Tag - congress

 
 

CONGRESS

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2013
Obama keeps fluid grip on levels of power
President Barack Obama's professed ignorance of the targeting of conservatives by one government agency and his support of tracking journalists' sources by another highlight one of the great paradoxes of his presidency: Sometimes he uses his office as aggressively as anyone who's held it; other times...
WORLD
May 19, 2013
Obama seeks over $1 trillion in new taxes
President Barack Obama's most recent budget request will reduce borrowing by $1.1 trillion over the next decade compared with current law — almost entirely through higher taxes on the rich, large estates and smokers, congressional budget analysts said Friday.
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.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.