Delegation

WASHINGTON - With $1.5 trillion in federal spending potentially at stake, lobbyists have packed Capitol Hill in an effort to grab the attention of 12 debt supercommittee members. Count members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation among those eager to be heard. Particularly high stakes for Massachusetts demand an aggressive defense of the state's interests, said Representative Edward J. Markey. Severe cuts in federal research grants and start-up money for businesses - from which Massachusetts industries and institutions disproportionately benefit - could damage the state's fragile...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney has swept the Kentucky and Arkansas Republican presidential primaries, inching closer to the GOP nomination he is certain to win. With no serious opposition left, the former Massachusetts governor easily won both contests. Romney is within 110 delegates of winning the nomination, a threshold he should reach next week, when voters go to the polls in Texas. Romney had previously struggled in some Southern states, when other Republican candidates were still actively campaigning.

WITH REGARD to Joan Vennochi's Jan. 12 op-ed column "Brown - the master of political theater," in which she asks whether Massachusetts voters want "an all-Democratic delegation, which votes in virtual lockstep on every major issue? Or, do they prefer a little more diversity and a little less predictability in Washington?" Perhaps in 2012 what we should really ask is whether Massachusetts wants a virtually all-white-male delegation? Monica Nelson

A visit by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and a video speech by presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, are aimed at building excitement among 2,500 Michigan Republicans gathering in Detroit for this weekend's state convention. Party activists will gather Friday night and Saturday at Cobo Center to choose delegates and alternates to the Aug. 25-30 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla. Not all of the delegates will have voting rights since Michigan Republicans have been stripped of half their votes because they held their presidential primary before March 6. ...

Dana Mohler-Faria, president of Bridgewater State University, is among a coalition of business executives, academic leaders,and government officials who have joined Governor Deval Patrick on the Massachusetts-Brazil Innovation Economic Mission 2011 this week. The conference, which ends tomorrow, is aimed at job growth and economic development partnerships between Massachusetts and Brazil. Mohler-Faria will contribute his expertise to help the delegation assess opportunities for Brazilian companies to invest and create jobs in the state.

WASHINGTON – The White House announcement confirming an end-of-the-year pullout of all troops from Iraq was roundly applauded by critics of the war among the Bay State's congressional delegation, but the sentiment was hardly universal. Senator Scott Brown, the lone Republican in the 12-member Massachusetts congressional delegation, said he remained concerned that a "rush to the exits will create an irreplaceable void and put at risk the gains made by our troops and Iraqi military partners.

SEOUL -- North Korea said yesterday that it showed its "nuclear deterrent" to an unofficial US delegation that visited the disputed Yongbyon nuclear complex, which had been closed to outsiders since the North expelled UN inspectors more than a year ago. A member of the delegation, which included specialists and former government officials, said the five Americans were allowed to see everything they requested, but it was not clear whether the...

SIRTE, Libya -- Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy held talks with six US legislators yesterday, part of an effort to end his country's status as an international pariah and reconcile with the United States. After the meeting, Representative Jane Harman, Democrat of California, was quoted by the official Libyan news agency, JANA, as praising Khadafy's decision to abolish Libya's programs for weapons of mass destruction. Harman, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the move would contribute to international peace and stability, JANA reported.

Senator John F. Kerry is asking Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for a briefing on any military base closing proposals that could jeopardize bases in Massachusetts. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the state's bases are critical to the country's military infrastructure. They include Hanscom Air Force Base, Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Fort Devens, Air Station Cape Cod, and Coast Guard resources in Woods Hole. Kerry said that the Natick Soldier Systems Center also relies on the state's brain power to provide cutting-edge research for the...

Israel's Defense Ministry says a humanitarian assistance team it sent to Turkey this week received a warm greeting, despite a deepening rift between the countries. A ministry statement Tuesday said a team this week visited the area in Turkey where hundreds were killed in an earthquake in October. The statement quoted Ahmet Kazankyeh, vice governor of the Van district, as thanking Israel for sending relief materials and other help. It quotes him as saying: "You are our true friends, and the proof is what we see here.

It's a scene from a presumptive nominee's nightmare: His home-state delegation rises to vote at the party's national convention - expected to push the candidate over the official nominating threshold - and its members abstain, delaying the coronation in an embarrassing act of rebellion. The unthinkable scenario became thinkable last month when 18 of the 27 Massachusetts delegates Mitt Romney won on Super Tuesday were defeated by Ron Paul supporters in regional caucuses. Romney's March victory at the polls means the delegates cannot vote for Paul at the Republican National...

The largest-ever United Nations conference, a summit billed as a historic opportunity to build a greener future, appears to be going up in smoke. U.S. President Barack Obama likely won't be there, and the leaders of Britain and Germany have bowed out. The entire European Parliament delegation has canceled. And with fewer than six weeks to go until the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development, negotiations to produce a final statement have stalled amid squabbling. Logistical snags, too, threaten to derail the event.

Mitt Romney was the overwhelming winner of the Massachusetts Republican presidential primary. No other candidate even hit the 15 percent threshold needed to gain any delegates. So it seems odd that when it came time to elect the 27 delegates chosen in district caucuses, Ron Paul devotees captured more than half of those slots. Those delegates are legally bound to vote for Romney on the first ballot at the Tampa convention. But nominating Romney isn't their only role. They will, for instance, also debate and vote on a party platform, which means there will be ample...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — With Ron Paul forces in control, the Maine Republican Convention has elected a majority slate supporting the Texas congressman to the GOP national convention. The names of 15 at-large delegates from Maine to the Tampa, Fla., convention were posted Sunday morning as the state convention entered its second day. Ron Paul supporters essentially took over the convention Saturday after electing a convention chairman. Maine has a total of 24 delegates. Paul finished a close second behind Mitt Romney in Maine's presidential caucuses but those results were nonbinding.

Senator Scott Brown is planning to deliver a speech this afternoon focused on bipartisanship and titled, "Americans First," but he previewed his thoughts earlier this week during remarks to a pro-business trade group. Speaking Monday to The New England Council, the Massachusetts Republican not only differentiated himself from the Democrats composing the rest of the state's congressional delegation, but many of his colleagues in Congress and his likely reelection opponent this fall, Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

WASHINGTON - In three decades of service and thousands of votes cast in the House, Representative Barney Frank had never agonized so much over a bill. In the end, the Newton Democrat joined six of his counterparts from Massachusetts in voting against the bill yesterday to raise the nation's capacity to borrow. The vote was "the hardest I've ever had to cast here," said Frank, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. The anguish and polarization generated by the legislation throughout the entire House chamber were echoed in the all-Democratic delegation from Massachusetts...

WASHINGTON - With a knack for firing off pithy zingers, Representative Barney Frank might be expected to feel right at home punching out 140-character messages on Twitter. But the Democrat from Newton is nowhere to be found on the popular social media website. His reason: "There's not enough room for a discussion of substantive issues," Frank said. "My colleagues end up talking about the seemingly irrelevant details of their personal lives. Frankly, I don't think people are all that interested in what I ate for lunch.