Tag Archives: Topic: Congress

The Hill: “The Tea Party group FreedomWorks is calling on activists to flood the office phones of Sens. Nelson, Tester, Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jim Webb (D-Va.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to call on them to vote for the repeal amendment.”

The Hill: “Senate Democratic leaders said they are prepared to defeat an amendment repealing the healthcare law that Republicans are trying to attach to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization bill.”

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will force an up-or-down vote on the repeal of healthcare reform on Wednesday, testing the unity of Democrats who had promised the rollback would never see the light of day in their chamber.”

Fox News: “Republicans are acting quickly to capitalize on a federal judge’s sweeping ruling against the new health care law, renewing a push for a repeal vote in the Senate while clamoring for the Supreme Court to weigh in.”

The Hill: “Not long after a federal judge struck down Democrats’ healthcare reform law Monday for exceeding congressional power, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he would chair a hearing this week about the law’s constitutionality.”

Christian Post: “A crowd of 150 invited activists from groups such as the Tea Party Express, Americans for Tax Reform and FreedomWorks met with elected tea party candidates Thursday to discuss current victories and future plans. However, once Senators got down to business, there was no mention of key conservative issues that would cut government spending on abortion providers and save the government millions of dollars.”

“Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Justice has chosen not to defend DOMA based on the well-established rationales that Congress cited when it passed the law.”

Washington Examiner: “House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, introduced a bill this week to reauthorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a successful education reform that has provided scholarships up to $7,500 annually for more than 3,300 disadvantaged children living in the District of Columbia. We fully support the program’s reauthorization, which President Obama and the Democrat majority opposed in the last Congress.”

Robert Shibley writing at Pajamas Media: “[A]s the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has repeatedly determined, the vast majority of colleges maintain policies that restrict far more expression than the law requires . . . Lautenberg and Holt’s bill will only make this problem worse by actually requiring colleges and universities to enact policies that violate the Constitution.”

Salt Lake Tribune: “Freshman Sen. Mike Lee, who has clerked at all three levels of the federal judiciary, will join his senior colleague, Orrin Hatch, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republican leaders waived a rule against two senators from the same state serving on the powerful panel to allow Lee to join Hatch on the committee.”

UPI: “Republican Rep. Ron Paul says he is considering a Senate bid, a move analysts say could affect the Texas primary field for those counting on Tea Party support.”

The Hill: “Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) anticipated addition to the panel is another indicator that the GOP will look to make significant reforms to entitlement programs. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid all fall within the jurisdiction of the Finance panel. ”

The Hill: “The bill is the latest indication that some Republicans are digging in their heels on the debt vote despite stern warnings from the Obama administration that failing to raise the ceiling would be disastrous for the country. It also signals a widening rift with GOP leaders who have suggested Republicans will ultimately have no choice but to approve the debt increase.”

The Hill: “The House today approved legislation [H.R. 359] that would end public financing of presidential campaigns by eliminating the option taxpayers have to donate $3 of their tax payments to a presidential campaign fund.”

New York Times: “Democratic advocates of an overhaul of Senate rules to curb the filibuster abandoned that effort on Wednesday, clearing the way for a bipartisan agreement to institute less sweeping changes to ease procedural gridlock.”

Fox 41: “His proposal would eliminate numerous other programs, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “House Speaker John Boehner’s plan to subsidize religious schools in the District of Columbia would undercut civil rights and civil liberties and add to the federal budget deficit, while failing to improve education, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.”

Washington Post: “The Senate edged closer Tuesday to resolving a standoff over the chamber’s arcane rules after leaders presented a set of modest changes designed to satisfy a group of junior Democrats who are pushing to dramatically revamp the filibuster process.”

Pat Buchanan writing at Townhall: “With his approval rating moving up to 50 percent and higher in some polls, the pundits are all agreed . . . He is now the winter-book favorite in 2012. There is a feeling that at last we are coming out of the Great Recession. But has the debt bomb really been defused? . . . Now, facing trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, House Republicans are balking at agreeing to raise the debit limit of $14.3 trillion, though the national debt just crossed the $14 trillion mark. Are the happy days really here again?”

Reuters: “Senate Republican leaders said on Tuesday they were considering introducing legislation to allow financially stressed U.S. states to declare bankruptcy, even though the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives has rebuffed the idea.”

The Hill: “A group of Republican senators plan to debut on Wednesday their proposed amendment to the Constitution requiring Congress to approve a balanced budget each year.”

The Hill: “Hours before President Obama was to make his own deficit reduction proposals in the State of the Union address, the House on Tuesday voted 256-165 to slash spending this year to 2008 levels ‘or less.’”

Video of the President’s State of the Union Address is available at the White House website here. The full text of the speech is here. The Full Text of the Republican Response is here.

Washington Times: “House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, plans to meet President Obama‘s call for bipartisanship and education reform by restoring a D.C. voucher program that the president killed.”

Associated Press: “Scalia made the short walk from the Supreme Court to the Capitol on Monday to speak at a seminar organized by GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party Caucus. In remarks closed to the media, Scalia told about 50 members of Congress and their staff to ‘pay attention’ and read up on their roles. Attendees described the associate justice as professorial and occasionally playful.”

Bloomberg: “The court’s contingent will now include two Republican- appointed justices and four who were appointed by Democratic presidents. Republican-nominated Anthony Kennedy and Democratic appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan are also planning to attend.”

WSAZ: “U.S. Sen. Rand Paul marked the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on abortion by calling it ‘one of the most horrific judicial travesties in the history of our nation.’”

Associated Press: “House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., told reporters Monday that he believes states already have the tools they need to ease crushing budget deficits since they can cut spending, raise taxes and pressure public employee unions to renegotiate pension benefits. As a result, he said, he opposes letting states declare bankruptcy because he said they don’t need that power.”

Kathryn Jean Lopez writing at National Review Online: “Has our financial mess brought us to the brink of getting beyond the culture wars? It’s a question that we might see play out on Capitol Hill in the coming months as the new majority seeks to make the late pro-life congressman Henry Hyde proud, by defunding Planned Parenthood and prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion.”

Politico: “Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, already exercising his expanded authority in the new Congress, says he is helping broker a bipartisan push to confirm a slew of federal judges and has kicked off plans to empower younger senators.”

Washington Times: “Count Bill Cosby as a big fan of school choice. With Congress and the White House gearing up for a major battle over the future of education policy, the comedian who famously criticized academic failings in the black community added his voice Wednesday to that of House Speaker John A. Boehner and others who want to give parents a bigger say in their children’s education.”

The Hill: “A key House Republican is quickly pressing forward with her goals to scale back U.S. funding for the United Nations.”

The Hill: “Republican leaders signaled Sunday that they won’t go for President Obama’s expected call for more federal spending in infrastructure, education and innovation initiatives in his State of the Union address.”

LifeSiteNews: “A GOP plan to drastically reduce spending and place the United States on a path to fiscal responsibility would eliminate money for both Title X ‘family planning’ and the administration costs of implementing the pro-abortion national health care reform law.”

The Blog of LegalTimes: “Leaders on the Senate Judiciary Committee are in discussions about whether to hold second confirmation hearings for some of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees, aides say.”

LifeNews: “Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, one of the most prominent members of the US Senate, announced this week he would not seek reelection in 2012 . . . Connecticut is incredibly favorable to pro-abortion candidates.”

New York Times: “Beyond their short-term budget gaps, some states have deep structural problems, like insolvent pension funds, that are diverting money from essential public services like education and health care. Some members of Congress fear that it is just a matter of time before a state seeks a bailout, say bankruptcy lawyers who have been consulted by Congressional aides.”

Associated Press: “Senate Democrats don’t plan to join the House in voting to repeal the massive new health care law, but they do want to eliminate a small portion of the law that is unrelated to health care.”

Common Dreams: “A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives today that would make permanent policies that deny abortion coverage to women who depend on the federal government for their health care and extend these unjust prohibitions into the private sector. The bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would effectively eliminate insurance coverage for abortion. Currently, more than 80 percent of insurance plans offer abortion coverage.”

ABC: “Speaker of the House John Boehner this morning expressed support for a new bill that would permanently ban federal funding for abortions and called the measure one of the House’s ‘top legislative priorities’ in the 112th Congress.”

FRC Press Release: “Family Research Council praised bipartisan legislation introduced today by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) that would codify abortion funding restrictions across government programs. Also, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) introduced legislation to remove abortion funding from the Obama health bill. Both bills are necessary given the actions of the previous Congress to fund abortion in health care, and in the District of Columbia.”

Wall Street Journal: “House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) issued a statement saying the group discussed a range of issues including the need for China to provide stronger intellectual property protections and curtail North Korea’s aggressive behavior. It said the lawmakers ‘raised our strong, ongoing concerns with reports of human-rights violations in China, including the denial of religious freedom and the use of coercive abortion as a consequence of the “one child” policy.’”

Associated Press: “Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is retiring and his party has a big problem in 2012 – and beyond. Farm Belt and Southern voters who prefer a Republican president but have often backed moderate Democrats for Congress seem increasingly inclined to vote GOP in all federal races.”

The Daily Caller: “A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that would cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending.”

Ed Feulner writing at The Heritage Foundation / The Foundry: “The vote last night was an important step in the democratic process of protecting and conserving our constitutional freedoms . . . Our country, it is increasingly clear, has arrived at a pivotal moment – perhaps the pivotal moment – in its history. Together, we face a choice between two futures. One is a collectivist future where the federal government claims ever increasing shares of our income and grants itself the authority to make decisions affecting virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The other future is built upon the idea that individual freedom trumps government authority, and that in those rare cases when solving a problem requires government, the government that governs best is the one that is smallest and closest to the people.”

Karl Rove writing in the Wall Street Journal: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid described this week’s House vote to repeal and replace ObamaCare as ‘partisan grandstanding.’ Other Democratic congressmen called it ‘a political scam,’ ‘unfortunate’ and ‘fruitless.’ Liberal pundits described it as ‘useless’ and ‘meaningless.’ All of which confirms that the GOP is on the right path.”

Politico: “Anti-abortion legislators will introduce the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act as H.R. 3 on Thursday. The bill intends to prevent federal funding for abortion procedures by codifying the Hyde Amendment, which has long barred federal agencies from paying for abortions.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “R. Edward ‘Ted’ Cruz, who argued eight cases before the U.S. Supreme Court during his tenure as solicitor general for the state of Texas, jumped into a race today for U.S. Senate. Cruz joins a growing field of Republicans hoping to win their party’s nomination to succeed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who is not running for re-election in 2012.”

The Hill: “The Democrats supporting repeal – Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Mike Ross (N.C.) – all voted against the reform law in the last Congress.”

“The Democratic leadership in the Senate doesn’t want to vote on this bill. But I assure you, we will,” he added — in what sounded like a promise to push the Senate to act.

George Will writing in the Sun-Sentinel: “Unlike most of the 111 that preceded it, the 112th Congress must begin the process of restoring the national regime and civic culture the Founders bequeathed. This will require reviving the rule of law, reasserting the relevance of the Constitution, and affirming the reality of American exceptionalism.”

“The House voted on Wednesday to repeal the sweeping healthcare law enacted last year, as Republicans made good on a central campaign pledge and laid down the first major policy marker of their new majority.”

WTSP: “Nelson, a Democrat, told about 120 editors and reporters attending The Associated Press’ annual legislative meeting that he’s confident that he and President Barack Obama will fare well in 2012 when Florida will have 29 electoral votes in the presidential election.”

USCCB: “In a letter to Congress, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), outlined the ‘principles and priorities that will guide the public policy efforts’ of the Bishops’ Conference during the new legislature. The letter was mailed to all members of Congress on January 14.”

The Hill: “Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) have dealt a blow to Democrats’ faint hopes of keeping the majority in the Senate after the 2012 election.”

Pat Toomey writing in the Wall Street Journal: “As members of Congress debate whether to raise the U.S. debt ceiling—the limit on our government’s debt—we should all agree on at least one thing: Under no circumstances is it acceptable for the U.S. to default on its debt. Not only are we morally obligated to honor our debts, but we benefit greatly from the nearly universal conviction that those who lend to us will always be repaid, on time and in full. We should never undermine that conviction.”

CNN / politicalticker: “Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, is drafting a bill that would change how – and possibly if – the repeal is implemented. The repeal law passed in December requires the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to certify that the military is ready for the change. Hunter’s bill would require the four service chiefs to also sign off on the policy change.”

Grier Weeks writing at The Daily Caller: “A 2006 law that requires the U.S. Justice Department to deploy a high-tech system for catching child pornographers has identified hundreds of thousands of criminal suspects — and collected extensive evidence pointing to the locations of their child victims. Yet, despite knowledge of this evidence, Attorney General Eric Holder has refused calls to take serious action. Now, a Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee, and a government oversight panel on the warpath, could finally force Holder to explain two years of inaction that left thousands of children in danger.”

AllGov: “A survey of those serving in the U.S. House and Senate reveals only one member considers himself an atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’: Pete Stark (D-California) This is in contrast to the general population of the country, of which 16% falls into the non-religious category.”

Fox News: “Starting today, House Republicans will begin work on new language that would go beyond simply closing the loophole in Obama’s law and actually create new restrictions, including allowing medical professionals who express objections of conscience to refuse to provide abortion services.”

LifeNews: “Because the Obamacare legislation contained insufficient limits on taxpayer funding of abortions, pro-life organizations are strongly supporting the repeal effort and groups like the Susan B. Anthony List say they will inform their members about the votes.”

Associated Press: “North Dakota U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad said Tuesday he will not run for re-election in 2012, saying he will concentrate instead on reducing the national debt and dependence on foreign oil.”

Chuck Norris writing at Townhall: “Given that the 112th Congress is the most pro-life Congress in recent history, now is the time to act and stop government subsidies killing innocent unborn life. I’d even challenge tea parties across our country to fight for the unborn as hard as we do for fiscal frugalness and the Constitution.”

The Hill: “House Republican freshmen lawmakers, elected on platforms to reduce spending and the deficit, are saying they’re prepared to play hardball and vote against raising the debt ceiling in order to extract an agreement on possible budget cuts.”

Washington Post: “With doctors preparing Giffords for the rehabilitation stage of her recovery, the discovery Monday of a little-known statutory provision in Arizona law raised the prospect of a legal complication that, if left unamended, would endanger her hold on her seat . . . But in Washington, lawyers quickly concluded that the statute does not apply to members of Congress. The U.S. Constitution provides the qualifications for service in Congress and makes the House the sole judge of those qualifications.”

Byron York writing at Townhall: “For years, Republicans have wanted to cut off federal funding for National Public Radio. They tried and failed in the 1990s, but now, with a new GOP majority in the House, they’re ready to try again. It’s still a long shot, but they have a fighting chance.”

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann writing at Townhall: “When the states come calling, the House must say, ‘No.’ What’s more, it’s time to amend the federal bankruptcy laws to create a procedure for state bankruptcies — allowing states to abrogate their municipal-union contracts from the school-board level on up.”

Associated Press: “Congress may be less likely to pass legislation on the issue than it had been last year, when both chambers were under Democratic control. A bill to give U.S. companies a means of challenging what they view as an unfair export subsidy sailed through the House, but died in the Senate.”

Yahoo: “The House Republicans are preparing to strip NPR of its federal funding. Unlike abortive attempts to deny funding to public broadcasting in the 1990s, prospects of success are brighter thanks to the budget deficit and the firing of Juan Williams.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “The issue, though, has now come to the forefront again as Sen. Grassley has released a report on the investigation. The most significant aspect of the report is Sen. Grassely’s requested appointment of an independent Commission who will ‘review and provide input on major accountability and policy issues affecting’ churches. The Commission requested by Sen. Grassley will be headed by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, of which ADF is a member . . . Well, what does this all mean and how does it relate to churches? Should we expect more government oversight and control of churches by the government? Overall, I think this is good news. The ECFA committee will be a better forum to address the concerns raised by Sen. Grassley.”

Aurthur B. Laffer writes at the Wall Street Journal: “Republicans should attach provisions repealing the worst aspects of ObamaCare and financial reform to spending that the president absolutely needs.”

Heritage Foundation Morning Bell: His Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, sent a letter to Congress last week claiming that unless they raised the debt ceiling by “the end of the first quarter of 2011,” the “full faith and credit of the United States” would be “called into question” and there would be “catastrophic damage to the economy.” This is, of course, completely false. The United States government will not default on its debt. Federal taxes will still be collected by the Treasury, and the United States Constitution requires the government to pay interest and principal on the debt first. The creditworthiness of the U.S. is not in danger. Just look at history.

Business Week: “Boehner is going to win this one. Government spending has surged so much in the past two years that cutting $100 billion is a piece of cake . . . The Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl came up with an ambitious plan for cutting $343 billion in spending. I’ll shoot for one-third of that target, with the added goal of avoiding some of his proposals — such as reducing Pell Grants and eliminating homeland-security funding to states — that would be most likely to lead to wailing in the echoing halls of the Capitol complex.”

Energy Tribune: “Our economy was built on and our lifestyles depend upon relatively inexpensive, abundant, reliable sources of energy. Looking just at the fossil fuels oil and natural gas, they are critical for transportation and, increasingly for electricity, but they also serve as feedstock for plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, lubricants and construction materials. With this in mind, here are a couple of steps Congress could take to improve the reliability and reduce the costs of energy.”

LifeNews: “. . . Boehner has rescheduled the Obamacare repeal vote for next week, according to a Congressional Quarterly report. No formal announcement has been made, but HR 2 is expected to receive a vote next week.”