Debt cloud looms over GOP plans
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The ambitious wish list launched by the successful campaigns of President George W. Bush and Congressional Republicans ran smack into the harsh reality Wednesday that the United States is short on cash.
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Republicans in Congress want to significantly tighten regulations to keep people who declare bankruptcy from ducking debts they should be able to settle, but Democrats and physicians' groups argue the move would penalize Americans who go broke because of huge medical bills they can't pay.
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At their national convention, Republicans were short on specifics on how to pay for an economic agenda in a second Bush administration. One reason is that President Bush could end up having to back a tax increase, just as his father did. But nobody wanted to spoil the Madison Square Garden party by mentioning such unpleasantries. After all, Republicans are insisting that Democrat John Kerry is the candidate who will increase taxes.
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The final two years of President Bush's term could be bleak for Republicans if the congressional-page scandal roiling Washington ends up costing them control of the House or Senate or even both.
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A string of political setbacks has damaged Republicans' hopes of regaining the Senate majority next year and increased the likelihood Democrats might expand their razor-thin margin.
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Fasten your seatbelts. The Republicans are coming to town. If things go smoothly at the Republican National Convention, the stock market could get a brief boost next week, experts say.
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A falling U.S. budget deficit  brought some solace on Friday to Republicans beset by a  Washington sex scandal, violence in Iraq and possible political  setbacks in the November congressional elections.
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Republicans have been able to slow and sometimes halt the agenda of Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats.
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Over the next 10 years, the nation&#39;s cumulative budget deficit will soar to $2.3 trillion, the CBO projected. And if President Bush succeeds in making his tax cuts permanent, as he&#39;s vowed to do if re-elected, the 10-year deficit could top $4 trillion.
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An exodus of senior Republican incumbents from the House is threatening to cripple Republican efforts to topple the Democratic majority in November.
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WASHINGTON - Republicans whisked a $388 billion spending bill through Congress on Saturday, a mammoth measure that underscores the dominance of deficit politics by curbing dollars for everything from education to environmental cleanups.
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Top congressional Republicans must decide the fate of a &#36;14 billion package for victims of hurricanes and drought, with the approach of Election Day leaving both parties in particularly generous moods.
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A half dozen federal investigations into the activities of Republican lawmakers are raising new worries for GOP leaders who hope to regain the House majority they lost last fall.
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The strange sound of bipartisanship has gripped the returning Congress, thanks to fears of recession. But the two parties will be battling over other issues soon
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Congressional Democrats say when they take the gavel from Republicans next month, they will put money in the pockets of college students and closely examine a law reforming elementary and secondary schools. How they will pay for their plans isn't clear.
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The spate of Republican retirements will make it difficult for his party to take control of Congress in 2008, he said at a Monitor breakfast Thursday.
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Chicago Tribune - Despite Republican victories in the elections this week, much of President Bush's agenda faces considerable head winds in Congress, particularly the Senate.