Senate

In his 10-year fight for the DREAM Act, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is like the Biblical character Joshua who brought the walls of Jericho "tumblin' down," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said on Wednesday.

"I'm reminded of the story in the Bible of Joshua and Jericho," Whitehouse said after Durbin announced he would reintroduce the legislation, which provides a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants if they attend college or join the military. Read more...

Senate Democratic leaders said Wednesday they will renew their effort to pass the DREAM Act, which would provide a path toward legal residency for some illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

The announcement was made from the Senate floor by the author of the legislation, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and came on the heels of a speech made by President Obama in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday in which he called for immigration reform and advocated for the act. 

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered a terse message to Senate Democrats regarding their plan to slash $20 billion in tax cuts for the big five oil producers. 

"They [Democrats] acknowledged that this [plan] will not lower the price of gas, and they’re right," McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “The Congressional Research Service tells us that raising taxes on American energy will do two things: increase the price of gas and increase our dependence on foreign competitors."

Reid says labor board is consistent with spirit of "checks and balances" established by Founding Fathers.

Controversial judicial nominee Edward Milton Chen was confirmed 56 to 42 in the Senate on Tuesday to become a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California.

The confirmation marks the end of a long road for Chen. He was first nominated by President Obama on Aug. 6, 2009, but Republicans who opposed his confirmation managed to block him three times.

Prior to Tuesday's vote, senators engaged in vigorous debate on whether Chen was fit to serve on the bench. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled debate time and a vote for Tuesday afternoon on the controversial nomination of Edward Milton Chen to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California. 

Chen, who served as lawyer for the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) for more than 15 years, has made enemies among some conservatives, and it is possible members of the Senate GOP caucus will attempt to filibuster the vote. 

The Democratic leadership took to the Senate floor Tuesday to tout their plan to use the money saved by eliminating billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies to lower the national deficit.

"Today we will introduce legislation that our side agrees with which will say ‘take all that money and put it to deficit reduction,’” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, referring to the about $20 billion in tax breaks the government gives to BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and Conoco Phillips each year.

“Because the deficit is such a huge problem, because we might have a dispute with our friends on the other side of the aisle as to where the money ought to go, everyone can agree it would be worthwhile to take a little bit of the burden off the taxpayers, have the oil companies pay their fair share, and stop these ridiculous tax breaks and subsidies to big oil,” Schumer said.

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Tuesday said the Senate is shirking its responsibility to ensure that the federal government has a budget in place for fiscal 2012.

"It seems to me that our leadership in the Senate is desperately seeking to avoid having to do the responsible thing, and that is to stand up and produce a budget," Sessions said on the Senate floor.

"The way things should work is this: the Senate should come forward, the Democratic Senate," he said. "They have the majority, you pass a budget with a simple majority. Let's propose a budget."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) laid out Monday the concessions President Obama will have to make to win Republican support on immigration reform. 

"The president will have to present a plan that takes amnesty off the table and focuses, instead, on making a real commitment to border and interior security," said McConnell. "If the president does these two things, he will find strong bipartisan support. If he doesn’t, he won’t."

The path forward for the confirmation of Deputy Attorney General James Cole was blocked in the Senate Monday on a 50-40 procedural vote.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held the cloture vote in the hopes he could garner the support needed to overcome a filibuster threat from several Republican senators who oppose Cole's confirmation on the grounds that he might be soft on terrorism.