Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, agreed to a deal to fund the government past this November's elections. The deal leaves working out a budget up to the next Congress and provides funding for the federal government through March 2013, well beyond the presidential inauguration in January.
Senate Republicans again Tuesday blocked Democratic legislation that would require greater transparency into who is behind much of the secretive, often negative campaign advertising filling the airwaves this election season.
Senators approved a giant farm bill Thursday that is estimated to cut the deficit by almost $24 billion, largely by ending direct payments to farmers and replacing them with taxpayer- subsidized crop insurance to assist farmers in need.
Your pain at the pump is the U.S. Senate's top issue this week.
With less than two weeks before federal money runs out for transportation projects across the country, a partisan showdown is developing between Senate Democrats and House Republicans over passing a new bill.
Sen. Pat Meehan urged the Senate to pass two House bills that would extend the payroll tax cut and improve infrastructure.
Deja vu, round two, a bad sequel or simply "here we go again" are some ways to describe the latest fight over extending the payroll tax cut. But even facing an end-of-month deadline before the 2% tax holiday expires, lawmakers appear no closer to a deal.
Senators descended into an angry and emotional debate Thursday night.
An emotional debate on the Senate floor Thursday night is putting a microscope once again on the political games in Washington that Americans overwhelmingly detest.
Senate Democrats still have not decided when to take up the jobs bill President Barack Obama announced with great fanfare to a joint session of Congress almost two weeks ago. In addition, they are still working to determine if they will vote on the bill in its entirety or augment it with additional job growth ideas of their own.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Wednesday he would ask the Senate to approve quickly a $6 billion emergency spending bill to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency's cash-strapped disaster relief fund.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made his picks Tuesday for the Congressional "super committee" that will face the unenviable task of finding trillions to slice from the federal budget.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Tuesday that he would appoint Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to the congressional "super committee," charged with crafting a plan to cut the country's deficit.
After weeks of bipartisan negotiations, President Barack Obama said congressional leaders agreed to a plan that would lift the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and avoid an unprecedented default on the nation's debt -- if, that is, members of Congress vote to approve the agreement.
Sen. Mitch McConnell says a national default "is not going to happen," and that he's fully engaged in talks with the president.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, temporarily stopped legislative consideration of his debt ceiling proposal late Saturday night, reversing an earlier decision to hold a key procedural vote on the measure by 1 a.m. ET Sunday.
House Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the nation's debt ceiling and slash government spending narrowly passed his chamber on Friday and then was blocked by Senate Democrats, setting up a weekend of negotiations to seek a deal that would avoid a potential federal default next week.
Little did Steve Jobs know in January 2007 that he was about to unveil a device that, four and a half years later, could help end a vicious debate about raising America's debt ceiling.
First the House debt ceiling bill came up short. Now it's the Senate bill.
With America now perilously close to default, here's where I sense we stand. My observations may be off as I have only had a brief time in Washington to take measure, but let me give it my best shot.
President Barack Obama on Monday endorsed a debt-ceiling proposal by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that would cut federal deficits by $2.7 trillion and increase the federal borrowing limit through 2012, the White House said.
Senate Democrats want to cut an eye-popping $1 trillion in war spending over the next 10 years.
The Senate will forgo its scheduled recess for the week of July 4 to work on legislation to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.
The Senate will forgo its scheduled recess for the week of July 4 to work on cutting the deficit, Sen. Harry Reid said Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed doubt in the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan Thursday, saying, "I'm not confident it's going to work."
Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price talks about Congressional budget negotiations with AM's Ali Velshi.
Top senators said Sunday that they believe Congress will reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown this week, but there was little consensus on two larger budget battles looming in coming months.
One week before a potential government shutdown, Senate Democrats for the first time reacted positively to an offer from House Republicans that would keep the government running for two more weeks while cutting $4 billion.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is taking aim at the world's oldest profession, calling for an end to legal prostitution in his home state of Nevada.
The Senate's top Democrat said Tuesday he would propose a 30-day extension of government funding at roughly current levels to allow time for negotiations with Republicans on a longer-term spending measure.
While the president's State of the Union address was filled with applause lines that brought many fellow Democrats to their feet, one part in particular rankled some key members of his party: "If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it."
In a rare interview, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid previewed the next congressional session and hyped a productive lame-duck session that included a bipartisan tax deal, the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, passage of New START and a bill to provide medical care to rescue workers sickened from their work at ground zero.
Senate majority leader Harry Reid and Rep. Joe Lieberman discuss the progress on repealing "don't ask, don't tell."
President Barack Obama on Saturday signed a short-term spending bill that will fund the government through Tuesday night.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yanked a pork-laden spending bill Thursday, citing the sudden loss of GOP support.
In a dramatic twist played out on the floor of the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid conceded Thursday night he lacked the votes to bring up a $1.1 trillion spending bill designed to fund the federal government for the rest of the current fiscal year.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid says there is still alot of work to do before Congress breaks for the holidays.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) says he is confident that the START Treaty will be ratified before the new year.
The Senate will begin debate on ratifying a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia as soon as Wednesday, after the chamber passes the tax package that President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday.
Gay rights groups have planned a rally near the U.S. Capitol at noon Friday to urge lawmakers to work through the winter holiday to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay and lesbian soldiers from military service.
CNN's Anderson Cooper and his panel discuss Sen. Harry Reid's push of a gambling bill during this congressional session.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, may have to fold his efforts to push a measure legalizing online poker in the United States into a tax-cut bill, in light of strenuous opposition from Republicans.
The bid to repeal the policy on gays in the military fails 57 to 40.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may be pressing ahead with a Senate vote Thursday that could doom the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay service members.
Senate Democrats decided Wednesday to postpone a planned vote on "don't ask, don't tell." CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.
Politics is serious business -- but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail to the international stage, there's always something that gets a laugh or a second glance. Here are some of the things you might have missed:
Senate Republicans promised Wednesday to block legislative action on every issue being considered by the lame-duck Congress until the dispute over extending the Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and an extension of current government funding is approved.
In November, CNN's Christine Romans broke down the costs of a tax cut extension.
The top Democratic and Republican Senate leadership will remain the same for the incoming 112th Congress.
Companies in renewable energy industries are trying to figure out how to navigate the swing rightward from the midterm elections. Starting with the worst casae scenario, projects that received some of the $16.8 billion in stimulus funding allocated to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in 2009 could now be left to wither, without getting the chance to return the promised green megawatts per dollar invested.
Senator Harry Reid says the campaign against Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle was one of the toughest of his life.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid basked in his re-election Wednesday after Nevada voters helped him turn back a challenge from a Tea Party-backed Republican he painted as too extreme for the state.
As Election Day gets closer, the rhetoric gets more intense, interesting and, shall we say, passionate. Here are some things you might have missed.
Editor's note: There are 18 days to go before voters cast ballots in the hotly contested midterm elections. In this special feature, CNN's political contributors share their quick thoughts on what's making news.
CNN's Candy Crowley looks at whether Tea Party candidates' success is giving Democrats a boost in the upcoming midterm elections.
It's one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country -- and for good reason. Majority Leader Harry Reid stands to lose his job representing Nevada -- one he's held since 1987 -- to Republican Sharron Angle, a Tea Party favorite.
When a scuffle broke out at a candidate forum in Nevada last week between supporters of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican rival Sharron Angle, the fight didn't end after tempers cooled. It simply moved over to the social media website Twitter, where the war of words in this nasty race continued.
In a graphic example of election-year politics at work, a defense bill that would repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy got blocked Tuesday in the U.S. Senate by a Republican-led filibuster.
In July, more than 400,000 troops were surveyed about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Two of the nation's 100 U.S. senators will return Thursday from their August recess to give the chamber's unanimous consent for $600 million in emergency funding to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
The House of Representatives approved $600 million in emergency funding Tuesday to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senate Democrats are once again trying to push through a bill that would send $26 billion to needy states.
Acknowledging that he and they don't always see eye to eye, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) on Saturday praised the influence of progressive activists gathered at the annual Netroots Nation convention.
Democrats admit that when it comes to passing comprehensive energy and climate change legislation, they simply do not have the votes.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has taken a seven-point lead over Republican opponent Sharron Angle, according to a new poll published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
As President Obama campaigned for Rory Reid's famous and powerful father in Nevada, the son was hundreds of miles away campaigning for governor.
After a failed attempt earlier this week, the House voted to extend the deadline to file for federal jobless benefits Thursday. But the bill will be stuck in limbo as Congress takes a weeklong summer break.
First-time homebuyers looking to land an $8,000 federal income tax credit may have a little more time to close on their purchases if a Senate amendment unveiled Thursday makes it into law.
In the wake of Congress' $787 billion economic stimulus bill and $700 billion TARP bailout legislation, fiscal conservatives are ringing alarm bells over how much Washington is spending beyond incoming revenue. The federal budget deficit is expected to reach $1.56 trillion this fiscal year, up from a record $1.41 trillion in fiscal 2009, according to the Treasury Department.
CNN's Dan Lothian reports on the growing deficit and the Obama administration's reaction to it.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other leading Democratic senators will formally unveil the outlines of legislation for comprehensive immigration reform late Thursday, CNN has learned.
An 18-member team created by executive order by President Obama will start trying to crack the nation's biggest money problems on Tuesday.
Two key Republican lawmakers joined a growing GOP effort Sunday to halt the push for immigration reform, arguing the time is not right to take on the massive and complex issue.
Senate Democrats called out Republicans on Thursday for what they said was the promotion of "falsehoods" on the financial reform bill and vowed to move the bill forward.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress seem to have found one issue on which they agree. Neither party wants to get near immigration reform, the new "third rail" in American politics -- an issue so politically charged that politicians risk their careers by touching it.
As a typical American who shuns the hard work my grandfathers did, last week on this site, I took responsibility for creating the problem of illegal immigration.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid mistakenly called out "no" Thursday when asked for his vote on the health care reconciliation bill, setting the chamber howling with laughter.
During Thursday's health care reconciliation vote, "no" meant "yes" for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Thousands of Tea Party activists Saturday will mount their latest cross-country protest against big government and health care reform, hoping its kickoff point also will carry a strong symbolic message.
It's a grass-roots protest movement composed of the newly politicized and people distrustful of hierarchy. So how is it possible to be an illegitimate Tea Party member?
Democratic Senators Monday unveiled a $150 billion bill that pushes back the deadline to file for unemployment insurance until year-end and extends dozens of expiring corporate and personal tax credits.
As a major White House meeting on health care reform approaches this week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged Tuesday that he may use a controversial parliamentary shortcut to bypass GOP opposition and pass a bill.
While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, indicated that a vote on the Senate jobs bill could come at any time, it is now expected to take place Wednesday.
The Senate's slow-moving effort to spur job creation was thrown into turmoil Thursday.
Senate Democrats' draft plan for job creation, circulated Tuesday, contains a couple of employment measures and a lot of leftover business.
CNN iReporters sound off on remarks Sen. Harry Reid made during the 2008 presidential campaign.
As our nation's politicians return from their holidays, the agenda they left behind is still front and center. Getting an acceptable compromise of the very different Senate and House health care bills is still the president's and the Democratic leadership's priority. Stopping it is still the Republicans' priority. The final details may antagonize some of the Democrats' most important constituencies and the grumbling has already started.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien breaks down the controversy created by racially "inartful" remarks by Sen. Harry Reid.
The GOP's 2008 presidential candidate decried Tuesday what he called a "stunning double standard" between the treatment of a top Democrat and Republican leader caught making racially insensitive remarks.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in hot water for some comments he made to reporters in a new book called "Game Change." In the book, Reid said, Barack Obama had a chance of winning because he was both "light-skinned" and didn't speak with a "Negro dialect."
Sen. Harry Reid's comments during the 2008 Democratic primary show that he is socially awkward, but they certainly don't prove he is a secret racist. If anything, these comments show that Reid may know about white voters, but he doesn't understand black voters at all.
Despite Republican calls for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to step down from his leadership post over racially insensitive comments he made about President Obama, analysts believe the controversy won't hurt Reid any more than other issues already have.
CNN Political Editor Mark Preston gets Political Analyst Donna Brazile's take on Sen. Harry Reid's controversial comments.
Sharks can smell even the smallest drop of blood miles away, so it should come as no surprise that, even in their home districts, Beltway Republicans began circling when news broke of Harry Reid's latest self-inflicted wound.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is suggesting that Reid should step down as Senate majority leader.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for making racially insensitive remarks about Barack Obama during the presidential campaign.
We are approaching the eve of Christmas and maybe in that spirit, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid morphed into Santa Claus, giving out presents to the little boys and girls who were naughty and (not so) nice this year.
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