Jacqueline Klimas
Articles by Jacqueline Klimas
D.C. wins budget autonomy victory in deal that ends shutdown
The deal to end the federal government shutdown included a victory for the D.C. government. Published October 16, 2013
House GOP says it’s ready to end shutdown
House Republicans, encouraged by the start of debt negotiations with the White House, said Friday they are also rushing to reopen the government as soon as possible with a "continuing resolution," or "CR." Published October 11, 2013
Lawmakers ask Pentagon why 5% of Defense workers still on furlough
Rep. Rob Wittman, Virginia Republican, said the legislation states that the Defense Department could determine who provides support to members of the armed services and bring them back to work, yet 5 percent of the workforce is still on furlough. Published October 10, 2013
Congress clears bill to pay fallen troops’ families
Congress approved a bill Thursday that guarantees death benefits for families of service members killed in action during the government shutdown, and President Obama signed it despite the White House having said it already had found a solution and the legislation isn't needed. Published October 10, 2013
D.C. officials say shutdown threatens students at charter schools
D.C. officials warned Wednesday that they will have to close charter schools, turning away 35,000 students, unless President Obama and Senate Democrats relent and pass a bill carving the city out of the government shutdown. Published October 9, 2013
Park Service relents, opens World War II Memorial — somewhat
The barricades are still up at the World War II Memorial but the Park Service has left an opening — figuratively and literally — for Americans who want to exercise their First Amendment rights. Published October 9, 2013
Boehner: Obama wants GOP to ‘surrender,’ then negotiate
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that the president is calling for Republicans to surrender entirely before any negotiations take place — something the GOP says is not an option. Published October 8, 2013
Debt-limit holiday, supercommittee proposed to end shutdown impasse
The government shutdown entered its second week Tuesday, and all sides said the pain is deepening — but that fight is being overshadowed quickly by the looming debt battle, which Democrats see as a last chance to try to break the tea party's influence on the GOP. Published October 8, 2013
House Democrats reject ‘supercommittee’ talks to end shutdown
House Democrats said Tuesday they would not participate in the supercommitteelike group suggested by House Republicans as a way to negotiate and end the stalemate that has partially shut down the federal government for eight days. Published October 8, 2013
Block on city funding turns D.C. against Democrats in Congress
With the District of Columbia poised to run out of money by the end of the month, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is blaming President Obama's threat of a veto for the Senate's unwillingness to take up a bill that would extricate the District's budget from the federal shutdown showdown. Published October 7, 2013
IRS collecting money but not sending tax refunds during shutdown
The IRS is still collecting taxes during the government shutdown, but it isn't sending refunds — and it also has stopped complying with a subpoena to turn over documents to members of Congress who are investigating the agency's targeting of tea party groups. Published October 2, 2013
Steny Hoyer: Dems would vote for CR and debt ceiling together
House Democrats would vote for a short-term continuing resolution that also raises the debt ceiling, averting a crisis where America could default on its debt later this month. Published October 2, 2013
Obama now says Obamacare will bring months of ‘glitches’
President Obama said in comments broadcast Tuesday, on the cusp of enrollment in Obamacare's exchanges, that of course there will be "glitches" in the implementation of the health reform — months of glitches, he added. Published October 1, 2013
Sen. Dick Durbin: Compromise possible on medical device tax
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Senate Democrats may be able to compromise on repealing the medical device tax despite the fact that the Senate voted down a House continuing resolution Monday that repealed the tax. Published October 1, 2013
Obama administration: Lawmakers, staff can get abortion coverage
Members of Congress and their staffs will be able to buy health plans that pay for abortions, even though the premiums are paid for largely by taxpayer money, the Office of Personnel Management ruled Monday. Published September 30, 2013
‘Nonessential’ label makes federal workers uncomfortable
Essential or nonessential — that is the existential question on the minds of federal workers in Washington. Published September 29, 2013
Cruz, Lee call for another House continuing resolution to defund Obamacare
Just moments after the Senate voted for a continuing resolution that continues to fund Obamacare, Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee called on House Republicans to pass another continuing resolution that undoes the Senate's work and defunds the health care law. Published September 27, 2013
Republican infighting over health care flares in Senate as shutdown looms
The Republican rift over Obamacare spilled onto the Senate floor Thursday during an ugly debate in which Sen. Ted Cruz questioned a colleague's knowledge of Senate rules and Sen. Bob Corker retorted that Mr. Cruz was putting his political ambitions ahead of his party and the country. Published September 26, 2013
As Sen. Ted Cruz gives a long speech, Treasury gets short on funding
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it has less than a month's worth of room to maneuver before it hits the debt limit, dropping yet another major fiscal deadline in the lap of a Congress already stymied over the annual spending bills. Published September 25, 2013
Sen. Ted Cruz says he speaks for most Americans about stopping Obamacare
Declaring himself the voice of average Texans and Americans fed up with Washington, Sen. Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon to try to talk President Obama's health care law to death. Published September 24, 2013