Congress prepares to wrap up unproductive year
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Ridiculed as the "do-nothing" 109th U.S. Congress, the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on Monday begin a brief session to wrap up whatever work they can, install a new defense secretary and approve money to prevent a shutdown of government services.
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Sweep up the last year's loose ends, and head off next year's filing disasters.
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If President Bush wants to push his plan to overhaul Social Security through Congress during his second term, he probably will have to do something he rarely did during his first term: get his hands dirty.
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The 108th Congress soon will be history, a tumultuous two years that, depending on party affiliation, was the best of times or the worst of times.
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A good year ends with a bad quarter.
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A Congress derided as do-nothing has a week before breaking for the elections to do something, and the prospects are cloudy.
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Government fails to meet vast majority of political and military goals laid out by congress
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WASHINGTON - The federal deficit will swell to a record $422 billion this election year but fall short of even more dire forecasts, Congress' top budget analysts projected Tuesday in a report that became instant fodder for both political parties.    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the shortfall would shrink to $348 billion next year - still the third worst ever in dollar terms...
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New Year is a time to take stock of the past year, and measure the tasks of the next one.
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Ending weeks of stalemate, Congress is preparing to ship nearly &#36;15 billion to states battered by hurricane and drought as lawmakers plow through a final pile of pre-election bills that would cut taxes and revamp the intelligence community.
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Hopes dim as less-interested Democratic Congress arrives next month.
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Highlights of what Congress has done &#151; and has not done &#151; this year.
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Still smarting from the partisan wars of 2007, Congress confronts a sinking economy, a lingering war and election-year politics as it gets back to work for the 2008 session.
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These are tough times for the Democratic-led U.S. Congress, where partisan battles have led to little progress on big issues and have made lawmakers collectively less popular than President George W. Bush.
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In some cases, fights in Congress have slowed progress, or the U.S. government has focused on other priorities. In other cases, the cost of IT projects has been an issue.
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WASHINGTON - Ending weeks of stalemate, lawmakers got ready Saturday to send nearly $15 billion to states battered by hurricanes and drought as Congress plowed through a pre-election pile of bills that cut taxes and overhaul intelligence agencies.    House-Senate bargainers met one final time to put the finishing touches on the natural disaster assistance and attach it to a $10 billion military construction measure...
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Don't expect lawmakers to stave off a downturn, if that's where the economy is headed.