“The attack ads practically write themselves: Hillary Clinton voted against ethanol! Barack Obama wants to increase taxes!” Already looking to next year’s big show, the WP parses Clinton and Obama’s respective voting records in the Senate.
Tag: Congress
A Taste of Their Own Medicine.
As they prepare to take back the House for the first time in twelve years, the Dems look to freeze out any GOP involvement in legislation, at least for the first few weeks. “House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans.”
The Carcetti Dilemma.
“‘When the president talks about staying the course, he never mentions cost as a factor,’ Spratt said. ‘But it is a factor, particularly when you get costs over $100 billion a year.'” Facing very little room to work with, the Dems attempt to sort out the fiscal fiasco Dubya has created over the past six years and counting.
Murtha Gets PAID.
“‘It’s a real tangled web between the congressman, the nonprofit, the defense contractors and the lobbyists,’ said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group. ‘It’s hard to say where one stops and the others start.'” In troubling news that should test the commitment of the incoming Dem majority to real lobbying reform, the WP takes a long hard look at John Murtha’s lobbyist-tinged relationship with the Pennsylvania Association for Individuals with Disabilities (PAID…an unfortunate acronym, to be sure). “‘It sounds like DeLay Inc.,’ said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Democratic-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.”
Out with the Old…
Good riddance to the do-nothing 109th Congress, which wheedled its way into the history books last weekend. (And sayonara also to Donald Rumsfeld, who closed up shop yesterday.) A word of warning to the Dubya White House: Don’t expect the 110th to play as nice…
My House, My Rules.
After suffering some bad press for backing away from the 9/11 recommendations last week, Speaker-Elect Pelosi announces two new oversight committees as a form of compromise: “a new panel within the Appropriations Committee to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies [thus maintaining Murtha’s fiefdom] and a House task force to examine establishing an outside ethics panel.” And, in related news, the House Dems announce their proposed rules changes. They “include a ban on gifts and travel from lobbyists, preapproval from the ethics committee on all lawmakers’ travel funded by outside groups, a ban on the use of corporate jets, and mandatory ethics training.“
Prayers for Tim.
Get well soon, Tim Johnson. Oof, talk about terrible news on several levels. One hopes the Senator will make a full and complete recovery after his AVM surgery, and we won’t have to think too deeply about the possibility of a Senate turnover. Fortunately, there seems to be a good deal of precedent for long absences from the chamber — my first thought (other than Nate Fisher and Narm!) was Charles Sumner’s three-year absence after the caning, but there are apparently many 20th century examples too.
Skeletons at the Feast.
Unfortunately, crooked Dem congressman William Jefferson won his runoff in Louisiana, forcing Speaker-elect Pelosi into another touchy committee assignment situation. And, in related ethics news, the Dems put a moratorium on earmarks and extend current funding levels on various spending bills until next fiscal year (Oct. 1), so as to avoid a nasty budget fight right out of the box in January. ““We will work to restore an accountable, above-board, transparent process for funding decisions and put an end to the abuses that have harmed the credibility of Congress.”
Gates of Fire.
“‘What we heard this morning was a welcome breath of honest, candid realism about the situation in Iraq,’ Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said during a midday break.” The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved Robert Gates, who helped his case considerably by admitting the obvious fact that Iraq’s looking ugly, as Rumsfeld’s replacement at the Pentagon yesterday. Among those impressed with Gates was Slate‘s Fred Kaplan: “I’ve been watching defense secretaries in confirmation hearings for 30 years, off and on, but I don’t think I’ve seen any perform more forthrightly than Gates did this morning.” Update: Gates goes through, 95-2.
Bolton Bounced.
Happy day at the UN (if not at the White House): Facing unbeatable opposition on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (thanks to outgoing Senator Lincoln Chafee, to his credit, joining the Dems against him), interim UN ambassador John Bolton is forced to resign as predicted. Good riddance. “‘The president now has an opportunity to nominate an ambassador who can garner strong bipartisan and international support and effectively represent the interests of the United States at the United Nations at a time of extraordinary international challenge,’ [incoming committee chairman] Biden said. ‘If the president nominates such a person, I look forward to scheduling hearings promptly in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.‘”