Politics: Afternoon Edition: Congress approves student loan deal

If you have difficulty viewing this newsletter, click here to view as a Web page. Click here to view in plain text. Friday, June 29, 2012 HEADLINES Student loan deal passed by Congress Lawmakers agree to a one-year extension of lower rates. » Read full article Congress passes two-year transportation bill The agreement on funding for two years averts a crisis for the nation's highway construction projects. » Read full article Ex-CBO chief: Ruling could boost the cost of health-care reform An early back-of-the-envelope analysis by a former CBO director suggests that Thursday's ruling could sharply raise the cost of President Obama's signature legislative achievement. » Read full article Can Democrats take over the House? For months, Democrats have been arguing that they have a good chance of winning control of the House. But recent takes from political handicappers throw some cold water on those hopes. » Read full article Adelson giving $10 million to Kochs Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is giving $10 million to the 2012 election efforts of the Koch brothers, a Republican Party insider in Nevada confirms. » Read full article QUOTE OF THE DAY House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) arguing that Thursday's House vote finding Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress was not politically motivated: "But no Justice Department is above the law, and no Justice Department is above the Constitution, which each of us has sworn an oath to uphold" Q&A DISCUSSIONS Brad Hirschfield was online at 11 a.m. ET to discuss The Supreme Court: Can the Justices remain objective?: Q: Is objectivity even possible? Can anyone read anything "purely objectively", or are these issues simply raised when the court does something disagreeable to the one raising the question? SCOTUS: Legal objectivity does exist. Chief Justice Roberts has said since his confirmation hearings that the court's job is to determine constitutionality, nothing more, nothing less. As he said yesterday, their job isn't to relieve people of their political decisions. Basically, if you don't like the ACA, that's on Congress, not SCOTUS. Scalia's dissent to the immigration ruling was inappropriate, whether you agree with what he said or not - his thoughts had nothing to do with the Constitutionality of the law. » View full Q&A session MULTIMEDIA Video: Holder contempt vote looks bad for Democrats... and Republicans The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza on the political impact of the House vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. Get The Washington Post, your way. Want to stay on top of the latest news, features, commentary and more? Here's how: Mobile: Alerts: Social Media: Applications Web site E-mail SMS RSS Feeds Facebook Twitter SEND TO A FRIEND UNSUBSCRIBE E-NEWSLETTER CENTER GET HELP Washington Post Digital E-mail Customer Care 1150 15th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20071 ©2012 The Washington Post Privacy Policy