Philip Elliott Posts

The Republican establishment's favorite political machine is adding Colorado to the states where it will be advertising this fall, booking more than $6 million in television time and taking its post-Labor Day media budget to more than $26 million. The liberal Senate Majority PAC began July with almost $30 million ready to unleash to help Dems hold the Senate and updated fundraising reports due Wednesday are expected to show millions more raised. At the same time, both parties' official Senate campaign arms report almost $60 million in the bank, ready to help allies.

High-dollar donors' favorite political machine on Tuesday began booking $20 million in television air time for an advertising blitz aimed at tipping six Senate seats into Republican hands. The Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC and its affiliated nonprofit Crossroads GPS announced they had sent out ad requests that are a first wave of what is expected to be heavy spending. The groups, which accept unlimited donations and have some of the GOP's top strategists as advisers, also plan to spend more cash on House campaigns.

The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday began a long-shot bid at a constitutional amendment that would limit deep-pocketed political campaign donors' influence. With plenty of politics but very limited prospects of actually changing the Constitution, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the free flow of "shady money" into politics the biggest threat to democracy he's seen. His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called efforts to limit campaign spending a tactic to rile up Democrats this election year.

The Democrats in both the House and Senate have finished the first quarter slightly ahead of their Republican counterparts in fundraising. This, in an election season that most pundits believe will result in a number of seats going to the right side of the aisle.

The for-profit college industry says it will vigorously oppose proposed regulations by the Obama administration designed to protect students at for-profit colleges from amassing huge debt they can't pay off. The proposed regulations would penalize career training programs that produce graduates without the training needed to find a job with a salary that will allow them to pay off their debt. Schools, for-profit or not, that don't comply would lose access to the federal student aid programs.

Lawmakers are making contingency plans for what happens if — or when — the nuclear accord with Iran falls apart. Congress is out of town through the end of the month, but lawmakers are already weighing their options for how to address the deal with Iran, in which Tehran agrees to a six-month pause in its nuclear program in exchange for eased sanctions worth $7 billion. Lawmakers from both parties are skeptical the agreement will prod Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions and say they will be waiting with even harsher punishment if Iran proves an untrustworthy partner.

Fanaticism is fueling conservative voters who could threaten Democrat Terry McAuliffe's political chances, former President Bill Clinton warned Sunday as he joined his longtime buddy's campaign for Virginia governor. McAuliffe has opened a lead in polling and is heavily outspending Cuccinelli on television ads, but turnout is expected to be low and the result could be decided by a few thousand votes.

Almost 6 million young people are neither in school nor working, according to a study released this week. That's almost 15 percent of those aged 16 to 24 who have neither desk nor job, according to a new report. The study also found that 49 states have seen an increase in the number of families living in poverty.

Millions of at-risk students could fall through the cracks as the Education Department gives states permission to ignore parts of No Child Left Behind, according to a study education advocates released Tuesday. Waivers from the law's requirements, including those that apply to minorities and students with disabilities, have allowed almost 2,300 schools to shed their label of seriously troubled — which is troubling according to the Campaign for High School Equity.

Students heading back to college this fall will save thousands in interest charges on their loans after they graduate once President Barack Obama signs into law a rare bipartisan compromise.

Congress passed legislation stabilizing the interest rates of college loans, tying them to financial markets but capping the rates should they rise. Interest rates were set to rise before the two Houses could agree on terms, due to partisan wrangling.

The Senate reached a compromise on student loan interest rates that would lower rates in the near term. Possible hikes loom in the coming years, however. This follows a rate hike for Stafford loans that doubled the previous percentage on interest.

Conservative Republicans don't think a GOP rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law does enough to reduce Washington's influence. Moderates are warily eying proposals that would expand charter schools' role. It's just the latest example of the fractured Republican membership in the House, where the party has a majority but often stumbles over internal disagreements.

While Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius continue to promote the president's proposal, researchers say existing programs are inadequate, and until their shortcomings are fixed there is little desire by lawmakers to get behind Obama's call for more preschool.

House Republicans, led by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, have outlined a spending plan that would shift the interest rates back to their pre-2008 levels. Congress in 2007 lowered the rate to 6 percent for new loans started during the 2008 academic year, then down to 5.6 percent in 2009, down to 4.5 percent in 2010 and then to the current 3.4 percent a year later.

Obama and the Republicans have been fighting over federal spending since the opposition party regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterm elections. The budget cuts were designed in 2011 to be so ruthless that both sides would be forced to find a better deal, but they haven't despite two years to find a compromise.

The $85 billion in cuts apply to the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, which ends September 30. But without a deal they will continue slashing government spending by about $1 trillion more over a 10-year period.

McConnell spoke to CNN's State of the Union. Boehner was interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press. Sperling appeared on ABC's This Week, NBC and CNN. Ayotte appeared on ABC. Graham spoke with CBS' Face the Nation. Romney was a guest on Fox News Sunday.