Tamara Keith

IRS Staffer: "What I Did Was Not Targeting"

Tamara Keith — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:34:00 +0000

Another interview with a key IRS employee, another oblique connection to Washington, D.C., and yet still no explosive revelations in the scandal surrounding the agency's targeting of Tea Party groups.

That, it seems, was precisely the point of Rep.

Liberal Groups Say They Received IRS Scrutiny Too

Tamara Keith — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:27:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some other news. We have a more complicated view this morning of the scandal at the IRS. An inspector general critiqued the tax agency's targeting of conservative groups - many of them linked with the Tea Party movement. We knew that much. And now it's become apparent that more liberal or progressive groups were also targeted.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Maryann Martindale applied for tax exempt status for her group, the Alliance for a Better Utah, in September of 2011.

6 Things We Just Learned About The IRS Scandal

Tamara Keith — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Hundreds of pages of transcribed interviews reveal that IRS employees in Washington were involved at an early stage in the improper targeting of Tea Party groups — but at least so far the trail stops well short of the White House.

Based on interviews with two longtime IRS employees working in the Cincinnati field office, there's no smoking gun, no direct connection to the Obama administration or even any indication that those involved in the flagging of conservative groups had political motives.

Rather, the transcripts from the ongoing investigation, recently viewed by NPR, paint a more mu

How The Senate Farm Bill Would Change Subsidies

Tamara Keith — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:18:00 +0000

The Senate voted Monday to approve its version of the farm bill, a massive spending measure that covers everything from food stamps to crop insurance and sets the nation's farm policy for the next five years.

The centerpiece of that policy is an expanded crop insurance program, designed to protect farmers from losses, that some say amounts to a highly subsidized gift to agribusiness. That debate is set to continue as the House plans to take up its version of the bill this month.

For farmer Scott Neufeld, crop insurance is an integral part of his family's business.

Select Senators Stall Budget Process

Tamara Keith — Thu, 30 May 2013 10:25:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

OK. The nomination we just heard about involves reaching across the aisle. That's not something we hear much about. When it comes to the federal budget, if it feels like we haven't heard about the budget in a while, there's a reason for that. The process is stalled. Back in March, the House and Senate passed vastly different spending plans.

Advice TO GOP: Don't Legislate, Focus On Scandals

Tamara Keith — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:58:00 +0000

Heritage Action, the political activist offshoot of the conservative Heritage Foundation, has some advice for House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor: focus on the scandals plaguing the Obama administration and stay away from legislation that could "highlight major schisms" within the House Republican Conference.

In a letter this week to the leaders, Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham says "outrage over Benghazi" and the IRS targ

Cantor's Rebranding Effort Tested By House Republicans

Tamara Keith — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:51:00 +0000

When the House votes Wednesday on a bill called the Working Families Flexibility Act, it will be the latest test of a Republican effort at rebranding.

The architect of that effort in the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has so far had a mixed record.

In February, Cantor gave a major policy speech at the American Enterprise Institute.

House Leadership Crashes Into Outside Hurdles On Bills

Tamara Keith — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:12:00 +0000

The House was set to vote this week on a bill modifying the president's health care law. The Republican bill was supported by the leadership, but ran into trouble and was pulled from the floor before the scheduled vote.

It's an example of the kind of obstacles Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, faces in getting legislation through the House. In many recent cases, his problem hasn't been the Democrats as much as members of his own party, backed by proudly conservative outside groups.

The health care bill was supposed to show the softer side of House Republicans.

Should Air Traffic Controllers Be Included In Furloughs?

Tamara Keith — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:16:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Air travelers are growing less and less happy. Automatic budget cuts are now leading to hundreds of flight delays, about half of all delayed flights this week.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Up until this point, the effects of the sequester have been scattered and hard to pin down: hiring freezes, delayed park openings.

How Congress Quietly Overhauled Its Insider-Trading Law

Tamara Keith — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:46:00 +0000

The legislative process on Capitol Hill is often slow and grinding. There are committee hearings, filibuster threats and hours of floor debate.

On Message: Who Wants To Cut Social Security?

Tamara Keith — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:35:00 +0000

The president's $3.77 trillion fiscal 2014 budget plan is expansive. But the part getting the most attention is his proposal to change the way the government calculates inflation using a measure known in economics-speak as chained CPI.

Following Script: Much of the initial reaction was predictable. Liberal Democrats hate the idea, because it amounts to a gradual cut in Social Security benefits over time.

'Chained CPI' Worked Into Obama's 2014 Budget

Tamara Keith — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:15:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep reporting this week from Caracas, Venezuela.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning. Last night President Obama had dinner with a dozen Senate Republicans - steak was on the menu, and a range of topics were on the agenda, including the budget blueprint he unveiled yesterday. The document does not cut spending as much as House Republicans would like. And it doesn't raise taxes as much as the Senate Democratic budget does.

Searching For The Sequester In The Middle Of Ohio

Tamara Keith — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:04:00 +0000

It's been a little more than a month since the start of the sequester — the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts that kicked in because Congress couldn't agree on something better.

Before it hit, there were dire and at times very specific predictions of job losses, furloughs and program cuts — many of them from the Obama administration.

Of course, it's still early.

Opposition Research Boot Camp: Learning To Dig For Political Dirt

Tamara Keith — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:42:00 +0000

Opposition research exists mostly in the political shadows. So perhaps it's fitting that this boot camp is in an generic conference room in a generic airport hotel outside of Washington, D.C.

It's run by private investigator Larry Zilliox, who specializes in opposition research. He allowed me to attend a session, but not to take pictures.

Zilliox is cagey about his clients: "As a general rule, it suits me best not to comment on who I've worked for.

NRA-Driven Gun Provisions Pass Along With Spending Bill

Tamara Keith — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:32:00 +0000

The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a temporary measure to keep the government funded through the end of September. Government shutdown averted.

But it turns out the continuing resolution didn't just address spending. It contains six measures that limit how federal agencies deal with guns.

These are the first gun-related provisions members of Congress have passed since 20 first-graders were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.