David Welna

Immigration Bill Chugs Along, But Some See Deal-Breakers

David Welna — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

It's been a long slog already for the bipartisan immigration overhaul proposed by the Senate's Gang of Eight.

The legislation has been the target of more than 300 amendments during days of debate and votes by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But while the bill has largely held its own so far, its prospects for getting through Congress remain uncertain.

In Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's view, the immigration overhaul is "moving very well."

"It's moving a lot faster than people said it would," says Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

Sen.

Immigration Bill Remains Largely Intact After 1st Hearing

David Welna — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:10:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Let's get an update now on one of this year's major policy debates. There is an immigration bill under consideration. The law, if passed, has the potential to be a major success story for President Obama and for the bipartisan group of lawmakers who drafted it. Opponents of the bill have major concerns about how it treats people who came to the U.S.

Congressional Hearings Put Renewed Focus On Benghazi Attack

David Welna — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:29:00 +0000

It has been nearly eight months since attacks on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In March, President Obama nominated Deborah K. Jones, a career diplomat and Middle East expert, to succeed Stevens.

Gun Background Check Vote Causes Heat At Home For N.H. Rep. Ayotte

David Welna — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:29:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

After any contentious debate in Washington, it's often interesting to see how a lawmaker is welcomed home, depending on how he or she voted. Some of the senators who voted down bipartisan gun control legislation last month are taking heat in the aftermath of December's mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the state of Connecticut. The bill would have expanded background checks, and the only New England senator who opposed it was New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte.

Obama Answers Questions On Syria, Guantanamo, More

David Welna — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:19:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Let's talk about President Obama's news conference this morning on the 100th day of his second term. NPR's David Welna has been listening in this morning. Hi, David.

DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: The president was immediately asked about the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

WELNA: Yes, he was. And he said that if chemicals weapons were used in Syria, it would be a game-changer.

Immigration Protesters Aim For Rally To Motivate Lawmakers

David Welna — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:57:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, here in Washington they are calling it the All-In for Citizenship rally. Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected today on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. It's to be the biggest event yet in the push to revamp the nation's immigration laws. And congressional negotiators say they are close to unveiling a comprehensive immigration bill.

Fears Of Government Tyranny Push Some To Reject Gun Control

David Welna — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:23:00 +0000

As the Senate returns from a two-week spring recess Monday, topping its agenda is legislation to try to curb the kind of gun violence that took the lives of 20 first-graders in Connecticut last December.

Recent polls show broad popular support for enhanced background checks and bans on military-style guns and ammunition.

The Senators Who Oppose DOMA, Despite Having OK'd It

David Welna — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:32:00 +0000

The soul-searching over the Defense of Marriage Act went viral last week after Ohio Republican Sen.

Ted Cruz: From Texas Underdog To Republican Up-And-Comer

David Welna — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 09:14:00 +0000

The keynote speaker at Saturday night's closing session of the Conservative Political Action Conference is a 42-year-old Texan who's been a U.S. senator since January.

In that short time, Tea Party Republican Ted Cruz has already made a mark — and in doing so, he's simply ignored a tradition of new senators being seen, not heard.

5 Dates To Watch In Budget Showdown

David Welna — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:36:00 +0000

Friday's deadline for President Obama to issue a sequestration order is neither the beginning nor the end of this year's budget battles in Washington. Here are five key moments to watch over the next seven months, and what's at stake in each:

March 1

Democrats Move To Reinstate Assault Weapons Ban

David Welna — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:31:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne.

A hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday included tears, cheers and a recording of bursts of gunfire. It was all part of a new push by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reinstate a ban on assault weapons, a ban that expired nearly a decade ago.

NPR's David Welna was there.

DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: It was California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein who 20 years ago fought for and won a decade-long ban on assault-style rifles and high capacity ammunition magazines.

Meet The Virginian Shaping The House GOP's Immigration Plan

David Welna — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:03:00 +0000

Comprehensive immigration reform seems to top everyone's legislative wish list this year, and bills are already taking shape in the White House and the Democratic-led Senate.

A bipartisan group of senators recently laid out a path to citizenship for millions living in the country unlawfully.

Sen. Rubio's Response Gives GOP A Chance To Woo Hispanics

David Welna — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:43:00 +0000

Republican leaders have tapped Marco Rubio, a 41-year-old Cuban-American senator from Florida, to deliver the official GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night.

It's a chance for a party that has fared badly with both young and Hispanic voters to showcase a fast-rising, youthful Latino with a new stance on immigration.

In making the announcement on the GOP response, House Speaker John Boehner called Rubio "one of our party's most dynamic and inspiring leaders." Time magazine has Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, on its current cover, where it ca

For Some In Minneapolis, National Gun Debate Hits Close To Home

David Welna — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 10:08:00 +0000

The shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in December revived a national debate about gun violence. It's one that is emotional and often highly personal, and it's happening in places far from the halls of Congress. Earlier this week, President Obama was in Minneapolis advocating new limits on guns; no law or set of laws, he said, can keep children completely safe. NPR's David Welna was there for the visit and sent this reporter's notebook about the voices he encountered.

Even In Blue Minnesota, Gun Control Seems A Tough Sell

David Welna — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:18:00 +0000
Minnesota has a Democratic governor, two Democratic senators, and Democrats control both houses of its Legislature.

In Minn., Obama Appeals For Movement On Gun Background Checks

David Welna — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:26:00 +0000
Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now, on the same as that funeral, President Obama continued his push for tougher gun laws. He was talking yesterday in Minneapolis on a subject he is expected to address in next week's State of the Union speech.
NPR's David Welna reports.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Winter can be brutal in Minneapolis, a city of frozen lakes and jumper cables. The outside temperature was nine degrees when Air Force One delivered the president here yesterday.

What's Behind Rubio's 'Full Circle Back' On Immigration?

David Welna — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:13:00 +0000
Marco Rubio has been the junior senator from Florida for barely two years, but he's already considered a likely 2016 presidential contender.
The 41-year-old Republican's political star rose still higher this week when he joined a bipartisan group of senators offering a path to citizenship to millions of unauthorized immigrants.
It's the latest in a series of shifts on immigration by Rubio, the Miami-born son of Cuban exiles who ran for Senate in 2010 as a Tea Party-backed conservative, rejecting a so-called earned path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which at the time he called

Senate Changes Filibuster Rules

David Welna — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:50:00 +0000
Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
When and if the U.S. Senate is ready to confirm Mary Jo White to head the SEC, she may find her path somewhat smoother - thanks to a rule change the Senate agreed to last night. The new Senate rule makes it just a little bit harder to block nominations, and a little easier to reach resolution than it was for President Obama's nominees in his first term. It's part of a subtle revision of the most potent weapon of the minority party: the filibuster.

President's New Term Doesn't Mean New Day In Congress

David Welna — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:33:00 +0000
The Senate picked up Tuesday exactly where it left off nearly three weeks ago. By a twist of the rules, the Senate chamber remains in its first legislative day of the 113th Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he's kept things at the starting point so that he and his fellow Democrats have the option of changing the rules on the filibuster by a simple majority vote.
"The Senate will take action to make this institution that we all love, the United States Senate, work more effectively," Reid said Tuesday.

House GOP Backs Off Debt Ceiling Demands

David Welna — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 10:38:00 +0000
House Republicans held their annual retreat this week in Williamsburg, Va., to figure out their next steps. They dropped a demand to have spending cuts for ever dollar the debt ceiling is raised, at least for the next three months. GOP lawmakers are now pinning their hopes for deficit reduction on other looming budget battles.