Submitted by Conor Kenny on
Both the House and Senate tackled some hotly-debated issues this week, including federal hate crimes legislation and the Head Start program. For an in-depth look at the bills considered on Capitol Hill since Monday, we again turn to Robert McElroy’s TheWeekInCongress. His site is a great resource for citizens wishing to keep track of what their members are up to in Washington, and we urge you to check it out. Follow the headlines below to the Congresspedia articles covering the respective issues, which in turn link to and heavily rely on McElroy's analyses.
- The House failed to override President Bush’s veto of a supplemental spending bill which would have provided $96 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also called for a phased U.S. combat troop withdrawal from Iraq.
- The House passed a bill expanding the list of protected groups under federal hate crimes laws, as well as providing assistance to state and local governments to prosecute hate crime offenders.
- The House passed a bill reauthorizing and enhancing the federal Head Start program, which aims to socialize and educate low-income children before they begin formal schooling.
- The Senate invoked cloture on a measure which would allow lower-cost drugs to be imported into the U.S., and require that their safety and authenticity be certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- The House passed a bill authorizing $28 billion for the National Science Foundation over the following three years.
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