Politic Wire

Los Angeles voters to choose from two Democrats for mayor

Reuters Politics - May 21, 2013 - 5:00pm

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Voters in Los Angeles went to the polls on Tuesday to choose a new mayor from two Democratic contenders and former city council allies as the long race, characterized by negative campaign ads, came to an end.

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Democrats call for controls on tax-exempt groups at IRS hearing

Reuters Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:54pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As they joined Republicans on Tuesday in bashing the Internal Revenue Service for targeting conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status, Senate Democrats had another target: the regulations that require the tax agency to weigh the political activity of such groups.

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Oklahoma senators embrace disaster aid after opposing Sandy relief bill

Reuters Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:50pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid expressions of horror, grief and resolve over the devastating tornado that smashed into suburban Oklahoma City, many lawmakers expressed relief on Tuesday that they took action in January to bulk up the FEMA disaster relief fund.

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Senate panel OKs changes sought by tech firms in immigration bill

Reuters Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:45pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel voted on Tuesday to make it easier for U.S. companies to hire foreign workers as part of a broad immigration bill being debated in Congress.

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Senate panel approves deal on foreign workers

Washington Post Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:40pm

Most U.S. high-tech companies would not be required to offer jobs to Americans before hiring foreign workers under a compromise worked out Tuesday by Senate negotiators on an immigration reform bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the deal, which came as amendment to the immigration legislation, to satisfy concerns from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), whose support is seen as crucial to building strong bipartisan momentum.

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White House: Reporters shouldn't be prosecuted

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:37pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama believes journalists shouldn't be prosecuted for doing their jobs, the White House said Tuesday, showing solidarity with First Amendment advocates alarmed by a pair of high-profile federal probes into national security leaks....

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IRS official will refuse to answer questions at House hearing

Reuters Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:34pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lois Lerner, an Internal Revenue Service official who revealed that the agency was giving extra scrutiny to conservative groups, will assert her constitutional right not to answer questions from a congressional committee on Wednesday, her lawyer said in a letter obtained by Reuters.

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Senate Panel Approves Weapons For Syrian Rebels

TPM - May 21, 2013 - 4:30pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate panel voted on Tuesday to provide weapons to rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the first time lawmakers have endorsed the aggressive U.S. military step of arming the opposition in the 2-year-old civil war.

With a degree of trepidation, the Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 for a bill that would provide lethal assistance and military training to vetted rebel groups, and would slap sanctions on anyone who sells oil or transfers arms to the Assad regime such as Iran and Russia. The measure also establishes a $250 million fund to aid in the transition if and when Assad falls.

An intense committee debate over the bill underscored congressional fears about greater U.S. military involvement in a Mideast war after more than a decade of American combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also exposed divisions within the Republican Party about U.S. foreign policy that will remain well into the 2016 GOP presidential nomination fight.

The fate of the bill is uncertain, with opposition among several senators and far less enthusiasm in the House for stepped-up U.S. military action. The legislation does send a strong message as the Obama administration mulls its next step.

After some 90 minutes of discussion -- and rejection of several amendments to undercut the measure, a bipartisan argument for increased U.S. action in Syria swayed lawmakers.

"The greatest humanitarian crisis in the world is unfolding in and around Syria," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the committee chairman. "Vital U.S. interests are at stake including the stability of the Middle East, loose chemical weapons, and the danger that Syria becomes a safe haven for extremists. The United States must play a role in tipping the scales toward opposition groups and working to build a free and democratic Syria."

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the panel's top Republican, implicitly criticized the Obama administration as he joined Menendez in embracing the measure.

"Much of the policy on Syria has been done on an ad hoc basis," Corker said. "This bill lays out a strategy."

The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced after two years of fighting between Assad forces and rebels. The Obama administration has provided millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance but has been wary of calls to arm the rebels or launch military strikes despite recent evidence that Assad has used chemical weapons on his people.

The administration is mulling its next step as Secretary of State John Kerry pursues a diplomatic solution.

Opposing the legislation were Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a potential presidential candidate in 2016, and Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Udall questioned whether the United States would know what rebel groups it was arming as it introduced more lethal weapons into a chaotic situation while Murphy argued that the U.S. hasn't learned from history.

"We have failed over and over again in our attempts to pull the strings of Middle Eastern politics," he said.

Paul said the U.S. is war weary and reluctant to get involved in a murky conflict with so many factions. He said there is no assurance that the weapons would end up in the hands of "liberty-loving, Jeffersonian-type of democrats."

"It's impossible to know who are friends are," he said.

His arguments put him at odds with another potential White House candidate -- Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who backed the legislation and insisted that it was critical to help groups battling the well-armed, pro-Assad forces and radical jihadists.

The committee turned back two amendments sponsored by Paul, one saying the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force does not allow intervention in Syria and another that barred weapons to Syria.

Paul pointed out the irony that one of the most effective rebel groups fighting Assad is Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-affiliated group. The goal of the legislation is to ensure that the rebel groups meet a certain criteria with no links to terrorism.

The panel also rejected a Udall amendment that would have limited the weapons to .50-caliber arms and smaller. The senator warned that heavier weapons could end up in the hands of U.S. enemies.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fierce proponent of aggressive U.S. military might against Syria, pointed out that Assad's forces have used helicopter gunships, tanks, Scud missiles and heavy artillery.

"The senator wants to use shotguns against Scud missiles," McCain said derisively.

Udall said Saudi Arabia and Qatar are providing weapons to the opposition forces. The United States, he said, "could turn over the weapons we're talking about and next day they end up in the hands of al-Qaida."

On Wednesday, Kerry will meet with 10 of America's closest Arab and European allies in Jordan. Officials said the gathering has two aims: to change Assad's calculation, only fortified by his recent military successes, that he can win the war militarily, and to persuade both the government and the opposition to attend peace talks next month in Geneva.

____

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper in Muscat, Oman, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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Senate panel approves weapons for Syrian rebels

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:24pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate panel voted on Tuesday to provide weapons to rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the first time lawmakers have endorsed the aggressive U.S. military step of arming the opposition in the 2-year-old civil war....

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Fort Jackson commander facing adultery charges

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:21pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army says the commanding general of Fort Jackson, S.C., has been suspended in connection with charges of adultery and involvement in a physical altercation....

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Senate votes to make small cut to food stamps

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 4:02pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate has voted to keep a $400 million annual cut - or roughly a half of 1 percent - to the food stamp program in a farm bill it is considering this week....

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Apple's Cook faces Senate questions on taxes

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:59pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate dragged Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, into the debate over the U.S. tax code Tuesday, grilling CEO Tim Cook over allegations that its Irish subsidiaries help the company avoid billions in U.S. taxes....

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Moniz: LNG exports on hold until data reviewed

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:44pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Tuesday he will delay final decisions on about 20 applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies by the Energy Department and others on what impact the exports would have on domestic natural gas supplies and prices....

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IRS chief knew tea party groups targeted in 2012

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:41pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The former head of the Internal Revenue Service said he first learned in the spring of 2012 - in the heat of the presidential campaign - that agents had improperly targeted political groups that vehemently opposed President Barack Obama's policies....

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IRS official Lois Lerner to take the Fifth

Washington Post Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:30pm

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who first disclosed the agency's improper targeting of conservative groups two weeks ago, will invoke her right not to testify Wednesday for fear of self-incrimination, her lawyer has told the House Oversight Committee.

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IRS official Lois Lerner to take the Fifth

Washington Post Politics Blog - May 21, 2013 - 3:28pm

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who first disclosed the agency’s improper targeting of conservative groups two weeks ago, will invoke her right not to testify Wednesday for fear of self-incrimination, her lawyer has told the House Oversight Committee. “The committee … Continue reading →    

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Key senator to let Myanmar sanctions bill lapse

AP Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:24pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Senate Republican says he plans to let key sanctions legislation against Myanmar (mee-an-MAWR') lapse because of the country's progress toward democracy....

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Joplin 'Volunteer House' symbol of hope for tornado victims

Washington Post Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:22pm

If I hadn't seen Joplin, Mo., almost two years ago, I wouldn't believe the extent of the devastation in Moore, Okla.

By the time I visited Joplin on Labor Day 2011, after the May 22 tornado had struck the southwest Missouri community, much of the damage was still visible. Entire city blocks of houses and buildings lay pulverized to piles of rubble. No newspaper photograph or television news clip could capture the damage. Areas where the debris had been cleared had become the silent ghosts of neighborhoods that no longer existed. Signs spraypainted on remnants of houses ranged from the threatening "You loot, we shoot" to the reassuring "all ok."

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When do teachers and big government get respect? When we need them

Washington Post Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:19pm

When the news and pictures streamed in from Oklahoma, it was terrible and shocking. The tornado hit Moore, leveling homes and obliterating a school, where frightened children turned to teachers who comforted them, kept their cool and tried to protect their charges, with their own bodies if it came to that.

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Conservative Okla. lawmakers face dilemma: Will they support tornado relief funding?

Washington Post Politics - May 21, 2013 - 3:17pm

Oklahoma has one of the most conservative congressional delegations of any state: seven Republican men, including fierce advocates for cutting federal spending.

Five of those seven voted no this January on a bill to provide $50 billion in disaster funding for states hit by Hurricane Sandy.

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