U.S. Politics
Around-the-clock political news and analysis from Reuters. Follow @ReutersPolitics for more.
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Pres Obama, in Minneapolis, says an assault weapons ban (which even some Dems oppose) "deserves a vote in Congress"
— Steve Holland (@steveholland1) February 4, 2013 -
Obama recounts the story that Gabby Giffords's husband Mark Kelly told of her shooting at last week's hearing in Congress on gun violence, when Kelly cited the 30+ rounds that were fired by Jared Loughner in fifteen seconds.
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Obama: "There won't be perfect solutions - we're not going to save every life - but we can make a difference."
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The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Senate Democrats plan to introduce a gun control bill next month that includes "most of the proposals backed by President Barack Obama, with the notable exception of a ban on military-style, semiautomatic weapons." Limiting magazine capacity and expanded background checks seem to be on track for inclusion in this bill.
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President Obama will speak at 1:15pm today, here's what he's expected to discuss...
Obama to propose short term package to put off spending cuts
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday will propose that Congress pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms to put off the "harmful consequences" of huge automatic spending cuts known as the "sequester" for a few months, a White House official said.
"Uncertainty around the sequester is already having a negative impact on our economic growth, and if it was to take effect it would cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs and have devastating impacts on our economy," the official said.
The small budget package would "allow Congress more time to reach a solution that permanently avoids the sequester and significantly reduces the deficit in a balanced way," the official said. -
Holder says that S&P "misled investors" and "falsely claimed that its ratings were independent" in its handling of mortgage securities during the financial crisis. Read the Reuters story on the Justice Department's civil lawsuit against S&P.
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Holder: "It's clear that we cannot yet be satisfied" with S&P case and other investigations are ongoing.
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US seeks more than $5 bln in suit against S&P -attorney general
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is seeking more than $5 billion in a lawsuit against rating agency Standard & Poor's over mortgage bond ratings, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday.
The civil suit against S&P and its parent McGraw-Hill Cos Inc is the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged illegal behavior related to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis.
(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha and Emily Stephenson; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick) -
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Holder asked about memo on assassination of US citizens: "we only take these actions when there is an imminent threat" bit.ly/YT6gpW
— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) February 5, 2013 -
U.S. Attorney General Holder says there's "no connection" between S&P downgrade of U.S. and investigation into S&P ratings of mortgage products.
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House Republican warns against rushing U.S. immigration reform
by Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON - The U.S. immigration system is badly in need of reform but Congress should not rush legislation to President Barack Obama, who is demanding prompt action, a leading Republican said on Tuesday.
In the first of a series of hearings planned by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Chairman Bob Goodlatte warned a packed hearing room that his panel "needs to take the time to learn from the past so that our efforts to reform our immigration laws do not repeat the same mistakes."
Obama and many of his fellow Democrats in Congress are pushing for passage this year of comprehensive reforms that would include putting 11 million illegal residents on a path to U.S. citizenship.
Read more -
Obama proposes short-term budget fix, Republicans swiftly object
by Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms to delay larger, automatic cuts from going into effect and damaging the economy on March 1.
His proposal was quickly rebuffed by Republican leaders, who rejected the suggestion of tax increases after agreeing to raise rates for top U.S. earners earlier this year.
If launched as scheduled, the cuts - dubbed the "sequester" - would reduce federal spending across the board by about $85 billion for one year, split evenly between military and domestic programs. The total of reductions through 2022 would be about $1.2 trillion.
Read on -
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"Package delivery will continue Monday through Saturday, mail delivery will occur Monday through Friday, no mail pickup on Saturday" - Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe
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Reuters: Republican House Speaker Boehner says will oppose delay in automatic budget cuts without cuts and reforms -
Reuters: SENIOR WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS MET DEFENSE CONTRACTOR CEOS ON WEDS TO DISCUSS HARMFUL IMPACT SEQUESTER WOULD HAVE ON THEIR INDUSTRY-WHITE HOUSE
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White House, defense contractors discuss harm of automatic spending cuts
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Senior White House officials met with chief executives from top defense contractors on Wednesday to discuss the impact to their business of deep automatic federal spending cuts slated to take effect on March 1, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
The meeting on the automatic cuts, or "sequester," included top executives from Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and several other companies, Carney said. -
Reuters: SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE REPUBLICANS SAY TO OFFER PLAN TO REPLACE AUTOMATIC SPENDING CUTS FOR SEVEN MONTHS, PAID FOR BY SHRINKING FEDERAL WORKFORCE BY ATTRITION
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U.S. Senate Republicans seek seven-month delay in automatic spending cuts
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday proposed a seven-month delay in looming automatic spending cuts, until the end of the 2013 fiscal year on Sept. 30, that would be paid for by shrinking the federal workforce.
The plan, announced at a news conference, would replace the cuts with savings achieved by not replacing federal workers who leave their jobs over a number of years. -
Obama nominates REI chief Jewell for U.S. interior secretary
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Sally Jewell, head of outdoor retailer REI, as interior secretary, a key position in his administration's oversight of drilling for oil and natural gas offshore and on public lands.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Vicki Allen) -
Obama and Salazar seem to be going out of their way to make expressions of friendship and devotion at this ceremonyby Jeff Mason via twitter 2/6/2013 7:18:51 PM -
Sen Inhofe, ranking R member on Armed Services, says he and Sen Levin still have not decided whether panel will vote on #Hagel tomorrow.by Patricia Zengerle via twitter 2/6/2013 7:18:57 PM -
McCain: the path we are in now is that Congress will not act (on sequestration) in the next 30 days.by Patricia Zengerle via twitter 2/6/2013 7:23:00 PM
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Sen. Marco Rubio will deliver GOP response to State of the Union Tuesday.by jacksonjk via twitter 2/6/2013 8:45:19 PM -
Reuters: CIA Director Nominee John Brennan says he was interviewed in connection with U.S. prosecutors' probes into unauthorized leaks of government information. According to official documents, Brennan told the U.S. Senate he was interviewed a spart of probes into leaks concerning cyber attacks against Iran and a foiled bomb plot tied to al Qaeda in Yemen.
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Reuters: Senate panel could hold hearing to consider Jack Lew to serve as treasury secretary as early as February 13, source says.
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Sen. Levin (D-MI) starts hearing by noting that this is likely Secretary of Defense Panetta's last testimony before leaving the position.
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Levin remarked that the focus on talking points delivered in the immediate wake of the Benghazi attack, which he says were properly approved, have been focused on too heavily at the expense of analyzing the events and pursuing attackers. Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) disagrees, raising the Rice comments as he did during the recent Clinton and Kerry Benghazi testimonies on the State Department's role.
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Panetta expresses his thanks to the committee for the work they've been able to do "across the aisle" during his time as Secretary of Defense, notes that he's been able to live the "American dream" as the son of Italian immigrants.
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Panetta on Benghazi: "This was not a prolonged assault which could have been brought to an end by a U.S. military response."
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) February 7, 2013 -
Panetta says that the Department of Defense works with the State Department to ensure the safety of American diplomats, though it is not directly responsible. The lack of direct accountability for DoD here may lower the temperature of this testimony compared to Clinton's.
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Panetta describes the limited options Pentagon had to respond to Benghazi attack, says "there wasn't enough time for armed military assets to make a difference" and that Ambassador Stevens's location wasn't known right away after the attack.
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On lessons learned from the attack, Panetta stresses importance of working with host nations to enhance the security of diplomatic facilities, such as equipping host forces. Panetta says DoD is working with State Department to review the security of 19 sites for possible improvements. Role of Marines will be expanded beyond protecting classified information, which was the Marines' focus in Benghazi, with additional training that could provide assistance if security is overwhelmed.
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Panetta says he firmly believes that DoD and the military "did all we could do" to respond to the Benghazi attack. Stresses need for an agile force, emphasizes that sequestration cuts set for March 1st are greatest threat to military readiness.
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Panetta: "Above all... we must end the cloud of budget uncertainty that is hanging over the Department and the entire U.S. government."
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) February 7, 2013 -
Panetta: "This budget uncertainty could prompt the most significant military readiness crisis in more than a decade."
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) February 7, 2013 -
In brief opening statement, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey echoes Panetta's concern over sequestration, offers condolences to the families of the Benghazi victims.
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Levin starts first round of questions completely focused on sequestration. Mentions Panetta's warnings about the cuts delivered to Georgetown students yesterday.
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Panetta says preparations for sequestration have already begun, including implementing a hiring freeze and a negative impact on 46,000 jobs, as well as cuts on maintenance and other areas. Says these are "mostly reversible" if there is action on the issue.
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Panetta appeals to Congress to de-trigger sequestration, address wider fiscal issues creating uncertainty where "we don't know what the hell we're going to get" in the short term.
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Strong words from Panetta: I cannot believe that people would stand by and hurt this country by allowing sequester to take place.
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) February 7, 2013 -
Questioning turns to Inhofe, one of the biggest critics of Benghazi's handling in recent hearings, who says he fears that "the skunk is about to arrive at the picnic."
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Inhofe questioning Dempsey / Panetta on their resourcing and preparation with General Ham, who is the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and how Benghazi response highlights deficiencies in the increasingly volatile region of northern Africa. Inhofe references timeline visual showing sequence events surrounding the attack.
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Inhofe and Reed (D-RI) going over timeline of events released by Pentagon, Panetta and Dempsey acknowledge elements of the Benghazi attacks that suggest pre-meditation (numbers and weapons used), particularly the attack on the CIA annex that came after the attack on the consulate compound where Ambassador Stevens died.
Battle rages near Aleppo, air onslaught continues
BEIRUT Syrian government and rebel forces battled for control of high ground on the Aleppo outskirts on Saturday as warplanes bombed the city's opposition-held east relentlessly in a Russian-backed offensive that has left Washington's Syria policy in tatters. | Video