Congressional Desk
The Congressional Desk provides information, news, and announcements obtained from governmental and communications offices.
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Articles by Congressional Desk
November 08, 2009
House Republicans have churned out their latest myths and scare tactics about health insurance reform. In fact, they took time to produce a list of distortions about the Affordable Health Care for America Act before they even released their own ideas—a substitute bill that USA Today calls "a...
November 08, 2009
Bill Clears EPW Committee with Incomplete Cost Estimates
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued this statement following Committee action to pass a climate change cap and trade bill. The bill was reported out of com...
November 08, 2009
Bill would also provide assistance to families impacted by Chinese-made drywall
United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., introduced "The Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery and Reform Act of 2009" (S. 2731), a bill to reform...
November 08, 2009
As debate heats up on the House floor on historic health insurance reform, House Republicans are pulling out all the stops to scare the American public about the Affordable Health Care for America Act, including speeches today saying that Americans who don´t buy health insurance could face jai...
November 08, 2009
House Vote Expected Tonight
Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, delivered the following speech on the House floor today during consideration of Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), historic legislation to reform our nation´s health insurance system and ensure a...
November 08, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on the decision by the Law Library of Congress to stand by its original findings in an August 2009 report regarding Honduras despite requests made by Congressional Member...
November 08, 2009
Washington, D.C. Emphasizing the importance of expanding and diversifying America´s energy supply, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) praised the fast tracking of two local solar energy projects. These projects will produce almost 1,500 megawatts of clean energy and will create new jobs a...
November 07, 2009
As the House begins to debate the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the following debunks the false claims that Republicans will be expected to make during floor consideration and debate of the bill:
1. GOP CLAIM: The Affordable Health Care for America Act will lead to a governmen...
November 07, 2009
House Republicans have churned out their latest myths and scare tactics about health insurance reform. In fact, they took time to produce a list of distortions about the Affordable Health Care for America Act before they even released their own ideas—a substitute bill that USA Today calls "a...
November 07, 2009
WASHINGTON Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Republican substitute amendment to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act:
"CBO has confirmed that the...
November 07, 2009
Lawmaker says "health care reform should improve the quality of care while making the system more affordable and accessible."
Washington, DC After extensive conversations with her constituents, including her "Medicine Cabinet," Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Venice) today indicated her int...
November 06, 2009
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths now about the recently introduced Affordable Health Care for America Act. Below is a response to many of the myths repeated today at the U.S. Capitol.
MYTH: The Affordable Health Care for America Act will lead to a "government ta...
November 06, 2009
Moran says measure would protect consumers from industry "tricks".
Washington, DC Congressman Jim Moran voted to accelerate critical reforms to protect consumers from the abusive practices of the credit card industry late yesterday. The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act would push up th...
November 04, 2009
Questions Humana, United Health, WellPoint and Aetna About Pricing to Small Business
WASHINGTON, DC Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, today announced that the Committee will conduct an investigation into the pricing practices of he...
November 04, 2009
In her speech today at the "Forum of the Future" in Marrakesh, Morocco, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the creation of a U.S. Science Envoy Program which will send three of America´s most prominent scientists to travel the world to engage their counterparts, deepen and develop pa...
November 04, 2009
Let´s face it. There is a lot of misinformation swirling around about the health insurance reform proposals pending in Congress. The Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) has launched a new video feature, The Citizens´ Forum, to help Americans find the facts about health reform.
T...
November 04, 2009
Washington, D.C. One of Wyoming´s own will have a national platform to advocate for student financial aid. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appointed David Gruen of Laramie to the Student Financial Aid Advisory Committee. The national committee is designed to provide experti...
November 04, 2009
$3 Trillion Gas Tax, Thousands of Job Losses Cited
Washington, DC Legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions being debated before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee should incentivize and broaden our national energy portfolio in a way that does not come at the ...
November 04, 2009
What Americans can expect from health care bills
Washington, D.C. In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., highlighted 10 provisions in the majority´s health care bills that would drive up health care costs for American families.
"This health care plan being fo...
November 04, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Today, Congressman Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks) announced that California State University, Northridge (CSUN) received $165,000 in federal funding for construction of the Valley Performing Arts Center. Once completed, the Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN will serve as the premi...
November 04, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Today Congressman Adam Schiff, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, commended the appointment of Charlie Beck as Los Angeles Police Chief. Rep. Schiff is the author of comprehensive legislation to fight gang violence and has been a champion in promoting the use of DNA forensi...
November 04, 2009
´Reform Will Undermine the Health Care That Veterans and Military Families Have Now´
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths now about the recently introduced Affordable Health Care for America Act, including saying that health insurance reform will undermine t...
November 04, 2009
(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the House´s passage of H. Res. 867, a measure she authored which expresses Congressional support for Israel and opposition to any consideration or endorsement of the "Re...
November 04, 2009
Washington H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi´s healthcare reform bill, removes important amendments passed in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on which Rep. Joe Pitts (PA-16) serves.
With the bill set to be considered on the House floor this week, Speaker Pelosi has indicated that there wi...
November 04, 2009
WASHNGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or dire...
November 04, 2009
Joins House Republicans to read Pelosi´s 1,990-page bill
WASHINGTON—Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) joined House Republicans in the Republican Reading Room to read H.R. 3962, the latest version of Speaker Pelosi´s government takeover of health care. The bill, which totals nearl...
November 03, 2009
Health Insurance Reform DAILY MYTHBUSTER: ´Public Health Insurance Option Will Lead to Higher Premiums, Not Lower Premiums´
Opponents of reform continue to spread myths now spreading myths about the recently introduced Affordable Health Care for America Act, including saying that ...
November 02, 2009
Washington, D.C. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) voted last week to generate and save more than a million American jobs through H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act. The bill, which passed the House 389-32 , enhances lending opportunities for small businesses, the source of...
October 26, 2009
Protects Main Funding Source for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Victims
Washington, DC Legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) that protects funds for programs that assist victims of domestic violence and sexual ass...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and George LeMieux said today the Northwest Florida region is destined to become a world-class home for new aviation and aerospace jobs. In conjunction with an announcement a new alliance between four states including Florida, Florida's two U.S. senators cited the...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says the financial hit suffered by Oklahoma's transportation program this month was $15 million more than expected.
By the end of the week, the Oklahoma Republican hopes to have a deal in place to at least halt that downward trend.
"Oklahoma loses on this," ...
October 26, 2009
Deployment of Additional Troops to Afghanistan Gains Key Endorsement
Washington, D.C.—General Stanley McChrystal´s call for the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan gained a key endorsement over the weekend. As the commander of NATO´s International Security Assistance...
October 26, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health, was joined by Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) in questioning the political self-interests of AARP´s endorsement of legislation that will re...
October 26, 2009
Washington, DC U.S. Postal Service officials informed Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) that four post office branches in the 36th Congressional District will not be closed as a result of the Postal Service´s Station and Branch Optimization study, which could still shutter hundreds of branche...
October 26, 2009
Passage of Rep. Inslee´s H.R. 1641 takes critical next step towards including the Cascadia Marine Trail in the National Trails System
(Washington, D.C.)- This afternoon the House passed the Cascadia Marine Trail Study Act. H.R. 1641, authored by U.S. Rep Jay Inslee (D-Wash), instructs the...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, used a rare, open hearing of a House Intelligence Subcommittee to highlight the fact that nine months to the day after President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order to close Guantanamo Bay...
October 26, 2009
Largest Russian Nuclear Sub Patrolled U.S. Coasts
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced the following accomplishments for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program in September:
· 1 nuclear weapons capable submarine;
· 12 intercontinental ballistic missiles (...
October 26, 2009
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about America´s Affordable Health Choices Act. This week, the mythbusters caught two top Congressional Republicans and a major newspaper trying to mislead America with claims that the House bill would lead to a government takeover of t...
October 26, 2009
(Washington, DC) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) released a copy of a letter he and two other Representatives sent to the Social Security Inspector General on the issue of fugitive felons receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Herger believes it to be an irre...
October 26, 2009
As you know, water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to our farmers have been significantly reduced in an effort to protect the threatened Delta Smelt. I have consistently maintained that the pumps are not the problem. It is both unfair and illogical to blame our farmers and growers f...
October 26, 2009
(Washington, D.C.) - At a morning press conference, Congressman Jay Inslee and Congressman Norm Dicks announced an agreement on final language on major reform to Medicare reimbursement rates that will transform the payment system for Washington State and other high-quality, low-cost states, and end ...
October 26, 2009
Amendment to Study Coast Guard's Preparedness Regarding Changes in Haitian Immigration Policies Passes House
(Washington, DC)- Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) voted in favor of H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2009. Included in the Act was an amendment introduced by Has...
October 26, 2009
Lawmaker says "small boats continue to pose a critical security risk and deserve serious attention."
Washington, DC Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) delivered the following statement on the House floor in support of H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act, which passed the House by a 385...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Outspoken conservative and former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced his support for Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard). Santorum was a two-term Senator from Pennsylvania and served as the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the third most powerful leadership pos...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC The House of Representatives passed a bill to authorize a sharp increase in solar energy technology research. Congressman Adam Schiff offered an amendment that was included in the bill to ensure that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is eligible to compete for these grants. The bil...
October 26, 2009
(Washington, DC)- Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) voted in favor of H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap Act of 2009. Included in the Act was an amendment introduced by Hastings that ensures the appointment of diverse representation on the Solar Technology Roadmap Committee.
...
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, establishing a short-and long-term strategy for solar research and technology developments in the United States. Included in the legislation was an amendment introduced by Congressman Dennis Cardoza that aims...
October 26, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after the House passed the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, which would strengthen the American solar technology industry through a coordinated research and development program and public-private partnerships. The bill passed by...
October 26, 2009
Lawmaker says bill will "make clean, renewable energy more affordable and accessible for all Americans."
Washington, DC Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) issued the following statement in support of H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, which passed the House by a 310 to 106 vote.
...
October 26, 2009
New Law Ensures Veterans Will Have the Care and Support They Have Earned
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after attending a ceremony at the White House during which President Obama signed into law the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act.
...
October 26, 2009
Washington, DC Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) is seeking a meeting with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Enforcement Administration, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management to gather information and ensure they are working to d...
October 26, 2009
Wall Street Journal Editorial Peddles False Talking Points on Public Health Insurance Option
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about America´s Affordable Health Choices Act including on what the public health insurance option is and how it works as a component of co...
October 26, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation to establish a Consumer Protection Financial Agency. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 39 to 29, represents a key part of a broader effort by Congress and ...
October 22, 2009
Legislation Would Require Department of Health to Create Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans of Every Age
Washington, D.C. Bicameral, bipartisan legislation aimed at improving America´s public health was introduced yesterday by U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sam Brownback (R-KS),...
October 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., mourned the passing of former Wyoming senator and governor Cliff Hansen. They made the following comments about his life and service to Wyoming.
"The state of Wyoming has lost a great leader...
October 22, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, named Carrie Apostolou to be the new Republican clerk for the Senate Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.
In addition to naming Apostolou, Cochran also announced that Tyler Owens, s...
October 22, 2009
Crapo, Risch announce funding for INL, geothermal, ISU projects
Washington, DC A number of Idaho initiatives received final Congressional approval as the U.S. Senate approved the conference report for Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations requests. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL...
October 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. - The Wyoming delegation, U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., made comments following the National Park Service announcement finalizing a limit on snowmobile and snowcoach access into Yellowstone National Park.
"The snowmobile a...
October 22, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar welcomed the inclusion of language similar to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Improvement Act of 2009 into the final National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 that will soon be considered by both the House of Representatives and Senate.
"The con...
October 22, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Army is ramping up its response to the exposure of U.S. troops in Iraq to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said. He said it has also doubled the Army estimate of the number of U.S. troops who may have been exposed to the cancer-caus...
October 22, 2009
In Oval Office meeting, discusses proposal to create special process to get deficits under control.
Washington One day after a private Oval Office meeting with President Obama to discuss his concerns about mounting federal deficits, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) urged the leader of the Senate to end...
October 22, 2009
It´s hard to believe that 22 years ago I began sharing with our fellow Ohioans the importance of early detection practices in fighting our ongoing battle against breast cancer. My involvement in this cause began after the disease claimed the lives of my two closest friends within a five-mont...
October 22, 2009
Committee-passed plan fails to address future costs in premiums and care.
Washington, DC Excessive costs, absence of legislative language, lack of complete scoring estimates and a misleading assessment about a government takeover of the nation´s health system were among the reasons that I...
October 12, 2009
Legislation introduced would end federal funding
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo wants to cut all funding for the community action group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Crapo voted with the majority of the Senate (83 to 7) to block federal funding to ACO...
October 12, 2009
"´Wait and See´ is not a war strategy and certainly not an approach that our senior military commanders are recommending."
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following comments regarding the 8th annive...
October 12, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind) will introduce legislation next week encouraging United States officials to initiate Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the U.S. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"The United States should proceed to develop a comprehensive strategy...
October 12, 2009
Public-private group advises on trade, regulatory policy
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will help guide U.S. trade and export policy. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is appointing Crapo to the President´s Export Council (PEC). The Council, comprised of pri...
October 12, 2009
Bills should be available online with their total cost
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., put their weight behind an amendment that would change Senate rules to increase transparency in the halls of Congress.
The amendment, which is...
October 12, 2009
Joins colleagues demanding a 72-hour review for legislation before the Senate
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo joined several of his Senate colleagues to demand changes in Senate rules so that final committee votes not be rushed before the public has a chance to review the content and co...
October 12, 2009
There´s an important development regarding the exposure of hundreds of U.S. troops to the deadly chemical compound sodium dichromate in Iraq. The Department of Defense´s Inspector General, has agreed to investigate the Army´s response to that exposure. I requested such an investiga...
October 12, 2009
Crapo, colleagues call for formal review by tax and budget experts
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, continued his push for transparency and accessibility as the Committee moves toward a final vote on health care reform legislation. Crapo, who h...
October 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Three Chairmen Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, i...
October 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Following recent media reports that brought to light policy changes for the media covering Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo), U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to President Obama requesting clarification from the ad...
October 12, 2009
What's up with those geniuses in Congress? First they scurry around to get massive stimulus funding in the pipeline in an effort to quickly jump-start the economy, and then they fiddle around and let regular transportation funding that would further aid the recovery lapse.
Not a good recipe for e...
October 12, 2009
U.S. Sens. Dick Lugar (R-IN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced legislation to reverse the "resource curse" by requiring companies to reveal payments made to U.S. and foreign governments for oil, gas and minerals. Currently countries ri...
October 12, 2009
When President George W. Bush was in the White House, U.S. foreign policy was widely criticized as arrogantly unilateral, and was branded by critics here and abroad as the "go it alone" approach to international relations.
Now, it seems that a dangerous new strategy for American international rel...
October 12, 2009
Crapo, Risch move $3 million slated for urban parks
Washington, DC Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch supported an amendment to an Interior Department spending bill erasing plans to spend $2.8 million in badly-needed forest fire mitigation funding in Washington, DC. The nation´s cap...
October 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. As the Senate Finance Committee began consideration of its health care reform bill, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said he would offer amendments to reduce health care costs for average Americans, scale back the total spending in the bill, and protect American workers from new ta...
October 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., made the following comments after a federal judge´s decision to re-list Yellowstone area grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act.
"This is a disappointing decision that...
October 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voiced his support for Army General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of U.S. and Coalition forces in Afghanistan, and called for the Obama administration to support General McChrystal´s reques...
October 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added to his initial concerns about President Obama´s cancellation of the third missile defense site. Pointing to the fact that the...
October 12, 2009
Crapo encourages public comment; projected costs are a concern
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo wants Idahoans and Northwest residents to offer comment on a preliminary feasibility study just released by Amtrak that says passenger rail service may be restored to southern Idaho and easter...
October 12, 2009
Legislation introduced would end federal funding
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo wants to cut all funding for the community action group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Crapo voted with the majority of the Senate (83 to 7) to block federal funding to ACO...
October 12, 2009
Letter asks President to stop such appointments
Washington, DC Has the White House employed too many special-issue advisers, known as "czars," who are eluding public scrutiny and Congressional oversight? Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and a number of his Senate colleagues believe so, and have highli...
October 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. In a bipartisan effort, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Dodd (D- Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R- Ala.) to introduce the Improving Access to Clinical Trials (I-ACT) Act, a bill to allow patients with rare diseases to participate in clinical d...
October 12, 2009
Strong CBO Report, Positive Poll Numbers for the President, Bad Polls for the Republicans and a Parade of Republican Leaders Coming Out for Reform Provides Significant Momentum for Reform and Puts the "Party of No" on Its Heels.
"...We've got to do something. I don't want the Republicans puttin...
October 05, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following letter calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to rescind the "gag order" issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...
October 05, 2009
Senate Unanimously Passes Legislation To Increase Nonmilitary Aid To Pakistan
WASHINGTON, D.C. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) welcomed passage by the United State Senate of a revised version of the Enhanced Partnership with Pak...
October 05, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Following the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the cancelled missile defense site in Eastern Europe, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the committee stated, "Obama´s plan makes us more vulnerable."
"Everyone agrees that Iran poses a threat ...
October 05, 2009
Says Finance Committee ignoring review, cost analysis of legislation
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo warned that some members of the Senate Finance Committee are in such a rush to pass a health care reform bill that there may be final votes before the legislation is even written out in ...
October 04, 2009
School wins national recognition from President´s Council
Washington, DC An Idaho elementary school has received national recognition for attention to fitness and sports. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said he is adding his congratulations to the top award to Ucon Elementary in Idaho Falls. T...
October 04, 2009
Washington, D.C. As the Finance Committee continues to debate its health reform bill, U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) has expressed concern over not only the impact a reduction in funding for Medicare Advantage plans would have on seniors, but also with the Department of Health and Human S...
October 04, 2009
Don´t get complacent about breast cancer
You may not worry about breast cancer the way you used to. In the U.S. alone there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors today.
This false sense of security may have led to a decrease of mammograms in recent years, however the numb...
October 04, 2009
National Competition in Search of Tomorrow´s Cybersecurity Leaders
Washington, DC California will join the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a series of competitions aimed at recruiting and training America's next generation of cybersecurity experts, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the...
October 04, 2009
Draft under consideration by Finance Committee would violate President´s pledge to Americans
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo says the conceptual health care proposal before the Senate Finance Committee creates an undue burden on the middle class by raising taxes on families making...
October 04, 2009
Will also forward comments from Idahoans in response to Pioneer Route study
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is questioning the cost figures cited in a preliminary report Amtrak commissioned on the feasibility of restoring passenger rail service to Idaho along the former Pioneer Route. ...
October 05, 2009
Democrats block Enzi amendment that would lessen the blow of a government mandate
Washington, D.C. While Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee want to mandate that Americans buy health insurance or face stiff fines and even jail time, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is looking for alternati...
October 05, 2009
International trade panel denies Canada´s remedy for Softwood Lumber Agreement violation
Washington, DC Idaho´s Congressional Delegation welcomed a ruling by an international arbiter in an ongoing dispute over Canadian softwood exports. The tribunal sided with the U.S. this week ov...
October 05, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced the following accomplishments for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program in August:
· 1 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) destroyed,
· 8 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) eliminated, and
· ...
October 05, 2009
WASHINGTON- Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., held a hearing on disaster recovery efforts in Galveston, Texas, one year after Hurricane Ike devastated the region and four years after Hurricane Rita. Prior to the hearing, Senator Hutchison and Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas joined the Senator for a tour...
October 05, 2009
Says interested parties should comment on the ag guest worker program
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is encouraging Idahoans to submit comments regarding the U.S. Department of Labor´s H-2A agricultural guest worker program. Earlier this month, the Department of Labor proposed c...
October 05, 2009
Funding for forest restoration, fire fighting, Owyhees included in Interior bill
Washington, DC Collaborative forest land management and an increase in fire fighting funds were given priority as Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch supported amendments to the Interior Appropriations bill. Th...
October 05, 2009
60,000 Idaho seniors could lose benefits of Medicare Advantage program
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said that senior citizens and state taxpayers will feel the pain if health care reforms envisioned in the Senate Finance Committee are approved by Congress. Crapo, a member of the Fin...
September 13, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has refused to publish evidence that Iran is "pursuing information about weaponization efforts and a military nuclea...
September 14, 2009
Ryun: "There is no better person for this job for Kansans and true conservatives everywhere"
WICHITA In a battle of former colleagues, former Kansas Second District Congressman and Olympic great Jim Ryun has endorsed Congressman Todd Tiahrt in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
"I served with bot...
September 14, 2009
Calls on OAS to Do the Right Thing for Once
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the plight of Cuban political prisoners, Ariel Sigler Amaya and Normando Hernandez. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"I am e...
September 14, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on an unclassified U.S. intelligence report on Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez´s campaign to silence opponents by extending his control of the media. Statement by Ros-Leht...
September 14, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-CA) praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its announcement that it will change the way it calculates premiums when evaluating Medicare Part D plans. This step will increase the choices that benefici...
September 14, 2009
National standards address foreign imports of formaldehyde in products.
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) to introduce bipartisan legislation intended to protect consumers by establishing national health standards for formaldehyde in composit...
September 14, 2009
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar told Uruguayan President Tabarι Vαsquez that today he has introduced legislation to include Uruguay in the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). The two met this afternoon in the ceremonial Foreign Relations Commit...
September 14, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act, including the myth that doctors oppose current health insurance reform proposals. In fact, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine today released ...
September 14, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act. For example, Republicans continue to claim that health insurance reform will undermine America´s small businesses. However, the fact is that small...
September 14, 2009
WASHINGTON - The commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, may cut the number of support staff to free up US troops for combat against Taliban insurgents, US officials said.
"The idea is use troops more effectively," a US defense official, who spoke on condition of a...
September 14, 2009
Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on President Obama´s speech in New York City today, on the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, in which the President discussed the urgent need for financial regulatory reform:
"Less than one...
September 14, 2009
Lauds Report by Human Rights Watch
(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) -Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) made the following statement on the release of a Human Rights Watch report entitled, "They Want Us Exterminated: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq." The report documents the ex...
September 13, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of the America´s Affordable Health Choices Act, this time about the bill´s impact on doctors. However, the fact is that the America´s Affordable Health Choices Act will put the power ba...
September 13, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the indictment of Jamal Yousef, a former member of the Syrian military charged with selling military-grade weapons to the FARC in Colombia in exchange for cocaine. Statement ...
September 13, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, spoke at a town hall meeting in Standish, Mich., where he made the point that the future of Michigan lies in creating jobs in tourism, advanced research and new technology, not "Gitmo Jobs."
...
September 13, 2009
WASHINGTON D.C., Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a strong advocate for health care reform with a robust public option, released this statement:
"The confusion, misinformation and scare tactics about a ´public option´ that have been trumpeted by the opponents of real health care r...
September 13, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Some opponents of health insurance reform are spreading the myth that reform causes rationing of care with government bureaucrats deciding what treatments individuals can and cannot receive. The facts are:
· Under America´s Affordable Health Choices Act, th...
September 13, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, is refusing to sign requests for reprogramming Military Intelligence Program funds, absent a compelling military need, after the Obama administration stonewalled requests for information on i...
September 13, 2009
"A public plan would not destroy the private insurance market but would make it more competitive and lead to the benefits associated with competition. Many private plans would remain attractive because of their ability to be responsive to consumer demands and to be innovative in care management. P...
September 12, 2009
Says we must remain committed, determined, and vigilant.
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, marked the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
"Toda...
September 12, 2009
Congresswoman´s Legislation Seeks to Improve Services for Victims of Violence
Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Wasserman Schultz hailed the importance of the Violence Against Women Act on the eve of its 15th anniversary which falls tomorrow, Sunday, September 13 and what it has meant for Americ...
September 12, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act, including the thoroughly debunked myth that the House bill will provide taxpayer-financed health coverage for illegal immigrants. The facts disprov...
September 12, 2009
Washington, DC Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) issued the following statement on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks:
"Eight years ago today America was shaken by an attack, rooted in hatred and aimed at striking at the very heart of our nation, that killed over 3,...
September 12, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on the eighth anniversary of September 11:
"Every year on September 11, we remember the victims and honor the heroes of that fateful morning eight years ago. We are reminded of the nearly 3,000 American lives cut short d...
September 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement in commemoration of the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001:
"It´s no accident that our homeland has not been attacked in the y...
September 12, 2009
I've held more than 40 events across Missouri this month, discussing health care and the ways we can provide higher quality, more competition and access for everyone. I heard from single mothers, small business employees, retirees concerned about Medicare cuts, manufacturers and journalists. They as...
September 12, 2009
WICHITA—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) released the following statement responding to new unemployment numbers released by the Kansas Department of Labor. According to the July 2009 Labor Report, unemployment state-wide rose from 7.1 percent to 7.7 percent. The Wichita MSA hit 9.9 pe...
September 10, 2009
Defense-related funding benefits Idaho universities, businesses
Washington, DC Idaho funding requests for defense and military-related projects submitted by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch were approved today by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 201...
September 10, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act.
Myth: The House bill will tax you $3,800 for not buying health insurance.
Fact: In the House bill, the small percentage of Americans wh...
September 10, 2009
All parties agree, health reform must be a priority this year.
WASHINGTON—Independents 45-plus felt the President´s speech last night addressed some of their questions by a three-to-one margin according to overnight polling released by AARP today. The same survey found that a majorit...
September 10, 2009
Washington, D.C.---Commemorating the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the U.S. homeland, Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, today called on President Obama and the U.S. Congress to fully resource and supp...
September 10, 2009
Rep. Petri has made the following comments in response to President Obama's speech last night:
"I think it was a great speech, but it was about a proposal - and in the past, when Presidents have spoken about proposals that they are asking Congress to adopt, they have accompanied them ...
September 10, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Some health insurance reform opponents are arguing that we can´t afford health insurance reform under America´s Affordable Health Choices Act—in the face of a growing deficit. To the contrary, the single most important thing we can do to improve the long-ter...
September 10, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Some health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about the impact of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act on seniors. The facts disprove these claims.
These facts are why the AARP corrected these myths in a statement, adding "
we are pleased nothi...
September 10, 2009
And on Holder Appointment of a Prosecutor for CIA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice released portions of a CIA IG report on terrorist interrogation and Attorne...
September 10, 2009
Washington, DC-- As seniors in South Florida and across the country face the ever-dwindling buying power of their Social Security checks, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) is advocating for changes in how Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are determined and new protections for senior...
September 10, 2009
Highlight recent arson that caused the death of two firefighters and massive devastation.
Washington, D.C. Calling attention to the tragic fire caused by arson that resulted in the death of two firefighters, Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-29) and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) urged Congres...
September 10, 2009
Resolution Honors the lives of Captain Tedmund "Ted" Hall and Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones who died while bravely fighting the Station Fire
Washington D.C. Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Dreier (R-CA) paid tribute to Captain Tedmund "Ted" Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo...
September 10, 2009
The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement on health reform legislation:
As the Members of Congress who disproportionately represent the men, women and children who are under-insured and uninsured and whose health and wellness have suffered because of the numerous gaps i...
September 10, 2009
National African-American Leaders and Congressional Black Caucus Members Hold Press Announcement at U. S. Capitol to Dispel Myths and Urge Americans to Support Health Care Reform
Washington, DC Prior to President Obama´s speech to the joint session of Congress on healthcare reform, nation...
September 10, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, led an effort backed by the Washington Metropolitan Congressional Delegation requesting that House conferees participating in negotiations regarding the FY ´10 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647) fight to retain the federal employ...
September 10, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about America´s Affordable Health Choices Act. Republicans, in particular, are showing a recent convert´s zeal for reducing the deficit by claiming we cannot afford health insurance reform now because of the ...
September 10, 2009
WASHINGTON House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-CA) highlighted a report by Citizens for Tax Justice showing that the $2.5 trillion Bush tax cuts cost two and a half times more than the House Health reform plan. These tax cuts increased the deficit, and overwhelmingly bene...
September 10, 2009
Hoekstra: Administration Response to Guantanamo Bay Visit Request Raises Questions about Commitment to Transparency
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the Obama administration´s response to his request to take Mi...
September 10, 2009
In letter to Clinton, requests clarification on UAE-Iran ties
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a follow-up letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concerning the proposed U.S.-UAE nuclear agreement as the Sec...
September 10, 2009
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) slammed on Tuesday President Obama's mid-year budget review for making "assumptions that defy logic as much as his spending defies gravity."
The administration announced that it increased the projected budget ...
September 10, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement on the new federal deficit estimates released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the president´s Office of Management & Budget (OMB). Projections now show a cumulative $9 trillion def...
September 10, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on the updated deficit forecast:
"Today´s deficit projections are a legacy of Bush Administration fiscal policies that turned our surpluses into deficits and led the way toward an economic and financial crisis that has r...
September 10, 2009
Signals Return to Jimmy Carter´s Stagflation
WASHINGTON D.C. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) issued a statement regarding reassessments by the Office of Management and Budget and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that reveal a projected ten-year budget deficit of $9.1 trillion:
...
September 09, 2009
Crapo says reform must address costs and coverage
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo released the following statement after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress regarding health care reform:
"Health care remains one of the highest priorities for the American people...
September 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) this evening made the following remarks in response to President Obama´s health care speech to Congress:
"The President´s proposal tonight outlined four major high-cost areas related to health insurance companies. These proposals wil...
September 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Following President Obama´s address to a joint session of Congress on health care reform this evening, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., urged Democratic leaders not to put an early end to productive, bipartisan health care talks, which he said offer the best opportunity to ac...
September 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today issued the following statement in response to the President´s address to a Joint Session of Congress:
"Tonight, we heard a recycled sales pitch for a flawed plan to establish government-run health care and higher taxes," sai...
September 09, 2009
WASHINGTON- Astronomers declared NASA's Hubble Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory with the release Wednesday of observations from four of its six operating science instruments. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., unveiled the images at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Topping the list o...
September 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement tonight after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on the urgent need for health insurance reform:
"Tonight, President Obama made a forceful case to the Congress and the country for long-overdue health ...
September 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties) released the following statement on President Barack Obama´s address to Congress this evening:
"President Obama and I agree that health care needs reform. We disagree how to get there.
"President Obama a...
September 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today issued the following statement in response to the President´s address to a Joint Session of Congress:
"Tonight, we heard a recycled sales pitch for a flawed plan to establish government-run health care and higher taxes," sai...
September 09, 2009
The ΄Cost΄ of the Public Health Insurance Option
Opponents of health insurance reform and some members of the news media continue to repeat a myth that the public health insurance option will cost $1 trillion. In fact, the public option in America΄s Affordable Health Choices Act will cost U.S...
September 09, 2009
Lawmaker says: "This program is hugely important to the part of California that I represent."
Washington, DC Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Venice) delivered the following statement in support of reauthorizing the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act at today´s Energ...
September 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Kendrick B. Meek issued the following statement following President Obama´s address to a Joint Session of Congress on health care reform:
"Tonight´s speech was a game-changer. President Obama brought clarity to the health care debate. His objective is s...
September 07, 2009
Who Can Taxpayers Hold Accountable?
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL) sent letters to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Special Inspector General ...
September 07, 2009
With this June´s historic passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the United States took a major step toward a new clean energy economy. In a new Washington Post-ABC New poll, we find that the American people continue to support the action we have taken and the direction in whic...
September 07, 2009
Conservative icon calls Tiahrt "a leader in the conservative movement"
WICHITA - Conservative radio talk show host and former Education Secretary Bill Bennett endorsed 4th District Congressman Todd Tiahrt in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
"Todd Tiahrt is a leader in the conservative movement," ...
September 07, 2009
(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) sent the following letter to President Barack Obama regarding a June 22 letter he sent with 76 of his colleagues on "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell." The White House has yet to respond to the letter urging President Obama to suspen...
September 07, 2009
Last week was one of the most inspiring of my public service career as I participated in four historic town hall meetings across the 2nd Congressional District.
For 25 years, I have hosted numerous district meetings. Traditionally, attendance at such events averaged 50 people. In four town halls ...
September 05, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act.
This time, on August 31, House Republican Leader Boehner issued a "GOP Leader Alert" claiming that the House Democrats´ reform bill is "load...
September 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced that he has introduced legislation that would put patients back in the center of the healthcare debate, help save millions of lives and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs. The Accelerate Cures for Patients Act, H.R. 3475, wou...
September 05, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act. They are trying to scare seniors again, this time about the cost of prescription drugs. But the facts—and independent auditors—disprove this m...
September 05, 2009
We don't need radical change. Subsidies and high risk pools can get the job done.
When was the last time you asked your doctor how much it would cost for a necessary test or procedure? In all likelihood, you can't remember. That's because your employer-provided health plan or the government "pai...
September 05, 2009
The voice on an old record is urging listeners to write members of Congress and ask them to oppose this legislation
"And if you don΄t do this and if I don΄t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children΄s children, what it once was ...
September 05, 2009
WICHITA—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported the national unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in August.
"What these rising unemployment numbers tell us is how ineffective the president΄s spending program...
September 05, 2009
WICHITA—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement responding to the World Trade Organization΄s (WTO) preliminary ruling finding Airbus guilty of receiving billions of dollars in illegal subsidies from European governments. Congressman Tiahrt received a phone call ...
September 05, 2009
Lawmaker says "the end is now in sight."
Washington, DC Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Venice) announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has determined that eight schools in the Lennox School District are adversely affected by aircraft noise from the nearby Los Angeles International Air...
September 05, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER: Impact on Seniors
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America΄s Affordable Health Choices Act. Their efforts to scare seniors have spared no myth, no method and no misrepresentation. It has gotten so bad, the Chicago Tribune΄s The Swamp...
September 05, 2009
With Labor Day right around the corner, we are reminded of the contributions and achievements of American workers throughout the course of history. As the basic foundation of our economy, America΄s workforce represents the cornerstone of our strength and prosperity.
The history of Labor Day st...
September 05, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
Health insurance reform opponents continue to spread myths about components of America΄s Affordable Health Choices Act. This time they are claiming the bill is a risk to the privacy of Americans΄ personal health and financial information. The facts disprove their distortions.
...
September 03, 2009
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., today issued the following statement on discussions to reach a bipartisan health care reform bill:
"My position has been consistent from the start. I haven´t walked away from our shared goal of health care reform or compromised the o...
September 03, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following statement regarding the Obama administration´s investigation into past CIA interrogation practices:
"Earlier this year, President-elect Obama said he did not want h...
September 03, 2009
Bono Mack joins community leaders at expansion of high-tech Exotic Electro-Optics sapphire facility
MURRIETA, CA Emphasizing the benefits of job creation in the community and advanced technology that is enhancing U.S. national security capabilities, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today pr...
September 03, 2009
(Washington, DC) Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, and Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Europe, sent a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in response to an article recently published by the Swedish...
August 28, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hailed the appointment of the first full-time International Energy Coordinator at the State Department.
"Constant diplomatic attention to energy security at the highest levels of our government is vital for ...
August 28, 2009
A government-run option for health care is not an option for U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., a key figure in the health care debate.
Enzi, Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and member of the Senate Finance Committee, repeated his opposition to a...
August 28, 2009
Dorgan, Five Other Senators Request DOD IG Investigation in to Army's Response to Exposure of US Troops in Iraq to Deadly Chemical
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and five other U.S. Senators are calling for a Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General΄s investigation into...
August 28, 2009
DAILY MYTHBUSTER
With a 33 million customer list, insurance giant Wellpoint is now actively fueling the misinformation campaign against health insurance reform and America΄s Affordable Health Choices Act. In a recent email to customers, California insurer Anthem Blue Cross, a Wellpoint subsidiary...
August 29, 2009
In Letter to Secretary Clinton, Questions How U.S. Approach Serves U.S. Interests
(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on a letter she sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressing reports that the U.S. i...
August 17, 2009
Strong Turnout, No Shouting at Vermont Town Meetings on Health Care.
ARLINGTON, Vt. Hundreds of Vermonters overwhelmingly in favor of health care reform today packed spirited but civil town meetings hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at a public park here and at a church in Rutland.
...
DORGAN & FIVE OTHER SENATORS CALL FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL INVESTIGATION OF ARMY´S RESPONSE TO EXPOSURE
August 13, 2009
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and five other U.S. Senators are calling for a Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General´s investigation into the Army´s response to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq to a deadly carcinogen. Dorgan said the Army&...
August 12, 2009
Dorgan, Five Other Senators Request DOD IG Investigation in to Army's Response to Exposure of US Troops in Iraq to Deadly Chemical
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and five other U.S. Senators are calling for a Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General&ac...
August 09, 2009
Between the rising cost of heath care and the expanding role of government, Americans are frustrated. Economists predict that we will be spending 20 percent of our gross domestic product on health care by 2017. Now the President wants Congress to approve a scheme that effectively repeals Medicare a...
August 09, 2009
Last month, at a meeting overseas of intelligence service chiefs, one of my counterparts from a major Western ally pulled me aside. Why, he asked, is Washington so consumed with what the CIA did in the past, when the most pressing national security concerns are in the present? It was a very good que...
August 09, 2009
SUPPORTS MOST ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION POSSIBLE
Washington, DC Representative Jane Harman (D-CA), senior member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, issued the following
statement after voting against an amendment to HR 3200 America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 offered by memb...
August 09, 2009
Resolution Will Ensure Metro Receives Matching Funds from Local Jurisdictions
WASHINGTON, DC The Members of the Washington Metro Area´s House Delegation Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, Frank R. Wolf, James P. Moran, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chris Van Hollen, Donna F. Edwards and Gerald E. Connolly ...
August 09, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) joined with Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy; Representatives Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) and Lamar Smith (R-TX); and Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America and sister of Charles...
August 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter of New York re-introduced the Coordinated Environmental Public Health Network Act. This legislation would establish a national public health tracking network to allow for the detection and identification of poss...
August 09, 2009
Legislation Amends Tax Code to Allow Baby Formula to be Reimbursed Under a Health Flexible Spending Arrangement for a Mother who has had a Mastectomy and is Unable to Breastfeed;
Wasserman Schultz and Meek: Our Tax Code Should Help Not Hurt Mothers Who Have Been Treated for Breast Cancer
...
August 09, 2009
Refuses to give Americans same options they have
WASHINGTON, DC The majority on the House Energy and Commerce Committee blocked access for all Americans to a plan like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). The amendment, introduced by Health Care Solutions Group Chairman Roy Blu...
August 09, 2009
Programs prioritize child safety, law enforcement, transportation, and health and family programs
(Washington, DC) -- Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced that she has secured nearly $40 million in federal funds for South Florida, helping to offset the fact that Floridians regularly p...
August 09, 2009
Concern over the U.S. strategic nuclear stockpile, illustrated by problems with a classified material called "Fogbank," has triggered quiet maneuverings on Capitol Hill related to negotiations to extend the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
That treaty expires at year's end.
"Fogbank" play...
August 09, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. Following reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been orchestrating an effort to intimidate members of Congress and Governors who raise legitimate concerns regarding the effectiveness of the stimulus, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Mem...
August 09, 2009
As the political debate about how to pay for and pass health reform grows louder and more contentious, we shouldn't lose sight of the reason we're even having this conversation: We have a huge, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans, insured and uninsured alike.
...
August 09, 2009
Friday brought to a close the deadliest month of fighting in Afghanistan for U.S. troops since the war´s start eight years ago. As he did every other day of the month, President Barack Obama said nothing about it.
Casualties are mounting in Afghanistan because of a resurgent enemy offe...
August 09, 2009
Paves way for federal funding of family medicine residency program in Stanislaus County
WASHINGTON, DC Efforts to reestablish federal funding for family residency training in Stanislaus County have received a significant push forward and appear to be on the right track, announced Congressmen De...
August 09, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on reports that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has decided to shut down 32 radio stations and 2 television stations, as he reportedly continues his collaboration with the FARC gue...
August 09, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued the following statement on charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Bank of America failed to properly disclose to stockholders an agreement concerning bonuses ...
August 09, 2009
The Organization of American States took shape after World War II as a mini United Nations for the Western Hemisphere -- and just like the U.N., it has struggled for decades to prove its effectiveness.
Now the OAS faces new criticism that it isn't upholding its mission to defend democracy in the ...
August 09, 2009
Ileana's Cause: The top Republican on the house Foreign Affairs Committee discusses her longtime fight against tyranny in Latin America and why she believes the U.S. needs to take a stronger stand in support of freedom.
Too often we in the United States take freedom and the rule of law for gran...
August 09, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) repeated his call for the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to move forward with a subpoena of critical Countrywide VIP documents following the decision of the Senate Ethics Committee to ...
August 09, 2009
Award Recognizes Her Accomplishments as Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) received the Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award from the Lawyers´ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law at the National Bar Association´s 84th Annual C...
August 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) praised the Senate´s confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court, in the following statement:
"As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I proudly congratulate Justice Sonia Sotomayor on her histo...
August 09, 2009
Health insurance reform opponents, like Republican Congressman Eric Cantor, continue to spread myths about components of America´s Affordable Health Choices Act. Labeled "key facts" the fact sheet sent by Cantor´s office to each member of Congress simply peddles already disproven myth...
August 09, 2009
WICHITA—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.
"Confirming the first Hispanic-American to the Supreme Court is a historic moment for this country," said Tiahr...
August 09, 2009
Washington, DC U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court:
"History was made today by Judge Sonia Sotomayor who has earned the distinct privilege of being confirmed as a United States Supreme...
August 09, 2009
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) lashed out at Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) after the Republican congressman pushed the powerful Democratic senator to divulge details about low-interest loans he received from Countrywide Financial.
In letters provided to POLITICO, Conrad has accused Issa of attempting ...
August 09, 2009
House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) may be one of the majority´s chief tormentors and an apt political bomb thrower, but the person Democrats have to thank for Issa´s persistence is none other than Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
"If you look at He...
August 09, 2009
SHORELINE U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) announced that up to 2,550 battery charging systems for electric vehicles will be established throughout the Seattle area by Energy Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (ETEC), as part of a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The ET...
August 09, 2009
Lawmaker says "we need to be ready to adapt to potentially catastrophic shifts in the environment."
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) praised a plan by the California Natural Resources Agency calling for statewide preparations for the effects of climate change. The plan offers strateg...
August 09, 2009
Kansas Delegation urges President to see ramifications of Leavenworth as possible site
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, and U.S. Representatives Lynn Jenkins, Dennis Moore, Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt sent a letter to invite President Obama and his Gitmo task force t...
August 09, 2009
Michigan Democrats recently unveiled their new economic development plan for Michigan: turning the state into a penal colony for federal prisoners, the detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay and even part of California´s inmate population.
In a rush to fulfill an ill-advised campaign pr...
August 08, 2009
Enzi votes against program again, Senate passes funding extension
Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate approved an additional $2 billion for the Cash for Clunkers program. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., voted against the measure.
"We don´t know exactly how much has been spent....
August 08, 2009
WASHINGTON D.C. U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) Ranking Member of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, member of the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change and Nuclear Safety, and co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus released the following statement on Senate pas...
August 08, 2009
Say current compensation systems "shortchange our children"
Washington As President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan unveil guidelines for states to apply for Race to the Top education funding, ten senators urged leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund Pr...
August 08, 2009
On July 13, 2009, with only a week´s notice, Turkey hosted the celebrated signing of an agreement to move forward on the Nabucco natural gas pipeline. It was a major breakthrough that had seemed unlikely just more than a year ago when Senator Dick Lugar set out to meet with leaders in supplyin...
August 08, 2009
Delegation gives proposed snowmobile numbers a thumbs down, encourages public comment
Washington, D.C. - The Wyoming delegation, U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., made comments following the National Park Service announcement about a proposed i...
August 08, 2009
Senate inaction defies American majority
WASHINGTON, D.C. Senate Democrats blocked the effort of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to consider his amendment that would permanently keep the military-run detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) open while preventing terrorist detainees fro...
August 08, 2009
Voinovich-sponsored bill will examine tax and entitlements, force long-overdue Congressional action
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) has issued a statement of thanks to President Obama for his endorsement of a commission where "
everything is going to have to be on (the)...
August 08, 2009
Bill authorizes Forest Conservation Bonds as common sense way to bring conservation and timber communities together to protect forest land from development
(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced legislation ...
August 08, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced the Carbon Storage Stewardship Trust Fund Act of 2009 to help remove a major barrier to private investment in carbon capture and storage.
"New technology holds great promise for job creation and a cleaner ...
August 08, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar welcomed the inclusion of language similar to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperate Threat Reduction Improvement Act of 2009 into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 currently being debated on the Senate floor.
"The Senate Armed Services Committee has included...
August 08, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following comments after voting in support of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 that would allow individuals with concealed carry permits to lawfully carry concealed firearms across state lines as lon...
August 06, 2009
Video Uses Humor to Highlight Senate Inaction That Defies American Majority
WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Senate is about to take a month long recess without addressing an important national security issue. While the Democrat lead Senate found time during the last week of business to deal with Cas...
August 06, 2009
Introduces bipartisan bill to give schools increased flexibility
Washington, DC In response to concerns from Idaho parents, teachers and school administrators, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has reintroduced bipartisan legislation to bring needed reforms to the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act. The...
August 06, 2009
WASHINGTON D.C. U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) today announced his decision regarding the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
"For both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, then-Senator Obama promot...
August 06, 2009
Washington, DC During a speech on the Senate floor, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo noted that a strong majority of Idahoans contacting his office stand in opposition to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Crapo reaffirmed that he will vote against Sotomayor´s appointment when the Senate acts o...
August 06, 2009
Bayh heralds $400 million to create thousands of Hoosier jobs; says Indiana will lead national push to design, build clean-energy cars
Wakarusa, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh returned to Elkhart County with President Barack Obama to announce more than $400 million for Indiana companies developing n...
August 06, 2009
The Obama Administration announced that Kenneth A. Myers III has been appointed by the Secretary of Defense to be the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). DTRA´s mission is to safeguard the United States from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological...
August 06, 2009
Crapo writes Mountain Home AFB, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes language
Washington, DC A groundbreaking partnership to transfer unneeded housing units from the Mountain Home Air Force Base to members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes may soon be law, thanks to language added to a defense authorization bill...
August 06, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voted to support passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 87 to 7. Among a vast number of other provisions, the legis...
August 05, 2009
Establishes August 7 as "National Purple Heart Day"
Washington, DC Purple Heart recipients and their families will receive increased national honors under legislation introduced by Idaho
Senator Mike Crapo. The bipartisan Senate resolution, S. Con. Res. 36, sponsored by Crapo and Senator Blan...
August 05, 2009
Washington, DC U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) urged the full Senate to confirm the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to become an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In remarks delivered from the Senate floor, Senator Feinstein praised Judge Sotomayor, noting that her ...
August 05, 2009
Helps small businesses access Federal tourism promotion programs
WASHINGTON - The United States Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., to boost tourism revenue for rural small businesses. The "Tourism Promotion for Rura...
August 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said cooler heads need to prevail in the Senate to ensure Americans aren´t stuck with the detrimental consequences of a cap-and-tax program that would create burdensome greenhouse gas emission regulations.
"The House hastily pass...
August 05, 2009
Funding Requests by Crapo, Risch Advanced to Full Senate
Washington, DC Transportation funding sponsored by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch for road infrastructure and public transportation projects was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Idaho initiatives are included...
August 05, 2009
Washington, DC The Idaho congressional delegation joined with Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter to respond to the announcement that the Obama Administration has struck a deal to not request any funding for Yucca Mountain in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said, "T...
August 05, 2009
Nearly $7 Million Awarded Under Farm Bill Grant Program
Washington, DC A grant program supported by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo in the 2008 Farm Bill has awarded nearly $7 million to four Idaho projects. The grants were awarded under the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), which Crapo ...
August 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., supported a third way to add money to the national highway trust fund without increasing the national debt. The senators were disappointed the Senate defeated their alternative and supported a plan that increases the national...
August 05, 2009
Crapo, Risch advance funding proposals for Idaho medical projects and education programs
Washington, DC Requests for federal funding by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch to expand medical services and education projects in Idaho have been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. ...
August 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said no bipartisan deal on health care reform is imminent and that members of the Finance Committee still have a number of remaining issues to resolve before they will be able to reach a bipartisan agreement.
Reports in this morning´s ...
August 05, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Members of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder seeking justification and clarification for a letter the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent to Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson threatening Oklahoma with a loss of federal fu...
August 01, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee will conduct a congressional oversight hearing, Monday, August 3, to examine whether the U.S. Army responded appropriately to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. troops to a deadly carcinogen at a water injection facility in Iraq.
...
July 21, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following comments after the U.S. Senate voted 58 to 40 to remove $1.75 billion from the Defense Authorization bill for F-22s. Air Force officials have repeatedly stated that no less than 243 F-22s would be sufficient with a moderate leve...
July 21, 2009
Will Serve as Ranking Member of the East Asian Subcommittee
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, announced today he has been appointed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to fill the Republican vacancy left by former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman...
July 21, 2009
She Urges Doctors and Nurses to Get Tested for HIV
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) today celebrated National Clinicians HIV/AIDS Testing and Awareness Day and encouraged the nation´s health care workers to be tested for HIV.
"Doctors, nurses, and other clinicians p...
July 21, 2009
Committee Passes Congressman´s Amendment to Ensure California Veterans Receive Equal Educational Benefit
WASHINGTON, D.C. In an ongoing legislative battle on behalf of veterans in California and a number of other states, Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) today successfully incl...
July 21, 2009
House Committee Approves Student Loan Reforms
The House Education and Labor Committee approved legislation Tuesday to end the Federal Family Education (FFEL) program in favor of the Direct Loan program. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), a member of the committee, hailed the move as "long overdue and very ...
July 20, 2009
According to released GAO report requested by Lugar
Venezuela´s cooperation on counternarcotics has deteriorated according to a report released today by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report, requested by U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar in February 2008, is an effort by Lugar to ...
July 20, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. After four days of Judge Sonia Sotomayor´s nomination hearing, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) commented on the contradictory nature of her testimony compared her past rulings and statements. Sotomayor´s comments have come as the result of intense Republican questioning...
July 20, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today that Amy Rosenbaum, her policy director for the past four years, will step down next month as policy director but will remain in a temporary position to advise on health care reform legislation this fall. Richard Meltzer will assume the role o...
July 20, 2009
Washington, D.C. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) and Military Personnel Subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Wilson (R-SC) today praised the announcement by the Secretary of Defense that the U.S. Army will be temporarily expanded by up to 22,000 soldiers:
...
July 20, 2009
Report underscores need for strong international intellectual property protections
Washington, D.C.: The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, which is chaired by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), com...
July 20, 2009
Even as changes continue to be made to the health insurance reform bill—and despite a negative portrayal by the pollster—a new Washington Post/ABC News poll confirms a majority of Americans want the critical reform the America´s Affordable Health Choices Act delivers for American f...
July 20, 2009
Tax-funding of abortions in Washington, DC would further target Black population
WASHINGTON- Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt made remarks in opposition to tax-funding of abortion, which would increase abortion especially among the impoverished, predominately Black communities of Washington, D.C.
Rep. ...
July 20, 2009
In bank profits, less than meets the eye
NEW YORK — The big banks are making big money again, but they won't be back to health as long as they have to deal with a recession and customers defaulting on mortgages and credit cards.
The impressive numbers included a $3 billion second-quarter...
July 16, 2009
Calls on OAS to Do the Right Thing for Once
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on the plight of Cuban political prisoners, Ariel Sigler Amaya and Normando Hernandez. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"...
July 16, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) introduced the Atomic Veterans Medal Act, legislation to honor members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to atomic testing between 1945 and 1963.
"These veterans showed courage and incredible personal sacrif...
July 16, 2009
The American Medical Association (AMA), the leading voice for America's physicians, announced its support for the America´s Affordable Health Choice Act . According to AMA, the America´s Affordable Health Choices Act will curb out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance ...
July 16, 2009
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on an upcoming GAO Report that reportedly blames widespread corruption in the Chavez government for increases in cocaine transshipments through Venezuela. Statement by Ros...
July 16, 2009
The House health reform bill maintains Congress´ commitment to rural America by ensuring that all individuals in rural areas have access to the care they need close to home. The bill:
Provides Coverage for Uninsured Rural Individuals: In rural areas, the uninsured rate reaches 23 percent,...
July 16, 2009
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), member of the Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee, together with Reps. Melissa Bean (D-IL) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), introduced H.R. 3199 The Experienced Medic Transition (EMT) Act. The legislation seeks to streamline the integration of retu...
July 16, 2009
Moran Language Makes TurboTax-style Program Available to Veterans
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat and senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, supported a number of Northern Virginia BRAC-related military facility funding requests in the FY´10 Militar...
July 16, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) was appointed to the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission by House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.
Gallegly authored the bill that created the commission and is the second person assigned to the 11-member commission. Secretary of Interior...
July 16, 2009
SHORELINE, WA - U.S. Rep Jay Inslee announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has made $6,283,775 available to Washington state for a consumer rebate program to help households upgrade to energy efficient ENERGY STAR appliances. The funding is authorized and appropriated through the American Rec...
July 16, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy released $23,818,030 to Washington state for weatherizing homes of low-income families, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
"Efficiency is the cheapest fuel," said Inslee. "The ...
July 16, 2009
Under Democratic leadership since 2007, Congress has made historic gains for America´s Troops, Veterans, and Military Families.
It was just over four years ago that our nation sunk to a new low in our treatment of veterans. On June 23, 2005, the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted that...
July 16, 2009
Government-run care will boost deficit, raise costs for Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. House Health Care Solutions Group Chairman Roy Blunt issued the following statement in response to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf´s confirmation that the Democrats´ plan ...
July 15, 2009
Ros-Lehtinen Statement on Resolution Formally Initiating Congressional Review of UAE Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, submitted a statement for the record upon introducing a joint resoluti...
July 15, 2009
WASHINGTON Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) issued the following statement after House Democrats introduced their health care plan the latest attempt by Democrats to grow the size, power, and cost of government on the backs of American taxpayers and small businesses. This comes on the heel of the ...
July 15, 2009
Bill Covers 97 Percent of Americans, Embodies President Obama´s Goals of Lower Costs, More Choices, and Access to Quality, Affordable Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensi...
July 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC The influential House Rules Committee, of which Congressman Cardoza is a member, accepted two of Congressman Dennis Cardoza´s amendments aimed at increasing water flows for agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley. This paves the way for passage on the House floor Wednesday as pa...
July 15, 2009
Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement in response to House Democrat´s introduction of their plan for government-run health care:
"Today´s proposal by the House Democrat Leader...
July 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) released the following statement on today´s announcement that the United States and China plan to develop a joint energy research center. Inslee has been a key advocate on this issue, leading an effort in Congress to urge the Administration to e...
July 15, 2009
Rep. Tom Petri expressed reservations Wednesday as the House Education and Labor Committee began work on America´s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200, the Democrats' plan to overhaul the nation's health insurance system.
During an opening statement at a committee meeting h...
July 15, 2009
As we celebrated our nation´s birthday, North Korea launched seven missiles, and is now preparing to launch a long range ballistic missile, just months after testing a nuclear weapon. At the same time, Iran is developing both nuclear capabilities and long range missiles, recently disguised as ...
July 15, 2009
Rep. Tom Petri joined Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and others Tuesday in introducing legislation to establish a water trust fund for investing in the nation's drinking water and sewage treatment systems.
"It is no secret to the people of Wisconsin that our aging wastewater infrastruct...
July 15, 2009
Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) has endorsed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, legislation to be introduced today by Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA). This bill would move all new federal student lending to the stable, effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan Program...
July 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressional Republicans announced today their four appointments to the 10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission formed to investigate the causes, handling, and way forward from the current financial crisis. The creation was such a panel was first proposed by Rep. Darrell I...
July 15, 2009
Washington, D.C.— House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced their six appointments to the 10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, established by Congress to examine the domestic and global causes of the financial crisis.
"The American peop...
July 15, 2009
Crapo, Risch promote targeted research funding
Washington, DC Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch say research efforts involving energy and agriculture in Idaho have fared well this week as the Senate Appropriations Committee made funding recommendations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 spendi...
July 15, 2009
WASHINGTON D.C. U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, released the following statement today on the result of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee´s markup of an 18-month extension to SAFETEA-LU. At t...
July 15, 2009
Enzi says bill gets an F, doesn´t meet President´s goals
Washington, D.C. After 13 days of negotiations, 50 hours and hundreds of amendments, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed a health care overhaul along party lines. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., R...
July 15, 2009
Pleased Obama Shares Interest in Continent
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has visited Ghana eight times in the last eight years, commented on the speech given by President Obama to Ghana´s Parliament. President...
July 15, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar said that President Obama´s trip to Ghana offers the opportunity to highlight important issues of food security, energy security and the importance of fighting corruption.
"America has important foreign policy and national security interests in seeing that poor cou...
July 15, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced that the United States and the Republic of Indonesia, Conservation International and Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia (KEHATI) have signed a debt-for-nature swap under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA).
This swap agreement, reducing Indonesia&a...
July 15, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar represented the United States at the signing of the Nabucco natural gas pipeline treaty in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday, July 13.
Though the U.S. is not a party to the treaty, it has been a strong advocate for the natural gas pipeline that runs from the Caspian Sea region t...
July 15, 2009
Latest Senate reform bill is scored poorly by CBO
Washington, DC Some reform of the nation´s health care system is needed to reduce costs and improve access to quality coverage, but whatever plan Congress adopts must make fiscal sense, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo, a memb...
July 09, 2009
Before adjourning for the July 4th recess, House Democrats passed a massive new national energy tax. They are trying to sell this flawed approach under the guise of addressing environmental concerns and creating jobs. Unfortunately, their cap and trade or "cap and tax" scheme would be a failure en...
July 09, 2009
During House consideration of H.R. 2637—the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010—House Republicans, led by Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), intend to offer a Motion to Recommit that will provide funding for critical equipment required to support and protect America´s...
July 09, 2009
Profits from Conflict Mineral Used in Many Cell Phones Fuels Human Rights Abuses
Rep. Jim McDermott introduced and the House passed his amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 to address the mining of Coltan (columbite), a rare mineral used in virtually every cell phone, from ...
July 09, 2009
""The whole question of lying to Congress is serious enough that it should always be investigated and taken seriously."
WASHINGTON. D.C. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and member of the House Judiciary Committee sent a le...
July 09, 2009
Black aides are so scarce on some House committees that the Congressional Black Caucus surveyed the panels. Their conclusion: black staffers are most prevalent when African American chairmen do the hiring.
The 31-person Democratic staff of the House Agriculture Committee and the 24-person Democrati...
July 09, 2009
WASHINGTON— U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) led Republican efforts to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions in Washington, D.C. Tiahrt´s amendment would reinstate a 14-year-old prohibition on publicly-funded abortions that Democrats stripped this year at the req...
July 09, 2009
Funds would be re-routed to support the National Endowment for Democracy
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered an amendment to the State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 3081) to cut fundi...
July 09, 2009
Would transfer funds to support security assistance for Israel, democracy in Iran
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee offered three amendments to the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriat...
July 09, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. A report released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform finds that the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to a financial crisis can be traced back to federal government intervention in the U.S. housing market. The report´s findings are particularl...
July 08, 2009
Will Work With Colleagues to Pass A Bill This Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, applauded Senators Robert Menendez, Orrin Hatch, and Harry Reid for introducing legislation today supporting vehicles that...
July 08, 2009
Cap and tax = national energy tax. Enzi vows to push back against similar legislation.
Washington, D.C. Following a week traveling in Wyoming and listening to constituents, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., heard time and again the concern many people have with the energy bill recently passed by ...
July 08, 2009
Critical part of Owyhee Initiative included in appropriations bill
Washington, DC A critical part of the Owyhee Initiative land management legislation led by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo through Congress received initial funding approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee. In outlining agric...
July 08, 2009
Questions Energy Secretary During Committee Hearing
Washington, DC Any successful effort at addressing climate change, including cap and trade legislation, must include incentives to increase energy production from nuclear power sources, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo told Cabinet secretaries from th...
July 08, 2009
Senator co-sponsors bill to help Congress legislate within constitutional powers
WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is backing a bill designed to ensure that Congress legislates only within the bounds of its powers granted by the highest law in the land.
Enzi, along with 19 senators...
July 08, 2009
Says health care reform should do more to prevent and treat substance abuse disorders and mental health illnesses.
Washington, D.C. Emphasizing the wide-spread economic and health impacts of substance abuse and addiction, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today called on House Energy and Com...
July 08, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - Members of Washington Metro Area´s Senate and House Delegation House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski and Reps. Frank R. Wolf, James P. Moran, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chris Van Hollen, Donna F. Edwards and Gerald E. Connolly met today with Washing...
July 08, 2009
Washington, D.C. Today, Congressmen Dennis Cardoza (CA-18) and Jerry McNerney (CA-11) jointly championed legislative language to ensure that small businesses in the Central Valley have access to available federal research and development funds. The language is based on amendments offered by Congre...
July 08, 2009
(Washington, DC) - Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) is calling on Congress to pass the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, especially in the wake of recent attacks on American Web sites. The bill increases spending on a variety of current cybersecurity efforts and provides initial inves...
July 08, 2009
Urges Congressional hearing to explore government and the Internet´s role in protecting human rights and freedom throughout the world.
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today urged House Committee on Energy and Commerce leadership to hold a hearing on the role of the I...
July 08, 2009
Science Has Bypassed the Embryonic Stem Cell Debate
Washington, D.C. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) today called on Congress to consider his Patients First Act, H.R. 877, in light of the Administration´s release this week of final guidelines to expand tax-payer funding of embryonic s...
July 06, 2009
Waxman-Markey's success suggests that House Democrats learned something from 12 years in the minority.
For Democrats with sufficient memory, the party's failure on a key legislative vote in President Clinton's first term flickered like a distant shadow over last week's nail-biting House showdown ...
July 06, 2009
WICHITA Congressman Todd Tiahrt today released a new video ad expanding on his continued fight against President Obama´s so-called federal stimulus plan. Tiahrt has been running television and radio ads in recent weeks, which have brought attention to his fight against Washington spending an...
July 06, 2009
TOPEKA—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement in response to the job loss numbers released today for June. According to the Department of Labor, another 467,000 workers lost their jobs last month pushing the national unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, the highes...
July 06, 2009
Lawmaker says a "cop on the beat" armed with timely information will prevent the next terrorist attack.
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence & Terrorism Risk Assessment, submitted comments on the over-classification of intellige...
July 04, 2009
MERCED, CA At the request of Congressman Cardoza , U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan toured the City of Merced Thursday. During his time here, he informed the San Joaquin Valley that there will be increased eligibility for mortgage refinancing under the Obama Administratio...
July 01, 2009
Crapo to Discuss Cultural Protection with Tribes, Thursday
Duck Valley Indian Reservation Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will join members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation tomorrow to discuss the first phase of funding that will implement provisions of the Owyhee In...
June 30, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on a new initiative that will take effect tomorrow, July 1, that will make student loans more affordable by allowing borrowers to cap their monthly loan payments based on how much income they earn. This initiative, the Inco...
June 30, 2009
Washington D.C. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) is pleased to announce that the Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $16 million in conditional loan guarantees to the Berkeley-based Nordic Windpower USA.
The funding will help to underwrite the expansion of Nordic Windpower´s assemb...
June 30, 2009
WASHINGTON Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) today announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded over $7.5 million to the California State Coastal Conservancy for the South San Francisco Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. These funds were allocated by the American Recovery a...
June 30, 2009
Oakland, CA Today, First Lady Michelle Obama visited Unity´s Upper Cardozo Health Center in Washington, DC to announce the release of $851 million in grants to address immediate and pressing health center facility and equipment needs and increase access to health care for millions of America...
June 30, 2009
Washington, D.C. While marking an important security milestone for the Government of Iraq, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) today praised U.S. troops for their courageous service and dedication. McKeon also urged the President and Congress to work to en...
June 30, 2009
Legislation Provides $130 Billion to Support Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
Washington, D.C. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Ranking Member Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) and the Republican me...
June 30, 2009
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) encouraged all Americans to get tested for HIV and educate themselves about the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS. She joined other Members of Congress and public health advocates at an event held in advance of National HIV Testing Day (Ju...
June 30, 2009
WICHITA Congressman Todd Tiahrt´s U.S. Senate campaign continued to gather momentum as the state´s largest pro-life organization officially endorsed Tiahrt in his bid against Jerry Moran.
During press conferences in Overland Park and Wichita, Kansans for Life Federal Political Acti...
June 30, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar today praised the work of the Department of Energy´s National Nuclear Security Administration Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) for the complete removal and secure storage of Romania´s highly enriched uranium.
"The National Nuclear Security Administration...
June 30, 2009
Appropriators include funding for wolf losses
Washington, DC Ranchers who lose livestock to wolf depredation in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming may be eligible for reimbursement from a fund of $1 million established in part by the efforts of Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. Idaho´s Se...
June 29, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) voted for the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill that includes $8.7 million for McConnell Air Force Base. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Tiahrt secured the funding to help upgrade the Air National Guard&acu...
June 29, 2009
A new survey by the Washington Post and ABC News showed three-quarters of Americans support government action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and found a willingness to tolerate some increased costs. Highlights of the survey include:
· 75 percent think the federal government should "re...
June 29, 2009
Following the Presentation of Articles of Impeachment to the Senate
Washington, D.C. Lead House impeachment Managers Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) commented on the resignation of Judge Samuel B. Kent.
On Wednesday, Managers on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives deliv...
June 29, 2009
Oakland, CA Today, First Lady Michelle Obama visited Unity´s Upper Cardozo Health Center in Washington, DC to announce the release of $851 million in grants to address immediate and pressing health center facility and equipment needs and increase access to health care for millions of America...
June 29, 2009
Washington D.C. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement today after the House of Representatives approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act:
"The consequences of global climate change, disastrous trends of environmental d...
June 29, 2009
(Washington, DC) - The House of Representatives passed H.R.2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 by a vote of 389-22. Included in H.R.2647 were two amendments introduced by Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar). Hastings´ first amendment prohibits the recruitm...
June 29, 2009
Allocates Individuals´ Federal Tax Refunds Towards Any Unpaid Local Taxes
Arlington County, Virginia At a public meeting of the Arlington County Board, Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, announced the introduction of the bipartisan "Local Taxpayers Fairness Act," legislation that w...
June 29, 2009
U.S. House has a choice: Innovation or Taxation
Washington, D.C. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) introduced an amendment that would replace the entirety of the Energy Tax Bill with his New Manhattan Project, which relies on innovation, rather than taxation to pursue alternative energy and a...
June 29, 2009
WICHITA - After starting statewide television ads last week, Congressman Todd Tiahrt is running radio ads statewide to call further attention to his fight to repeal the "so-called federal stimulus plan". Since the scheme was passed by Congress, more than two million Americans have lost their job...
June 29, 2009
WICHITA Todd Tiahrt´s decisive 165-46 victory over Jerry Moran in the Olathe Straw Poll Saturday capped a great week for the Tiahrt campaign. Not only did Tiahrt show strong support in a conservative bastion of Johnson County, his campaign organization demonstrated its ability to mobilize vo...
June 29, 2009
Congress and the President are working to enact health care reform legislation that will keep what works in our health care system and fix what is broken. Floridians know that inaction is not an option. Sky-rocketing health care costs are hurting families, forcing businesses to cut or drop health ...
June 28, 2009
(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the impending constitutional crisis brewing in Honduras and escalating tensions between the executive and the judicial and legislative branches, as well as the military. Stat...
June 28, 2009
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger issued the following statement regarding an amendment to the FY2010 Interior Appropriations bill he supported that would provide $25 million for Forest Service law enforcement to combat drug production on federal lands. Drug production on federal lands ...
June 28, 2009
(Washington, DC) - Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) commemorated National HIV Testing Day by highlighting the very real threat the United States continues to face from this disease.
"More than one million people in the United States are living with HIV and someone is infected with HIV i...
June 29, 2009
Every day, sick and injured Americans worry about whether they will be able to get better—and whether they can afford to. Millions more wonder if they can even afford routine care to stay healthy and prevent disease before it starts.
This isn't just a matter of cost or inconvenience.
...
June 27, 2009
Four Mile Run Restoration and Drinking Water Safety Funded
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat and senior member of the House Appropriations Committee announced the following projects were included for Northern Virginia in the FY 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations...
June 27, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Cardoza announced several key legislative provisions that will aid Valley agricultural interests. The provisions were included in the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which the House of Representatives passed today with Congressman Cardoza´s support.
T...
June 27, 2009
Washington D.C. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, released the following statement after the House of Representatives approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act:
"The consequences of global climate change, disastrous trends of environmental degrada...
June 27, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement regarding House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act (H.R. 2454), historic legislation that will create clean energy jobs, combat global warming and puts our country on a path to dramat...
June 27, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt voted against legislation to create a national energy tax. The bill, H.R. 2454, passed by House Democrats contains provisions that would increase energy rates for every American family, farmer and business.
"This bill affects every American that...
June 27, 2009
Legislation that eases regulations limiting federal renewable energy purchases included in energy bill.
Washington, D.C. The House passed legislation authored by Rep. Adam Schiff which expands the ability of the Federal Government to purchase cheap renewable energy, as part of the American Clea...
June 27, 2009
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) issued the following statement shortly before the vote on House Democrats' new national energy tax bill, which will amount to over $3,000 in additional energy expenses per household.
"This is one of the most sweeping, damaging pieces of legi...
June 27, 2009
Washington, DC Rep. Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, and Rep. Barney Frank, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, have introduced landmark legislation to reform the Section 8 voucher program.
H.R. 3045, the "Sect...
June 27, 2009
Four Mile Run Restoration and Drinking Water Safety Funded
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat and senior member of the House Appropriations Committee announced the following projects were included for Northern Virginia in the FY 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations...
June 27, 2009
Washington, D.C.-- Congressman Raϊl M. Grijalva voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage the development of clean, renewable energy sources.
The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a 219-212 v...
June 27, 2009
By a vote of 219 to 212, the House voted Friday evening to approve H.R. 2454, the "Cap-and-Trade" bill to reduce emissions of global warming gases. Rep. Petri voted against the bill.
Rep. Petri has issued the following statement:
"I believe that global warming is a ser...
June 27, 2009
Years of hard work pay off as Inslee authors key provisions and gathers votes for final passage
WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. House of Representatives approved climate and energy legislation that will create millions of clean energy jobs and implement the first market-based solution to cut carbon pol...
June 27, 2009
Inhofe Vows to Expose Bill in the Senate as All Cost, No Climate Gain
WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, commented on the House passage of the "America's Clean Energy and Security Act," (Waxman-Markey bill) b...
June 27, 2009
Investment will Lower Gas Bills, Boost Economy, Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil
WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, joined Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) to introduce bi-partisan legislation that seeks to increase the p...
June 27, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) today blasted Democrats for passing legislation that will increase monthly electricity bills for every Kansas family and will force thousands of Kansas workers to lose their jobs. Tiahrt said President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) w...
June 27, 2009
(Washington, DC) - The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved H. Con. Res. 89 a resolution introduced by Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and a bipartisan group of his colleagues, supporting the goals and objectives of the Prague Holocaust Era Assets Conference. The resolution commends ...
June 27, 2009
Rep. Wasserman Schultz Votes to Create Clean Energy Jobs and Create Energy Independence
(Washington, DC)—Rep. Wasserman Schultz voted in favor of new clean energy jobs and energy independence, helping to pass H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. This legislation w...
June 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in introducing a bi-partisan adoption bill, the Foreign Adopted Children Equality (FACE) Act (S. 1359), eliminating many of the hurdles internationally adopted children of American citizens currently fa...
June 26, 2009
Modernization and Overall Security Victims of Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the completion of the Senate Armed Services Committee´s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal yea...
June 25, 2009
(Washington, DC) The House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 2892, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 by a vote of 389-37. Included in the legislation was an amendment introduced by Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar), to keep open the Federal Emergency Manage...
June 25, 2009
100 Members of Congress Cosponsor Grassroots Movement to Ensure Parents´ Freedom to Raise their Children
WASHINGTON, D.C. A Constitutional Amendment introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, to protect the parent-child relationship has reached more than 100 co-sponsors in the Hou...
June 25, 2009
Crapo co-sponsors Western Caucus´ broad-based effort
Washington, DC. Because Idahoans can´t face another summer of rising energy prices, Congress must act quickly on comprehensive energy legislation, according to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. Crapo is joining with members of the new S...
June 25, 2009
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) have introduced legislation to preserve and enhance federal assistance to crime victims under the Victims of Crime Act. The Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act will ensure that victims of crime, through victim service p...
June 25, 2009
Would compensate victims from Nevada testing in 1950s and 60s
Washington, DC All four Senators representing Idaho and Montana are sponsoring new legislation that would make residents of the two states eligible for a federal government program that compensates people who lived in affected areas ...
June 25, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced the following accomplishments for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program in May:
· 6 nuclear weapons transport train shipments secured.
Earlier this month Lugar announced that the Nunn-Lugar program will continue working with Kazakhs...
June 25, 2009
Washington—Ten moderate Senate Democrats today sent a letter to President Barack Obama voicing support for his key education goals and pledging to "lend our voices to the debate as proponents of education reform."
The letter was initiated by Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Tom Carper (D-DE), an...
June 25, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Senator Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) released the following statements following unanimous Senate passage of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act (S. 962), also known as the Kerry-Lugar Bill.
"Pakistan is fac...
June 24, 2009
Joint Project of Congresswoman Lee, East Bay Community Foundation
Oakland, CA The East Bay Community Foundation in collaboration with the Office of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) has created a new Web-based resource guide to help East Bay non-profits and faith-based organizations search for fede...
June 24, 2009
Washington, D.C. U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, this morning delivered the following remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives during debate on H.R. 2990, the Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act.
"...
June 22, 2009
Democrats Plan Tax Increases & Benefit Cuts to "Reform" Health Care
America´s health care system is in need of a fix, but the plan being crafted by Congressional Democrats is hardly what most Americans are expecting. Just consider some of the major challenges facing health care and the Amer...
June 22, 2009
77 Members Urge Swift Action to Repeal Discriminatory Law
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat and senior member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, joined with 76 of his colleagues to send a letter to President Obama urging swift action on repeal of the milita...
June 22, 2009
(Washington, DC) Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) and 76 Members of Congress sent the following letter to President Barack Obama urging him to suspend the investigation and discharge of service members in the Armed Forces because of their sexual orientation. Under the discriminatory...
June 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. A video of Congressman J. Randy Forbes´ (VA-04) recent statement on the floor of the House of Representatives affirming America´s Judeo-Christian heritage has drawn over one million viewers on YouTube. At the time of this release, the video had been viewed 1,391,977 ti...
June 22, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement after House passage of the Supplemental Conference Report.
"Put the troops first, ditch the bailouts and leave the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay where they belong," said Tiahrt. "An emergency war funding bill ...
June 22, 2009
Newly Introduced Legislation Would Reduce Hazardous Fuels, Red Tape
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) introduced legislation, the "California Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention and Community Protection Act," which is designed to address the ongoing threat of wildfire in national ...
June 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. Republican efforts to restore funding for key components of the comprehensive missile defense system designed to protect America´s homeland, forward-deployed troops, and allies were repeatedly rejected by Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee. The Obama Administra...
June 22, 2009
Somewhere between the health care extremes — no government involvement and total government control — real reform is possible. And reforming America´s health care system is one of the most pressing challenges that we face.
Serious problems have emerged. Skyrocketing administrati...
June 22, 2009
Rep. Wasserman Schultz hails agreement that will cut costs in half for seniors caught in Medicare Part D at no additional cost to taxpayers
(Washington, DC) Today, President Obama announced a historic breakthrough to reduce prescription drug costs by 50 percent for seniors who find themselves...
June 22, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Cardoza has introduced legislation that seeks to encourage the use of solar power by homeowners and ensure an economic incentive for users. The Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act (SOLAR Act) seeks to cut through the bureaucratic and financial red tape ...
June 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. Last week, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) voted in support of the FY2010 Commerce, Justice and Science-related Appropriations bill which will appropriate $64.6 billion.
"I am pleased to support this legislation that will provide much needed funding to our communities," said Co...
June 22, 2009
WICHITA -- Congressman Todd Tiahrt is running television commercials statewide to call attention to his fight to repeal the "so-called federal stimulus plan". Since the scheme was passed by Congress, more than two million Americans have lost their jobs, home foreclosures are at record highs, and the...
June 22, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Earlier today, President Obama joined key lawmakers and health care stakeholders in announcing an agreement to help reduce out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)...
June 22, 2009
Bring Together Clean Energy Businesses, Lawmakers.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, today hosted the Senate Democratic Green Jobs Summit. Vice President Joe Biden de...
June 21, 2009
Washington, D.C. During debate on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee voted largely along party lines to table a Republican amendment to authorize key benefits for America´s military personnel and their familie...
June 21, 2009
Lawmaker calls bill, "a needed course correction from Bush policies..."
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) issued the following statement on the Conference Report of H.R. 2346, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009. The bill passed by a vote of 226-202.
"We live in difficult ...
June 21, 2009
Congressman Wally Herger issued the following statement regarding the deficit spending undertaken this year in Congress and the decision to restrict debate on future spending bills:
"We´re halfway through 2009 and I am deeply concerned with the excess spending that Congress and the Adminis...
June 21, 2009
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on legislation she co-sponsored that would reinstitute statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules, which will restore fiscal discipline to the federal government. Last week, President Obama urged Congress to pass the legislation, wh...
June 21, 2009
"We have learned time and time again that EW saves lives"
Washington Congressman Joe Pitts (PA-16), and Congressman Rick Larsen, (WA-02), Co-Chairmen of the Electronic Warfare Working Group (EWWG), applauded the House Armed Services Committee for agreeing to an amendment to the Defense Authoriz...
June 21, 2009
Introduces resolution to condemn 15th anniversary of Iran/Hezbollah attack
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will meet with Dr. Alberto Nisman, Argentine special prosecutor investigating the bombing of the Argentine Je...
June 21, 2009
In a letter to the AG, Rep. Schiff calls for protection of scientists´ and engineers´ privacy
WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Adam Schiff wrote a letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that he decline the opportunity to appeal a June 4, 2009 decision by Ninth Circuit C...
June 21, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. House Health Care Solutions Group Chairman Roy Blunt issued the following statement after the Solutions Group, joined by Republican Leadership and the Ranking Members on Committees of Jurisdiction, unveiled the common-sense plan to make health care affordable and accessible for al...
June 19, 2009
Washington—With one in three children in the United States living apart from their biological fathers, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) are renewing their efforts to promote healthy families and support American fathers who are trying to earn a livable wage and take...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the June 4, 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service biological opinion on the Central Valley Water Project and California State Water Project, Congressman Cardoza threw his full support behind an amendment to prevent the opinion from taking effect.
Congress...
June 19, 2009
Northern Californians who spent last summer breathing smoke or being forced from their home by the blazes that tore through our local forests are well aware that wildfire is one of our most pressing threats. The 2008 fire season saw over a million acres of our forests burned, the tragic loss of sev...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) knew there would be fierce Democrat opposition to his amendment to repeal portions of the trillion-dollar Obama stimulus plan. He was right. House Democrats voted against the Republican effort to overturn what Tiahrt calls a "failed stimulus spe...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Adam Schiff, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press, introduced a resolution urging North Korea to release American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee on humanitarian grounds. Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee have been held since March 17th when they were detained ...
June 19, 2009
White House Officials Call Firing an Act of "Political Courage"
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) asked Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Lawrence G. Brown to answer critical questions about communica...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and several other Committee members pledged their support to work with Congressman Cardoza to address the economic devastation facing the San Joaquin Valley.
"I could not be more appreciative of Chairman Frank&acu...
June 19, 2009
"By strengthening our travel promotion efforts to the rest of the world, we can see local benefits for our businesses and our community."
Washington, D.C. Emphasizing the importance of tourism to the local economy, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) joined several of her colleagues in introdu...
June 19, 2009
Schiff and Goodlatte to serve as lead impeachment managers during Senate trial
Washington, D.C. Today on the House Floor, House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Judicial Impeachment Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and ranking member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), presented the case for impeachment of Judge...
June 19, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) today issued the following statement after the House passed a bipartisan resolution expressing support for all Iranian citizens who struggle for freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and the protection of the rule of law:
"I join my collea...
June 19, 2009
Proposal Embodies President Obama´s Goals of Lower Costs, More Choices, and Access to Quality, Affordable Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their discussion draft for healt...
June 19, 2009
Non-Profits, Law Enforcement, and Environmental Efforts Funded
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, announced the following projects which were included today in the House approved version of the FY ´10 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill (H.R. 2847). Mo...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt last night offered an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Bill to block payment of any funds to foreign nations as compensation for relocating Guantanamo detainees.
"It seems the Obama Administration is sending the suspected te...
June 19, 2009
White House Officials admit "president's rhetoric shouldn't be taken literally"
President Obama and congressional Democrats are working overtime to sell the American people on a costly government takeover of our health care system.
"If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your docto...
June 19, 2009
WASHINGTON—Farmers and Ranchers achieved an important victory late Thursday night when the House Appropriations Committee adopted the Tiahrt Amendment preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating livestock as a greenhouse gas source. U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) o...
June 19, 2009
Provides State and Local Funding for Land Preservation in Capital Region
Alexandria, VA, At a press conference this morning in Founders Park along the Alexandria waterfront, Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), along with leaders from key conservation organizations, announced introduction of the "Nati...
June 18, 2009
Oklahoma Farm Groups Praise Inhofe´s Leadership
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led the opposition to a bill that would have huge implications on Oklahoma and rural America. While the bill, S. 787, ...
June 18, 2009
Places Hold on Bill Expanding Federal Control of Water
Washington, DC. Concerned about significant expansions in the power of the federal government, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo today voted against S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act, despite its passage by the Senate Committee on Environment ...
June 18, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. A bipartisan, bicameral resolution passed by the U.S. Senate today provides an apology for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans. The measure comes as the nation celebrates Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery. It...
June 17, 2009
Co-sponsors bill that stops government rationing of health care
Washington, DC. With the process of crafting health care reform legislation underway before the Senate Finance Committee, Committee Member Idaho Senator Mike Crapo says doctors must maintain their critical role in leading health ca...
June 17, 2009
Bring Together Clean Energy Businesses, Lawmakers
WASHINGTON— U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, today hosted the Senate Democratic Green Jobs Summit. Vice President Joe Biden delive...
June 17, 2009
Enzi finds plenty of room for improvement in health care bill that costs $1 trillion, leaves 36 million uninsured
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said he would use the Committee process t...
June 17, 2009
During my tenure in Congress, few budgets have been as greatly awaited as the details of the Obama administration´s fiscal 2010 request for the Department of Defense, which is expected to arrive on Capitol Hill in the coming weeks. This anticipation was underscored recently with Secretary of D...
June 17, 2009
Washington, DC. Since late 2008, media coverage of problems resulting from toxic drywall imported from China has increased rapidly, with more details unfolding.
This substandard drywall can be found in as many as 250,000 homes in 13 states. As homes sustain corrosion in electrical wiring, H...
June 17, 2009
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Herger (R-CA) released the following statement after the House passed legislation he wrote to provide more efficient management of federal lands in the 2nd Congressional District. H.R. 689 would allow the consolidation of federal lands in the Chappie-Shasta Off-High...
June 17, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC—In a White House ceremony attended by former first lady Nancy Reagan and U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties), President Obama signed Gallegly´s bill to honor President Ronald Reagan on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
The Ronald Reagan Cente...
June 17, 2009
Carving out a relevant, national voice is the preeminent challenge facing Republican leadership in the 111th Congress. Presently, the economy and domestic affairs are at the top of the American political agenda. Yet, the party of Abraham Lincoln needs to focus as well on reclaiming its place as the ...
June 17, 2009
Hijacking the agenda of the Summit of the Americas to proclaim and advance their radical visions was insufficient for the Western Hemisphere´s despotic leaders. These rogues and other apologists for the Cuban regime quickly engaged in an absurd competition to see who could best plead the case ...
June 17, 2009
WASHINGTON Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) issued the following statement this morning after the House Armed Services Committee´s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.
"The National Defense Authorization Act is the culmination of a bipartisan effort in the ...
June 16, 2009
Will make decision on Supreme Court nominee following hearings
Washington, DC. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said today he enjoyed a "pleasant, but brief" meeting this afternoon with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Following the 15-minute meeting, Crapo said he would wait to decide how ...
June 16, 2009
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee today approved the Kerry-Lugar Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 by a vote of 16-0. Following is Sen. Dick Lugar´s statement on the bill:
"I thank all Members of the Committee for working cooperatively on the manager´s package...
June 16, 2009
Washington—Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today issued the following statement in response to the disputed Iranian election:
"I am deeply disturbed by reports from Iran of widespread electoral fr...
June 16, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Cardoza introduced legislation that aims to assist the nation´s community banks, ensuring they continue to play a role in the nation´s economic recovery. Specifically, the legislation would establish the position of Assistant Secretary for Community Financi...
June 16, 2009
The Administration continues to say it wants a bipartisan consensus on health care, but two weeks after Republicans sent a letter to the President requesting a meeting, there´s still no response.
CLAIM: "[M]y hope is that working in a bipartisan fashion we are going to be able...
June 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives took another major step in the long-standing effort to officially recognize Virginia´s Indians, those who greeted the first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown. The House approved legislation (H.R. 1385), authored by Rep....
June 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Geological Survey´s (USGS) recent study that revealed clues as to the occurrence of intersex fish in the Potomac River. The study found exposure to estrogen in fish reduces productio...
June 16, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) questioned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the government´s role in healthcare during a House Appropriations Committee budget hearing for HHS. After welcoming Sebelius to the Committee as the departmen...
June 16, 2009
If sharks stop swimming, they sink and drown. President Obama seems to view his health-care program the same way. "If we don't get it done this year," he said in a recent pep talk to supporters, "we're not going to get it done." Well, why? If laying "a new foundation" for 18% of the economy really i...
June 15, 2009
Hastings Introduces Resolution
(Washington, DC) Tonight, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) introduced a resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding Black-Jewish relations and the June 10, 2009 shooting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. In part...
June 15, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced today that he intends to offer two amendments to the annual defense policy bill tomorrow that would seek to prevent the transfer or release of terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay prison into the United States. The first amendment wou...
June 15, 2009
On March 23, Upon Learning of Medical Mistakes at the Miami VA, Meek Called for an Inspector General´s Report on Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center
Washington, DC -- U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) released the following statement after learning that fewer than half of Veterans Affa...
June 15, 2009
The men and women who join U.S. intelligence organizations are patriots who choose to serve their country in silence and not for public recognition. Most labor for years in anonymity — some risking their lives in the process — without being able to discuss their work. Their achievements ...
June 15, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) today released an exclusive video of the June 3, 2009 ceremony unveiling President Ronald Reagan´s statue in the Capitol Rotunda. The video gives Californians of the 49th Congressional District an inside look at this historic event honoring one of...
June 14, 2009
"If we see money being misspent, we're going to put a stop to it, and we will call it out and we will publicize it." President Obama speaking at the White House on March 12, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. As President Obama announces his intention to accelerate implementation of stimulus spending, Ho...
June 14, 2009
South Carolina families were hit hard last summer when gas prices shot up to over $4 per gallon. For many, driving to and from work or the store is not a luxury but a necessary part of one's daily life. In particular, those living in rural areas of South Carolina are disproportionately affected by...
June 14, 2009
(Washington, DC) - Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) introduced a resolution encouraging the United States to participate in the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
"The upcoming 2010 Shanghai Expo brings together more than 170 countries, 70 million visitors, and thousands of displays of new and e...
June 14, 2009
It always seems as if one pressing issue dominates each Congress. After Sept. 11, 2001, it was national security. After the 2006 elections it was immigration. Last summer it was our nation´s energy policy.
This year, Congress is expected to fundamentally reform health care. If the Demo...
June 14, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Cardoza announced that the US Department of Agriculture has accepted the first bid for the recently activated Dairy Export Incentive Program.
The DEIP program was activated in May with the Congressman´s strong support and following several conversations w...
June 14, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt issued the following statement after Republicans introduced The American Energy Act, alternative energy legislation to the Democrats´ national energy tax:
"This legislation serves as a common-sense alternative to policies so...
June 14, 2009
When it come to Democrats and Health Care "no consensus yet."
House and Senate Democrats unveiled health care legislation drafts, but the reaction was decidedly mixed after House Democrats saw the bill written behind closed doors by liberal Democrat Chairmen Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), George Mille...
June 14, 2009
Last November´s election was in many ways a high point. An energized electorate became engaged in a long and hard-fought campaign, and a young Senator captured the imagination of the nation. Turnout was high.
Yet, on Election Day, an obscure incident in Philadelphia served instead as a low...
June 14, 2009
To Pay for Benefits Promised to America´s Heroes
Washington, D.C. Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee and Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), the Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, called on Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) to utilize the "reserve funds" he imbedded in the ...
June 13, 2009
New Legislation Would Block Feds from Determining Treatment Options Based on Cost
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Delegate Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), and Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA) announced the introduction of H.R. 2824, the Doctor-Patient Relationship a...
June 13, 2009
Says Bill Will Save Lives, Improve Public Health
Washington, DC Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay applauded the overwhelming bipartisan support for H.R. 1256, The Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act, which was approved in the U.S. House by a vote of 307 97. "This is a giant step forward f...
June 13, 2009
Funding will help create local jobs and revitalize communities
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Adam Schiff announced that the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena will receive millions of dollars in bonds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), which Congress passe...
June 13, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. Despite objective evidence that the President΄s Economic Stimulus is failing to meet expectations for creating and protecting jobs, President Obama and other officials continue to claim that the Stimulus has "created or saved" 150,000 jobs and will create or save an additional 600...
June 13, 2009
New Program to Help Northern Virginia Local Governments Finance Economic Development
Washington, D.C., June 12th Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, announced the award of more than $10 million in economic recovery assistance to Falls Church, Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City...
June 13, 2009
Cite benefits to rural communities and forests
Washington, DC. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are asking Senate appropriators to fully fund a program that would create new jobs and renewable energy products in the nation´s forests, while protecting watersheds and wildlife habitat...
June 13, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC After the Congressional Conferees removed a provision from the supplemental war spending bill that would prevent the public release of prisoner abuse photos, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his disappointment over the...
June 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. Following The International AIDS Society´s (IAS) announcement of its interest in convening the International AIDS Conference in 2012 (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) released this statement in support of having the world´s largest healt...
June 13, 2009
Legislation Would Restore Funds for Ground-based Midcourse Defense System
The Strategic Forces Subcommittee passed by voice vote the portion of the defense bill that includes a $1.2 billion cut from last year´s ballistic missile defense appropriated level. The Republicans on the Strategic F...
June 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. The U.S. Treasury Department announced $25 billion in bond authority available under the Recovery Zone Bonds program. Of that $25 billion, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) is pleased to announce that the Cities of Berkeley and Oakland and Alameda County will receive over $63 milli...
June 13, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. Ten House Ranking Republican Members are requesting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) give stakeholders more time to respond to the Proposed Endangerment Finding, which is the predicate for regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) through the ...
June 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) voted to protect our kids and families from the harmful effects of tobacco and tobacco products. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the advertising, mark...
June 11, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced legislation with Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to lessen the burdens for small commercial filming on public lands. Specifically, this legislation provides special...
June 11, 2009
Democrats Can´t Write a Bipartisan Bill on their Own
Washington, D.C. After meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office to discuss health care reform, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said he remains c...
June 11, 2009
Introduces the Repeal the Stimulus Act of 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., today introduced a bill that would save taxpayers a quarter of a trillion dollars. The Repeal the Stimulus Act of 2009 would rescind all unobligated discretionary funding in the Democrats' so-cal...
June 11, 2009
Says Democrat bill takes "Money Now, Reform Later" approach, undermines U.S. security interests and the security of Israel
(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on yesterday´s narrow defeat of an amendment t...
June 11, 2009
Washington, DC Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) released the following statement regarding the Digital Television (DTV) transition that will take place tomorrow, June 12, 2009.
"In less than 24 hours the Digital TV transition will go into affect," said Congresswoman Lee. "If you have an ...
June 11, 2009
Washington, D.C. Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee and Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), the Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, today called on Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) to utilize the "reserve funds" he imbedded in the House Budget Resolution to pay for key benefits that...
June 11, 2009
Pelosi on Holocaust Memorial Resolution: ΄We Commit to Continuing Our Work to Build a World Free of Hatred΄
Washington, D.C. Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this afternoon in strong support of a House resolution to condemn the violent attack at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum y...
June 11, 2009
Lawmaker says "We certainly don´t want a new nuclear power called al Qaeda"
Washington, DC Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA), Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence & Terrorism Risk Assessment, spoke on the floor today in support of HR 1886 The Pakistan Enduring Assi...
June 11, 2009
Washington, D.C. As the Obama Administration pursues a policy to "reset" America΄s relationship with Russia, Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA) yesterday introduced the bipartisan NATO First Act (H.R. 2797) to fortify America΄s transatlantic security links with our European al...
June 11, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) was today honored by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council) for her leadership and outstanding efforts on behalf of people with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. In a meeting on Capitol Hill this afte...
June 11, 2009
Legislation would fix doctor underpayments in 14 counties
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) on Thursday introduced legislation to fix a flaw in the application of a federal Medicare formula that results in lower Medicare reimbursements for doctors in more than a dozen California ...
June 12, 2009
Measure requires expanded examination of freedom of the press worldwide and creates grants to strengthen press freedom around the globe
WASHINGTON, DC— Late yesterday, the House passed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (H.R. 2410). ...
June 09, 2009
Enzi, Barrasso carry on late senator´s tradition
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., will mark their calendars for the "National Day of the American Cowboy" this July 25, 2009. The resolution, which was introduced on May 12 and passed the Senate unanim...
June 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Last night, a Senate Resolution sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and co-sponsored by 13 other Senators marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre passed in the Senate by Unanimous Consent. The Resolution commemorates those that stand for freedom in Chin...
June 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - Late last week, Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced H.R.2712, the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009. This bill comes on the heels of top Democrats in the House of Representatives threatening to eliminate language preventing the release of the detainee phot...
June 09, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., today led Republican efforts to rescue taxpayers from the Obama administration´s budget-busting stimulus spending. Tiahrt offered an amendment during a House Appropriations Committee meeting to rescind unobligated money in the Democrats' s...
June 09, 2009
Washington, DC Today, Representative Adam Schiff announced that the House Appropriations Committee approved funding for several local law enforcement initiatives to help improve local DNA testing capabilities, reduce the backlog of untested DNA rape kits in the Los Angeles area and upgrade communi...
June 09, 2009
McKeon Statement on Receiving Endorsement of GOP Steering Committee for Lead Republican Post on House Armed Services Committee
WASHINGTON D.C. Today, Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) issued the following statement after being recommended by the Steering Committee to replace Rep. John McHugh ...
June 09, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Cardoza joined President Obama and fellow fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats at the White House to praise the President for his commitment to return to PAYGO, a policy during the 1990s that is credited with reigning in reckless federal spending and r...
June 09, 2009
Good News for Consumers, Automakers and Local Dealers
Washington, DC Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri applauded the passage of H.R. 2751, the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act, commonly known as the "Cash for Clunkers" act. The bill passed the U.S. House today by a final vote o...
June 09, 2009
WASHINGTON Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) issued the following statement today after the Obama Administration announced they would be encouraging their Democrat colleagues in Congress to follow Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budgeting rules. President Obama made this announcement a day after his administra...
June 09, 2009
(Washington, DC) Members of the Congressional TriCaucus comprised of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus held a news conference today to introduce The Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2009, which outlines ...
June 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Today in conjunction with June being National Caribbean Heritage Month, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced legislation supporting the goals and ideals of National Caribbean American HIV/Awareness Day which is recognized every year on June 8th.
The resolution seeks to e...
June 09, 2009
Washington, D.C. Today in conjunction with June being National Caribbean Heritage Month, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced legislation supporting the goals and ideals of National Caribbean American HIV/Awareness Day which is recognized every year on June 8th.
The resolution seeks to e...
June 06, 2009
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, chaired the subcommittee΄s second hearing this year to examine a discussion draft of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA), legislation that Chairwoma...
June 06, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued the following statement expressing disappointment that the House of Representatives´ voted to a reject Republican proposal to H.R. 626 that would have allowed Federal employees to ta...
June 06, 2009
WASHINGTON Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) praised the House passage of H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, on a 258-154 vote. The bill responds to the needs of tens of thousands of working families in the federal government by providing 4 weeks of paid parental leave for the birth, a...
June 06, 2009
Reps. Cardoza and Costa Shoot Down Biological Opinion on The Central Valley Water Project And State Water Project
WASHINGTON, D.C. — National Marine Fisheries Service finalized a biological opinion on the Central Valley Water Project and State Water Project. The opinion stated fish populat...
June 06, 2009
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) joined every Republican Member of the tax writing Ways & Means Committee on a letter to the Chairman of the Committee urging a full review of H.R. 2454, the Democratic "cap and trade" bill, that has been called a big tax increase even by leading D...
June 06, 2009
Lawmaker decries absence of clear legal framework, cites Posse Comitatus concerns
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Chair of the Homeland Security Intelligence & Terrorism Risk Assessment Subcommittee, introduced two bills to shut down the National Applications Office (NAO). Housed in t...
June 06, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA), in a letter to former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, expressed serious concerns regarding the omission of a $35 million offer to purchase the Viper automotive line from the company´s bankrup...
June 06, 2009
TOPEKA—The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Kansas State Lodge has presented U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) with the "Kansas Legislator of the Year" award in recognition of his legislative efforts supporting law enforcement officers. Tiahrt was given the award Saturday in Manhattan,...
June 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. - Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly jobs report for May. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement in reaction to the labor market conditions for the African American community:
"T...
June 05, 2009
Getting health care reform right, more important than meeting arbitrary deadlines
Washington, D.C. After meeting with other Senate leaders to discuss health care reform, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., again called on Congress to take the time to reach a bipartisan agreement on health care refo...
June 05, 2009
Getting health care reform right, more important than meeting arbitrary deadlines
Washington, D.C. After meeting with other Senate leaders to discuss health care reform, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., again called on Congress to take the time to reach a bipartisan agreement on health care refo...
June 05, 2009
Five years ago today, Ronald Reagan´s long goodbye came to an end. The former president who lifted the disheartened American people to their feet and brought the Soviet Union to its knees exited the darkness of a decade-long fight with Alzheimer´s in a perfect picture show ending with...
June 05, 2009
Losing a job is like taking a punch to the gut. And too many of our friends and neighbors -- hard-working and responsible people -- have recently lost jobs through no fault of their own. The May Labor Report indicated that another 345,000 jobs were lost last month and the nationwide unemployment r...
June 05, 2009
Insufficient forces will cause higher casualties
(Washington D.C.)— U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) requested that the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates immediately reevaluate his war planning for Afghanistan. Coffman, a U.S. Marine Corps Iraq War veteran, spent last week in Iraq a...
June 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. This month, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) joins the nation in celebrating Caribbean-American Heritage Month.
Congresswoman Lee has led the effort to establish June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month. In June 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted H. Con. Re...
June 03, 2009
Twin Falls, Nampa-Caldwell offices get hometown leadership
Washington, DC. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo announces new leadership in his Idaho offices in Twin Falls and Nampa-Caldwell. The changes took effect June 1.
AJ Church is Crapo´s new Regional Director in the South-Central Offi...
June 03, 2009
Warns Oklahoma Jobs at Stake, Calls for Immediate Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, called for swift action by the administration and Congress to address a coming shortfall to the Federal Highway Trus...
June 02, 2009
President rescinds budget cuts to Pacific Coastal Recovery Fund
Washington, DC. Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have successfully convinced the Obama Administration to restore $50 million in funding to restore Northwest salmon. The President and his staff responded to requests from Cra...
June 02, 2009
(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) made the following statement on the brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller:
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms, the cold-blooded murder of Dr. Tiller. To think that even a house of worship is not immune from brutal, ...
June 02, 2009
(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) urged Florida residents to plan ahead for the 2009 Hurricane Season, which begins June 1 and runs through the end of November.
"It only takes one storm to wipe out a state. Therefore, we must be prepared early," said Hast...
June 02, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) announced today that he and seven Members of the House Armed Services Committee have filed H.Res. 477, a resolution of inquiry to direct the Secretary of Defense to produce an annual shipbuilding plan as required by law.
The legislation ...
June 02, 2009
In yet another desperate attempt to provide political cover for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, several Democratic senators have taken to the airwaves in recent days to distort my response to a tragic incident that led to the deaths of two innocent American missionaries, including a 7-month-old girl.
...
May 31, 2009
Shchuch΄ye, Russia -- U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar said that the Nunn-Lugar Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility here is a testament to U.S.-Russian "cooperation and our shared dedication to addressing the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction."
More than a decade in the making, the facility...
May 31, 2009
(Washington, DC) Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Chairman of the Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee, which oversees the technical aspects of cybersecurity, issued the following statement after the release of President Barack Obama´s 60-day "Cyberspace Policy Review...
May 31, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Liliana Nunez, a junior at the Webber Institute of Stockton, has been named as the winner of the 18th Congressional District´s Annual Art Competition.
Her acrylic painting, titled "Purple Mist," depicts Stockton´s famed waterfront and recreation area. It was sele...
PELOSI -- Bipartisan Delegation Meet with Top Officials in Hong Kong, Human and Labor Rights Leaders
May 31, 2009
Hong Kong Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation traveled from Beijing to Hong Kong, where they met with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, and human and labor rights activists.
The delegation met with Hong Kong Chief Executi...
May 31, 2009
SHORELINE, WA U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) applauded a new directive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that protects vulnerable habitats in national forests while permanent protections for roadless areas are developed.
On March 18, 2009, Inslee led a bi-partisan letter to Secretary Vils...
May 31, 2009
(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, raised new concerns regarding the authority for U.S. officials to encourage Cuba´s reinstatement into the Organization of American States (OAS).
Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"Th...
May 31, 2009
WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on a U.S. proposal to work towards Cuba´s reinstatement into the Organization of American States (OAS).
Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"Sadly, the U.S. decision to help j...
May 31, 2009
Addition to Boost Local Economy
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) and Lieutenant General Jack. C. Stultz, Chief, U.S. Army Reserve, announced the Army Reserve will soon begin building up a new command and ...
May 31, 2009
Beijing, China Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation met with the three top leaders of the Chinese government: President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and Wu Bangguo, the Chairman of the National People's Congress.
In separate meetings with each leader, the delegatio...
May 27, 2009
San Diego, Calif. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, and Alan Bersin, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs, today met with local, state and federa...
May 22, 2009
Crapo co-sponsors legislation to increase funding share
Washington, DC—Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) are taking steps to improve how money is distributed to rural transit systems across the country. The Senators have introduced the R...
May 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., praised the President´s signing of a bill that allows law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons on to National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public lands.
...
May 22, 2009
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., encourages all Americans to take the opportunity to honor the men and women who gave their lives in the fight for freedom and those who continue to serve and protect the country this Memorial Day, May 25.
"This day is important for us to ref...
May 22, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar joined 16 other Republican and Democratic Senators on a bill introduced the other day easing U.S. trade restrictions to Cuba, the Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2009, S. 1089. The bill would help U.S. farmers and ranchers export their product...
May 23, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supported Secretary of State Hillary Clinton´s comments on Wednesday that Cuba should not be allowed to rejoin the Organization of American States (OAS) until it makes political reforms, releases political pris...
May 23, 2009
Inhofe Continues Push to Keep Detainees off American Soil
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, commented on the speech given by President Obama in which the President reasserted his commitment to closing the detention facili...
May 20, 2009
Washington, DC President Barack Obama today praised Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) for her role in shaping and passing the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (S. 896), legislation that will prevent many home foreclosures and strengthen the housing market.
Congresswoman Waters was one of ...
May 20, 2009
Washington, D.C. - Today President Barack Obama signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. The Act significantly expands protections for whistleblowers who expose fraud in federal contracting.
This new law fixes problems in the False Claims Act, extends whistleblower protections to...
May 18, 2009
WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, at a hearing questioned Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew on U.S. sponsorship of an event at the Buenos Aires 35th International Book Fair that explored the significance of the image of C...
May 19, 2009
WASHINGTON - In a keynote address at an American Enterprise Institute conference on how the tax code affects low-income taxpayers, Rep. Tom Petri outlined his work on the disincentives faced by low-income individuals and families as they try to make their way into the middle class. He further disc...
May 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Dennis Cardoza announced that Rayne Pegg, of California, has been appointed to the USDA as Administrator of Agricultural Marketing Service. She is currently a deputy secretary of Legislation and Policy for the California Secretary of Food and Agriculture.
"Rayne&...
May 20, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commended Secretary of State Hillary Clinton΄s commitment today on two key international energy security initiatives: naming of an International Energy Coordinator and strong support of the Nabucco pipeline.
"U.S...
May 20, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar praised the cooperation between the United States and Kazakhstan that has led to the removal of more than 160 pounds of bomb-grade nuclear material from Kazakhstan through the National Nuclear Security Administration´s Global Threat Reduction Initiative.
"In 2007, fo...
May 20, 2009
Crapo says Idaho agriculture could reap benefits
Washington, DC Idaho agriculture could benefit from better trade opportunities with Cuba under legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and a large bipartisan group of co-sponsors in the Senate. Crapo, a member of the Senate Finance Co...
May 20, 2009
Crapo-Johnson bill defers taxes on mutual fund investments
Washington, DC. People investing for retirement through the use of mutual funds should not pay capital gains taxes until those shares are sold, according to Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota). To keep retire...
May 20, 2009
Encourages Colleagues to Remain Vigilant in Preventing Detainee Transfers to U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on his Democrat and Republican colleagues in the Senate to stand by their commitment to pre...
May 20, 2009
Senators to help ranchers stay competitive; New bill would stop manipulative markets
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced a bill today that would stop years of unfair and manipulative meat packer pr...
May 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs and Senators Brown (D-OH), Brownback (R-KS) and ...
May 19, 2009
Credit card legislation approved by Senate includes measures to protect college students, ensure safety at ATMs ; Senator Feinstein disappointed that legislation includes provision to allow loaded firearms in national parks
Washington, DC The U.S. Senate today approved legislation that strength...
May 19, 2009
Introduces Amendment During War Supplemental to Prevent Terrorist Transfers to U.S. Soil
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today introduced an amendment to the war supplemental to prohibit the use of funds to transfer det...
May 19, 2009
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) hailed the passage by both the House and Senate today of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (S. 896), legislation that she believes will help American families and communities weather the current housing and financial crises.
Congresswoma...
May 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt today offered an amendment in the House Energy and Commerce Committee to sunset the Democrats´ energy legislation when residential electric rates increase by more than 10 percent.
"The bill the Committee is debating can best be describe...
May 19, 2009
Jim's Journal:
Senate to Take Up Emergency War Spending Bill
The Senate takes up a $91 billion emergency war spending bill on Tuesday that includes partial funding for the shuttering of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, terror detainee facility.
The issue will be the central fight on the bill,...
House Approves Skelton-McHugh Bill Reforming the Department of Defense΄s Weapons Acquisition Process
May 18, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), Ranking Member John M. McHugh (R-NY), Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) praised the U.S. House of Representatives΄ passage of H.R. 2101, the Weapons Acquisition System reform Through Enhancing Technical K...
May 19, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) issued the following statement in response to the 2009 report of the Board of Trustees of the Medicare Trust Fund:
"The news from the Medicare Trustees earlier today underscores the urgent need for health reform. Wh...
May 19, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) took part in a community forum regarding the inability to implement balanced forest management and its resulting impacts on our rural forested communities. Held at the Plumas County Fairgrounds, the discussion focused largely on the recent closure o...
May 18, 2009
(Washington, DC) - Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) made the following statement on the passage of H.R. 2187, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act of 2009. H.R. 2187 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 275 to 155:
"Today, we are thinking ΄gree...
May 18, 2009
Leadership requires vision. Implementing a vision requires strategy. Effective strategies require well-articulated tactics. Executives in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors are expected to exercise sound leadership principles when making important decisions on behalf of stakeholders. There is ...
May 18, 2009
Governor AWOL in Understanding Army Needs
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) issued a statement today in response to Governor Bill Ritter´s announcement, last Saturday, to the Pueblo Chieftain that he intends to sign House Bill 1317 into law. House Bill 1317 w...
May 18, 2009
Department may be paying disability benefits to non-POWs
WASHINGTON, D.C. Two U.S. Representatives, who are both combat veterans, sent a joint letter today to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki asking him to investigate allegations of fraudulent Prisoner-Of-War (POW) status claims that...
May 18, 2009
Bill honors Japanese-American World War II veterans
WASHINGTON, DC The House passed Rep. Adam Schiff´s (D-CA) legislation that will pay tribute to the Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, commonly known as the "Go For Broke" regiments. The legislat...
May 18, 2009
Washington, D.C.-Congressman Raϊl M. Grijalva released the following statement on H.R. 2346, FY 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Bill:
"For the past several weeks, I, along with other Members of the Progressive Caucus, have held a series of conversations on the security situation in Afgha...
May 18, 2009
Bill reflects a change from failed Bush strategies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the West Bank
Washington, DC Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) delivered the following statement on the House floor during rule debate on the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009:
I am keenly aware of the econo...
May 18, 2009
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, sent letters to the heads of three major pharmaceutical companies calling on them to moderate advertising for erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs such as Viagra and Cialis.
The letters, addressed to the President and CEOs of Pfizer, ...
May 18, 2009
May 17-23 Brings National Small Business Week
Washington, D.C. As the U.S. Small Business Administration honors the men and women behind our nation´s small businesses for National Small Business Week, Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., took time to recognize the small businesses that keep Wyoming...
May 17, 2009
Funding would be administered by USAID instead of the UN
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) recently offered an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2346, that would remove $119 million in humanitarian aid for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip from under United N...
May 17, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Cardoza announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs has selected San Joaquin County as the preferred location to build a new, multi-specialty Ambulatory Care Center.
"Throughout the selection process I supported both San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County...
May 16, 2009
SHORELINE, WA U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee announced that $20 million dollars of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded to Bellevue company Ramgen Power Systems for the expanded development of a carbon dioxide compression project, also known as "carbon capture and storage" (CCS) techno...
May 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. John M. McHugh (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement regarding President Obama´s decision to use military commissions to try terror suspects:
"I welcome the President´s decision today to prosecu...
May 16, 2009
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing this week entitled, "AIG: Where is the Taxpayer´s Money Going?" In the course of the Committee´s investigation of the bailout of AIG, we have learned that billions of dollars in taxpayer money has been filtered through AIG t...
May 16, 2009
WASHINGTON Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) issued the following statement after President Obama yesterday told a town hall audience in New Mexico that there were dangers to borrowing and spending too much.
President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending "unsustainable," warned of sk...
Concern Over Courtyard Gardens' Objectionable Handling of the Jupiter Care Center Ownership Transfer
May 16, 2009
Reps. Hastings and Wexler Express Concern Over Courtyard Gardens' Objectionable Handling of the Jupiter Care Center Ownership Transfer: Courtyard Gardens to Retain Existing Workforce
(Washington, DC)- Representatives Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) and Robert Wexler (D-Delray) sent the follo...
May 16, 2009
Requests CIA Pre-Briefing Notes, E-mails Also be Made Publicly Available
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, welcomed the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who revealed her backing for the public release of the...
May 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. ---This past week, an amendment to allow guns in national parks and wildlife refuges was attached to the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights in the U.S. Senate, reversing a restriction that has been in place since the Reagan presidency. The bill is expected to come back for a vote be...
May 15, 2009
Bipartisan Crane Conservation Act passes committee
Washington, D.C. Some of the most endangered birds in the world, including whooping cranes, will get needed assistance under legislation approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a memb...
May 15, 2009
Crapo assists Army decision to upgrade attack helicopters, training
Washington, DC. Following months of consultations involving Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Idaho Army National Guard personnel, and Congressional and Guard representatives from other states, the U.S. Army has agreed on an upgrade of...
May 15, 2009
Establishes new money for water and wastewater improvements
Washington, DC Legislation to reauthorize critical new assistance for local water and wastewater improvements won approval before a Senate committee. As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Idaho Senato...
May 15, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, welcomed Committee passage of a bill he cosponsored, S. 1005, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act. The bill passed out of Committee by a vote of 17 to 2.
"The overwhel...
May 15, 2009
Now that the cold, grey days of winter are finally behind us, George and I take every opportunity we can to enjoy the outdoors. We can΄t wait to get outside into the sunshine to enjoy the natural beauty of Ohio and breathe in the fresh air. Our passion for living an active, healthy lifestyle also me...
May 15, 2009
Bill would provide steady and reliable workforce for farmers
Washington, DC U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) re-introduced legislation to provide much-needed relief to the nation΄s ongoing agriculture labor shortage.
The Agricultural Job Opportunities and Benefits Act (AgJOBS) woul...
May 15, 2009
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded an agreement last week between European Union member states, Turkey and Azerbaijan to move forward on the Nabucco Pipeline project.
"By forging a Nabucco agreement in Prague, leaders in Turkey, Azerbaij...
May 15, 2009
Crapo says 1,200 e-mails he´s received shows patience wearing thin
Washington, DC Idahoans, 1,200 strong, have made their point: the nation needs to act now to use balance and bipartisanship in crafting a new energy policy of improved conservation and energy resources, according to Idaho...
May 15, 2009
Guns in parks move one step closer to reality
Washington, D.C. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both (R-Wyo.), cheered the Senate passage of an amendment which allows law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons on to National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publi...
May 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the National Language Act of 2009, legislation that calls on the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language. It clarifies that there is no entitlement to receive federal documents and service...
May 12, 2009
Crapo says bipartisan bill improves access to critical care
Washington, DC. Legislation introduced today in the U.S. Senate would increase access to critical care in intensive care units (ICUs) throughout the country. The Patient-Focused Critical Care Enhancement Act, sponsored by Senators Mik...
May 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Second Ranking Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a co-sponsor of the Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 introduced today by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). The legislation attempts to reduce delays in the current absentee v...
May 12, 2009
Senate honors Thomas´s legacy with "National Day of the American Cowboy" resolution
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., today introduced a resolution honoring the late Senator Craig Thomas and cowboys all over the nation. The resolution designates Satu...
May 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, commented on the announcement by Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates asking for the resignation of the top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan. To replace General McKier...
May 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced an amendment (S.Amdt.1044) to the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act 2009 (S.454), which he has co-sponsored. His amendment was unanimously accepted by the Senate. Senator In...
May 12, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke calling for the finalizing o...
May 12, 2009
Senate passes bill to shore up FDIC
Washington, D.C. Following several days of debate, the U.S. senate passed a bill that will help community banks by extending a higher Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) limit, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
The Senate pass...
May 12, 2009
Will establish national commission and force long-overdue Congressional action
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) introduced landmark legislation aimed at comprehensive reform of our nation´s tax and entitlement systems. The Securing Ame...
May 10, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) this week introduced legislation that will allow communities to make better use of lands that are part of military base closures.
At the heart of the legislation is the no-cost Economic Development Conveyance, or no-cost EDC. This tool, which tr...
May 10, 2009
Clay Says Ending Predatory Lending is Key to Restoring Stability in Housing Market
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri praised House passage of H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform & Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which was approved by a vote of 300 114. Congressman Clay, who serves ...
May 10, 2009
Ranking Member Crapo co-sponsors water infrastructure legislation
WASHINGTON, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee´s Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, has joined with Subcommittee Chairman Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), full ...
May 10, 2009
"I believe our bipartisan agreement represents the best opportunity in two decades to get a SRF bill signed into law."
WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, together with Senators Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chai...
May 11, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed dismay that President Obama continues to hail the spending ´cuts´ in his budget, while the budge...
May 11, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed disappointment in the significant defense cuts in President Obama´s budget. The Appendix to his FY2010 budget shows President Obama´s total spending proposals on a lin...
May 11, 2009
Enzi: Cap and tax is similar to Ponzi scheme - there are no winners
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., told a hearing room of his colleagues that the complex implementation of a cap and tax scheme to reduce carbon emissions resembles a Ponzi scheme and needs significant examinatio...
May 11, 2009
Washington, D.C. - The Wyoming delegation, Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., reiterated their commitment to ensure that a proposal from President Obama to eliminate all future payments to certified states from the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund does...
May 11, 2009
Delegation receives notice from Postmaster General
Washington, DC Mail delivery will continue for residents of Idaho΄s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, announced Idaho΄s Congressional Delegation. U.S. Postmaster General John Potter, in separate letters to Senators Mike Crapo and Jim...
May 11, 2009
Support bill to stop gun carry inconsistencies in national parks
Washington, D.C. U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., are pushing to protect second amendment rights in every corner of the nation, including a corner of Wyoming Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
...
May 07, 2009
Unprecedented interagency collaboration will help save energy cost, lower carbon footprint
WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu announced an important step forward in the partnership ...
May 07, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts: Tara O'Toole, Under Secretary for Science & Technology, Department of Homeland Security and Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, D...
May 07, 2009
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama would carry heaviest burden
WASHINGTON. D.C. An analysis of the economic impact of the Waxman/Markey cap-and-trade bill by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Republican staff has fo...
May 07, 2009
The Army Experience Center (AEC) is an experiment, the first of its kind. The average military recruiting facility is about 800-1200 square feet and it's pretty much an open office with some desks. The Army Experience Center is a 14,000 square foot mini-version of Disney world, with simulation rooms...
May 06, 2009
Announces expansion of CPSC leadership; Agency will receive 71 percent more funding than in FY2007
WASHINGTON President Obama announced his intent to nominate Inez Moore Tenenbaum as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Robert S. Adler as a new Commissioner of the Consu...
May 06, 2009
Departments of Agriculture and Energy, Environmental Protection Agency to Lead Efforts
Announcement Includes Biofuels Interagency Working Group, Recovery Act Funds for Biofuels Research and Commercialization, and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Renewable Fuel Standard
WASHINGTON Presi...
May 06, 2009
WASHINGTON The White House yesterday announced that thirty outstanding men and women from across the country have been selected as National Finalists for the White House Fellows Program the nation´s most prestigious program for leadership and public service. The National Finalists represen...
May 06, 2009
White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation to Coordinate Efforts
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama, in his FY2010 budget, will ask Congress to provide $50 million in seed capital for the Social Innovation Fund to identify the most promising, results-oriented non-profit pr...
May 05, 2009
Senator, staff note Dia del Nino, Cinco de Mayo events
Washington, DC Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has co-sponsored a Senate resolution noting the importance children play in promoting Hispanic culture. Crapo´s actions come during a week of events honoring Latino history and cultur...
May 05, 2009
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed S. 345, the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2009 originally introduced by U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), the Committee´s ranking Republican, and Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA). The bill would furth...
May 05, 2009
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee today unanimously passed S.838, U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar´s bill establishing "United States Science Envoys." The bill would highlight our nation´s commitment to scientific research and education, as well as our willingness to collaborate with other...
May 05, 2009
Washington, D.C. Today U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said efforts to expand health care coverage must be coupled with competition to bring down health care costs.
Enzi made the comments at today´s Senate Finance Committee roundtable on, "Expanding Health Care Coverage".
"Unless we ha...
May 05, 2009
Charges 5 Cents Per Bag to Protect Environment by Encouraging Reusable Bag Use
Washington, D.C., Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, introduced Earth-friendly legislation that would place a 5 cent fee on "single use" bags from grocery stores and other retail outlets in orde...
May 05, 2009
Says decision to disclose program´s details but not its successes tells incomplete story
WASHINGTON DC --- Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) called on President Obama to declassify information detailing how the CIA Interrogation Program developed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist a...
May 05, 2009
She Commends FTC for Disabling Scam Artist´s Deceptive Web Site
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) commended the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for taking action on her call to disable a deceptive web site purporting to provide loan modifications under the government&acut...
May 05, 2009
While the chattering classes deplore increasing partisan rancor in Washington and around the nation, great strides are being made by political leaders of both parties on issues of great significance to our nation — and the international community.
On a recent fact-finding trip to Afgha...
May 05, 2009
Obama should release the memo on the attacks prevented.
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair got it right last week when he noted how easy it is to condemn the enhanced interrogation program "on a bright sunny day in April 2009." Reactions to this former CIA program, which was used agai...
May 05, 2009
(Washington, DC) Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) introduced the National Commission on Employment and Economic Security Act of 2009. The legislation will establish a national commission to study employment and economic insecurity in our country and its affect on Americans´ mental h...
May 05, 2009
Eight Congressional Democrats from Florida Send Letter to State Senator Jeff Atwater and Speaker Larry Cretul
(Washington, DC) Just days after news that Florida´s unemployment rate has surged to a 30-year high, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) sent a letter to State Senator Jeff Atwater and...
May 05, 2009
Legislation with benefits for water resources in the San Joaquin Valley passed the House of Representatives today, Congressman Cardoza announced.
"As I have said many times before, water is among our most valuable resources in the San Joaquin Valley. It is imperative that we do all we can...
May 05, 2009
Calls for Solutions to Rein in Massive Debt
Washington, D.C. Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) issued the following statement as ´Debt Day´ approaches. Herger has joined with other members of Congress in calling for a spending freeze and a responsible budget that addresses our mounti...
May 05, 2009
WASHINGTON. D.C. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) applauded the Senate´s passage of legislation to create a panel to examine the financial crisis and encouraged Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats to adopt legislation he first introduced la...
May 05, 2009
Congressional Leadership Medal was awarded to Reps. Stark and Camp by the American Association of Kidney Patients
WASHINGTON- Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) jointly received the Congressional Leadership Medal from the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) for their wo...
May 05, 2009
Measure enables hiring of forensic analysts to help catch rapists, murderers, and violent felons.
WASHINGTON, DC The House passed an amendment authored by Rep. Adam Schiff, which will increase the number of forensic analysts and laboratory personnel working to catch rapists, murderers and othe...
May 05, 2009
Washington, DC- In wake of the "swine flu" outbreak, this past February, $900 million for pandemic influenza preparedness was stripped from the American Recovery and Reinvestment.
Ridiculed by Karl Rove and congressional Republicans, the House bill included funds for biomedical advanced research ...
May 05, 2009
WASHINGTON Senate and House negotiators reached agreement on a budget plan for fiscal year 2010 that embraces the priorities of the President´s budget. Like the House and Senate budget resolutions passed earlier this month, the conference agreement puts the budget back on a fiscally sustaina...
May 05, 2009
Washington, D.C., Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, reintroduced legislation that would create a "U.S. Public Service Academy" modeled after the current military service academies at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs.
"We have world class military service academies, that,...
May 05, 2009
Washington, D.C., Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, announced that over $17 million in stimulus funding has been released for maintenance and repair projects at Ft. Myer in Arlington County, Virginia and Ft. Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia.
"The American Recovery and Reinvestmen...
May 05, 2009
WILMINGTON, DE Vice President Joe Biden, United States Senators Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman, Representative Mike Castle, Gov. Jack Markell, City of Wilmington Mayor Jim Baker and representatives from DelDOT, Amtrak and the Federal Transportation Administration officially kicked off the restoratio...
May 05, 2009
Announces expansion of CPSC leadership; Agency will receive 71 percent more funding than in FY2007
WASHINGTON President Obama announced his intent to nominate Inez Moore Tenenbaum as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Robert S. Adler as a new Commissioner of the Consu...
May 05, 2009
Washington, DC Those who own and sell firearms will see increased flexibility from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) under bipartisan legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). Leahy is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary C...
May 03, 2009
Scott Murphy Wins New York's 20th Congressional District.
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine praised Democrat Scott Murphy's victory over Republican Jim Tedisco in the special election for New York's 20th Congressional District, calling his win in a heavily Republican leaning district a demonstration of bro...
May 01, 2009
Grassroots Movement Behind Ability of Parents to Raise Their Children as They See Fit
WASHINGTON, D.C. A Constitutional Amendment to protect the parent-child relationship introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, has reached 80 co-sponsors in the House.
"The grassroots movement behin...
May 01, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC Yesterday evening, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) reintroduced a bill to create a Clean Energy Deployment Administration to finance the development and deployment of cutting-edge renewable energy technologies.
The bi-partisan "21st Century Energy Technology Deployment Act" ...
May 01, 2009
Congressman Accountability: Rep. Issa can secure your car--and your wallet.
Before California Rep. Darrell Issa came to Congress, he founded a company called Directed Electronics, whose most well-known product was the Viper car alarm system. Turns out securing automobiles may be the least of Issa...
May 01, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) issued the following statement after voting against the FY2010 budget conference report passed by Democrats on a vote of 233-193.
"Today we again urged Congress to adopt a fiscally-conservative budget to keep the federal government from co...
May 01, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) voted to protect the First Amendment guarantee of free speech, religious freedom, and states´ rights by voting against H.R. 1913, a bill that would introduce discrimination against victims of certain crimes based on a subjective list of...
May 01, 2009
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives gave its final approval to a budget conference agreement for fiscal year 2010 that embraces the priorities of the President´s budget. The plan puts the budget back on a fiscally sustainable path while making strategic investments to rebuild the e...
May 01, 2009
Urges Iranian Officials to Respond to Administration Letter Requesting Information about Levinson
(Washington, DC) The House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a resolution, H. Con. 36, introduced by Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), and Congresswom...
May 01, 2009
Issuers Must Provide Total Time and Cost of Debt
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, joined with Representative David Price (D-NC) to successfully offer an amendment to the "Credit Cardholders´ Bill of Rights Act" (H.R. 627). The amendment requires that credit card c...
May 01, 2009
Legislation will protect civilian jobs for Guardsmen on active duty
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) recently introduced legislation that will ensure reemployment protections for National Guardsmen, regardless of whether they are assigned to a homeland security mission or ...
May 01, 2009
Washington, DC Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) reiterated her call for credit card companies to end unfair practices that hurt American consumers as the House of Representatives passed the Credit Cardholders΄ Bill of Rights (H.R. 627). Congresswoman Waters was an original co-sponsor of the leg...
May 01, 2009
Moran Congratulates National Champ William Farley
Washington, D.C. Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Democrat, issued the following statement congratulating Arlington resident and Washington-Lee High School student William Farley on winning the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, a poetr...
May 01, 2009
Act Broadens Federal Protection for Crimes Based on Gender, Sexual Orientation or Disability
WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri, hailed the passage of expanded Federal Hate Crimes legislation in the U.S. House. H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, ...
May 01, 2009
Legislation Will Provide Relief to Local County Budgets and Defend our Nation΄s Criminal Justice System
(Washington, DC) Representatives Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar), Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), and Rush Holt (D-New Jersey) introduced the Restoring the Partnership for County Health Care...
May 01, 2009
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek Urges Governor Charlie Crist to Call Legislature into Special Session if $444 Million in Recovery Dollars for Unemployment Insurance is Left on the Table During Current Legislative Session
WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) today wrote Governor Charlie C...
May 01, 2009
Pushes for Faster Implementation of Consumer Protections by Banks, Credit Card Companies during Colloquy
Washington, D.C. Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) voted in support of the Credit Cardholder´s Bill of Rights. During a discussion on the House Floor, Congresswoman Lee encourage...