Washington | 9 days ago
US Congress sends visa fee hike bill to Obama amid Indian protests
Washington, Aug 12 - In the face of anger in India and corporate protests at home, the US Congress Thursday sent to President Barack Obama legislation to secure the US-Mexico border with $600 million raised by steeply hiking work visa fees.The Senate met in a special session, called in the middle of a six-week break, to pass the House version of the bill in a voice vote called 'unanimous consent' ... read more

Washington | 1 month ago
US Senate postpones climate action for lack of support
Washington, July 23 - The US Senate has postponed action on overhauling climate and energy policy, the chamber's top Democrat said Thursday, proposing a much scaled-back version in its place.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it was 'terribly disappointing' to put off action on climate change, but the Democratic Party had to be realistic that conservative political opposition meant 'we don't h ... read more

Washington | 3 months ago
US degree may become passport to green cards
Washington, May 1 - An advanced degree from US universities may well prove to be a passport for a US green card, or permanent residency, if a proposal by top Democratic senators to attract the world's 'best and the brightest' is accepted.India, which sends the highest number of students to the US, stands to benefit most from the proposal by Senate majority leader Harry Reid and senators Charles Sc ... read more

Washington | 4 months ago
US Congress backs final changes to landmark health bill
Washington, March 26 - The US Congress Thursday approved one last round of changes to the landmark health reform bill already signed into law by President Barack Obama, ending a divisive year-long domestic debate that has taken a violent turn this week.The votes in the Senate and House of Representatives marked the final steps in a complicated set of procedural manoeuvres that have played out in a ... read more

Washington | 4 months ago
Landmark US health reform bill to be modified
Washington, March 25 - The US' landmark health reform bill appears set to be sent back to the House of Representatives for a final vote before becoming law, a media report said Thursday.The Republican opposition, which strongly opposes the bill, had found two relatively minor provisions that were likely to be struck from the legislation, a spokesman for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ... read more

Washington | 6 months ago
US Senate jobs bill passes key procedural hurdle
Washington, Feb 23 - A $15-billion jobs creation package passed a key procedural hurdle Monday in the US Senate, signalling an uneasy truce for a chamber that has been mired in partisan bickering for much of the last year.Senators voted 62-30 to close debate on the legislation, setting the stage for a final vote on the bill in the coming days. Five Republicans joined with 57 Democrats to vote in f ... read more

Washington | 6 months ago
Obama cites India again to ask Americans to buck up
Washington, Feb 20 - For the third time in a month, President Barack Obama has cited the success of India and China to exhort Americans to be prepared to meet increasing competition from other countries.'I said this during the State of the Union. I repeated it today in Henderson in my town hall. Other countries are not playing for second -, they're playing for first,' Obama told the Las Vegas Cham ... read more

7 months ago
Obama backs senator who used racist language against him
Washington, Jan 12 - President Barack Obama has come to the rescue of embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying, 'This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history.' Reid, who has been embroiled in a controversy for describing Obama in 2008 as 'light skinned' and 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one' in a new book, in turn acknowledged Monday that 'I co ... read more

1 year ago
National Science Foundation presents open-house exhibits on cyber-physical systems on Capitol Hill
On Thursday, July 9, the National Science Foundation - will present a luncheon briefing and open house with exhibits on cyber-physical systems - in Room 902 of the Hart Senate Office Building. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. a special guest, will provide opening remarks. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV is also invited to attend. Leading experts from industry and academia will offer their insigh ... read more

1 year ago
US Senate blocks funding to close Guantanamo prison
Washington, May 20 - The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to block President Barack Obama's funding request to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and prohibited the transfer of any detainees to American soil. The 90-6 vote was a setback to Obama's plans to close the facility by January 2010 and relocate the 240 detainees currently at the camp, the US Navy base in Cuba. The Democrats jo ... read more