Tag - congress

 
 

CONGRESS

BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2013
IRS rules on nonprofits foster debate on advocacy groups in politics
For the first time since 1959, American nonprofit advocacy groups face new Internal Revenue Service rules governing their political activities, an area of the tax code that has been crying out for greater clarity.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 25, 2013
Israel, Gulf states and many U.S. lawmakers share deep unease about Iran nuclear deal
The signing of a short-term nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers Sunday left ardent critics of the Islamic republic — most vocally the Israeli government and many U.S. lawmakers — deeply worried that the Obama administration and its partners were making a historic mistake.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2013
Senate's filibuster change will boost Obama's agenda
The U.S. Senate vote Thursday to lower the barriers for presidential nominations will make it easier for President Barack Obama to accomplish key second-term priorities, including tougher measures on climate change and financial regulation, that have faced intense opposition from Republicans in Congress....
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 15, 2013
U.S. bills would curb tracking of kids on Net
What if children used a more private Internet, where it would be harder to collect information about them and where they could erase embarrassing photos, comments and videos that could one day come back to haunt them?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2013
U.S. initiative spending booms past $1 billion over past 18 months
Corporations and some of the wealthiest Americans spent more than $1 billion over the past 18 months on ballot initiatives in just 11 states, according to campaign finance data, an explosion of money used to pass new laws and influence the public debate.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 9, 2013
U.S. insurers directed to treat mental health issues the same as physical ailments
The Obama administration issued a final rule Friday requiring insurers to treat mental health and substance-abuse problems the same way they do physical illnesses.
WORLD
Nov 6, 2013
U.S. spy agencies out of sync, panel finds
The scientific research efforts of the U.S. intelligence community are poorly coordinated, and agencies have struggled to develop adequate defenses against emerging threats including cyber-attacks, according to a national commission that released its findings Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2013
Foley tribute has important lessons for Congress
The U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall last week became a lecture room for some lawmakers to learn about the secret of 'old school' success in bipartisan House leadership.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 30, 2013
'The Suit' squares a love triangle
In his seminal 1968 work "The Empty Space," Peter Brook wrote: "Certainly, we still wish to capture in our arts the invisible currents that rule our lives, but our vision is now locked to the dark end of the spectrum. Today the theatre of doubting, of unease, of trouble, of alarm, seems truer than the...
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 29, 2013
NSA bills let Congress choose: End amassing of phone records or OK it
After nearly five months of controversy and debate, the U.S. Congress may face a clear choice over the National Security Agency's program to collect the phone records of nearly every American: endorse it or shut it down.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 27, 2013
Atomic waste piles higher at U.S. plants
U.S. lawmakers have debated for decades where to put all the spent fuel generated by the nation's nuclear power plants. The dithering means that an unintended site has emerged: Illinois.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2013
Tea party darling Cruz burnishes conservative credentials in Iowa
Sen. Ted Cruz used a series of long-scheduled appearances in Iowa over the weekend to cast himself as the natural leader of a burgeoning conservative movement that nearly derailed the new health care law.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2013
White House rallies Democrats in effort to shore up health site push
By the time President Barack Obama acknowledged on Monday that his signature health care program had serious problems, it was clear the political stakes had escalated for the White House.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2013
U.S. health site tests 'began too late'
Private contractors in charge of building the federal online health insurance marketplace testified Thursday that the administration went ahead with the Oct. 1 launch of HealthCare.gov despite insufficient testing.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2013
How much did the shutdown cost? Billions
Shutdowns aren't cheap. This year's closure, which ended Thursday, has probably cost the government and the economy billions of dollars, according to economists and policy analysts.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 20, 2013
House GOP has little to show while forcing one crisis after another
There was so much more they wanted to do.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2013
Top-two primary systems could counter American extremist tendencies
The latest game of political chicken that drove Washington to a government shutdown and the very edge of the debt ceiling gave new life to the omnipresent complaint of elder statesmen and centrist wise guys: If only congressional districts weren't so gerrymandered in the decennial redistricting process,...
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 17, 2013
U.S. debt deal sets up new risks to growth
The deal reached by Congress on Wednesday to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling would avert a financial catastrophe but leave the weakened U.S. economy facing new threats.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2013
Boehner's control of his caucus slipping
Republican House Speaker John Boehner started Tuesday with a last-ditch attempt to exert control over his restive caucus, proposing a new plan to open the government and raise the U.S. debt ceiling in an effort to give Republicans a bit of leverage.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2013
Some fear McConnell-Reid bitter rift could endanger U.S. fiscal deal
When Washington is in crisis and every other option has fallen to pieces — whether on rescuing Wall Street, rewriting national security rules or agreeing on a budget — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, are usually the ones who put it...

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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