Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is a tough guy but he ususally doesn't take his anger out on the press. Thursday was an exception, however. More...
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s largest public pension fund, has finally weighed in on the debate over oil and food speculation.
The fund, which has $1.3 billion of its total $239 billion investment portfolio in commodities, released a statement on Thursday opposing legislation that would limit their ability to invest in the lucrative commodities market. More...
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s largest public pension fund, has finally weighed in on the debate over oil and food speculation.
The fund, which has $1.3 billion of its total $239 billion investment portfolio in commodities, released a statement on Thursday opposing legislation that would limit their ability to invest in the lucrative commodities market. More...
The liberal blogosphere holds the issue of "Net neutrality" as close to its cyber-heart as perhaps any other out there. It fights on the big issues but does its most targeted lobbying around open and unfettered access to the Web, opposing efforts by telecoms and other bandwidth providers to implement fee structures that could benefit sites preferred by the companies and slow down ones that aren't. Opponents say they should be able to manage networks they own however they see fit. Proponents of net neutrality fear that its demise would be the end of the Internet free-for-all that allows so many voices to be heard. More...
Congress paused for a moment of silence at exactly 3:40 p.m. Thursday afternoon to mark the ten-year anniversary of the killing of two Capitol Police officers by a deranged gunman inside the Capitol.
To mark the moment, all business stopped inside the dome as both the House and the Senate held a minute of silence. Dozens of Capitol Police gathered at the door where the incident occurred, while all tourists were stopped in place inside the building.
On July 24, 1998, Russell Weston, a paranoid schizophrenic, broke through a security barrier and shot Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson dead outside the offices of then-Majority Leader Tom Delay.
To mark the occasion on Thursday, Congressional leaders from both parties led lawmakers out to the east lawn of the Capitol grounds, where they planted a tree in the slain officers' memory.
“Their deaths remind us that, just as bravery was required from our Founders who built the Capitol, the bravery of great men is required today to protect and keep it,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. More...
Congressional Democrats once again came up short in their drive to pass a major component of their energy agenda, as a bill to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve came up short Thursday afternoon. More...
House Republicans are trying a new tack to get President Bush to reverse his support for the massive housing bill: asking nicely.
“We would like to respectfully request that you reconsider your position,” 14 House Republicans wrote in a letter to Bush Thursday, noting that 149 Republicans voted against the legislation Wednesday.
“[A]s Republicans, we voted our consciences as the fiduciaries of American tax dollars,” the lawmakers wrote. Signatories included Spencer Bachus of Alabama, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas; and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
Using the veto, which House Republicans have the votes to sustain, “could result in revised legislation that eliminates some, if not all, of the extraneous and wasteful provisions, leaving a bill that could gain broad bipartisan support,” the lawmakers write.
The tone of the letter contrasts comments made by some GOP critics in the last couple of days. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) called Bush’s decision to sign the bill “unconscionable.”
“When he really has a chance to stand up and take a tough stand, he’s not there,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.).
The fact that Baucus is on the side of McHenry – who also sits on the Financial Services panel -- and other conservatives is worth noting, since the Alabama Republican got a lot of heat from GOP colleagues for supporting Chairman Barney Frank’s bill to crackdown on bad mortgage lending practices back in November. More...
The progressive group Health Care for America Now on Thursday launched another jab at the insurance industry’s health care reform campaign. The new YouTube ad mocks the listening tour launched this week by America’s Health Insurance Plans.
The video spot highlights the fact that calls to the campaign’s 800 number go straight to voicemail. A frustrated caller leaves a message saying, in part, “If you really want to listen, pick up the phone.”
“What else would you expect from the health insurance industry,” the ad then asks in white lettering on a black background.
When a reporter dialed 800-289-1136 this afternoon, he also got a voicemail message. AHIP did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More...
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) have released their list of board members for the new Office of Congressional Ethics. The list of eight board members includes six former members of Congress. More...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outlined the details of a potential second economic stimulus package on Thursday, setting the stage for another economic showdown with the White House this fall.
Speaking to reporters at her weekly press conference, Pelosi said she hoped the roughly $50billion package will include a major investment in infrastructure spending, home heating assistance, aid to states to help with Medicare costs and increasing food stamp benefits.
Pelosi aides said the measure would likely hit the House floor in early September.
Pelosi’s remarks came as the Labor Department announced Thursday that 406,000 people applied for new unemployment benefits last week, an increase of almost 100,000 from the same time period a year ago.
“Today the news…makes clear that we must take action to help Americans make ends meet in these difficult economic times,” said Pelosi.
“It is yet another indication that we need another economic stimulus package.”
When asked if the cost of the package would be around $50million, Pelosi said: “I would hope that it would not be less than that.”
However, she acknowledged that passage of the measure would: “depend on the recognition by the president of the United States that the American people are having a hard time.” More...
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) shared eggs and bacon with the MSM at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning (though he barely touched his plate). Prompted by reporters, he riffed on Missouri’s role in the presidential race and relations between House Republicans and the president as well as between the caucus and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.
Asked if McCain was trying to run away from congressional Republicans, he turned the question around in an implicit concession. “We’re not running away from him,” he said to laughter around the table. He added later, “There’s a lot of fondness for him among House members,” citing McCain’s efforts, particularly in the days leading up to the 2000 election, on the stump for House Republicans. More...
Looks like senators will be working this weekend.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he will object to any vote on the pending housing legislation until Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) allows a vote on his amendment to ban mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from lobbying.
Senate procedure sets a limit on how long DeMint can stall – 30 hours of debate time once senators vote to formally take up the legislation on Friday.
That means DeMint can put off the final passage vote until Saturday. The bill appears to have plenty of support to pass once the vote is held.
“Reid has a choice,” DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton told The Crypt. “He can continue protecting Fannie and Freddie lobbyists or he could side with taxpayers and allow a vote to stop their taxpayer dollars from being used to lobby and send political donations to politicians on the Hill.”
“We could get the bill finished today,” Denton said.
DeMint argues that if taxpayers are on the hook to rescue Fannie and Freddie, they should be treated like other federal entities – and that includes a ban on lobbying and political activities.
DeMint’s tactic “smacks of desperation,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley countered.
“Even President Bush has finally dropped his stubborn opposition to this important bill and realizes, as Democrats long have, that we must act immediately to address the housing crisis,” Manley said. “This bill will pass and it will help the nearly 8,500 families who file for foreclosure each day -- the only question is how long a tyranny of one is going to force them to wait.”
This isn’t the first time DeMint’s objections have kept senators in past their usual weekend departure debates. Earlier this month, DeMint forced the Senate to hold a rare Friday night vote on an AIDS bill. But unlike that vote, which DeMint missed, the South Carolina Republican will be on hand this weekend. More...
After completing his whirlwind Middle East and European tour, Barack Obama will return to Washington early next week to tend to another flock: House Democrats. More...
A House panel held a landmark hearing on the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law on Wednesday afternoon, the first such hearing since the law was enacted in 1993.
While there is little chance the law governing gays in the military will be changed in the short term, Democrats are hoping the hearing re-ignites a conversation on the highly charged issue.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has indicted he would work to change the law if elected.
Despite the passions the issue often raises, cooler heads prevailed Wednesday as the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee heard from several witnesses on both sides of the issue.
No Pentagon officials spoke at the hearing.
Several openly-gay retired military personnel called for the law to be scrapped, saying it is unfair and discourages thousands of qualified homosexual Americans from enlisting.
Eric Alva, an openly gay former Marine, told the panel that despite being the first U.S. soldier wounded in the Iraq War in 2003 and receiving a purple heart and a visit from President Bush, he remained deeply conflicted about his service because of his sexual orientation.
“I realized that I had fought and nearly died to secure rights for others that I myself was not free to enjoy,” he said. “I had proudly served a country that was not proud of me.”
However, Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness--a group that does not support gays serving openly in the military--warned there will be “real consequences” if the law were changed.
Donnelly blamed “the San Francisco left” for “trying to impose their agenda on the military” and said that if the law were overturned, it could lead to “a sexualized atmosphere in our military.” More...
A House panel held a landmark hearing on the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law on Wednesday afternoon, the first such hearing since the law was enacted in 1993.
While there is little chance the law governing gays in the military will be changed in the short term, Democrats are hoping the hearing re-ignites a conversation on the highly charged issue.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has indicted he would work to change the law if elected.
Despite the passions the issue often raises, cooler heads prevailed Wednesday as the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee heard from several witnesses on both sides of the issue.
No Pentagon officials spoke at the hearing.
Several openly-gay retired military personnel called for the law to be scrapped, saying it is unfair and discourages thousands of qualified homosexual Americans from enlisting.
Eric Alva, an openly gay former Marine, told the panel that despite being the first U.S. soldier wounded in the Iraq War in 2003 and receiving a purple heart and a visit from President Bush, he remained deeply conflicted about his service because of his sexual orientation.
“I realized that I had fought and nearly died to secure rights for others that I myself was not free to enjoy,” he said. “I had proudly served a country that was not proud of me.”
However, Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness--a group that does not support gays serving openly in the military--warned there will be “real consequences” if the law were changed.
Donnelly blamed “the San Francisco left” for “trying to impose their agenda on the military” and said that if the law were overturned, it could lead to “a sexualized atmosphere in our military.” More...
RedState got its paws on an e-mail a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sent Wednesday to business representatives which the conservative blog dubbed an "S.O.S. to K Street."
The e-mail let the business crowd know that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) may be introducing an amendment to upcoming housing legislation and that "it's fair to say that such an amendment could complicate debate and delay passage of the housing bill."
Reid spokesman Jim Manley tells The Crypt in an e-mail that "an sos would suggest that this bill is in trouble -- and it’s not. Even President Bush has finally dropped his stubborn opposition to this important bill and realizes, as Democrats long have, that we must act immediately to address the housing crisis. This bill will pass and it will help the nearly 8,500 families who file for foreclosure each day -- the only question is how long a tyranny of one is going to force them to wait."
The e-mail from Reid staffer Mark Wetjen after the jump... More...
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) drew from Phil Donahue’s talk-show format Wednesday, throwing the microphone out to the audience for questions during the second of two hearings on childhood obesity by the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families that Dodd chairs.
The senator has been looking for participation from the many students in attendance to get their perspective on an issue that concerns young people, explained his press secretary, Bryan DeAngelis.
Will Dodd continue the Donahue look?
DeAngelis isn’t saying.
So stay tuned. More...
Seven Republican senators sent Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) a letter on Wednesday urging the Majority Leader to include a ban on lobbying and political activity by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in legislation aimed at bolstering the two mortgage giants. More...
In a move reminiscent of past flaps over the perception of liberal bias among mainstream media outlets, House Republicans distributed a letter on Wednesday formally "urging" The New York Times to allow a third party to take out a full-page ad featuring a rejected opinion piece by their party's presidential candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Calling the decision not to run McCain's op-ed "unfortunate" and "alarming," Republicans in the House asked the paper "to permit a third partythe purchase of ad space" in the Times "as a second-best means of responding" to an op-ed by Sen. Barack Obama the Times published recently. More...
Eye To Eye: Home Sales(1:44) "Only On The Web:" Ben Tracy speaks with a Los Angeles realtor about what people can do to help make their home look more attractive to buyers in today's collapsing housing market
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