by Morgan Smith, The Texas Tribune
August 20, 2010
Alberto Gonzales isn’t joining his Republican colleagues in calling for a review of the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision.
In an interview with KRLD NewsRadio in Dallas, the former U.S. Attorney General and Texas Supreme Court justice told host Scott Braddock that it would not be wise to “tinker” with birthright citizenship — and that a repeal of the amendment would not “be effective in addressing the immigration crisis.”
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Texas Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn both voted no.
PBS Rundown: The U.S. Senate voted 63 to 37 Thursday afternoon to approve Elena Kagan as an associate justice to the Supreme Court, making her the fourth woman to become a justice on the nation’s highest court and the third woman on the current court.
Kagan is not expected to dramatically change the ideological balance of the court. She was appointed by President Obama to replace retiring associate justice John Paul Stevens, a reliable vote in the liberal bloc of the court.
The vote was mostly along party lines, with five Republican senators and two independents voting with Democrats for her confirmation. Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson was the only senator in his party to join Republicans in voting against her.
NPR: A bill to restore unemployment benefits to millions who have been out of work for more than six months has cleared a Senate hurdle.
The 60-40 vote came moments after Carte Goodwin, a successor to West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, was sworn in. Goodwin was the crucial 60th senator to defeat a Republican filibuster that has led to a lapse in benefits for 2.5 million people.
“Mr. President, why won’t you agree to pay for unemployment benefits extension with unused stimulus funds?” — @JohnCornyn
A battle has raged for months over whether jobless benefits should be financed with additional federal debt as Democrats want or through cuts to other government programs as most Republicans insist.
After a final Senate vote, the House will take up the bill Wednesday. President Barack Obama is likely to sign it into law by week’s end.
Two years after the start of the housing crisis and economic downturn the U.S. Congress has passed The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 to President Barack Obama’s desk. The final step came Thursday afternoon when the U.S. Senate voted 60-39 to pass the legislation that is Obama’s second major legislative victory.
Texas Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) and John Cornyn (R) both voted against the bill.
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NPR’s David Welna: To hear Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn tell it, things are as bad as they’ve ever been along his state’s southern border.
“There’s no doubt that there is fear and frustration all along the border. Fear that the border violence that is raging just south is going to spill over into the United States,” he said.
Cornyn is seeking $2 billion in additional funds for the border — for everything from unmanned aerial vehicles to more beds for detention facilities. His GOP colleague from Arizona, John McCain, wants 6,000 more National Guard troops deployed to the border — five times the number the Obama administration is promising.
Steven Atkiss, who was chief of staff at Customs and Border Protection during George W. Bush’s administration, said he would agree with Napolitano’s assertion “that the border security infrastructure and our ability to defend that border is better than it’s ever been.”
“Is the violence between the narco-traffickers on the Mexican side having an impact on the U.S.? Yes,” he said. “Are we at the point of Armageddon here on the Southwest border where all of our border security resources have melted down? No.”
Former Pres. George W. Bush is the largest all-time recipient of campaign funds from Goldman Sachs. Texas has six sitting U.S. Senators and Representatives that have taken more than $10,000 in contributions from Goldman Sachs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Full list after the jump.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) $111,300
Sen. John Cornyn (R) $42,400
Rep. Michael McCaul (R) $27,150
Rep. Joe Barton (R) $21,000
Rep. Sam Johnson (R) $12,250
Rep. Pete Sessions (R) $10,813
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Republican Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has announced she will serve out her term in U-S Senate and reverse her plans to resign her seat. Texas Public Radio’s Terry Gildea reports from San Antonio.
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