Congresspedia's "Congress in the News" updates, Mar. 22 - Apr. 14, 2007

Submitted by Conor Kenny on April 30, 2007 - 5:30pm.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called President Bush's plan to overhaul U.S. immigration policy "unacceptable." (The Hill story)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif) resigned from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus following Chairman Joe Baca's (D-Calif.) alleged name-calling controversy. (The Hill story)
On April 12 the Senate Judiciary Committee authorized subpoenas for White House documents and staff, threatening to issue them pending Alberto Gonzales' testimony before Congress. (The Hill story)
By a vote of 63-34, the Senate passed legislation eliminating restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research, despite threats of a presidential veto. (The Hill story)
Rep. Jim Gerlach’s (R-Pa.) campaign committee will pay a penalty of $120,000 after reaching an agreement with the Federal Election Commission (F.E.C). (The Hill story)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democratic leaders are considering blocking all future White House nominations in retaliation to three controversial appointments made during the spring recess. (Roll Call story)
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) is sponsoring a bill that would give $1.5 billion for the DC Metro, sparking criticism from fellow Republicans. (Roll Call story)
The House Oversight Committee announced on April 10 that it will be investigating in to false Pentagon reports regarding the 2003 rescue of Jessica Lynch in Iraq and the 2004 death of Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan. (CNN story)
The House Judiciary Committee served Alberto Gonzales with a subpoena demanding the release of previously redacted documents concerning the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. (Yahoo News story)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) issued an apology for his remarks while visiting a Baghdad market last week. He stated he “misspoke” when he declared that his ability to walk freely around the marketplace was a sign of a significant improvement in security in Iraq. (New York Times story)
Democrats are preparing legislation to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, which is likely to affect tens of millions of families if left unchanged. (New York Times story)
Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) quietly introduced a bill before Easter recess, calling for the dissolution of the House Ethics Committee. (Roll Call story)
In the wake of the political stalemate on the Iraq spending bill, Republican House members called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cut the House recess on April 9 in order to come to a solution on the issue as soon as possible. (The Hill story)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) requested, for the third time, that the White House turn over documents related to the firing of eight U.S. attorneys to justify White House assertions that there exists "no credible evidence of any wrongdoing." (The Hill story)
Monica Goodling, the official who has promised to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights in the U.S. attorney firings controversy, resigned from her position at the Department of Justice. (The Hill story)
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced that they will debate climate change in an effort to keep it as a forefront issue. (The Hill story)
Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) began a probe in to an Air Force contract awarded to Boeing in 2006 for search and rescue helicopters. (The Hill story)
On April 5, 2007, Vice President Dick Cheney criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statements to the president of Syria as "nonsensical" and constituting "bad behavior." (The Hill story)
The Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), reprimanded the Federal Communications Commission for failures in recent years. (The Washington Post story)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) will refer President Bush's recess appointment of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth donor, Sam Fox, as Ambassador to Belgium, to the General Accountability Office. (Bloomberg story)
The attorneys for a senior aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales criticize both House and Senate Democrats over their investigation into the controversial firings of eight federal prosecutors. ( The Washington Post story)
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) requested e-mails from the Republican National Committee that could help the investigation into administration officials using federal resources for political purposes. ( The Hill story)
On April 3, 2007, President Bush threatened to veto legislation establishing a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq stating that he had "strong support for this position in both houses." (Washington Post story)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held talks with the Syrian president on April 4, 2007 on Syrian-Israeli relations and Syrian support of militant groups despite objections from the White House. (USA Today story)
In an interview on April 2, 2007, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) stated that Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) staff had approached him to "engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as Vice President" back in 2004. (MyDD story)
The House Oversight Committee dropped its inquiry in to a corporate espionage case after minority members contended that it was against House rules. (Politico story)
Despite pleas from the Bush administration, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) of the Senate Judiciary Committee inquired as to the identities of other U.S. attorneys considered for replacement in the highly publicized March 29 Kyle Sampson testimony in to the firing of U.S. attorneys. (The Hill story)
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, urged the White House on March 28, 2007, to turn over all relevant e-mails to the committees for their investigations in to the U.S. attorney firings controversy. (The Hill story)
The Supreme Court faults the Environmental Protection Agency for inaction on greenhouse gas emissions. (The Washington Post story)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that if the President vetoes the recently passed Iraq appropriations bill that he would endorse Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.) plan to cut funding for the Iraq war, except for targeted measures against al Qaeda and for military trainers. (The Hill story)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) walked through an open-air market in Baghdad with a massive armored escort. (Think Progress story)
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has sent a letter to President Bush, signed by 154 House members, indicating that they would sustain his veto of the Global War on Terror supplemental spending bill.(The Hill

story)

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) has formally announced his candidacy for president, stating that the immigration issue was his primary motivation. (Boston.com story)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is calling for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify before a panel regarding the administration's pre-invasion claim that Iraq was trying to acquire uranium from Niger. (The Hill story)

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) expects the Senate to pass an Iraq appropriations bill without provisions for withdraw if President Bush vetoes the current bill. (Yahoo News story)

Amidst White House criticism, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to visit Syria during her nine-day goodwill trip to the Middle East. (The Hill story)

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) raised $26 million in presidential campaign funds in the first quarter, almost tripling the amount that any other presidential candidate had previously raised at that point in a campaign. (Washington Post story)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is calling for former White House Aide Susan Ralston to give a deposition in an ongoing investigation of lobbying contacts between Jack Abramoff and the White House. (The Hill story)

The head of the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan, testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. (Think Progress story)

The entire House Republican caucus was invited to the White House to show support for President Bush’s threat to veto the $122 billion war spending bill. (Washington Post story)

The Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), issued letters to the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign. These letters directed them to preserve all emails by and for White House officials, and to meet with the committee about the legal issues involved in conducting official government business using partisan email accounts. (Think Progress story)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told President Bush to relax with threats of vetoing the House and Senate versions of the Iraq War supplemental spending bill, which included benchmarks and a withdrawal plan. (Hill News story)

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has confirmed that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) considered leaving the Republican Party in 2001. (Hill News story)

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) leading the appropriations committee has vowed to reduce the number of earmarks, as the Senate struggles with implementing the new financial disclosure rules. (Roll Call story)

The Senate voted 50-48 to keep the provisions for withdrawal from Iraq in the $122 billion supplemental appropriations bill. (Hill News story)

Senatorial Aide Phillip Thompson could be imprisoned up to five years for possession of Sen. James Webb's gun (D-Va). The Senator stated, “I have never carried a gun in the Capitol complex and I did not give the weapon to Phillip Thompson.” (Roll Call story)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will most likely not filibuster a Democratic Iraq spending proposal because he is certain President Bush will veto the measure. The legislation would require that Bush begin pulling out some troops right away with the goal of ending combat missions by March 31, 2008. (Associated Press story)

Sen. James Webb’s (D-Va.) top aide was charged yesterday with trying to carry a loaded pistol along with extra ammunition into the Russell Senate office building. (Washington Post story)

Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Tex.) underwent quadruple bypass surgery this past weekend and will remain in the Houston area for 3 to 4 weeks while he recovers. (Houston Chronicle story)

Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) has demanded that the Department of Defense release an internal report regarding the handling of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire. (Hill News story)

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) rebuked President Bush on Sunday regarding many issues, such as his “military escalation” in Iraq, his handling of the U.S. attorney firings, and his respect for the Constitution. (Hill News story)

Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are both working on bills creating federal standards for vote-by-mail. (Hill News story)

The Justice Department released copies of emails regarding a November 27, 2006 meeting between Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and senior aides in which the planned firing of eight U.S. attorneys was discussed. (The Hill story)

Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) were added to a growing list of Republicans criticizing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' handling of the firings of eight U.S. attorneys in late 2006. (CNN story)

The Senate Committee on Appropriations passed their version of the Iraq supplemental bill. (The Hill story)

The vote on whether or not to give D.C. a voting member in Congress has been derailed. (The Hill story)

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, has decided to remain in the race despite the revelation that his wife's cancer (previously detected in 2004) has returned. (The New York Times story)