This is an idea that I have been toying with for a little while. I hope it goes over well and generates some interest. If so, I will keep posting. If not, well, meh. I'll make like a GOP Senator and actively do nothing.
This is a crossposting of my open thread story on Congress Matters. It has turned into a posting of random events going on in Congress. It's your chance to:
discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, or post manifestos.
And your Dkos log-in works over there. Just sayin'
And props to CA Berkley WV who posts open threads at CM as well.
Without further ado, here's all the news that is fit to blog...
Remember the self-appointed gang of six Senators who planned to write the health care bill? It seems that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has her own "go-to gang" to deal with.
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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Howard Berman want a controversial report on the coup in Honduras pulled and revised because it contains factual errors. The Republicans, meanwhile, are using the report to claim that the coup was legal.
"The report, which has contributed to the political crisis that still wracks Honduras, contains factual errors and is based on a flawed legal analysis that has been refuted by experts from the United States, the Organization of American States, and Honduras," Kerry and Berman wrote in the letter.
~snip
They lay out three problems in the report. First, they argue it follows a line of analysis based on a Honduran constitutional provision that was struck down in 2003 by the Honduran Supreme Court. Second, they write that parts of the report relay on a supporter of Zelaya's ouster. Finally, they say the report presents a "unique" interpretation of the Honduran constitution without "adequate textual or precedential support."
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To follow up on an earlier item, it seems the CIA may have "mislead" Congress as many as five times since 2001.
Intelligence subcommittee Chairwomen Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) are leading an investigation into what they described as a practice of incomplete and often misleading intelligence briefings, which arose in the wake of CIA Director Leon Panetta’s June 24 admission that intelligence officials failed to notify Congress about a top-secret program to assassinate al Qaeda leaders.
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Dana Milbank calls James Inhofe a "flat-earther." This one is a fun read and really describes what happens in those committee hearings. The good news is that there are plenty of Republican Senators who see Global Warming as a real problem. The upshot is that the Senate argument on climate change will largely revolve around what to do whether than if we should do something at all. Oh, and there is a 28 minute speech by Kerry. The boring actual story with more information is linked here.
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A Washington lobbyist has been charged with circumventing sanctions against Sudan.
The indictment says Cabelly entered into illegal contracts with the Sudanese oil industry; acted as an intermediary between Sudan and a French oil company; and provided sensitive information to Khartoum about the U.S. government. Cabelly also instructed the unidentified French oil company to deposit $180,000 into an account on the Cook Islands, and concealed his travel to Sudan by scheduling out-of-the-way itineraries and using two different U.S. passports bearing his name, the indictment says.
Who would have guessed that some of the greatest enemies of the people of Darfur and Southern Sudan live in the District of Columbia?
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Speaking of lobbyists putting people's lives in danger, this story is from The Sunlight Foundation:
How Congress and Special Interests Kept Crucial Clinical Trial Data Secret
Patrick-Lake was shocked to find out later that in 2007, the year before she joined the (clinical) trial, Congress had considered—and then, under the influence of lobbyists—rejected—a requirement that would have required companies to disclose data for products that don’t make it to market. When she found out the text of the final bill was available for just one hour before Congress debated it, she was outraged.
"Patients didn’t have a fighting chance," she says. "This bill was being debated and there was only one hour to respond? What could I possibly do about that? I live in Colorado. It’s stunning that this could happen."
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Slate examines the most obvious question of the week (so far): Could one of the left's least favorite senators kill health care reform?
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The Senate is currently debating the unemployment compensation bill. Naturally, the Republicans are griping about the tyranny of the majority. Someone call the Whaaaabulance.
From the Washington Independent.
Senate Democrats are pushing a more generous bill, extending benefits by 14 weeks nationwide, with an additional six weeks for those in states where unemployment rates have topped 8.5 percent. The bill applies only to the future, meaning those whose benefits expired before passage would not be eligible for backpay. The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday afternoon on a procedural move to begin consideration of the bill.
Standing in their way, however, are GOP leaders who want to attach a series of controversial — some say unrelated — amendments. Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), for example, are pushing separate provisions to ensure that ACORN doesn’t receive federal funds. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) have offered amendments related to the Wall Street bailout. And Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) wants to make permanent the controversial E-Verify program, which screens newly hired workers in order to weed out illegal immigrants.
Related: Just watch Brave New Film's new video about ACORN. Are we witnessing the first salvo in a new class warfare?
Also related: Is AARP next?
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The Governator sent the California assembly a none-too-subtle message.
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Finally, Major League Baseball ♥s New York more than Pennsylvania.
Among New York's congressional members, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) have scored the most money from the Major League Baseball Commissioner's Office PAC, collecting $9,500 and $9,000 respectively. Both are relatively powerful officials with congressional committee chairmanships to their credit.
At $11,500, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania – a long-time Republican who in April became a Democrat – alone accounted for nearly half of the Pennsylvania's baseball bucks.
When federal politicians' leadership PACs are considered, New York wins again: Empire State interests snagged $14,000 compared to the Keystone State's $9,500.
I have a feeling that a close look will show that the main recipients either have stadiums in or near their districts or sit on committees that deal with professional sports.