Congress
Hold the Phone: House Passes FISA Sans Telecom Immunity
After weeks of threats, arguments and a secret session thrown in for good measure, the House on Friday passed a controversial bill to renew the administration's electronic surveillance program. Unlike the Senate-passed version, however, the lower-chamber's proposal would not give the phone companies amnesty for crimes they may have committed in cooperating with the program in past years without a judicial order. The House vote was 213 to 197.
House and Senate leaders now must meet to hash out the differences between the two bills. But as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pointed out this afternoon, even Democrats don't believe the immunity language is likely to survive the process.
The White House has said that legal immunity is vital to entice the telecom industry to participate in the program in the future. Roughly 40 lawsuits have been filed against the companies on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union and others who argue that the warrantless wiretapping program violates the Fourth Amendment. Despite the threat of those suits, however, all the companies have agreed recently to cooperate in the program.
If We Arm the Terrorists, Who Detains Us?
It's not often that Washington Republicans will go out of their way to attack the world's largest oil supplier and Bush administration ally, Saudi Arabia. But that's precisely what three GOP House members did yesterday in an attempt to prevent a planned $123 million arms sale to the strategically placed monarchy.
McCain Hesitant to Support GI Bill for Post-9/11 Vets
While Sen. John McCain is busy bolstering his friend-of-the-military image in the Middle East this week, Democratic Sen. Jim Webb is calling on the GOP presidential nominee to show similar troop support at home by endorsing a proposal to update the GI Bill, The Hill's Roxana Tiron reported today.
While 50 senators (including nine Republicans) have joined Webb in supporting the proposal, McCain has yet to do so, despite entreaties
from Webb. Webb spokeswoman Kimberly Hunter said that having McCain on board would "bring more
Republicans over to support the bill."
Michigan Democrats Staying Quiet On Primary Options
As Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) made headlines Thursday for floating the possibility of a Democratic primary do-over, Michigan's Democrats are approaching the topic with similar gravity but lighter steps.
Both Michigan and Florida bumped their Democratic primaries forward this year, and both suffered the wrath of the Democratic National Committee, which stripped them of their nominating convention delegates. Nelson responded Thursday with a letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean, asking that either Florida's delegates be reinstated or the national party fund another primary election. If neither request is met, Nelson warned, the Democrats would run a greater risk of losing the state in November's presidential race.
On GI Bill, Obama Hopes to Draw Distinction from McCain
As presidential hopeful Barack Obama shifts his focus from the primary contest to the general election, he's trumpeting his support for a congressional proposal to extend education benefits to post-9/11 vets -- and reminding voters that the likely GOP nominee, John McCain, opposes the same plan.
'The Mind' Disturbs Peace of Mind in Minnesota Senate Race
The possibility that former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura could step into this year's tight Senate race is worrying state GOP officials, the Minnesota Monitor reported yesterday.
Ventura -- a former professional wrestler, sometime actor, sometime author, and all-around character -- is currently promoting a new book, "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me." But he's made clear that he's satisfied with neither the incumbent, Sen. Norm Coleman (R), nor his challenger, former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken (D).
In an interview with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer on Monday, Ventura skewered both candidates as unfit for the job:
BLITZER: Let's talk about Minnesota, your home state. You were the governor of Minnesota. There's a very important Senate contest that's going to happen this year, Al Franken, the comedian, now a serious Democratic politician, vs. the incumbent, Norm Coleman. Who do you support?
A Good Gig for Medical Providers
By Mike Lillis 06/20/2008
Let's say you're a medical provider, like a hospital, a nursing home or a doctor. Let's say also that you bill Medicare regularly because you care for Medicare patients. You might think that the federal government would have a system in place to garnish those payments in the event that you owe back-taxes.
But it doesn't.
In fact, according to a newly released Government Accountability Office report, roughly 27,000 Medicare providers (or 6 percent) received millions of dollars in federal payments in 2006 at the same time that they owed more than $2 billion in outstanding taxes.
In one case, an unnamed nursing home received $15 million in Medicare payments while it owed $7 million in tax debt. In another, a hospital owed $15 million in unpaid taxes, but still received $21 million from Medicare. One hospital owner lived in a $6-million home. (Nice.)
A Radical Idea for Washington Lawmakers: Pay Your Bills
By Mike Lillis 06/24/2008
As we speak, the House Budget Committee is hearing testimony about the country's financial mess. It's hardly the first time lawmakers have heard the tale, but that's different than saying they've done anything about it. Instead, we'll probably see Congress blaming the Bush administration for increased deficits and its $700 billion (unpaid) war, while the White House spins the problem as one created by Congress, which votes to approve those deficits every year. In fact, both sides are right (or, rather, wrong), because neither branch has taken any serious steps to rein in federal spending -- steps that would further harm the economy, which would be a dagger for lawmakers seeking reelection and presidents seeking a kind legacy.
A War, a Democracy and a Vice President
By Mike Lillis 03/24/2008Lest anyone think that criticism of Vice President Dick Cheney's now-infamous contempt for public opinion surrounding the Iraq war is a partisan contrivance, former GOP congressman Mickey Edwards had a revealing piece in The Washington Post Saturday, arguing that executive branch recognition of public sentiment in wartime is not just in everyone's interest, it's also the administration's constitutional duty.
An Era of Fiscal Irresponsibility
By Mike Lillis 06/11/2008
The Washington Post opinion columnist Ruth Marcus has a biting critique today of how Washington's policy makers -- both Democrats and Republicans; both in the White House and on Capitol Hill -- have crippled future generations with debt simply because they can't, or won't, make the tough budget decisions themselves. It's a timely piece, as House lawmakers are set to approve a $165 billion in emergency (ie, borrowed) funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And On the Fifth Day, Republicans Were Still Talking to Themselves
By Mike Lillis 08/07/2008 | 5 Comments
Today marks day five of the GOP's empty-chamber self-debate over high fuel prices. For anyone who's been vacationing on Jupiter, the Republicans are calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring Congress back to Washington to vote on an expansion of offshore drilling. Nevermind that experts and independent analyses indicate that increased drilling would have no immediate effect on prices at the pump, the public is growing weary of $4-a-gallon gas, and the GOP's drilling push is gaining momentum.
Although the debate to this point has revolved around fuel costs and environmental impact, there's another facet of this argument that, unfortunately, has gone largely ignored: That's the long-term damage that an oil-based energy model promises to wreak on the U.S. economy. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman pointed out last week:
And on the Sixth Day, the Intelligence Programs Plunged Into Uncertainty
By Mike Lillis 02/22/2008 | 3 Comments
For House Democrats, who left Washington last week without acting on legislation to expand White House spying powers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has a few words of caution: The nation's intelligence programs, he wrote in a Feb. 22 letter (pdf here) to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), are now officially plunged into uncertainty due to your inaction.
Blue Dogs Set to Cave on GI Bill?
By Mike Lillis 06/18/2008
Are the Blue Dogs ready to scrap their push to offset an expanded education benefit for post-9/11 vets? So reported The Hill yesterday:
House leaders are banking their hopes for passing the emergency supplemental spending bill on the Blue Dog Coalition caving on its demands.
Their game plan hinges on the conservative Democrats giving in and agreeing to add $52 billion to the deficit to pay for a new GI bill for war veterans.
Bush Administration Backs Off On Kid's Insurance Squeeze
By Mike Lillis 08/15/2008
Softening its stance, the Bush administration announced yesterday that it won't enforce controversial new eligibility rules designed to prevent modest-income kids from enrolling in the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.
The new rules were slated to take effect next Monday, but Medicare officials, who oversee SCHIP, said they don't intend to penalize states for noncompliance -- at least not yet.
Bush Budget Largely Irrelevant In Lame-duck Year
By Mike Lillis 02/04/2008Bush kicked off the 2009 budget debate with a $3.1 trillion spending wish list that calls for significant hikes in military funding while scaling back on health care, environmental and low-income assistance programs.
Bush Vetoes Medicare Bill
By Mike Lillis 07/15/2008
Well, we knew that was coming. President George W. Bush today vetoed Democratic legislation to prevent Medicare doctors from being hit with a 10.6 percent cut this year. Chief among his objections: Bush says the bill will undermine the GOP program under which private insurance companies deliver Medicare services. From today's veto message to the House:
Correction on That Whirlwind Medicare Vote
By Mike Lillis 07/11/2008Yesterday, I wrote a post here claiming that the nine Senate Republicans who voted against the Medicare bill last month -- and then switched to support it on Wednesday -- had begun Wednesday's vote by opposing the bill (only reversing course after the surprise arrival of Sen. Ted Kennedy.) But that wasn't the case. The nine voted only once, and voted "yes" -- albeit after Kennedy's arrival.
I regret the error, which was based on a misinterpretation of Thursday's New York Times' piece, which described Kennedy's dramatic Senate return like this:
Dodd Scandal No Hurdle To Housing Bill
By Mike Lillis 06/24/2008
The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to end debate on legislation tackling the nation's housing crisis, setting the stage for final passage of the bill, which could come later today. Some conservative Republicans had pushed to delay the vote in the wake of the news that the bill's sponsor, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), had received special rates on loans taken out from Countrywide Financial, which stands to benefit under the bill.
FISA Fight Gets More Interesting
By Mike Lillis 06/25/2008
When the House last week passed legislation to renew a controversial domestic wiretapping program, the groans from the Democratic-Party faithful did little to alter the popular prediction that the Senate would follow closely behind. In fact, the upper chamber had scheduled a cloture vote on the bill this morning in hopes of passing the bill later in the week.
But now that schedule's not so certain. Debate on the Senate housing bill has stalled over tax credits for renewable energy. And the chamber still has to take up bills to fund the Iraq war and prevent Medicare physicians from getting slapped with a 10 percent cut July 1. With the days fast evaporating, there's some question whether the Senate will tackle FISA before the July 4 recess.
Frank's 'Mea Culpa' Over Credit Card Waivers
By Mike Lillis 04/18/2008
A month ago we reported on the silencing of consumer witnesses scheduled to testify before a House subcommittee on credit card reform, charging that it was the GOP minority responsible for the gagging. Yesterday, at a hearing of the same subcommittee on the same topic, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) confused the issue a bit by announcing a "mea culpa" over the incident.
