5/2

House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill On Anniversary Of Roe v. Wade

The House of Representatives passed a bill banning federal funding of abortion and Medicaid from covering abortions. This bill was heavily tied into the ban on abortions passed the 20 week pregnancy mark that was postponed due to lack of support. The president is expected to veto it.

4/2

Abortion Vote Shows How Much Democrats' World Has Changed

This article talked about how being pro-life has become a Republican issue instead of just a social issue that people have different views about. Republicans looking to pass anti-abortion laws no longer have the support of the majority of democrats and can't count on having any support outside their party. On the democrat side of matters, candidates for political positions both in Congress and in state legislation who are openly pro-life have had a more difficult time being elected in recent years, showing how abortion has grown from a faith based issue to a social and political issue.

3/2

House may delay border security bill until mid-February

A border security bill in the house, a controversial issue regarding immigration, is likely to be delayed until further notice. The main reason most want to wait to vote is until voting has commenced on the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, which is scheduled to expire if not given money.

2/2

For 2016, many Republicans but just one Democrat

This article focused on the notion that there seems to be only one real contender for the Democratic presidential candidacy, Hilary Clinton, but numerous ones for the Republican party. In a poll of usual Republican voters, almost half said they were undecided about who to support at this point in time, where over half of Democrats claimed to be already behind Clinton. As of right now, the conclusion is that the majority of Republicans and Independents as well will sit back and watch what happens with possibly candidates before committing to any particular person. 

1/2

Federal deficit falls to lowest in Obama presidency

The federal is deficit is now at $468 billion, which is the lowest that it's been since Obama became president in 2009. Although experts expect the rate to stay about what it is now for the near future, the debt is expected to rise again because the generation of the baby boomers will begin to retire. President Obama is supposed to send his budget request to Capitol Hill by the beginning of February.

5/1

Reviewing Federal Education Law, Senator Seeks More Local Control

Senator Lamar Alexander, a republican from Tennessee, spoke on the floor earlier in the week about changing education regulations to be managed by state and local governments, instead of regulations being passed on a federal level. Congress has tried to repeal No Child Left Behind since 2007 but has been stalled. Both democrats and republicans agree that education requirements need to be specific to certain areas because there are factors that aren't the same everywhere in the US.

4/1

The Costs of Stinginess in Medicaid

This article focuses on the idea that making healthcare cheaper might seem better off for the present, but has negative long term effects for both the citizens and government. By making medicare packages less expensive, no one has to pay a lot of money upfront, but people receive less benefits and are more likely to have health complications down the road that could have been avoided by shelling out more money to begin with. However, the counter argument is that at least people are receiving any healthcare at all, and raising prices would just eliminate the number of people eligible to purchase a plan.

3/1

Supreme Court Takes Broad View on Hostage-Taker’s Penalty

The Supreme Court unanimously decided to pass a law declaring that any criminals who take hostages in the process of committing a crime such as robbery must serve at least ten years in prison. This measure was brought up in response to a debate that has been going on since the 30s, after a series of robberies ended up in police force accidentally shooting hostages who were in the way of the suspect. Congress wants to end the practice of criminals using humans as shields as they try to finish their crime or escape from the scene.

2/1

Obama Calls for New Laws to Bolster Cybersecurity

After the issues with the Sony hack, Obama told the public that he wanted to further America's defense against hackers, specifically foreign. He acknowledged that putting into effect technology pro cautions will require the industry and the government to work together. His staff even said that they consider cyber crimes to be just as illegal, if not more so, than physical crimes, because of the scale the crimes take place on.

1/1

Boehner Facing Dissent and Defections in Vote to Remain Speaker of House

This article talked a lot about how Boehner will almost certainly be reelected, but mostly because he is the current speaker, not because he has a lot of support. Democrats don't like him because he's a Republican, and many Republicans see him as soft and believe that he has compromised on too many issues. Another problem Boehner must fix is the image that his party has due to association with white supremacist groups and anti immigration politicians.