close
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20101122235136/http://senatus.wordpress.com/
Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Franken Seeks Antitrust Investigation into Comcast

November 22, 2010 by senatus

Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. , center, flanked by committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. , left, and fellow committee member, Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa. , speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010, after the vote to approve the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Today, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) “wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking them to investigate Comcast’s compliance with federal antitrust laws in light of its recent announcement of its proposed leadership for NBC Universal,” according to a press release.

Since the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal has yet to be approved, Sen. Franken asked the DOJ to evaluate whether Comcast’s recent actions constitute what’s known as “gun-jumping,” or illegal collaboration between pre-merger companies.

Comcast’s announcement comes despite an earlier assurance to federal regulators not to announce further personnel changes "until the deal closing process and timing is certain.”

(credit image – daylife/associated press)

Posted in Antitrust, DOJ, Television | Leave a Comment »

Lieberman Open to Full Tax Cut Extension

November 22, 2010 by senatus

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut speaks outside the West Wing following a meeting on energy and climate legislation with US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, DC, June 29, 2010.

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) “is backing the GOP position on the Bush tax cuts,” Talking Points Memo reports.

After a press conference last week where he pressed his colleagues to back the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Lieberman called the GOP’s position — a temporary extension of all the cuts — the best plan he’s heard yet.

"I continue to believe that this is a bad time to raise anybody’s taxes and therefore the best suggestion I’ve heard, which I think could get bipartisan support, is to extend all the tax cuts for one or two years," Lieberman said.

(credit image – daylife/getty)

Posted in Taxes | Leave a Comment »

Sherrod Brown Wants President to Fight GOP on Tax Cuts

November 20, 2010 by senatus

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 4: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill August 4, 2010 in Washington, DC. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was joined by other Democrats to speak about the passage of cloture, 61-38, on a jobs bill that offers assistance to states to fund police departments, fire departments and schools.

President Obama “must stick to his guns and refuse to concede on extending the Bush tax cuts to the highest income bracket, according to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio),” The Hill reports.

Speaking on MSNBC’s "Hardball" on Friday, Brown said Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker-elect John Boehner (R-Ohio) have shown they have no interest in anything but the failure of the Obama administration, which is why he shouldn’t make major concessions to them on the tax cuts.

Brown argued GOP leaders have done nothing but say no to President Obama since the day after his inauguration despite his much larger electoral victory, which is why the Democrats shouldn’t be afraid to respond in kind.

"I’m not saying no to the Republicans, but I’m also not — I’m also saying we’re not going to do more tax cuts for the rich, more deregulation of Wall Street, more job-killing outsourcing free trade agreements," Brown said. "Those things don’t work for the American public. They don’t work in Cleveland or Toledo or Mansfield or Dayton, and they don’t work for the whole country."

(credit image – daylife/getty)

Posted in Interviews, Taxes | 1 Comment »

Senate Sunday Lineup: November 20

November 20, 2010 by senatus

BERJAYA

Here’s a list of Senators / Senators-elect hitting the Sunday talk show circuit tomorrow:

  • Face the Nation (CBS) – None
  • State of the Union (CNN) – None
  • Fox News Sunday – None
  • Meet the Press (NBC) – None
  • This Week (ABC) – None

(credit image – washington post/getty)

Posted in Sunday Shows | 1 Comment »

McConnell Discusses Tax Cut Extensions in Weekly Address

November 20, 2010 by senatus

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. , left, accompanied by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. , center, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave this week’s Republican address.  Here’s a key excerpt:

“…Immigration…A repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ …A reorganization of the FDA … More environmental regulations…

“Democrats put off all these things until after the election, along with the most basic task of funding the government. By focusing on them now, and not on legislation to promote job creation and reduce spending, they’re showing where their priorities lie.

“This should be an easy one. The bill that job creators and out-of-work Americans need us to pass is the one that ensures taxes won’t go up — one that says Americans and small business owners won’t get hit with more bad news at the end of the year.

“It’s time Congress got its priorities straight. It’s time Congress focused on job creation —and that means preventing tax hikes. It’s time to set aside the political votes and government spending that the administration and Democratic leaders have put above all other priorities for two years.

“Time is running out. But it’s not too late for both parties to work together and prevent this massive tax hike from going into effect. It’s not too late to focus on the priorities of the American people. And Republicans in Congress are eager to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to do so.”

(credit image – daylife/associated press)

Posted in Party Leadership, Taxes, Weekly Address | Leave a Comment »

Older Posts »