Congresspedia's "Congress in the News" updates, Dec. 17-Jan. 12

by Conor Kenny — February 1, 2007 - 6:55pm
  • Topics: Congresspedia News Updates, U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government
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    • Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the new chair of the DCCC, said in a memo that thirty-five Republican held seats are "in play" for the 2008 congressional elections. (TPM Cafe story)
    • Former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum is joining the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a D.C.-based organization devoted to “applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.” (Media Transparency story)
    • The House passed a bill lifting President Bush's 2001 ban on federal funding for new embryonic stem-cell research. (Bloomberg story)
    • Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) announced today that he plans to run in the 2008 presidential election. (Washington Post story)
    • The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation which, for the first time in nearly a decade, would increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. (Washington Post story)
    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has banned smoking in the Speaker's lobby just off the House floor. (Washington Post story)
    • Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), while remaining in intensive care after undergoing emergency brain surgery on Dec. 13, has improved and his condition has been upgraded from critical to fair. (Washington Post story)
    • The House passed more of the 9/11 commission’s recommended security suggestions by a vote of 299-128. Some provisions, such as new mandates to scrutinize air and ship-borne cargo, are expected to meet resistance in the Senate (Washington Post story)
    • Democratic Senate leaders, including Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), appear to be backing away from a provision included in ethics proposals last year which would require lobbyists to detail their contacts with members of Congress. (Roll Call story)
    • President Bush has decided not to resubmit four of his more controversial federal judge nominees to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary after incoming chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said only "consensus nominees" would make it through. (Washington Post story)
    • Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced new legislation that would prohibit the allocation of federal funds to increase the number of troops in Iraq without a specific authorization from Congress. (TPM Muckraker story)
    • As one of the first legislative proposals of the 110th Congress, House Democrats announced a new anti-terrorism measure which would implement many of the 9/11 commission's remaining recommendations that were rejected by the former Republican Congress. ( Washington Post story)
    • The Justice Department will offer a lenient sentence to confessed criminal and former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) in exchange for continued cooperation. (The Hill story)
    • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated that the Democratic-controlled House may not support an expected call by President Bush to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq. (CNN story)
    • Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden (D-Del.) said that he believes key White House officials, perhaps even Vice-President Dick Cheney, have concluded that the Iraq War is lost. (Washington Post story)
    • Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), after undergoing emergency brain surgery on December 13, is expected to face months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. (New York Times story)
    • Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim to serve in Congress, will take the oath of office along with the other incoming members in the House chamber, then use the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson in his individual, ceremonial oath with new Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (Washington Post story)
    • The Justice Department is refusing to provide documents on the CIA's detention and interrogation of terror suspects that were requested by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) this past November. (TPM Muckraker story)
    • House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) plans to include language raising wages in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in a broader bill increasing the U.S. minimum wage this month. (The Hill story)
    • Freshman Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) will become the first Buddhists to serve in the U.S. Congress when they are sworn in tomorrow. (New York Times story)
    • Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) announced opposition to President Bush's "surge" plan and said he will hold hearings in early January with the goal of forming a bipartisan congressional group to influence Iraq War policy.
    • An aide to Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) was fired after admitting that he had attempted to hire hackers to retroactively raise his college GPA. ( Great Falls Tribune story)
    • Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans several days of celebratory events surrounding her swearing in as Speaker of the House. (Washington Post story)
    • Democrat Christine Jennings formally contested the results of her election loss to Republican Vern Buchanan in Florida's 13th District, citing possible voting machine malfunction. (CNN story)
    • Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) condemned Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-Minn.) decision to swear his oath of office on the Koran and called for stricter immigration measures to prevent more Muslims from winning elected office in the future. (Washington Post story)
    • Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) removed a hold he had placed on a judicial nominee due to the nominee's attendance of a same-sex commitment ceremony of a neighbor. (Washington Post story)
    • Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will name Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2008 election cycle. (Roll Call story)
    • The city of Monrovia, Calif. attempted to obtain a federal earmark to buy land held by Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.). (The Hill story)
    • Federal authorities are investigating whether Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) used legislative staff to perform campaign functions. (Post-Gazette story)
    • Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) announced that he is dropping his challenge to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) to become ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, but will run for reelection in 2008. (The Hill story)