Congresspedia's "Congress in the News" updates, Feb. 8-Mar. 1, 2007 [1]
Submitted by Conor Kenny [2] on
- Sen. John McCain [3] (R-Ariz.) announced his intention to seek the presidency in 2008. (Election Central [4] story)
- House Republicans announced that they would attempt to block a bill that would appoint Rep. William Jefferson [5] (D-La.) to the House Committee on Homeland Security [6]. (The Hill [7] story)
- A $2.3 billion loan request from the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad company was denied by Congress allegedly because of ties to Sen. John Thune [8] (R-S.D.), who was once a lobbyist for the company. (Washington Post [9] story)
- House [10] leadership agreed to not fight subpoenas relating to the investigations surrounding former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham [11] (R-Calif.). (The Hill [12] story)
- June 19th was set as the special election date to replace recently deceased Rep. Charlie Norwood [13] (R-Ga.). (Washington Post [14] story)
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein [15] (D-Calif.) said that the Justice Department [16]'s release of performance evaluations of six U.S. attorneys further validates concerns that the attorneys were dismissed for political purposes, not performance problems. (The Hill [17] story)
- Rep. Michael Capuano [18] (D-Mass.), head of the Ethics Task Force, said the group will begin by holding private weekly meetings rather than public hearings. (The Hill [19] story)
- William Heaton, former chief of staff to then-Rep. Bob Ney [20] (R-Ohio), has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Heaton’s plea agreement comes just days before Ney is scheduled to enter federal prison. (The Hill [21] story)
- The Senate Committee on Armed Services [22] announced that it would launch an investigation into the events and actions surrounding Walter Reed Army Medical Center falling into a state of "neglect." (TPMmuckraker [23] story)
- The House Ethics Committee [24] is asking for a $6.1 million operating budget for the 110th Congress [25], a 43% increase from the previous Congress. (Roll Call [26] story)
- According to a recent poll, Americans trust Congress [27] more than President George W. Bush when it comes to the issue of Iraq. (TPM Cafe [28] story)
- Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack [29] (D) will drop out of the 2008 presidential race [30] (Washington Post [31] story)
- House Judiciary Committee [32] Chair John Conyers [33] (D-Mich.) and his newly created task force on antitrust issues will begin Feb. 28 with a hearing featuring Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin. (National Journal [34] story)
- Rep. Neil Abercrombie [35] (D-Hawaii) criticized the Pentagon for submitting a funding request to Congress that included items he claimed are not necessary for the war effort in Iraq. (Hill News [36] story)
- The Peru free-trade agreement (FTA) is coming under attack by Rep. John Murtha [37] (D-Pa.), who has national security concerns. (Hill News [38] story)
- Christine Jennings [39], the 2006 Democratic candidate in Florida's Thirteenth District, has filed a brief in Florida courts seeking a review of Sarasota County electronic voting systems. Jennings lost to Rep. Vern Buchanan [40] (R-Fla.) by less than 1,000 votes. (Hill News [41] story)
- Sens. Barack Obama [42] (D-Ill.) and Claire McCaskill [43] (D-Mo.) are sponsoring a bill that would "improve the lives of recovering veterans at Walter Reed" in response to a ''Washington Post'' report describing the Army Medical Center as being in a state of neglect. (The Hill [44] story)
- The House Ethics Committee [45] and Senate Select Committee on Ethics [46] passed guidelines that would define the travel permitted for members of Congress funded by lobbyists. (The Hill [47] story)
- Sen. Tim Johnson [48] (D-S.D.) was discharged from the hospital yesterday, and will continue his recovery from brain surgery in a "private rehabilitation facility." (The Hill [49] story)
- Rep. Tom Tancredo [50] (R-Col.) criticized the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, for his refusal to play a Border Patrol advertisement during the Super Bowl. (Hill News [51] story)
- Sen. John McCain [52] (R-Ariz.) delivered scathing criticism [53] of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, calling him "one of the worst secretaries of defense in history." (New York Times [54] story)
- Senate Republicans again filibustered a vote on a non-binding resolution condemning a troop "surge" in Iraq [55]. (Hill News [56] story)
- President Bush signed a $464 billion spending bill [57] which will continue to fund the federal government at levels similar to FY 2006 through the remainder of FY 2007 (Sept. 30). (The Hill [58] story)
- Five more representatives have threatened to quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus [59] if Rep. Joe Baca [60] (D-Calif.) does not apologize for allegedly calling Rep. Loretta Sanchez [61] (D-Calif.) a "whore." (The Hill [62] story)
- Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee [63] voted against the passage of the U.S. Attorneys Bill [64] in order to allegedly vie for the passage of Republican-backed amendments. (The Hill [65] story)
- Sen. Russ Feingold [66] (D-Wis.) is sponsoring a bill that would raise the cap on presidential campaign spending of candidates who accept public funds. (The Hill [67] story)
- Former Rep. Jim Gibbons [68] (R-Nev.), who left Congress after he was elected governor of Nevada last November, is under investigation by the FBI for accepting unreported gifts/payments (and possibly bribes) from Warren Trepp, a Nevada software entrepreneur. (TPM Muckraker [69] story)
- The Federal Election Commission [70] is reviewing whether Rep. Jerry Lewis [71]’s (R-Calif.) campaign committee violated election laws by failing to disclose contributions within a 48-hour deadline. This scrutiny follows the FBI’s reported investigation of Lewis concerning links between campaign contributions and congressional earmarks. Lewis is one of many members of Congress currently under investigation [72]. (The Hill [73] story)
- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani [74] has confirmed that he will enter the 2008 presidential race [30]. (CBS News [75] story)
- Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton [76] (D-D.C.) introduced a bill that would grant the District of Columbia legislative autonomy by ending congressional review of the District’s civil and criminal laws. (The Hill [77] story)
- Defense contractor Brent Wilkes and Kyle “Dusty” Foggo have been indicted on eleven felonies for their involvement in the "Duke" Cunningham [78] bribery scandal. (Hill News [79] story)
- Rep. Henry Waxman [80] (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee [81], requested that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates [82] hand over relevant documents in an ongoing investigation of cronyism in the Department of Defense [83]. (TPMmuckraker [84] story)
- Rep. Charlie Norwood [85] (R-Ga.) died after a long battle with cancer. Preparations for a special election to fill his vacancy are under way. (The Hill [86] story)
- Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald [87] (D-Calif.), chair of the House Administration Committee [88], has taken the lead on election reform by urging the House Appropriations Committee [89] to fully fund the administration of elections. (The Hill [90] story)
- House Speaker [91] Nancy Pelosi [92] (D-Calif.) intends to push ethics reform legislation [93] that would place strict limits on executive-branch officials. The proposed measures exceed the limits that the House [10] adopted for itself last month. (The Hill [94] story)
- Hostilities have heightened again between House Speaker [91] Nancy Pelosi [95] (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader [91] Steny Hoyer [96] (D-Md.) after an aide in Pelosi’s office said that Hoyer had been "getting out in front" of a prevailing consensus against allowing Republicans to introduce an alternative resolution on the Iraq war. (The Hill [97] story)
- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney [98] officially announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential race [30]. (Washington Post [99] story)
- Sen. Arlen Specter [100] (R-Pa.) has submitted a bill requiring television coverage of oral arguments in the Supreme Court. (Washington Post [101] story)
- Rep. Chaka Fattah [102] (D-Pa.) has been accused of reappropriating contributions for his exploratory committee to his campaign for mayor of Philadelphia. (Philadelphia Daily News [103] story)
- House Ways and Means Committee [104] Chair Charlie Rangel [105] (D-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Jim McCrery [106] (R-La.) announced that they would introduce a bill proposing small business tax cuts packaged with the minimum wage increase. (The Hill [107] story)
- Sen. Barack Obama [108] (D-Ill.) exchanged criticism with Australian Prime Minister John Howard over Iraq policy. (New York Times [109] story)
- Sen. Barack Obama [110] (D-Ill.) announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 [30]. (Washington Post [111] story)
- Sen. Tim Johnson [48] (D-S.D.), who underwent emergency brain surgery two months ago, has begun to do light work from the hospital where he is recovering. (Fox News [112] story)
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [113] (D-Nev.) said that he will postpone another attempt to address a non-binding resolution on President Bush's proposed Iraq troop "surge" [114] until after the congressional break. (Roll Call [115] story)
- In the fallout of the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [113] (D-Nev.) has begun an initiative to stop unconfirmed appointments of interim U.S. attorneys by the executive branch. (The Hill [116] story)
- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow [117] defended Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi [118] (D-Calif.) on the issue of her receiving an Air Force plane for transportation. Snow claimed that the criticism was "unfair to the speaker." (CNN [119] story)
- The Senate has confirmed Gen. George Casey as the new army chief of staff, despite opposition from Sens. John McCain [52] (R-Ariz.) and Hillary Clinton [120] (D-N.Y.). Casey has spoken out against an increase in troops [114] in Iraq. (Hill News [121] story)