It was an eventful week on Capitol Hill, as both the House and Senate tackled several high-profile issues. The House passed another Iraq War supplemental spending bill, while the Senate considered bills relating to both the FDA and the Army Corps of Engineers. For an in-depth look at the legislation considered in Congress since Monday, we again turn to Robert McElroy’s TheWeekInCongress.
What does it mean to be a nation at war? Is it possible to exercise democratic control over a wartime government that dismisses honest criticism as unpatriotic? What should citizens do when members of their military not only commit crimes -- as happens during every war -- but also rely on propaganda to hide mistakes and to embellish or even create victories, as happened in the cases of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and Private Jessica Lynch?
Those are big questions, but a few things are clear. One is that the secrecy, deception and constraints sought by wartime administrations are anathema to the transparency, accountability and freedom necessary to democracy. As James Madison warned, "Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other." Another truism is that citizens retain the right to receive information and provide guidance to their government during wartime. The last is that, while security concerns may legitimately restrict what information can be shared when, maintaining civilian oversight of war operations helps ensure that human rights standards are upheld. Perhaps the most important effort to provide oversight of ongoing U.S. wars was the April 24 Congressional hearing on battlefield misinformation.
Both the House and Senate are in session this week, with each expected to consider numerous bills and resolutions. The House is planning to vote on a measure authorizing fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, while the Senate will likely consider a bill allowing the reimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. In addition to legislation, both the House and Senate are again planning to hold a number of important committee hearings. These include one by the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on emerging technologies and practices designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs' long-term care programs. Here, courtesy of GovTrack, is a quick rundown of all of this week’s House and Senate hearings:
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.
While Congress has been busy dealing with issues such as the Iraq War, the U.S. attorney firings controversy, and the federal minimum wage this year, some members have had their attention diverted by legal problems. By our count, eleven members of Congress (and ten former members who departed with the 109th Congress) are currently the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. Over the past few weeks, new details have emerged in several of these cases. Here’s a quick rundown of the latest info (with the appropriate background):
The Congresspedia staff has recently been quietly working with a number of research and advocacy organizations to build more articles on federal legislation and policy. Today we're publicly unveiling the first of these articles: a page on U.S. federal oil and gas royalties that we worked on with the Project on Government Oversight. Beth Daley, POGO's Director of Investigations (and now SourceWatch/Congresspedia user "Bethdaley") explains why POGO thinks this topic is important:
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Bush administration's now-infamous photo op when Bush landed in a fighter jet on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq. His speech was one of many publicity stunts and media manipulations used to sell a fantasy war whose real and very tragic consequences are still being felt.
Both the House and Senate are in session this week, with each expected to consider numerous bills and resolutions. The House is planning to vote on a measure reauthorizing the federal Head Start program, while both the House and Senate may be forced to attempt to override President Bush’s veto of a supplemental spending bill which would call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
It was another active week on Capitol Hill for both the House and Senate. In addition to major legislation on the Iraq War, measures regarding small businesses, animal rights, and genetics were also considered. For a thorough look at the bills debated and considered since Monday, we again turn to Robert McElroy’s TheWeekInCongress.
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