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.
Update 2: On Thursday afternoon, the Senate followed the House in passing the spending bill, 51-46. It now goes to President Bush, who is expected to veto it.
Update: Late Wednesday night, the House passed the $124 billion supplemental spending bill which establishes timetables for a U.S. combat withdrawal from Iraq, 218-208.
Both the House and Senate are in full swing this week, with each expected to consider numerous bills and resolutions. Most notably, both chambers plan to vote on a supplemental spending bill which would provide $95 billion for the Iraq War, but also call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by Oct. 1, 2007 and set a non-binding goal of removing all troops by Apr. 1, 2008 (President Bush has promised to veto the bill if it passes). 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 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee concerning the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as a House Judiciary Committee hearing where the panel is expected to issue a subpoena and grant immunity to former Justice Department Director of Public Affairs Monica Goodling for her testimony regarding the U.S. attorney firings controversy. Here, courtesy of GovTrack, is a quick rundown of all of this week’s House and Senate hearings:
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar may have lost his bid to become president (though Nigeria's recent elections were "marred by violence and alleged fraud, and results are not yet final"), but it's not for lack of trying. To increase his influence, Abubakar maintains a Washington DC lobbying presence "separate from the embassy, costing him roughly $200,000 over several years," reports The Hill. Abubakar retains Edward Weidenfeld for legal counsel and "support for free and fair elections in Nigeria," according to lobbying registration forms.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
The term "Long War" has been used by the Bush administration to steel the U.S.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Within hours of Pat Tillman's death, the Army went into information-lockdown mode, cutting off phone and Internet connections at a base in Afghanistan, posting guards on a wounded platoon mate, and ordering a sergeant to burn Tillman's uniform," reports Scott Lindlaw.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Gen. David Petraeus, "the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has asked for changes that would allow" the blending of public affairs -- the military's truth-telling function -- with "information operations," or propaganda. In response, Pentagon officials are reconsidering 2004 guidelines drafted by Gen. Richard Myers, which directed that the two be separate.
Rain and cold temperatures were not enough this past Monday (April 16) to deter residents of the District of Columbia (including newly-elected Mayor Adrian Fenty) from marching in support of long-awaited voting rights in Congress. An estimated crowd of 3,500 turned out for the largest gathering regarding the issue in decades, which featured a march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol.
Our friends at Sunlight have been closely following S.223, a bill which would require senators to file their campaign finance reports in electronic form (as House members already do). The bill, sponsored by Sen.
U.S. Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes' remarks at the "Private Sector Summit on Public Diplomacy" opened on a militaristic note. "Looking around the room and seeing the quality and the scope of the talent represented here," she said, "I feel like reinforcements have arrived."
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