Posts by Mike Lillis

It’s just an early version — or so the Democrats are saying — but Senate leaders appear to be that much closer to extending the filing deadline for unemployment insurance (which expires Feb. 28) through the end of May.
The additional three months are half what the House passed in December, and an even further cry [...]

Following this morning’s White House jobs meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement laying out his four-part plan to tackle the nation’s unemployment crisis.
Let’s just say there’s a bit of a theme:

…So says Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), citing (what else?) the snowy spell that hit the nation’s capital over the weekend, and is expected to dump as much as two additional feet beginning Tuesday.
To make up the lost time, Hoyer said, the House will be in session both Monday Feb. 22 and Friday Feb. 26 [...]

When Congress passed new consumer protections for credit card holders last May, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) successfully attached a not-at-all-related amendment allowing firearms in national parks, so long as gun carriers comply with laws of the state in which the park is located. That law is now scheduled to take effect on Feb. 22.
In preview, the [...]

The federal government might officially be closed, and House Democrats might have canceled votes, but don’t tell Senate leaders that there’s more precipitation on the way. Word from the Hill this hour is that the upper chamber remains on schedule Tuesday, with plans to meet at 2 p.m. to debate two pending nominees: Joseph Greenaway for [...]

A great piece in The Washington Times today reveals a remarkable degree of hypocrisy from some GOP critics of last year’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
More than a dozen Republican lawmakers, while denouncing the stimulus to the media and their constituents, privately sent letters to just one of the federal government’s many agencies seeking stimulus [...]

Just out from the White House:
Michelle and I were deeply saddened today to hear about the passing of Congressman John Murtha. Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United [...]

Georgia’s House Republicans have a simple warning for Democratic leaders still hoping to pass health care reform this year: Our state can’t afford it.
In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the Republicans argue that the Democrats’ plans to expand Medicaid, a program funded jointly by state and federal [...]

As Republican leaders are urging President Obama to scrap the Democrats’ health care reform legislation and start the process from scratch, they’ve found an unlikely ally in Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The Ohio Democrat — a perennial presidential candidate — wants President Obama to consider government-sponsored, single-payer health coverage in lieu of the insurance industry-based reforms [...]

Statements are beginning to dribble out from Capitol Hill following the death this afternoon of 18-term Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.). Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who in 2006 had nominated Murtha in his unsuccessful bid to become House majority leader, called the Vietnam vet “a congressional giant.”
I nominated him because of his dedication to America, his [...]