Congresspedia's "Congress in the News" updates, June 22-June 29, 2007
Share this
- The District of Columbia Republican Committee began lobbying Republican senators for support of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, expected to come to the Senate floor in July. (The Hill story)
- As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were preparing start up talks on a ethics and lobbying reform package, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) called in a last minute block. (Roll Call story)
- The House passed legislation which would ban the FCC from using public funds to enforce the Fairness Doctrine. (The Hill story)
- The FBI sought video of a September 2006 interview with Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) in order to assess the congressman's public statements regarding his relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.(TPM Muckraker story)
- A member of the anti-war group Code Pink collapsed in the office of Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) after undertaking a 15-day hunger strike to protest his stance on Iran in an effort to gain a meeting with him. (The Hill story)
- The Federal Trade Commission issued a report denying the importance of network neutrality regulation.(Ars Technica story)
- The White House asserted executive privilege in response to the subpoena relating to the U.S. attorney firings controversy and will not supply the requested documents. (Washington Post story)
- The Senate's efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation looked destined for failure after a vote in the Senate to end debate on the legislation and move to a final vote did not pass. (CNN story)
- Arguing that they had fulfilled a promise to the electorate by raising the minimum wage, Democratic lawmakers in the House voted to raise congressional salaries for the following year by 2.7 percent. (CQ story)
- In its continuing investigation of the warrantless surveillance program, the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House, the Justice Department, and Vice President Dick Cheney for copies of internal documents about the program's legality and agreements with telecommunications companies that participated in the program. (The Hill story)
- In a special election for California's vacant 37th congressional seat following the death of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, Democratic state Rep. Laura Richardson won the most votes, although not a majority, and will therefore face the Republican nominee in a special general election on August 21.(Roll Call story)
- The Employee Free Choice Act stalled in the Senate after a failed cloture vote of 51-48, divided closely along party lines. (The LA Times story)
- Following remarks by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) calling for an immediate change of course in Iraq, Republican Sens. John Warner (R-Va.), George Voivovich (R-Ohio), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) responded favorably to Lugar's statement.(Think Progress story)
- Following the appointment of John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to the seat of Craig Thomas, many Wyoming Republicans considered a bid for the seat in a 2008 special election.(Roll Call story)
- Former Department of the Interior official J. Steven Griles was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in March regarding the access he provided to Jack Abramoff on Indian casino issues.(The Hill story)
- Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), stalled a major lobbying overhaul bill by attempting to add a "poison pill" amendment to the Senate Campaign Disparity Act of 2007.(The Sunlight Foundation story)
- In a response to the Senate cloture vote on the comprehensive immigration bill, House Republicans prepared a resolution to express their disapproval of the bill. (The Hill story)
- In a vote of 64-35, the Senate passed a cloture motion calling an end to debate on the comprehensive immigration bill. (The Hill story)
- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) issued a letter to the White House citing multiple failures to adequately protect classified information.(The Hill story)
- Senate Democrats planned to push for the passage of a bill that would implement the recommendations of the 9/11 commission before the July 4 recess. (Roll Call story)
- Rep. John Doolittle's (R-Calif.) former Chief of Staff provided the Justice Department with documents pertaining to the ongoing investigation of the congressman's ties to Jack Abramoff.(AP story)
- Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the Bush administration to change course in Iraq "very soon." (CNN story)
- Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the committee which funds the Vice President's office, threatened to cut off funding to Cheney's office if Cheney continued to exempt his office from oversight. (The Hill story)
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) urged the State Department to hire homosexual military translators discharged under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.(The Hill story)
- Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to recuse himself from considerations by the Justice Department of the Vice President's role in government, as he is too close to the White House to be impartial.(The Hill story)
- In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which was created to prohibit soft-money-funded election advertisements disguised as issue ads. (ABC News story)
- Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) established a legal defense fund to pay for expenses associated with the FBI's investigation into his ties with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.(The Hill story)
- The Senate prepared to consider the comprehensive immigration bill again, but it was unclear if it would make it to a vote on final passage. (Roll Call story)
- The House passed the legislative branch appropriations bill in a vote of 216 to 176, granting more than $3.1 billion to run the House of Representatives and nine legislative branch agencies during FY2008. (Roll Call story)
- House defense appropriators considered adding language to the FY 2008 Defense Department authorization bill that would shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison. (The Hill story)
- John Barrasso, a Wyoming state senator and surgeon, has been named as the replacement for the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) by Gov. Dave Freudenthal. (AP story)
- Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) released a list of roughly 100 of his proposed earmarks, while other Presidential hopefuls kept quiet.(Roll Call story)
- The Senate passed a comprehensive energy bill, an amended version of the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R.6), originally passed in the House, by a vote of 65-27.(Washington Post story)
- It was revealed that a close friend of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), real estate developer Bob Penney, testified before a Grand Jury regarding the ongoing corruption investigation in Alaska.(TPM Muckraker story)
- House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) threatened the White House with a contempt of Congress motion if it did not respond to subpoenas for information relating to the U.S. attorney firings controversy.(The Hill story)
- Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced an amendment to the FY2008 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill that would restrict usage of State Department funds for travel to states that are known to support terrorism, aimed at Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a response to her April 2007 trip to Syria.(The Hill story)
- Leading Democrats in Congress applauded the release of the "Greening the Capitol" Report, which makes recommendations on how to make the House carbon-neutral by the end of the 110th Congress.(The Hill story)
- The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to authorize committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to issue subpoenas for the White House and the Justice Department regarding the warrantless wiretapping program.(The Hill story)
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) prepared to confront Vice President Dick Cheney on trying to exempt his office from inspections by arguing that it is an entity outside the executive branch.(The Hill story)
- Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) began work on an amendment to the FY 2008 Defense Department authorization bill that would close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. (The Hill story)
- An expected vote on the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate was delayed due to continued debate over comprehensive energy legislation. (Roll Call story)
- House Democrats voted down four Republican amendments aimed at reducing the spending in the Energy-Water appropriations bill. (CQ story)
- The comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate was delayed again, due to continued debate over comprehensive energy legislation. (Roll Call story)
- The House Judiciary Committee launched a web site called Write Congress to Right Justice to encourage Department of Justice whistleblowers to contact the committee regarding political appointees and partisanship at the DOJ. (The Hill story)
- The comprehensive energy legislation under consideration in the Senate stalled over disagreements on renewable electricity production. (CQ story)
- Congress will consider increasing cigarette taxes to help fund the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP). (The Hill story)
- Congressional watchdog groups came out against the current proposal for an independent ethics panel in the House, over requirements that groups who submit complaints reveal their donors. (The Hill story)
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved a pair of student financial aid bills that would increase loans to students and decrease subsidies to lenders. (Washington Post story)
- Senator John Kerry asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to refrain from deporting an illegal immigrant married to an Army Specialist missing in action in Iraq. (The Hill story)
- As expected, President Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would have eased restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. (AP story)
- The FBI questioned former aids to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) regarding his connections to former VECO Corp. CEO Bill Allen, who recently pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska legislators, in the ongoing Alaska corruption investigation.(AP story)
Printer-friendly version
Today's popular content
- Wisconsin’s System Increasingly Rigged Against the Unemployed (56)
- Resources for Investigating ALEC/NRA Gun Bills (42)
- The Health Care Industry vs. Health Reform (31)
- Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food" (27)
- About ALEC Exposed (23)
- Harold Camping's Global Apocalypse PR Campaign (23)
- More Corporations Drop Off ALEC's Conference Brochure (19)
- PBS Killed Wisconsin Uprising Documentary "Citizen Koch" To Appease Koch Brothers (17)
- Live Reporting from the Wisconsin Protests (15)
- Buzz off, Monsanto (14)
Readers' Comments
-
Voters SupressionSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
ANON. Comments SHOULD be DeprecatedSubmitted by: pbarnrob
-
Bee health - Jim ScottSubmitted by: EarlBowden
-
extra chargesSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
its not the governmentSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
primary care doctors commentsSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
doctors visitSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
doctors visitSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
As someone with a brainSubmitted by: Anonymous
-
What about discharging theSubmitted by: AndrewG
more
