Congresspedia Review: Last Week in Congress (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2007)

Over the last week in Congress the effort to dramatically expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program hit another roadblock, several media reports on controversial earmarks were released, two members of Congress announced retirements and minor movement was seen on everything from an overhaul of the tax code to warrantless wiretapping and more Democratic investigations into Bush administration officials.

Following the president's veto of the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the House last week passed a revised version designed to secure more votes from House Republicans. However, bill backers (almost all Democrats and a few dozen Republicans) failed to secure enough votes to override Bush's veto. This week, a bipartisan group of senators had been trying to find a compromise version of the bill with President Bush, but the deal broke apart on Thursday when Republicans forced a vote on the House version of the bill. The bill, while approved, fell 3 votes short of a veto-proof majority, leaving its future uncertain. Funding for SCHIP, which has already been extended past its Sept. 30 expiration, ends on Nov. 16, and the expansion bill's future is uncertain.

How did your senators and representatives vote? This week's featured participatory project is to record their votes in their "permanent record" - their Congresspedia profiles. No special knowledge or expertise is necessary and it only takes a few minutes. Full instructions can be found on the project page.

More details about the week in Congress are after the jump.

Earmarks:

• Rep. John Murtha's role in the history of Pennsylvania contractor/charity Concurrent Technologies was highlighted by the Washington Post, in light of the $228 million in earmarks given to the firm between 2002–2006.
• The Republican leadership backed off from pressuring Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to resign by stripping over 20 spending projects he sponsored.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed $25 million in earmarked federal funds for a British defense contractor the Department of Justice is investigating for criminal bribery.

Retirements:

• Rep. Mike McNulty (D-N.Y.) announced his retirement from the House on October 29, 2007, becoming the first Democrat to announce his retirement from Congress this cycle.
• Sen. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who is pursuing a presidential bid, announced he will retire at the end of the 110th Congress, regardless of whether he wins the Republican nomination.

Miscellany:

• The Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2007 faced another challenge with Sen. John Ensign's (R-Nev.) request for a so-called "irrelevant" amendment.
• The heads of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), expressed reluctance in granting immunity to telcommuncations companies involved in the warrantless surveillance program after getting access to requested documents.
• The House passed the Trade and Global Assistance Act of 2007, updating the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, despite a White House veto threat.
• With his $10,000 donation, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was one of four members of Congress to show support and give money to Rep. John Doolittle’s (R-Calif.) legal defense fund.
• Senate Democrats wanted to investigate the circumstances involved in the editing of CDC Director Julie L. Gerberding's written testimony to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on "climate change and public health."
• Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) unveiled a proposal that would overhaul taxes, shifting tax income from the middle and upper-middle-class taxpayers to high-income individuals.