TheWeekInCongress (July 23-27, 2007)

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It was an eventful week on Capitol Hill, as high-profile issues were debated and considered in both the House and Senate. Numerous spending measures were taken up, as well as campaign finance legislation. For an in-depth look at the major bills considered in Congress since Monday, we again turn to Robert McElroy’s TheWeekInCongress. His site is a great resource for citizens wishing to keep track of what their members are up to in Washington, and we urge you to check it out. Follow the headlines below to the Congresspedia articles covering the respective issues, which in turn link to and heavily rely on McElroy’s analyses.

• The House passed a 2008 spending bill for the Depts. of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The bill includes $400 million for air traffic control improvement, and also numerous earmarks. These include funds for a hunting and fishing museum in Pennsylvania, the Houston Zoo, and the Edmunds Center for the Arts in Washington state.
• The House passed the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007, which addresses subsidies for farmers and the preemption, by the federal government, of state authority to enact food safety laws.
• The House passed a 2008 spending bill for the Depts. of Commerce and Justice which boosts spending by $3.2 billion, targeting FBI and other Justice Department programs for the increases.
• The House passed a bill amending the Federal Election Campaign Act to prohibit committees and leadership PACs of a candidate from making payments to a candidate’s or incumbent’s spouse for services.
• The Senate passed a 2008 spending bill for the Dept. of Homeland Security. The bill raises border security spending by $3 billion, part of which is to be used to complete a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.