to end the crisis, according to two Senate leaders intimately involved in the situation.
"There are still discussions going on," said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. "Everybody's talking."
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Washington (CNN) - The No. 2 Senate Republican blasted the debt ceiling package unveiled Monday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, saying its reliance on $1 trillion in savings from the winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to "phony scoring."
At the same time, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona acknowledged Republicans have supported the same approach. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin counted the same savings in the budget he proposed earlier this year.
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Washington (CNN) - A Senate Democratic aide tells CNN that “despite multiple offers from our side, the speaker has so far been unwilling to agree to any form of a two-step solution that President Obama would sign.”
And while talks continue, the aide said, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is “working on a proposal of at least $2.5 trillion in debt reduction” and may inform his caucus about that plan Sunday night.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) – To meet the president's demand that bipartisan House and Senate leaders come up with a plan to raise the debt ceiling through the next election, a Democratic Senate leadership aide expects there will be bipartisan negotiations among those leaders "on a plan modeled on the Senate fallback proposal."
That fallback proposal is known as McConnell/Reid, a procedurally complicated measure - worked out by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - to raise the debt ceiling in stages between now and the end of next year.
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