Senate

McConnell noted that the Obama administration itself has decided the CLASS Act is not financially viable. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) opened the upper chamber Wednesday by accusing House Republicans of piling up phony jobs legislation and by blaming Senate Republicans for amendment gridlock on the pending STOCK Act, a bill to clarify that engaging in insider trading in Congress is illegal.

A bipartisan group of six senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to study the possible health risks posed by X-ray scanning devices that are used to screen passengers, and provide for alternative screening methods for people who don't want to run these risks.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she introduced her bill in part because TSA Administrator John Pistole said last year he would call for an independent study on the health risks posed by scanners, but then backed away from that commitment. She said she received a letter from Pistole that failed to explain why a study would not be forthcoming.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took the floor late Tuesday afternoon to complain that after a long day of work on the bipartisan STOCK Act, the Senate had nothing to show because senators were quarreling over which amendments would see votes.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday took a dig at Newt Gingrich, his father's rival for the GOP presidential nomination, by arguing that ex-members of Congress who engage in lobbying ought to be stripped of their taxpayer provided pensions and health care.

Sens. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) argued for an amendment to the STOCK Act on Tuesday to permanently ban earmarks from the legislative process.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) decried the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act on Tuesday as a political stunt staged by Democrats and Republicans, and offered a substitute amendment that would make members and staff certify that they are complying with existing insider-trading laws. 

The Senate agreed by voice vote Tuesday morning to officially begin debate on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, legislation that would prevent members of Congress from making investments and trades based on non-public information.

The legislation cleared its first major hurdle Monday with a strong 93-2 vote. As such, the Tuesday voice vote was procedural, and senators are now allowed to offer amendments to the bill. 

Freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday accused President Obama of engaging in a pattern of "lawless and unconstitutional behavior" most recently exhibited in the controversial recess appointments he made early this year. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leveled a withering attack at the White House on Tuesday, accusing President Obama of pushing for the pending insider-trading bill, the STOCK Act, in order to change the subject from the dismal economy over which he presides.