Karoun Demirjian

Story Archive

Finally! House joins Senate in voting to reopen government: Nevada leaders divided on measure; Heller calls it a 'step backward'; Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013; Congress has passed the compromise deal to end the federal government shutdown and raise the debt limit less than two hours before a Thursday deadline.
House will vote on Senate compromise, but Nevada Republicans aren't completely satisfied: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013; The House won’t put up a last-minute fight against a Senate compromise to restore the budget and avert the debt ceiling. But Nevada Republicans aren’t too thrilled about the way the crisis is coming to a close.
Harry Reid: Compromise provides economy ‘stability it desperately needs’: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013; U.S. Sen. Harry Reid said today that the compromise he has reached with Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell is “desperately” needed by the country.
Heller on emerging deal to end shutdown, avoid default: It's a 'nothing sandwich': Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013; Sen. Dean Heller said Tuesday the emerging deal between the two Senate leaders is a "nothing sandwich." But he won't filibuster the vote.
Nevada congressional delegates have had it with shutdown standoff: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has had it with House Speaker John Boehner. He said he is "very disappointed" after Boehner blindsided him.
Five things to watch as the Nevada delegation decides how to vote on shutdown compromise: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013; If a U.S. Senate deal to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling solidifies, will Nevada Republicans resist Tea Party pressure and take a compromise vote? Will Democrats support a compromise with certain concessions?
Reid predicts an end to political stalemate coming this week: Monday, Oct. 14, 2013; There was lots of positive talk coming from Senate leaders today as they continued to shuttle between offices, hashing out the particulars of a deal to restore federal government funding and raise the debt limit.
Reid changes his tone, is optimistic lawmakers can find a solution: McConnell disagrees, says onus is on Democratic leaders; Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013; “I have had a productive conversation with the Republican leader this afternoon," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday. "Our discussions were substantive, and we’ll continue those discussions.”
Senate working on fiscal proposals; Reid and McConnell are talking: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013; On paper, the Senate came no closer to a resolution during a rare Saturday session, in which lawmakers, broken neatly along party lines, failed to pass a procedural vote for a clean, unadorned bill to suspend the debt limit through the end of 2014.
Heller sits out shutdown negotiations to attend son's wedding: Friday, Oct. 11, 2013; A deal to avoid default and restore the federal budget was in the works today as President Barack Obama huddled with Republicans to talk specifics – the first such meetings in the eleven days since the shutdown began. But Nevada's rank-and-file Republican in the Senate missed out on those talks, for good reason: His oldest son, Harris is getting married today. Heller is expected to return to Washington, D.C. for a test vote on the debt ceiling Saturday
11 signs of a U.S. debt default: Friday, Oct. 11, 2013; You’ve heard the warnings about the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew calls it “catastrophic.” Moody’s economists call it “cataclysmic.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., simply calls it “the big one.” And yes, there are some Republican lawmakers trying to shrug it off as really nothing at all. Here’s a sampling of how you might feel the effect of a default close to home.
Even without a safe GOP district, Heck willing to continue shutdown fight: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013; “In a way, when you know that no matter what you do, 50 percent of the district is not going to be happy, does it matter?” U.S. Rep. Joe Heck says of his stance in favor of the shutdown.
Debt ceiling takes center stage amid Washington's shutdown brinksmanship: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013; A solution to the shutdown crisis seems all but guaranteed to hinge on the debt ceiling, though Democrats hoped to avoid such a confluence of events.
Both parties seek political upper hand as shutdown drags on: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013; The costs of the government shutdown are clear: Federal workers have temporarily lost their jobs and their pay, tourists are being inconvenienced in droves, and private businesses that rely on those two groups of people are feeling an economic kick in the gut.
Bill to guarantee back pay for federal workers moves to Senate; Reid not pleased: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013; “It is cruel to tell workers that they’ll receive back pay once the government opens and then refuse to open the government,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday. “First things first, let’s end the shutdown.”
Nevada turns out in force on Capitol Hill to support Tule Springs legislation: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013; The hometown crew was out in full force at the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday, singing the praises of legislation to declare Tule Springs a national monument. The bill to bring Tule Springs into the national parks system was one of three Nevada bills heard at Thursday morning’s public lands subcommittee hearing, which drew local mayors, city planners and all four members of the Nevada delegation.
Amodei and Heck getting antsy on immigration reform: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013; Nevada Republican Reps. Mark Amodei and Joe Heck are taking steps to put out bills addressing pathways to legal status for immigrants in the United States without authorization.
Specter of debt-ceiling deadline hovers over current stalemate: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013; As Day Three of the shutdown approaches with no end in sight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner suggesting they resolve their standoff with something that sounds an awful lot like a grand bargain.
Horsford helps draft new immigration reform; says, 'Now is the time to get this done': Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013; Immigration has largely been relegated to the back burner while Congress trades slugs amidst a federal government shutdown. But today, a band of House Democrats — including both of Nevada’s Democratic representatives — tried to give it new life, releasing a comprehensive reform legislation they say they are “ready to move.”
GOP's piecemeal plan to fund some government functions fails in House: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013; The shutdown will go on for at least another day after the House of Representatives came up empty on an effort to get three mini-spending bills endorsed and sent to the Senate.
Harry Reid: Piecemeal government funding a nonstarter: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013; The déjà vu-inspiring budget proposals just keep coming: This afternoon, House Republicans proposed funding parts of the federal government through the shutdown, starting with the Veterans Administration, national parks and national monuments.
Both sides dug in — for now — over budget impasse: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013; As the federal government slept, senators convened this morning to swiftly kill the latest counter-proposal from the House of Representatives to now restore funding to the federal government.
Here's how the government shutdown will affect Nevadans: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013; What will the government shutdown look like for Nevada? Here’s a list of what and where to expect the local effects.
U.S. government slides into shutdown mode as Congress continues to clash: Monday, Sept. 30, 2013; The road to the government shutdown was paved earlier this year, when a handful of Republicans in the Senate, and a larger group in the House, kept congressional leaders from appointing lawmakers to a conference committee to hash out differences between the two chambers’ budget bills. With no common budget resolution, there could be no common budgeting. And as the months wore on, Congress came closer and closer to the brink of a shutdown that is now upon us.
Why Horsford sided with the Republicans Monday on budget vote: Monday, Sept. 30, 2013; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been calling on Republicans to buck the party line and vote to keep the government funded. But in the Nevada delegation, it was Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford who broke ranks and decided to vote for the Republican version of a funding bill Monday night that would delay the individual mandate for one year and take away subsidies for members of congress and their staffers going on the exchanges.
Another House GOP vote, another step toward government shutdown: Monday, Sept. 30, 2013; A government shutdown is quite literally coming down to the eleventh hour in Congress tonight, after the House passed another budget resolution that picks at Obamacare.
Talk of a shutdown overshadows news of Obamacare kickoff: Monday, Sept. 30, 2013; Though they may ultimately get politically beat in this shutdown showdown, Republicans have already scored one apparent victory in their Obamacare-tinted budget fight.
Senate votes down House budget bill; Reid says, 'We are not making changes to Obamacare': Monday, Sept. 30, 2013; As expected, the Senate voted down the House's latest version of a temporary budget bill Monday afternoon in a straight party-line vote, kicking things back to the House with just hours left on the clock before a government shutdown.
Nevada gets jump on EPA's new coal regulations: Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013; The Environmental Protection Agency regulations that were released last week make one thing clear: Nevada was rather prescient to begin steering its energy economy away from traditional coal.
House votes to delay Obamacare, increasing chances of a shutdown: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013; The blame game has already started for the government shutdown that is still two days off – a sure sign that lawmakers fear their continued political competition will drive the government off a budgetary cliff by Tuesday.
With House's move setting up a government shutdown, 'we're running out of time': Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013; The House is primed to push Congress one big step closer to a potential government shutdown tonight, when it votes to attach provisions to last-minute budgeting legislation that will delay and repeal Obamacare in part.
Harry Reid on lawmakers bent on defunding Obamacare: They’re ‘weird’: Friday, Sept. 27, 2013; Sen. Harry Reid’s got a new term of endearment for Republicans who want to defund Obamacare. They’re “weird.”
Harry Reid throws down gauntlet on budget: ‘This is it’: Friday, Sept. 27, 2013; The continuing resolution to fund the government and keep Obamacare intact is on its way back to the House, where representatives will be faced with a do-or-die decision.
Three bargaining chips that could avoid a government shutdown: Friday, Sept. 27, 2013; Barring an unforeseen revolt, the Senate will pass a six-week federal budget extension Friday. And that is when the ping-pong game really gets going.
Harry Reid, Ted Cruz and a procedural power play: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013; In the Senate, the struggle to avoid a government shutdown is no longer really between Republicans and Democrats.
Louisiana senator files ethics complaint against Reid, Boxer: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013; Capitol Hill publication Roll Call is reporting that Sen. David Vitter has filed an expanded ethics complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Barbara Boxer for improperly targeting his past through a piece of legislation
Government shutdown brinksmanship in 10 easy steps: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013; Government shutdowns — or at least the threat of them — have gone from being an extremely rare occurrence to a regular part of the budgeting process in Washington, D.C. So if the past is prologue, here's what we can expect in the coming days as Congress faces off once again over the budget.
Premium costs of health plan to be lower in Las Vegas than elsewhere: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013; Buying insurance on the Obamacare health exchanges may prove to be cheaper in Las Vegas, on average, than elsewhere in the country, according to new nationwide data released Tuesday. Nevada ranks below the national average in a comparison of average monthly health care premiums across 47 states and the District of Columbia in the three categories that were considered: Lowest-cost Silver and Bronze plans, and the second-lowest cost Silver plan.
Reid: No bowing to ‘Tea Party anarchists’ on Obamacare: Monday, Sept. 23, 2013; Sticks and stones may break bones, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just hopes his words are enough to get Republicans to back off Obamacare. “We’re not going to bow to Tea Party anarchists who deny the mere fact that Obamacare is the law,” Reid said this morning.
Horsford aide captures photo of horrifying moment in DC shooting: Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013; Last week, Don Andres, an aide to Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, found himself at the center of a mystery surrounding the Navy Yard shooting in Washington, D.C.
What a government shutdown would look like in Nevada: Friday, Sept. 20, 2013; If a government shutdown is on the horizon, what would it look like for Nevada? Here’s a list of what and where to expect the local effects.
House OKs deep cuts in food stamps, angering Nevada Democrats: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013; Back in June, the House of Representatives couldn’t muster enough votes for a farm bill that, among other things, would have slashed food stamps by $20.5 billion.
Harry Reid on Obamacare: Resistance is futile: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013; The House of Representatives won’t vote until Friday on a bill to ax the Obamacare budget in exchange for keeping the rest of the federal government funded past Sept. 30.
Heller continues to wage war on Obamacare despite having called a cease-fire: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013; After President Barack Obama was re-elected, Sen. Dean Heller said it was time to move on from the fight over the Affordable Care Act. Since then, he's done anything but.
Reid says he wants gun control on agenda but doesn’t have the votes: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013; A day after a gunman killed a dozen people at the Washington Navy Yard, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants gun control back on the agenda.
Republican role reversal at play with Syria as GOP sounds cry for peace: Monday, Sept. 16, 2013; If there is one theme uniting the lawmakers urging President Barack Obama to stay out of Syria, it is the fear that engaging militarily might drag the U.S. into another long-term war. But there’s an irony to this refrain.
Obama gave Reid political whiplash on Syria: Friday, Sept. 13, 2013; As senate majority leader, part of Harry Reid’s unofficial job description is to work the Democratic president’s policies through the Congress. But in the last few days, President Barack Obama’s official stance on striking Syria has changed with enough frequency to give Reid political whiplash on a very public stage.
Reid quip: Putin just wants to show off his Super Bowl ring: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hasn’t been joining the chorus of lawmakers expressing outrage over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in the New York Times, urging the U.S. to exercise “caution” in Syria. But that doesn't mean he won't make sarcastic quips about him.
Everything you need to know about the factions at play in Syria: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013; If you’ve been listening to the frenzied Syria debate happening in Washington these past few weeks, you’ve likely heard a great many references to the factions involved on the ground in Syria’s civil war.
Nevada lawmakers remember 9/11, honor those who serve: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013; Washington is marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks with a spectrum of memorials and remembrances, from the White House to the Pentagon to the steps of the Capitol.