Hailing the House, President Barack Obama put pressure on senators Saturday to follow its lead and pass legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions, helping usher the U.S. into a new age of energy efficiency.
“Now my call to every senator, as well as to every American, is this: We cannot be afraid of the future.
And we [...]

On a single day filled with staggering sums, the Obama administration, Federal Reserve and Senate attacked the deepening economic crisis Tuesday with actions that could throw as much as $3 trillion more in government and private funds into the fight against frozen credit markets and rising joblessness.
“It’s gone deep. It’s gotten worse,” President Barack Obama [...]

An $838 billion economic stimulus bill backed by the White House narrowly advanced in the Senate on Monday over strong Republican opposition, and Democratic leaders vowed to deliver the emergency legislation for President Barack Obama’s signature within a few days.
The vote was 61-36, one more than the 60 needed to move the measure toward Senate [...]

The Senate voted Wednesday night to give a tax break of up to $15,000 to homebuyers in hopes of revitalizing the housing industry, a victory for Republicans eager to leave their mark on a mammoth economic stimulus bill at the heart of President Barack Obama’s recovery plan.
The tax break was approved without dissent and came [...]

The departure of four sitting Democratic senators this year has cast a new — and at times, unflattering — light on the nation’s governors and their outsize power to fill Senate vacancies.
While governors must call a special election to replace members of the House who resign or die before their term is up, 38 states [...]

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday cleared the nomination of Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary despite unhappiness over his mistakes in paying his taxes.
The committee approved the nomination on an 18-5 vote, sending it to the full Senate for a vote either Friday or next week.
President Barack Obama is hoping for quick approval so that [...]

Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, according to a person told of her decision.
Ms. Kennedy on Wednesday called Gov. David A. Paterson, who will choose a successor to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, to inform him that she no longer wished to be considered.
The person told of her [...]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Rodham Clinton to become the next secretary of state, endorsing President-elect Barack Obama’s promise to take U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.
The action paves way for a full Senate vote after Obama takes office on Jan. 20. Clinton is not expected to hit [...]

Reversing course, Senate Democrats grudgingly accepted embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s hand-selected Senate appointee, Roland Burris, as they sought to break an impasse over President-elect Barack Obama’s former seat.
The new Illinois senator is expected to be sworn into office later this week.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois made [...]

Senate Democratic leaders said a vote could come as early as this week on providing a second $350 billion for the financial industry, after assurances Sunday by President-elect Barack Obama and one of his top economic advisers that the money would be better monitored and spent.
The Bush administration and the incoming Obama team have undertaken [...]