national news

National News

By Andrew Heining

LOS ANGELES - Just what does $600 million buy for border security these days - and is it more money the U.S. needs to help tackle illegal immigration?

Half of the funds approved Tuesday by the U.S. House after weeks of political back-and-forth will pay for 1,500 new border agents. Another chunk - nearly $200 million - goes to the Justice Department-supported efforts of the U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement agencies. Two surveillance drones ring up another $32 million.

The payout the House authorized Tuesday is an answer to President Obama's request that more be done to help secure the southern border, but it also represents a shift in strategy - a return to more traditional security techniques for the border.

Read more: House Approves $600 Million For Border

National News

By Mark Trumbull 

A weak economy and tight congressional elections are amplifying the stakes in a battle that was already contentious - whether to extend Bush tax cuts when they expire at the end of the year.

President Obama wants to keep income tax cuts in place for most Americans, but taxes to rise back to 1990s rates for households making $250,000 or more. He espoused that view even during his campaign for president in 2008.

But now he faces opposition not just from Republicans but also from some in his own party, who say that with economic recovery fragile, it's the wrong time to raise taxes on anyone. At the same time, the public has become more worried about both tax hikes and high federal deficits - a mood that puts power-wielding Democrats in a tight spot for fall elections.

Read more: Tax Cuts Bush Tax Cuts: Will The Economy Suffer If They Expire?

National News

By Mark Trumbull

It's the latest package of federal stimulus money, and it has sparked the usual partisan debate: Is more aid to state governments really needed, and will it truly add jobs to the U.S. economy?

Backers of the $26 billion measure, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 247 to 161 on a largely party-line vote Tuesday, say that states deserve extra financial support amid a historic cash crunch this year. And they say it means jobs, because it will reduce the number of state-employee layoffs.

President Obama urged the House to pass the bill in a Rose Garden speech before the vote Tuesday. The bill has already passed the Senate.

Read more: House Approves Jobs Bill: Do States Deserve $26 Billion More Stimulus?

National News

By Gail Russell Chaddock

WASHINGTON - What's a member of Congress seeking reelection to do? Above all, Americans want more jobs, but lawmakers' usual fixes - more government spending or tax cuts - are causing many voters deep distress over supersized federal deficits and ballooning public debt.

No previous Congress has faced this political riptide to the same extent. Trillion-dollar annual deficits are unprecedented in American politics, and, even in a tough economy, deficits now matter.

“Suddenly, worries about the deficit are overtaking the economy to the extent that it's a choice between putting people back to work or cutting the deficit. You cannot do both,” says Stan Collender, a congressional budget analyst and partner with Qorvis Communications.

Read more: Election 2010: A Fight Over Jobs and Recovery vs. Deficit and Debt