Senate to approve spending bill avoiding government shutdown
Kris Anne Bonifacio on March 19th, 2013 in Business, Politics
No More: a symbol’s attempt to end domestic violence and sexual assault
Summer Delaney on March 19th, 2013 in Health
The No More campaign’s new symbol attempts to unify awareness and end domestic violence and sexual assault.
Early childhood education grabs spotlight in Maryland
Rachel Janik on March 19th, 2013 in uncategorized
President Obama, Prime Minister Kenny attend Friends of Ireland Luncheon
Catherine Reid on March 19th, 2013 in Politics
President Obama, Prime Minister Kenny, House Speaker Boehner and Rep. King descend the South Capitol steps after the Friends of Ireland Luncheon. Catherine Reid/Medill
Catherine Reid/Medill
Catherine Reid/Medill
Catherine Reid/Medill
Catherine Reid/Medill
WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner hosted President Barack Obama and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny at the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
It’s a tradition that began in 1981 through the joint efforts of House Speaker Tip O’Neill, Sen. Ted Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan. The annual event is sponsored by the Speaker and the Friends of Ireland Caucus, a bipartisan congressional group originally founded to support peace initiatives in Northern Ireland.
This year Obama, Kenny and members of Congress were treated to entertainment from Irish Tenor Anthony Kearns.
After the meal, Obama, Kenny, Boehner and Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., were escorted to the South Capitol steps by a piper. All four wore green ties and had shamrocks on their lapels.
Obama had no complaints about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for yet another day. Earlier Tuesday in the Oval Office he expressed his commitment to the bond between Ireland and the United States.
“This year, it also gives us an excuse to stretch out St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of extra days, which is always good,” Obama said.
Prime Minister Kenny, who has now visited the Oval Office five times, also extended an invitation to Obama to return to Ireland.
“And maybe the next time, when our economies are moving in a more positive direction, we might actually have time to take out the sticks on the golf course,” Taoiseach Kenny said.
Washington startup scene undergoes tech renaissance
Josh Solomon on March 19th, 2013 in Business
The capital region startup scene, which was originally located almost exclusively in Northern Virginia and dominated by telecommunications companies, is now expanding into the District of Columbia and is dominated by technology companies developing software for education, health care and other industries regulated by the government.
Senators propose bipartisan bill to aid Syrian rebels
Marshall Cohen on March 19th, 2013 in National Security
A bipartisan pair of senators called Tuesday for increased assistance to the Syrian opposition, hours after the conflict’s first reported chemical weapons attack.
Waiting for big farm bill leaves American farmers on shaky ground
Fritz T. Burgher on March 18th, 2013 in Business, Politics
Congress is expected to start working on a new farm bill in the coming months after failing last year to update the law spelling out the relationship between government and agricultural interests. Despite promises, American farmers are accustomed to being forced to the bottom of the agenda on Capitol Hill.
VA ban on IVF forces veterans to pay out of pocket
Catherine Reid and Mitchell Armentrout on March 18th, 2013 in Health, Politics
The VA ban on in vitro fertilization coverage has proved problematic for veterans returning with severe reproductive and urinary tract trauma. Some are opening their own wallets to pay for the costly procedure, while others are hoping for the passage of a new bill to end the ban.
Reports of abuse raise questions about migrant guest worker programs
Mitchell Armentrout on March 19th, 2013 in Immigration
Advocates argue that abuse reports shed light on the need to consider the H-2B guest worker program in the wider immigration reform debate.
Combating military sexual assault needs large-scale reform, experts say
Ashley Balcerzak and Alyssa Howard on March 18th, 2013 in National Security
Combating the epidemic of sexual assault in the armed forces requires an arsenal of legislative, systemic and cultural changes, experts and legislators say.