U.S. Congress

9/11 Bill Passes the House; Status Uncertain in the Senate

by Conor Kenny — January 10, 2007 - 6:04pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, Politics, U.S. Government

    • The House passed a bill Wednesday enacting several recommendations of the 9/11 commission, accomplishing the first of several “first 100 hours” initiatives put forth by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democratic-led 110th Congress.

    House Democrats Kick Off Their First 100 Hours

    by Conor Kenny — January 9, 2007 - 5:36pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, Politics, U.S. Government

    • The long anticipated “first 100 hours” of the Democratic-led 110th Congress is now officially underway. The new House Speaker, Rep.

    Congresspedia’s “Congress in the News” updates, Nov. 8-Nov. 30, 2006

    by Conor Kenny — January 8, 2007 - 1:30am
  • Topics: Congresspedia News Updates, U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government
    • Las Vegas police have recommended that no charges be filed against Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) in relation to an alleged assault. (News 3 story)
    • Washington D.C.

    The Newly Democratic House Changes Their Rules

    by Conor Kenny — January 7, 2007 - 11:28pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress

    • Last week the new Democratic House majority passed a number of rule changes aimed at the less scrupulous aspects of the previous Republican regime. The most significant is probably the "pay/go" provision that requires new spending to be offset with increases in revenue or equal reductions in spending, but also included were several new ethics measures. However, most of the ethics reforms are fairly superficial and do not deal with the revolving door or campaign contributions. For those we'll have to wait until later in the session (or potentially much, much longer). The new Democratic majority in the Senate, which is moving through the slower committee process, is expected to deliver their changes next week.

    The new House rules are as follows:

    Boom Times for Scandal PR

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 7, 2007 - 2:29am

    "The number one PR trend of 2007 will be dealing with the PR fallout from congressional subpoenas," predicts public relations industry blogger Alice Marshall. "Local law firms are already soliciting business. PR strategists are dropping quotes in the press hoping to attract clients. ...

    Main Source: 
    Presto Vivace blog, January 4, 2007

    Lieberman, Bush and the Generals: The PR campaign around the troop "surge" in Iraq

    by Conor Kenny — January 3, 2007 - 1:19pm
  • Topics: Iraq, U.S. Congress, Public Relations, Rhetoric

    • President Bush is expected to make an announcement soon about his plan for Iraq, but a PR war has been raging for several weeks to prepare the ground for a "surge" in troop levels for Baghdad and Iraq. Bush and surrogates Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen.

    New Committees and Stories for the New Congress on Congresspedia

    by Conor Kenny — December 23, 2006 - 5:22pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, U.S. Government

    • We've been busy at Congresspedia updating all our information for the rollover from the 109th to the 110th Congress. The new chairs and members of the Senate committees have all been released and are fully updated in both the member of Congress profiles and on the committee pages.

    Sen. Harkin Hearkens: Junk Food Marketing "Out of Control"

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — December 20, 2006 - 11:00am

    The new Congress is likely to put new and stronger emphasis on limiting junk food marketing, say aides to U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Harkin becomes chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee in 2007. His aides report that food marketing to children "will be one of our top tier agenda items." In recent years, Harkin futilely has sought to push through legislation toughening Federal Trade Commission authority to regulate junk food marketing.

    Main Source: 
    San Francisco Chronicle, December 20, 2006

    Let the Campaign Begin: A Rundown of Potential 2008 Presidential Candidates

    by Conor Kenny — December 20, 2006 - 1:30am
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, Politics, U.S. Government

    • Guest blogger: Tim Malacarne

    With the 2006 midterm elections just a month behind us, many political observers have already turned their attention to the 2008 presidential election. For the first time since 1952, neither the incumbent president or vice-president will be seeking his party’s nomination for the presidency. With such an open field, many politicians on both sides of the spectrum are considering bids. However, rather than run down the same list of likely candidates that everyone else on the web is doing, Congresspedia is going to be keeping track of which definite steps members of Congress and other candidates have taken to run for president. We'll be updating our page on the 2008 presidential election, but here's the current breakdown:

    Congresspedia’s “Congress in the News” updates, Oct. 18-Nov. 8, 2006

    by Conor Kenny — December 19, 2006 - 10:07am
  • Topics: Congresspedia News Updates, U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government
  • Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) announced that he will resign from the Republican leadership at the end of the 109th Congress. (Time story)
  • Rep.
    • Syndicate content