Pennsylvania Avenue
Oct. 29, 12 a.m.
There’s an important task that Congressional moderates can perform on health care reform besides fighting the public insurance option and containing costs: find a middle ground on medical malpractice.
Congress Inside Out
Oct. 28, 12 a.m.
When I first heard about the plan to give every senior on Social Security $250 because there will be no cost-of-living adjustment, I laughed until it hurt. It hurt a lot.
Procedural Politics
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
When physical health system changes collide with fiscal health cost concerns, red ink is spilt. That’s the mess Congress must face in meeting the president’s health care reform standard of not adding one dime to the deficit. The cleanup effort will not end with enactment, but will take decades.
A Question of Ethics
Oct. 27, 12 a.m.
Q: I am a lobbyist with a question about the new restrictions on lobbying for TARP funding. As I understand it, we are now prohibited from talking to government officials regarding any pending funding applications. While this seems a bit onerous, I suppose it is OK so long as everyone is playing by the same rules. However, some of my peers in the field have said that they plan to continue discussing specific projects with government officials by utilizing what they say is a loophole in the new rules. According to them, there is an exception allowing discussions regarding pending applications so long as those discussions take place at a widely attended gathering. I’m not sure about this. I don’t want to break the rules, but I also don’t want to lose out to lobbyists who plan to take advantage of this exception. What do the rules say?
Fiscal Fitness
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
Wall Street, which supposedly hates uncertainty, was clearly unhappy late last week. On Thursday, in the face of a report showing not just that the economy had stopped declining but that it had actually grown faster than expected in the third quarter, the Dow Jones industrial average rallied by almost 200 points. Then, after a separate report on Friday showed that consumer spending had fallen by an unexpectedly large amount in that same quarter, the market sold off by more than the previous day’s gain as the Dow fell by about 250 points.
Heard on theHill
Social Mediation
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
Forget procrastinating on Facebook or even posting embarrassing party pictures — Capitol Hill staffers may face a bigger peril when it comes to social networking.
RoadMap
Democrats Continue Hunt for Votes on Health Care
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
Would you buy something sight unseen?
Neither will many Senate Democrats, which is putting Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his leadership team in the awkward position of looking for votes on a major health care reform bill that doesn’t quite exist.
CampusNotebook
No Special Treatment
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
The Office of the Attending Physician has run out of vaccines for the H1N1 virus and, like many clinics around the country, doesn’t know when it will get another batch.
MorningBusiness
Better Together
Oct. 29, 12 a.m.
Congress last week passed legislation to add former Congressman and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall’s name to the foundation that was created to honor his brother, the late Rep. Morris Udall (D-Ariz.).
Face Time
Updated: Nov. 3
Find out which Members of Congress have appeared most often on Sunday news shows in 2009.
Senate
Landrieu Aligning With Snowe on Health Care
Nov. 3, 11:14 a.m.
Moderate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who will not commit to supporting a motion to proceed on the Democratic leadership’s health care overhaul, is moving to align herself with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) as the fight heads to the floor.
Boxer Presses Ahead With Climate Change Markup
Nov. 3, 10:03 a.m.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee went ahead and launched its markup of Chairman Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) climate change legislation Tuesday morning, despite a boycott by a majority of the panel’s Republicans.
Obama to Meet With Lincoln
Nov. 3, 9:45 a.m.
President Barack Obama will meet late Tuesday afternoon at the White House with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in a one-on-one session that is likely to focus on health care.
No Lines to Get Into CBO’s Fan Club
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
Nobody likes the referee.
Just ask Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf, who has been taking heat from all sides in recent weeks for his agency’s handling of health care reform.
Boxer, GOP Face Off Over Climate Boycott
Nov. 3, 12 a.m.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Monday she will not be intimidated by GOP boycott threats and vowed to begin marking up her climate change legislation Tuesday regardless of whether Republicans show up at the Environment and Public Works Committee session.
Liberals Press Reid to Strip Lieberman of His Gavel
Nov. 2, 6:45 p.m.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) is coming under fire from liberals upset with his promise to filibuster any Senate health care reform bill that includes a public health insurance option, but it’s unclear how much support they have for punishing the Independent Democrat.
Senate Likely to Pass Unemployment Bill Later This Week
Nov. 2, 6:09 p.m.
The Senate voted 85-2 Monday to limit debate on an unemployment benefits package that has lingered in the chamber for a month, setting up a vote on passage sometime this week.
Reid to GOP: Floor Time for Cloture
Nov. 2, 3:52 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday pledged to provide Republicans ample floor time to debate health care reform legislation — if the GOP doesn’t try to block the debate from starting in the first place.
Boxer Urges GOP to Rethink Boycott of Climate Change Markup
Nov. 2, 1:19 p.m.
Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Monday urged Republicans to drop a planned boycott of this week’s markup of her ambitious climate change legislation, warning that the panel’s consideration of the bill will move forward with or without GOP participation.
Schumer Legislates Like He Campaigns
Nov. 2, 12 a.m.
Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) appears to approach major Congressional policy fights the same way he tackles campaigns: Figure out who or what has the best chance of winning and line up behind it.
Loophole Lets Members Trade Their Computers
Nov. 2, 12 a.m.
When House Members buy new computer equipment for their offices, they usually unload the old equipment on the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, which keeps the usable stuff and recycles the rest.
Hill Staff Briefed on Cybersecurity Issues
Nov. 2, 12 a.m.
This year, Halloween brought zombies of a different sort to Capitol Hill.
GOP Plots Strategy to Draw Out Health Debate
Nov. 2, 12 a.m.
Acknowledging they can’t stop the Senate from bringing up a health care reform bill, Republicans have mapped out a strategy to draw out the debate, attack the measure’s core components and force difficult votes on vulnerable Democrats.
Axelrod Expects Public Option; Lieberman Defends His Opposition
Nov. 1, 12:28 p.m.
Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that he expects a public insurance option to make it into a final health care reform bill.
Liberal Groups Urge Reid to Move Controversial Nominee
Oct. 30, 1:14 p.m.
A coalition of liberal advocacy groups called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday to unlock the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel.
Lieberman Aligns With GOP on USA PATRIOT Act
Oct. 30, 12:53 p.m.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) joined Republicans Friday in calling for a straight reauthorization of several controversial USA PATRIOT Act provisions, once again bucking Democratic leaders and the White House on a key issue.
Senate Confirms Benjamin as Surgeon General
Oct. 29, 9:52 p.m.
The Senate on Thursday unanimously confirmed the nomination of Regina Benjamin to serve as surgeon general.
GOP Senators Want Reid to Release Bill Sent to CBO
Oct. 29, 7:08 p.m.
Senate Republicans on Thursday called for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to release the entire version of the health care reform bill he sent to the Congressional Budget Office for review, arguing that the public and Members should be allowed to review it while CBO scores its costs.
Senate Approves Stopgap Funding Measure
Oct. 29, 6:37 p.m.
The Senate voted 72-28 Thursday in favor of a stopgap measure to fund the government through Dec. 18, likely ensuring the chamber will be in session until that date.
Reid Continues to Work Moderates on Health Care Bill
Oct. 29, 5:14 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is continuing to work the phones to try to build support from waffling moderates for his health care reform plan that includes a public insurance option.
Reid, McConnell Still in Knots Over Unemployment Bill
Oct. 29, 5:04 p.m.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) traded verbal jabs on the Senate floor Thursday over a stalemate that has blocked action on a popular unemployment benefits package.
Deal Reached on Homebuyer Tax Credit
Oct. 29, 3:13 p.m.
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) announced an agreement Thursday to extend the popular homebuyer tax credit through April.
Reid, on Floor, Excoriates GOP for Stalling Nominees
Oct. 29, 10:55 a.m.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) excoriated Republicans on Thursday for stalling more than 200 executive and judicial nominees that in some cases have been lingering on the executive calendar for months.
Reid’s Strategy on Health: Baby Steps
Oct. 29, 12 a.m.
In his quest to pass health care reform, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is pursuing a potentially risky, step-by-step strategy that banks on momentum from the debate and a hard push from the White House to get the bill over the finish line this year.
Personalities Tested on Climate Change
Oct. 29, 12 a.m.
Senate Democrats are hopeful that despite their acrimonious past, Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) can find middle ground on climate change legislation before electoral politics kills the issue for good next year.
Angelides: Bipartisanship Is Crucial for Producing a Meaningful, Job-Creating Climate Change Bill
Nov. 2, 6:47 p.m.
The climate and clean energy bill being debated in the Senate is exactly what we need to revitalize our battered economy and allow American businesses to not only compete, but lead in a low-carbon global economy. Read Full Article
Roll Call Video Channels
