February 28, 2008
As House Approves Tax Bill, Senate Dems Look To Reconcile
Senate Democrats are inching toward including an energy tax plan as part of budget legislation to overcome a Republican-led obstacle there, as the House yesterday reaffirmed its support of repealing billions of dollars in incentives for oil and gas companies in a stand-alone measure.
While House Democrats have pushed through similar proposals this Congress with majority support, Senate Democrats have been unable to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster.
Senate Democrats have mulled including an energy tax plan that repeals oil and gas company incentives to pay for extending and expanding renewable energy and efficiency incentives as part of a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill.
See CongressDaily (subscription) for the full story.
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February 27, 2008
White House Threatens Veto Of Mortgage Reform Measure
The White House yesterday threatened to veto a Senate Democratic housing stimulus package, saying it would cost too much and rewrite bankruptcy rules that would undermine current mortgages.
In a Statement of Administration Policy [PDF], the Bush administration listed many items that it objected to in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill of direct aid and consumer-friendly initiatives designed to help homeowners who cannot afford to pay their mortgages because they took predatory loans. It said many of the provisions are "unnecessary, costly, and counterproductive."
The White House opposed a provision sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., that would allow a judge to change the terms of a primary mortgage that has entered into foreclosure. Durbin reworked his provision to pick up support, such as credit union lobbying groups that received a carve-out for members that made interest-only loans for those with good credit histories.
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February 26, 2008
New Database Has Congressional Staffers' Numbers
Ever wonder how low-salaried Hill staffers survive in Washington, one of the more expensive cities on the East Coast?
The answer is supplements, supplements, supplements, in the form of "freelancing" campaign work for their bosses or acting as corporate consultants. A new Web site called LegiStorm has compiled the personal financial disclosure forms of staffers required to file them -- those with salaries higher than $111,675 in 2007. Per the site, about 15 percent of the 16,000 congressional aides fit the bill.
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Obama-McCain Squabble Injected Into Army Readiness Hearing
A controversial anecdote relayed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in last week's Texas debate wended its way into a Senate Armed Forces hearing on Army readiness today.
Obama claimed that he'd "heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon" that was sent to Afghanistan grossly undermanned and underequipped. "They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief," Obama said during Thursday night's debate.
Lindsey Graham, who lately has been stumping hard for Republican John McCain, relayed the story to Army Secretary Peter Geren and Army Chief of Staff William Casey during the hearing. "Has Sen. Obama talked to you or anyone in the department about this?" the South Carolina Republican asked.
"I have not discussed this with Sen. Obama," Geren replied, before handing the baton to Casey.
"As we looked into this, the best we could tell was this incident occurred back in 2003 and 2004," Casey said. "We talked to the brigade commander, looked at readiness reports. The brigade was manned over 100 percent and stayed 100 percent manned when they were there."
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FEC Impasse Threatens To Undermine McCain & Obama
A fight over whether Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., can reject federal funds for his presidential campaign has thrown new attention on a stalemate hamstringing the Federal Election Commission and given unexpected attention to the role of McCain's possible election opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in that impasse.
The situation presents problems for both McCain, whom Democrats are accusing of defying the same campaign finance regulations he has championed, and Obama, who is seeing a hold he placed on an FEC nominee used in a bid to undermine his claims of working in a bipartisan manner.
McCain's problem, meanwhile, is generating calls for the White House or Senate Democrats to blink in their battle over FEC nominees.
"When you talk about the FEC, people's eyes glaze over.... But there will be increasing public pressure to do something as more and more people understand" the situation, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Her group called Friday for Republicans to compromise to end the standoff.
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February 25, 2008
Lawmakers Return With The Economy On Their Minds
After a week away from Washington, lawmakers return to the Capitol today looking to legislation they hope will address the economy, an issue increasingly on their own and their constituents' minds. But members also have to contend with intense negotiations over the farm bill, rewriting the nation's intelligence laws and looking for troop withdrawals in Iraq.
House Democrats this week will renew a floor fight over paying for billions of dollars in renewable energy and efficiency tax breaks by repealing incentives for oil and gas companies. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats will attempt to bring up a housing stimulus package of direct aid and consumer-friendly initiatives to help the struggling industry, though they first want to finish work on an Indian health care bill and revisit Iraq war legislation.
See CongressDaily's comprehensive preview of the Hill's post-recess agenda here.
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February 22, 2008
Renzi Indicted On Land Deal Charges
UPDATED.
Rep. Rick Renzi, R- Ariz., was indicted on federal charges of extortion, wire fraud and money laundering stemming from an investigation of land deals in his home state and an alleged payment in return for the lawmaker's influence, the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona said today.
The 26-page indictment [PDF] accused Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to sell land that buyers could swap for federal property. The sale netted $4.5 million for one of the associates, the government said. The FBI conducted a raid in April on a business owned by Renzi's wife, leading to his decision to step down from the Intelligence, Natural Resources and Financial Services committees. Renzi previously announced he would not run for another term and would work to clear his name.
But stepping down next January isn't soon enough for the House Republican leadership. In a statement issued this afternoon, Minority Leader John Boehner urged Renzi to resign.
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Bipartisan Lawmakers To Participate In 'Congress Debates'
The House Democratic Caucus and the House Republican Conference, in cooperation with the Democratic Leadership Council and the Congressional Institute, announced today that they will host the first in a series of debates between bipartisan groups of lawmakers on Monday.
The kickoff of "Congress Debates" will take place at the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University. The topic will be the U.S. economy; according to the press release, the debates are meant "to foster bipartisan debate and discussion of the most important issues facing the country."
In the lineup for Monday's crossfire include: Reps. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.; Adam Putnam, R-Fla.; Robert Andrews, D-N.J.; Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Artur Davis, D-Ala.; Steve Israel, D-N.Y.; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; and Paul Ryan, R-Wis. The debate will be moderated by Atlantic Media Political Director Ronald Brownstein.
-Winter Casey, National Journal
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February 21, 2008
Delegation Led By Biden Safe After Emergency Landing In Afghanistan
Sens. Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel are safe and unharmed after the helicopter transporting them made an emergency landing in Afghanistan.
"The helicopters transporting the Senate delegation in Afghanistan made an unscheduled landing this morning due to a snowstorm. There were no injuries and all members of the traveling party were safely transported to their destination at Bagram Air Base," said Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander.
Biden is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on which Kerry and Hagel also sit. The three are in the region visiting Afghanistan, India, Turkey and Pakistan.
Biden is due to report on his trip before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday.
-JANE ROH
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CRS: Military Can Cover War Costs Longer Than Expected
The Pentagon has several budgetary options at its disposal to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan well into August -- weeks longer than Defense Department officials have estimated, according to the latest Congressional Research Service report on war costs. Congress already has approved $70 billion to pay for the overseas military operations and another $16.8 billion to buy new mine-resistant vehicles in FY08, but senior Pentagon officials have warned they need another $102.5 billion for the wars before accounts dry up early this summer.
"Although CRS estimates also suggest that the Army's current funding will be exhausted by... early July 2008, DOD could extend that time line by one to two months -- or until mid-to-late August 2008 if necessary by using available authority to transfer additional funds to the Army," according to the Feb. 8 CRS report.
The military could make use of $7.7 billion in general transfer authority in its base FY08 budget and the $70 billion supplemental to pay for operations for an additional four weeks, the report said. Pentagon planners could also tap into $2.1 billion in excess balances in working capital funds -- umbrella accounts to pay for commercial and industrial activities -- to cover another week of operations.
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February 19, 2008
Military Poll: Armed Forces -- And U.S. -- Highly Vulnerable
Is the military broken?
That is a question the Pentagon and Washington have been asking since late 2003, when then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld inadvertently signaled that the country was in for a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers themselves have been generally more positive about their mission than American civilians are. A new survey of military officers shows that while most maintain that the military is not broken, it cannot persevere under present conditions for long.
More than 3,400 active and retired officers -- 10 percent of whom served in Iraq, Afghanistan or both -- were surveyed by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for a New American Security [PDF], a centrist think tank.
Just 42 percent of respondents described the military as broken, compared with 56 percent who disagreed. But 60 percent said the military was weaker. Just 25 percent said the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan had helped the military grow stronger.
The results are largely in line with other surveys of military officers, such as those conducted by the Military Times publishing group. But as warnings from the military about its own health have intensified over the years, the strain placed on active-duty troops has only grown. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the new 15/12 deployment schedule last April, and there are no indications that those rotations will be eased this year, even as troop levels are brought back down to pre-surge levels. If anything, the Pentagon appears to be hinting that they will not.
When asked whether the war in Iraq had stretched the military "dangerously thin," a whopping 88 percent of respondents said yes. More gravely, the officers said, the military is currently ill-prepared to respond to other major conflicts. More than 80 percent said it was unreasonable to expect the military to engage in another war today. And on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 meaning completely ready, the officers gave America's readiness to go to war with Iran a 4.5.
That may be because many see the current mission in Iraq as untenable: Nearly three-quarters said the goals set for the military by civilian leadership after the fall of Saddam Hussein were unreasonable.
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February 15, 2008
FISA Fight Spills Over Into Recess
President Bush and Republican congressional leaders today charged that House Democratic leaders put the nation at risk by failing to move legislation renewing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack," Bush said following a meeting at the White House with GOP leaders. "By not giving the professionals the tools they need, it's going to be a lot harder to do the job we need to be able to defend America."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the president's claims of imminent danger were overblown because Bush would still have authority to allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists after the law expires at midnight. "A wide range of national security experts has made clear that the president and our intelligence community have all the tools they need to protect our nation," Hoyer said. He called Bush's remarks "wrong, divisive and nothing more than fear-mongering."
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GAO's Walker To Head Blackstone Think Tank
Comptroller General David Walker, who has made warning the nation about the gravity of the nation’s fiscal problems a central focus of his decade-long tenure at the Government Accountability Office, is leaving within the month. He will take a position at the helm of a brand new public policy think tank, underwritten by Wall Street billionaire and longtime budget hawk Pete Peterson.
Peterson, who walked off with nearly $2 billion when the Blackstone Group -- which he founded -- went public last year, is planning to spend at least half of it on the venture. In addition to focusing on trade and budget deficits, the think tank may also turn its attention to other national vulnerabilities, such as U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources and the problem of nuclear weapon stockpiles.
-Julie Kosterlitz, National Journal
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Senators Grill Chertoff On Grants & FEMA Trailers
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff received brief expressions of praise from the members of the Senate oversight committee for his department's achievements yesterday, and then had to endure prolonged bipartisan grilling and protests over his proposed FY09 budget and a wide array of other issues.
Nearly every member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee protested the budget's proposed "cuts" in state and local homeland security grants.
Chertoff repeatedly noted that the grant levels requested were the same as in the FY08 budget but that Congress had increased them. He said the latest request for $50.5 billion represented "very difficult tradeoffs" among many high-priority needs, but the grants were funded at an appropriate level.
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February 14, 2008
House GOP Walks Out Over Contempt Vote, FISA
UPDATED.
Enraged House Republicans staged a walkout from the floor after Democrats sought a contempt of Congress vote for White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers.
"We will not stand for this and we will not stay for this," said Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking from the House floor. "I would ask my House Republican colleagues and those who believe that we should be here protecting the American people to not vote on this bill. Let's just get up and leave."
And with that, a few dozen House GOP lawmakers got up and left. They convened on the Capitol steps to address the cameras.
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February 13, 2008
House Panel Plays Hardball With Clemens
At a charged hearing today, Major League Baseball star Roger Clemens testified under oath that he has never used steroids or human growth hormone, even as House Oversight and Government Reform members charged that the pitcher had lied to the committee about his drug use.
"As we moved forward in our investigation, we found conflicts and inconsistencies in Mr. Clemens' account," Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman said. "During his deposition, he made statements that we know are untrue.... In other areas, his statements are contradicted by other credible witnesses or simply implausible."
The hearing, the second the committee has held on steroids and other drugs in Major League Baseball, featured contradictory statements by the seven-time Cy Young Award winner and his former trainer, Brian McNamee. McNamee told the panel today he had injected Clemens more than 20 times with steroids or human growth hormone. Clemens said he never took either drug, but was injected with vitamin B-12 and painkillers.
"Someone is lying in spectacular fashion," Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., summarized. It is unclear if the committee will charge either man with perjury.
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Bush, Congress Enjoy Feel-Good Moment
A historically unpopular president and an even more unpopular Congress came together today to remind Americans that they might not be so worthless after all.
Lawmakers squeezed around President Bush in the White House this afternoon as he signed into law a $168 billion economic stimulus package that will mean up to $1,200 in tax rebates for working couples plus $300 per child.
"A lot of folks in America probably are saying it's impossible for those of us in Washington to find common ground and reach compromise on important issues. I don't feel that way, and I know the leaders don't feel that way," Bush said, opening the signing ceremony. "As a result, we have come together on a single mission, and that is to put the people's interest first."
Lawmakers who have been highly critical of Bush's economic policies and of the stimulus bill itself, which was forged through intense negotiations and compromise, beamed in the background.
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Lantos Remembered Ahead Of Clemens Hearing
Before inaugurating what was expected to be a tense day of testimony from Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, the former trainer who claims to have injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner numerous times with performance-enhancing drugs, House Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman took a moment to remember fellow California Democrat Tom Lantos.
"I think it's appropriate that as a longtime member of this committee and a very esteemed member of Congress, we recognize him and have a moment of silence," Waxman said, before allowing ranking member Tom Davis to say a few words.
"His keen intellect, indomitable spirit and wry insights left an indelible mark on all that he touched," the Virginia Republican said. "He will be missed and not forgotten."
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Reps. Gilchrest & Wynn Lose Md. Primary Battles
Veteran Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R) and Albert Wynn (D) of Maryland yesterday became the first members of Congress to lose their bids for renomination this year. The two relatively moderate lawmakers, both of whom were dogged by their positions on the Iraq war, each faced stiff opposition from the more extreme wings of their respective parties.
Gilchrest, who had bucked his party by voting against the Iraq war, lost to state Sen. Andy Harris, who had the backing of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth. Harris won, 44 percent to 32 percent, with 95 percent of precincts reporting as of early this morning. State Sen. E.J. Pipkin finished third in the GOP primary with 21 percent. In November, Harris will face Queen Anne's County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil in the Republican-leaning district on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Meanwhile, in Maryland's majority-minority 4th District, attorney Donna Edwards was winning the Democratic nomination this morning, 60 percent to 35 percent, with 75 percent of precincts reporting. She had come close to ousting Wynn, who voted for the war in Iraq, in 2006.
Yesterday's results in Maryland, only the second state to hold its congressional primaries so far this year, suggest it's going to be another bumpy ride for incumbents as the war and economic issues continue to drive wedges within both major parties.
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Senate To Battle Over Authorization Bill's Torture Provision
Having cleared a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act revision bill yesterday after weeks of skirmishing, the Senate is now expected to battle over legislation that would prohibit the CIA from using coercive interrogation techniques.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will try today to advance the long-stalled conference agreement on a measure that would authorize intelligence programs and spending for the current fiscal year. Reid is seeking a vote to invoke cloture on the bill, which would cut off debate and set it up for final passage.
But Republicans and the White House oppose a provision in the authorization bill that would prohibit the CIA and all other U.S. intelligence agencies from using interrogation techniques not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual.
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February 11, 2008
Longtime Calif. Rep., Holocaust Survivor Lantos Dies At 80
UPDATED.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, died this morning at Bethesda Naval Medical Center from complications of cancer of the esophagus. He was 80.
Lantos' office made the announcement and noted that his wife, Annette, as well as his two daughters and many of his grandchildren were at his side. No date for memorial services or a funeral had been set by this afternoon. Lantos announced in early January he would not seek re-election because of the cancer diagnosis, although he had said he planned to finish out his term.
"The passing of Tom Lantos is a profound loss for the Congress and for the nation and a terrible loss for me personally," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose San Francisco-based district borders the 12th District seat held by Lantos since 1980. "As the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, Tom Lantos devoted his life to shining a bright light on dark corners of oppression. He used his chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee to empower the powerless and give voice to the voiceless throughout the world."
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Mortgage Brokers Feel More Heat
As Congress has attempted to target those responsible for abusive home loans, mortgage brokers have so far escaped the brunt of its wrath.
The brokers face their biggest challenge in coming months as the Senate begins work on legislation to curb predatory lending. Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have fingered mortgage brokers as a primary culprit of the crisis, noting that while the industry was responsible for originating as much as 70 percent of subprime loans in recent years, it had little oversight from state regulators -- thus contributing to a marketplace that allowed as many as 2 million borrowers to be placed into loans they could not afford to repay.
See CongressDaily (subscription) for the full story.
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February 07, 2008
Stimulus Bill Heads To The President's Desk
UPDATED.
The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a $152 billion stimulus package this afternoon, by votes of 380-34 and 81-16, respectively. The bill will provide tax rebates to more than 110 million Americans; the Senate version added senior citizens and disabled veterans to the list of those receiving rebates in the original House bill.
The legislation will likely receive a similar warm reception at the White House. In a statement today after the Senate vote, President Bush indicated his approval. "This plan is robust, broad-based, timely, and it will be effective," Bush said, adding that it was "an example of bipartisan cooperation at a time when the American people most expect it."
Senate Democrats dropped their proposals to add unemployment benefits and home heating assistance to the package after an earlier version was defeated yesterday. As soon as the revised legislation passed in the Senate, the House began an expedited debate this afternoon.
The Washington Post and MarketWatch have more details.
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Mukasey: CIA Waterboarding Will Not Be Investigated
Attorney General Michael Mukasey today said the Justice Department will not open a criminal investigation into waterboarding by CIA employees because his department previously permitted use of the technique in interrogations of suspected terrorists. Waterboarding "cannot possibly be the subject of a Justice Department investigation, because that would mean that the same department that authorized the program would now consider prosecuting someone who followed that advice," Mukasey told the House Judiciary Committee at a department oversight hearing.
Mukasey's remarks followed an admission Tuesday by CIA Director Michael Hayden that the agency used waterboarding -- an interrogation technique that causes suspects to believe they are drowning -- on three al-Qaida detainees after Sept. 11, 2001. The department's Office of Legal Counsel has issued opinions that waterboarding is legal in some circumstances, though Mukasey and other Bush administration officials have said U.S. employees do not now use it.
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Senate Blocks Stimulus Bill
The Senate blocked a Finance Committee economic stimulus package, 58-41, Wednesday, just shy of the 60-vote margin needed for approval.
The vote was actually closer, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., switched to a "no" in a procedural tactic that enables him to revisit the measure.
For now, the chamber is left with the House-passed stimulus bill, which would provide rebate checks and business tax breaks to the tune of $146 billion this year.
The House bill does not make seniors whose main source of income is Social Security eligible for rebates, nor veterans living off disability benefits. It also excludes unemployment insurance and would not allow companies to write off losses over a longer period to recoup taxes paid during profitable years -- of particular benefit to struggling homebuilders.
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February 06, 2008
The Economy: Not So Super
The excitement surrounding yesterday's unprecedented Super Tuesday nominating contests obscured the latest and perhaps most damning news to come out on the troubled economy: Activity in the crucial service sector slowed for the first time in nearly five years last month.
The report from the Institute of Supply Management shows a significant decline in non-manufacturing activity (previously the "firmest pillar of economic expansion") in January. Those numbers, coupled with last week's news that jobs were declining, are heightening concerns that the economy is not only headed for a recession, but is already in one.
"Recession is here," the headline on CNNMoney.com read yesterday. The report quotes several economists who said the ISM report was the tipping point for them.
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February 05, 2008
Intel Chiefs Say Waterboarding Used In Interrogations
The intelligence community's annual public report on the threats facing the nation was overtaken during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing today by the politically charged issues of waterboarding and other "coercive" interrogation techniques, extension of the government's eavesdropping authority and the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and CIA Director Michael Hayden said waterboarding was a legal technique that should be available under certain circumstances if authorized by the nation's legal and political leaders. McConnell said, to his knowledge, only the CIA has used it. Hayden told the committee that the CIA has used the painful technique, which many consider a form of torture, only three times in its history. Those times, three years ago, were against "high value" al-Qaida terror suspects who were thought to have information on an imminent threat to the nation.
The intense discussion was triggered by a question from Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., about proposed legislation that would require all U.S. intelligence agencies to use only the interrogation procedures listed in the recently revised Army field manual.
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Democrats Blast Bush's Budget Request
When President Bush delivered his final, $3 trillion-plus budget to Congress yesterday, congressional Democrats from both chambers wasted no time laying out their opposition to the proposal.
Senate Democrats quickly attacked the FY09 request, with Majority Leader Harry Reid blasting it as "more of the same," taking specific issue with the budget's proposed cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, its failure to address rising college costs and its neglect of energy issues. "Furthermore, this budget is fiscally irresponsible and highly deceptive, hiding the costs of the war in Iraq while increasing our skyrocketing debt," Reid said. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said many of those proposed cuts will never get through Congress, particularly a proposed $178 billion cut in Medicare.
On the House side, the budget was met with condemnation from Democratic leaders for continuing "failed" policies and praise from Republican leaders for starting the annual conversation in a fiscally sound manner. The annual rhetorical battle over federal priorities sets up a replay of last year's partisan budget showdown, but with an election-year edge heightened by the economic downturn.
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February 04, 2008
Inside Bush's Budget: Pay Raise Disparities
President Bush proposed a 2.9 percent pay increase for civilian workers and a 3.4 percent pay boost for military personnel in fiscal 2009, according to budget documents released today.
The proposed pay raises rebuff calls for military-civilian pay parity from several lawmakers. Last week, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers sent a letter to the president, asking him to incorporate the principle of equal raises for service members and civilians in his budget request.
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