Senate

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FILE - This March 25, 2014 file photo shows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republicans in the 2014 midterm elections can’t seem to reach an official party line on that the old Washington practice of writing the federal budget to benefit the folks back home. Sure, top Republicans like McConnell _ now Senate minority leader _ and former Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran of Mississippi begrudgingly banned so-called earmarks more than three years ago. They were reacting both to the tea party’s rise and a push from conservative House Republicans like Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, now a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman. McConnell is accompanied by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

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Members of the Kansas National Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, follow the Senate's debate on a school funding bill from the gallery, Sunday, April 6, 2014, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The KNEA opposes the bill because it includes provisions making it easier to fire teachers. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

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Democratic Kansas legislators confer during a break in negotiations between the House and Senate over school funding legislation, Saturday, April 5, 2014, in a hallway at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. They are, left to right, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka; Sen. Laura Kelly, of Topeka, and Rep. Jerry Henry, of Atchison. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

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Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, left, a Topeka Democrat, talks to Senate President Susan Wagle, right, a Wichita Republican, during the Senate's debate on health care legislation, Friday, April 4, 2014, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Democrats oppose the bill, which brings Kansas into a compact with other states seeking to avoid the federal health care overhaul. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

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State Sen. Paul Pinsky, (D-Prince George's Co.) expresses his support on the floor of the Senate for an override of Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto of the medical malpractice bill Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005, in Annapolis, Md.. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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House Democrats are wearing stickers symbolizing the number of people in their state who they say would benefit from the House passing the Senate agreement to extend emergency unemployment insurance.

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Kansas Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce of Nickerson addresses fellow Republicans before a Senate debate on a school funding plan, Thursday, April 3, 2014, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Watching to his right is Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

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Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, argues in favor of his proposal on school funding during a Senate debate, Thursday, April 3, 2014, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The Republican-dominated chamber has rejected his plan for boosting aid to poor districts. (AP Photo/John Hanna)