U.S. Government
House and Senate Face Busy Week of Committee Hearings
Both the House and Senate are in session this week, with each chamber expected to debate and consider several important bills and resolutions. Highlights include:
- The House is set to vote on a bill which would repeal rights granted to the executive branch in 2006 allowing for the appointment of U.S. attorneys without the approval of the Senate.
- The Senate will likely spend considerable time debating comprehensive changes to U.S. immigration policy
- Both the House and Senate are again planning to hold a number of important committee hearings, including one by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bill which would grant the District of Columbia a voting member of the House, as well as a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on rebuilding efforts on the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.
After the jump is a full listing of this week's House and Senate hearings, courtesy of GovTrack and Thomas:
With Shrinking Protections, Who Will Speak for the Trees?
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
A recent U.S. Labor Department ruling against a whistleblower states that the department, which "has jurisdiction over environmental whistle-blower cases," only recognizes whistleblower protections in the "clean air and solid waste-disposal acts, not laws governing clean water, drinking water, toxic substances and hazardous waste." A department spokesperson said the wording does not reflect "any change in policy or practice." Environmental advocates and watchdog groups aren't so sure.
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U.S. Think Tank Calls for More Troops, More Propaganda
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"A new security study released by the Third Way, a Democratic-leaning think tank," and authored by two former Clinton administration officials, discusses how to rebuild U.S. credibility overseas.
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TheWeekInCongress (May 14-18, 2007)
Both the House and Senate tackled a busy legislative schedule this past week, as issues such as the Iraq War, defense spending, and the federal budget were addressed. For an in-depth look at the legislation considered in Congress 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.
BP's "Buddy System" for Politicians
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
A report commissioned by BP "to investigate corrosion-related oil pipeline spills last year in Prudhoe Bay ... offers a rare glimpse inside the London-based oil giant's corporate tactics in Alaska," writes Wesley Loy.
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Deleting (or Defeating?) Climate Change Language
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
U.S. representatives "are trying to soften the message" of a climate change declaration to be issued at the June summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrial countries. G-8 draft documents obtained by the Washington Post show that the U.S.
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Manufacturing Consent on Product Safety Nominee
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
A controversial nominee to head the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just got more controversial. Michael E.
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New Participatory Project: Tracking the 2008 Congressional Primary Elections (U.S.)
Submitted by Conor Kenny on
In the last several weeks, PR Watch and SourceWatch/Congresspedia readers have knocked out several collaborative citizen journalism projects, including identifying the party affiliations of members of Congress, tracking the activities of PR firms and getting the contact information for freshman members of Congress. Great work, everyone!
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Herr Stauber In Der Spiegel
CMD Founder and Executive Director John Stauber has been in Germany, Austria and Belgium for the past two weeks speaking in major cities and discussing the publication of "Toxic Sludge Is Good For You" in German. On May 16 Vienna's daily paper Der Standard ran an interview with Herr Stauber that can be read in German by searching his name on their website. He was previously interviewed by Nils Klawitter for the German magazine Der Spiegel, and a translated portion of the interview is below. (Thanks to Orange-Press, publishers of the German edition of Toxic Sludge Is Good for You, for the translation.) If you would like to read the German interview in its entirety, please go to: http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,481658,00.html
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