Congress
Waxman Cleaning House in Energy Committee
Literally.
It was no mystery that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) was intent on making environment-friendly changes when he swept the chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee from beneath auto-friendly Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) in November. And this week, that house-cleaning began in earnest.
A Possible Breakthrough on Bankruptcy Modification
Housing advocates have been pushing for years, without success, for changes in federal law to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages. The idea was a non-starter during the Bush Administration, since lenders strongly opposed it. But American Banker (subscription required) reports today that lawmakers may have reached a comprise allowing the mortgage modifications in some [...]
Obama Lays Out Economic Recovery Plan; Republican Leaders Respond
In his first policy speech since the election, President-elect Barack Obama laid out his “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” to stimulate the economy by pumping money into infrastructure, alternative energy, technology and aid to states.
Speaking at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., he warned of the hard times to come and emphasized the urgent need [...]
Obama’s Economic Plan Not Bold Enough for WSJ
President-elect Obama’s big economic speech today details all the problems the economy faces, and he predicts dire consequences if the government doesn’t act now - and in a big way. If nothing is done, Obama warns, the recession could linger for years. It’s all part of his effort to drum up support for his massive [...]
Tom Price is Right
The conservative vanguard at the Republican Study Committee blasted out a statement announcing that Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia) had officially taken the helm. No surprise—he’d been elected in November. But it’s worth remembering that Rep. John Campbell (R-California), a certified public accountant from Orange County, was the front-runner to be the next RSC chairman until [...]
Burris Win Could Spell Trouble For Franken
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune points out today what we did yesterday: Senate Democrats — having made state-based election certification a mandatory condition for seating Illinois appointee Roland Burris — might be waiting awhile for the arrival of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken. From the Star-Tribune:
Democratic leaders made Burris’ claim on the seat contingent on his ability to [...]
House to Vote on Pay-Equity Bill Friday
Lilly Ledbetter is coming back.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced today that the chamber will vote Friday on legislation making it easier for workers to pursue payment-discrimination claims.
CBPP: Many States Couldn’t Accept Loans Anyways
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal policy analysis group, just issued its take on the recent GOP suggestion that states should be given loans, not grants, as part of the Democrats’ soon-to-be-unveiled stimulus package. A point we missed earlier: Because 49 states have some form of legal balanced budget requirement, many wouldn’t [...]
Fate of Burris Still in Limbo
Following a 45-minute meeting with Roland Burris, Senate Democratic leaders said Wednesday that several steps remain before they’ll decide whether to seat the former Illinois attorney general to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters in the Capitol that Senate rules dictate that Burris must have the [...]
Nadler Pushes Bill to Overturn Bush’s ‘Midnight Regulations’
That didn’t take long.
On the first day of the 111th Congress, House Democrats are already targeting the last-minute regulations passed down by the Bush administration in recent weeks. Among the most controversial of those efforts have been rules to ease environmental restrictions on various industries and expand the rights of healthcare workers to refuse any [...]
