Tag - congress

 
 

CONGRESS

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 1, 2013
Obama renews vow to close Guantanamo
U.S. President Barack Obama vows to revive his push to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
WORLD
Apr 28, 2013
Air delays get swift action as House OKs funding bill
Sequestration became a reality to the broad public in airports across the the United States this past week, and on Friday both Congress and the White House caved in to pressure from tens of thousands of airline passengers angered by flight delays.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 25, 2013
Baucus retirement sets stage for sweeping legislative changes
Montana Sen. Max Baucus, one of the most influential congressional figures of his era, announced his intention Tuesday to retire, a move that could produce sweeping changes in the political and legislative landscape over the next two years.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2013
U.S. immigration proposal 'onerous'
Amid the initial elation from immigration advocates over a new proposal to overhaul U.S. border control laws was a sense of unease over the 844-page bill's core provision: a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 18, 2013
Stronger U.S. gun law fails to pass in Senate
The Senate's rejection of a bipartisan bill to expand background checks for gun purchases reveals the difference in power between public opinion and a united minority.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2013
House Republicans fault FDA in meningitis probe
After reviewing 27,000 pages of documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Republicans and Democrats came to different conclusions about the agency's ability to prevent one of the worst public health crises in American history.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2013
GOP's Rubio throws weight behind U.S. immigration revamp
Millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. should be allowed to earn their citizenship because deporting them isn't realistic, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2013
Gun rights lobby pushes weaker bill
As the U.S. Senate prepares to begin debate this week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that have the potential to do the opposite — loosening many of the restrictions that exist in the current law....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2013
Prospects for deal on U.S. gun law improve
Prospects for a bipartisan deal to expand federal background checks for gun purchases are improving with the emergence of fresh Republican support, according to top Senate aides.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 3, 2013
As U.S. wallows in debt, bright ideas to save country billions go to waste
After President Barack Obama set up a national online suggestion box in 2009 asking federal workers for new ways to cut the budget, 86,000 ideas came in. Some, inevitably, were a little odd.
WORLD
Mar 22, 2013
U.S. Congress approves temporary spending bill to keep government open
The U.S. Congress approved a short-term funding bill Thursday that ends the possibility of a federal government shutdown next week, but a broader budget battle about taxes and spending for 2013 is only just beginning.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2013
Gun-control plans weaken in U.S. Senate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday declared politically dead the effort to ban military-style assault weapons, a setback for President Barack Obama and gun-control advocates who are pushing the Senate to move quickly on bills to limit gun violence.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2013
Pressing tasks for China's new leaders
Xi Jinping will be elected president of China and Li Keqiang will be named premier during the National People's Congress session that has kicked off.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2013
Escort 'paid to make up tale about U.S. senator'
An escort who appeared on a video claiming that New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez paid her for sex has told Dominican authorities that she was instead paid to make up the claims and has never met or seen the senator, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2013
Obama pins legacy hopes on 2014 House victory
President Barack Obama takes the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress in two years.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 4, 2013
Politicians hit lethal U.S. aid for new Egypt
Concerned about Egypt's political instability and the U.S. budget crunch, a growing number of American lawmakers are challenging the wisdom of providing $1.3 billion a year in military aid to Cairo, arguing that the policy is overdue for a wholesale review.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 26, 2013
Is the U.S. near a tipping point for government debt?
How much debt can America handle? The question is one of the most fundamental the nation faces, and the answer should determine how the United States handles the delicate task of reducing budget deficits without walloping economic growth.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2013
Who is the real John McCain?
John McCain was excited. It was late January, and the following day, he and a group of bipartisan senators were set to announce their framework for comprehensive immigration reform. He picked up the phone and called an old friend in Arizona.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2013
Internal GOP clash pits tea party against Rove
The internal conflicts that have roiled the Republican Party since its dismal showing in November appear to be deepening as conservative activists and tea party officials have begun to loudly resist an establishment effort to blame them for the GOP's 2012 troubles.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan