Politics: U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives voted on Saturday to tighten a ban against using federal funds to finance abortions under the proposed Democratic healthcare reform legislation.

As health reform shifts back to the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is facing dissent from fellow Democrats worried that he has no final bill, no Democratic consensus on the way ahead and no guarantee he’ll finish by year’s end.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday he was "absolutely confident" the Senate would follow the lead of the House of Representatives in passing legislation to overhaul the healthcare system.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats Sunday girded for the next battle to push the most sweeping US health care overhaul in a half-century through Congress, after handing President Barack Obama victory in a narrow House vote.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives has approved the broadest US health care overhaul in a half-century, handing President Barack Obama a major victory on his top domestic priority.

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives Saturday passed, by a vote of 220 to 215, historic health care legislation that would require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance and create a government-run health insurance plan to help them do so.

The House of Representatives passed legislation for the first time Saturday night that would provide health coverage to almost every American after nearly a century of false starts and un-kept campaign promises.

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives Saturday passed, by a vote of 220 to 215, historic health care legislation that would require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance and create a government-run health insurance plan to help them do so.

With Democrats confident of their chances, the House of Representatives began a series of historic votes Saturday night on legislation that would provide health coverage to almost every American after nearly a century of false starts and un-kept campaign promises.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives on Saturday threw its support behind two Chinese activists put on trial after investigating whether shoddy construction led to children's deaths in last year's Sichuan earthquake.

WASHINGTON — With a personal push from President Barack Obama, the House of Representatives Saturday inched closer to passing historic health care legislation that would guarantee virtually all Americans access to care.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has ended his Capitol Hill meeting with House Democrats as he tries to round up Democratic votes for his health care overhaul.

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats moved to clear one of the last hurdles to a historic debate on legislation to overhaul the U.S. health system, agreeing to a demand by 40 lawmakers to allow a vote on restricting funds for abortion.

Hours before an expected vote on a sweeping health care bill, House Democrats believe they've secured the 218 votes they need to approve the bill, several party insiders said.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is heading to Capitol Hill for talks with House Democrats as they scramble to find enough votes to pass landmark legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system.

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats moved to clear one of the last hurdles to a historic debate on legislation to overhaul the U.S. health system, agreeing to a demand by 40 lawmakers to allow a vote on restricting funds for abortion.

WASHINGTON - House Democrats have cleared an impasse over abortion that has been holding up a vote on sweeping health care legislation.

WASHINGTON - House Democrats clear impasse over abortion holding up vote on health care legislation.

WASHINGTON — Opponents of opening Cuba to American tourists are touting a letter signed by 53 Democrats in the House of Representatives, saying it shows that they have the votes to derail an effort to lift the ban on travel to the island.

WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House of Representatives struggled Friday to find enough votes to pass sweeping health care legislation, as lawmakers prepared for an all-day debate and perhaps a final vote on the bill Saturday.

In the hopes of sustaining the real estate market's recent momentum, Uncle Sam has made more than two-thirds of current homeowners and nearly all first-time buyers eligible for thousands of dollars in tax perks when they purchase a house. President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 into law Friday, a day after the House of Representatives approved it by a 403-to-12 vote. The legislation includes language that significantly expands the popular first-time home buyer tax credit that was enacted in February. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's Democratic-led senate on Friday said tax revenues will slip 1.5 percent in the current fiscal year to $59.4 billion, a rosier forecast than the one issued by the Assembly's Democratic majority.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer predicted passage of a health care overhaul bill would come Saturday evening even as House Democrats worked Friday to corral the needed votes to pass the measure.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate voted Thursday to defeat a measure that would have blocked five Guantanamo Bay detainees accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks from getting trials in federal courts.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Senate Democrats on Thursday pushed a sweeping climate change bill through a key committee, shrugging off a boycott by Republicans who oppose the measure and mostly shunned the debate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The influential American Medical Association on Thursday said it supported passage of the Democratic-written healthcare legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on this week.

WASHINGTON - Defying the Obama administration, the House Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to remove from the USA Patriot Act a tool for tracking non-U.S. citizens in anti-terrorism investigations.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress approved more aid for jobless workers and broadened tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses on Thursday and sent the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

WASHINGTON - Carly Fiorina's claim to fame — her five-and-a-half years as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard Co. — could also be her greatest vulnerability in next year's U.S. Senate race in California.