Tea Party groups divided on tax cut deal
(CNN) - Democrats aren't the only ones divided over the tax cut package negotiated by President Obama and congressional Democrats.
Two tea party groups are taking opposing positions on the issue, CNN learned Tuesday.
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Rocker strikes different note to help Obama
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Musician Jon Bon Jovi has rocked the house with hits like “Keep the Faith" and “I Believe,” and now that same sense of optimism belted out in lyrics is being tapped by President Obama to help solve community needs across the country.
Bon Jovi joins a long list of big names, including eBay President and CEO John Donahoe and Starbucks Executive VP Paula Boggs, on the president’s newly formed White House Council for Community Solutions.
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Steele launches re-election website
Washington (CNN) - Michael Steele is up with a new website for campaign to be re-elected chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The website - ReelectChairmanSteele.com - is accompanied by a video featuring Steele explaining how the RNC, under his watch, helped Republicans make huge gains at the ballot box in November.
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Senator takes veiled shot at potential 2012 rivals
Washington (CNN) - Sen. John Thune. R-South Dakota, took to the Senate floor Tuesday to defend the agreement reached between Republicans and President Obama on extending Bush-era tax cuts. And Thune used his speech to take a veiled shot at potential rivals for the GOP presidential nomination who have criticized the deal.
"It is easy to stand on the sidelines and criticize this deal," Thune said. "And it would perhaps be politically expedient to stand on the sideline and criticize this tax deal. But to advocate against this tax deal is to advocate for a tax increase."
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House Democrats push 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Washington (CNN) - House Democrats renewed their push Tuesday to overturn the ban on gays and lesbian soldiers serving openly in the U.S. military, introducing legislation repealing the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The House previously passed a repeal of the ban as part of a larger defense spending authorization bill, but the measure stalled last week in the Senate.
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Bush's problem with 'tax cuts
(CNN) - While members of Congress are embroiled in an intense debate over whether or not to extend the Bush-era tax cuts, the president who ushered in the original passage of the legislation has a suggestion to expedite the process– lose the name.
"Well I wish they'd have called it something other than the 'Bush' tax cuts," Bush said during an interview on conservative radio host Scott Hennen' s radio show on Monday."And therefore there'd probably be less angst amongst some to pass it."
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Poll: Tax cut deal support grows among those closely watching
Washington (CNN) - A plurality of Americans say Congress should pass the tax cut extension compromise between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a new national survey.
And a Gallup poll released Tuesday also indicates that people closely following the tax issue are substantially more inclined to support the agreement.
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Hoyer says tax cuts bill will pass House, but House Dems may still push to change estate tax
Washington (CNN) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer conceded Tuesday that the House will ultimately pass a bill extending Bush-era tax cuts, but said House Democrats still might try to change the estate tax provisions in the president's plan.
"I think, frankly, that ultimately we will pass legislation," Hoyer said at his weekly session with reporters on Capitol Hill.
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Obama meets with wealthy philanthropists
WASHINGTON (CNN) –- President Obama spent part of his Tuesday morning meeting with some pretty heavy hitters in the worlds of business and philanthropy – Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffet.
A White House official told CNN that Obama invited the three to the Oval Office to discuss "The Giving Pledge," the initiative they launched that invites wealthy individuals and families to commit a majority of their fortune to philanthropic efforts.
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Senate to take up START treaty as early as Wednesday
Washington (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to begin debate on ratification of the START treaty as soon as Wednesday, after the Senate passes the tax cut package, according to his spokesman Jim Manley.
Senate Democrats had already planned on staying in session through the weekend and possibly into next week in order to debate the treaty, but were waiting for a green light from the White House. That now appears to have happened.
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