| Friday, 10 December 2010 13:59 |
The following members are those newly selected by the Republican Steering Committee to join the Appropriations, Ways & Means, Financial Services, and Energy & Commerce committees. (Listed alphabetically) Committee on Appropriations Steve Austria, OH Charlie Dent, PA Mario Diaz-Balart, FL Jeff Flake, AZ Tom Graves, GA Cynthia Lummis, WY Alan Nunnelee, MS Steve Womack, AR Kevin Yoder, KS Committee on Ways & Means Rick Berg, ND Diane Black, TN Vern Buchanan, FL Jim Gerlach, PA Lynn Jenkins, KS Chris Lee, NY Erik Paulsen, MN Tom Price, GA Aaron Schock, IL Adrian Smith, NE Financial Services Committee Quico Canseco, TX Bob Dold, IL Sean Duffy, WI Michael Fitzpatrick, PA Michael Grimm, NY Nan Hayworth, NY Bill Huizenga, MI Robert Hurt, VA Blaine Luektemeyer, MO Stevan Pearce, NM Steve Stivers, OH Lynn Westmoreland, GA Committee on Energy & Commerce Charlie Bass, NH Brian Bilbray, CA Bill Cassidy, LA Cory Gardner, CO Morgan Griffith, VA Brett Guthrie, KY Gregg Harper, MS Adam Kinzinger, IL David McKinley, WV Cathy McMorris Rodgers, WA Pete Olson, TX Mike Pompeo, KS Greg Walden, OR (returning) |
Friday, December 10, 2010
New Appointments 2012 Congress
Collins Press Conference Statement on DADT
In a joint press conference with Senator Lieberman, Senator Collins discusses the progression of talks with Senator Reid, the early cloture vote called, and the liklihood of repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Speaker Pelosis Last Big
House Democrats’ practical transition to minority status precedes the formal transfer of power on January 5th. Speaker Pelosi has one big decision to make before she becomes Minority Leader: Will she bring up a Senate-passed tax bill for an up-or-down House vote?
On Thursday the tax deal was released in legislative form, surprisingly labeled the Reid/McConnell amendment. You don’t see that every day on a big economic issue. Senate Republican Whip Kyl supports it, and in the Senate we therefore have an Obama-Reid-McConnell-Kyl alliance. That’s unbeatable and will clearly get the 60 votes needed for cloture next Monday at 3 PM EST.
- Bill text
- Joint Tax Committee score. (Note that this excludes the unemployment insurance, which should have a roughly $56 billion cost.)
- Staff summaries: Democratic staff (Senate Finance?), Republican Camp-Grassley memo
Assuming the Senate invokes cloture Monday afternoon, I would expect the bill to pass no later than Tuesday. It then crosses the rotunda to the House, where Speaker Pelosi has a decision to make. She has unilateral authority to decide which bills come to the floor of the House. Technically 218 House members could overrule that authority using a discharge petition, but that takes at least a month, less time than is left in this Congress.
Yesterday the House Democratic Caucus held a non-binding vote in which they rejected the tax deal. Speaker Pelosi issued a carefully worded statement after the meeting which reads, in part:
In the Caucus today, House Democrats supported a resolution to reject the Senate Republican tax provisions as currently written. We will continue discussions with the President and our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the days ahead to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote.
While it’s amusing to see her describe the Obama-Reid-McConnell bill as “the Senate Republican tax provisions as currently written,” the key language is “We will continue discussions … to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote.”
She did not say “The bill in its current form must be changed before it comes to the House floor to a vote,” nor “I will not bring this bill to the House floor for a vote in its current form.” You should be forgiven for thinking her statement meant that, but she could have said that if she had wanted to tie herself to the mast. She did not.
In legislative parlance the Speaker is about to be jammed by the Senate. Her options are (a) bring a bill to the floor that her caucus hates and watch it pass and become law; or (b) take sole responsibility for stopping the bill, almost certainly until next year.
Jamming is when you use the legislative process, often at the end of a session, to limit someone else to a yes-or-no decision in which yes is painful and no is even worse because you get blamed for killing something popular. The Speaker and House Democrats want to escape from this binary choice, to gain leverage to change the bill to their liking. Their options for generating that leverage are:
- House Democrats defeat the Senate-passed bill;
- House Democrats amend it and send it back to the Senate;
- or the Speaker refuses to bring it up for a vote.
I don’t think House Democrats could defeat this bill on a straight up-or-down vote. I expect a large number of Senate Democrats will vote aye, influenced by the President, Leader Reid, and extender tax goodies contained within the bill. A big Senate Democratic vote count makes it harder for a House Democrat to vote no. Almost all House Republicans will support it. While the average voter among House Democrats opposes this bill (as we saw from yesterday’s Caucus vote), I’m fairly certain the marginal House Democrat will be an aye.
The Speaker and House Democrats would almost certainly prefer to amend the bill and send it back to the Senate. This is in their power to do (if they can unify), but I expect that doing so would face solid Senate opposition and therefore fail. It would go something like this:
Speaker Pelosi & House Democrats to Senator Reid: We’re going to improve this bill and send it back to the Senate.Senator Reid to Speaker Pelosi: I like your improvements. Let me check with Senate Republicans.Senator McConnell to Senator Reid: No. We have a deal with the President and you and we’re not changing it.Senator Reid to Speaker Pelosi: McConnell said no. My hands are tied. I made an agreement with him that I can’t break. Even if I could, there’s no way I can get a modified bill through the Senate before we adjourn. McConnell will filibuster it and it will die in the Senate. I can’t accept that.Speaker Pelosi & House Democrats to Team Obama: Mr. President, will you help pressure Senator Reid?Team Obama to Speaker Pelosi: We’d love to help you, really we would.Can’t. Senator Reid is right, we can’t overcome a Republican filibuster. If we had more time there might be a way to overcome that, but we must get this done before the end of the year. Speaker Pelosi & House Democrats: $&^$@ #(@*&^!
This means that, if Speaker Pelosi and/or the majority of her caucus want to kill this bill, she’ll have to do it by refusing to bring it to the House floor. That’s an impossible position for her.
If she brings the Senate-passed bill to the floor for a vote, in her last major legislative effort as Speaker before transitioning to minority status, her caucus will split on (what they perceive as) a massive legislative defeat on a top-tier issue. When you’re a legislative party leader, your caucus splitting is very, very bad. On an issues like this it’s a disaster.
If she still refuses to bring the Senate-passed bill to the House floor, then Congress will adjourn for the year and she (not House Democrats, but she, Nancy Pelosi) will be solely responsible for rejecting the broadly bipartisan bill. She will be responsible for tax increases on all income-taxpaying Americans beginning January 1, in opposition to a bill supported by the President and Congressional Republicans.
This is what it means to be jammed. We’ll see what she does.
(photo credit: Dennis Wilkinson)
Boehner Makes First Round of Staff Announcements for New Speaker’s Office
Loper to Serve as Policy Director; Sommers, Schnittger to Serve as Deputy Chiefs for Leadership Operations, Communications; St. Martin to Serve as General Counsel & Chief of Legislative Operations
Washington (Dec 10)House Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-OH) today announced his first round of staffing decisions for the new Office of the Speaker in the 112th Congress.
Brett Loper will join the Office of the Speaker in the 112th Congress and serve as Policy Director. Loper served as Staff Director for House Ways & Means Committee Republicans under former Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA), who retired from the House at the conclusion of the 110th Congress. Prior to working for McCrery, Loper served as Deputy Chief of Staff for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), and served on the transition staff for Boehner in 2006 when Boehner was elected to succeed DeLay as majority leader. Since 2009, Loper has worked as head of government affairs for AdvaMed (the Advanced Medical Technology Association), representing the nation's medical technology innovators.
Jo-Marie St. Martin, who has served as General Counsel/Floor Director for the Republican Leader, will serve as General Counsel and Chief of Legislative Operations, with a broad portfolio that includes legislative operations and legal operations.
Mike Sommers will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Leadership Operations and Dave Schnittger will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Operations under current Chief of Staff Barry Jackson.
Brett Loper will join the Office of the Speaker in the 112th Congress and serve as Policy Director. Loper served as Staff Director for House Ways & Means Committee Republicans under former Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA), who retired from the House at the conclusion of the 110th Congress. Prior to working for McCrery, Loper served as Deputy Chief of Staff for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), and served on the transition staff for Boehner in 2006 when Boehner was elected to succeed DeLay as majority leader. Since 2009, Loper has worked as head of government affairs for AdvaMed (the Advanced Medical Technology Association), representing the nation's medical technology innovators.
Jo-Marie St. Martin, who has served as General Counsel/Floor Director for the Republican Leader, will serve as General Counsel and Chief of Legislative Operations, with a broad portfolio that includes legislative operations and legal operations.
Mike Sommers will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Leadership Operations and Dave Schnittger will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Operations under current Chief of Staff Barry Jackson.
Boehner promises to cut own budget by 5 percent
Dec 9 05:41 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican lawmaker expected to be the next speaker of the House says that one of the first votes the House will take next month will be to cut congressional budgets, including his own, by 5 percent.Ohio Republican John Boehner says on a "60 Minutes" interview to be aired Sunday on CBS that the budget cuts would save the federal treasury some $25 million to $30 million.
Boehner says that in the age of trillion-dollar deficits, "we've got to start somewhere and we're going to start there." The cuts would apply to his own budget and the budgets of House leaders, committees and member allowances.
Boehner adds that Republicans plan to move a spending cut bill every week over the first three months they are in power.
Boehner says that in the age of trillion-dollar deficits, "we've got to start somewhere and we're going to start there." The cuts would apply to his own budget and the budgets of House leaders, committees and member allowances.
Boehner adds that Republicans plan to move a spending cut bill every week over the first three months they are in power.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rep.-Elect Kristi Noem (SD) to Deliver the Weekly Republican Address (PHOTO)
Posted December 10, 2010
Rep.-Elect Kristi Noem (SD) will deliver the Weekly Republican Address. The address will be available here on GOP.gov first thing tomorrow morning. Come back and see us then!
Senate Unveils Tax Bill's Price Tag
By JANET HOOK And JOHN D. MCKINNON
WASHINGTON—The Senate unveiled final details of a broad tax bill—and its 10-year price tag of $858 billion—and began debate Thursday night on the package, a significant step after two years of gridlock over how to treat expiring tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush. Without action, income taxes on nearly every American are due to rise on Jan. 1.
The Senate has moved quickly after Mr. Obama and Republican leaders unveiled the package Monday, with a key test vote now scheduled for Monday. The bill is expected to pass with support from most Senate Republicans and a substantial number of Democrats, after lawmakers agreed to extend expiring subsidies for ethanol and other alternative-energy sources. Backers now include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), who had been withholding support over the bill's tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers.
House Democrats continued to voice opposition to a tax deal between the White House and Republicans on Thursday and urged leaders not to bring the agreement up for a formal vote. Jerry Seib has the latest from Washington
MoreBut in the House, Democrats were in open revolt. In a closed-door gripe session, they chanted "Just Say No," capping a remarkable day of political theater before passing a nonbinding resolution that said the tax agreement shouldn't be considered in the House unless changes were made.
That resolution isn't seen as a threat to the tax deal, which includes a two-year extension of current tax rates for all income brackets, not just for income up to $250,000, as Democrats want. But the rebellion represented essentially a "no confidence" vote in the White House on a crucial issue.
Anger focused on the tax treatment of wealthier Americans and the fact that House Democratic lawmakers were frozen out of negotiations that produced the agreement. "This is not an acceptable package. We want a better deal,'' said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) suggested that she didn't want to kill the tax package, just change it. "We will continue discussions with the president and our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the days ahead to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote," she said in a written statement.
The rebellion among House Democrats reflected more than opposition to the legislation. It also showed the frustrations of a party bruised by heavy midterm election losses, and signaled that Mr. Obama may spark significant turbulence within his party as he tries to work with a newly empowered GOP next year. "A number of us are very frustrated. It is finally time for us to stop being spear-carriers here," Mr. DeFazio said. "It's time to tell the White House they are wrong.'' But House Democrats may have little power to change the basic framework of the tax deal.
Republicans generally support the package, though several conservative GOP lawmakers say it will add too much to the nation's budget deficit. Michael Steel, spokesman for House Republican Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio), said: "President Obama has said that failing to stop all of the job-killing tax hikes scheduled for January 1 will have serious consequences for our economy. House Republicans agree."
Associated Press
Obama meets with the Export Council as House Democrats rebel on taxes.
Tax provisions in the package will cost $801 billion over 10 years, according to Congress's bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. A 13-month extension of enhanced benefits for the long-term unemployed adds $57 billion. Because the bill identifies no offsetting cuts in federal spending, the entire amount, which is close to earlier estimates, will add to the deficit.
In unveiling the bill, the Senate added details to its treatment of inheritances. The federal tax on estates expired at the end of 2009 and is set to be reinstated from 2011 at a top rate of 55%, charged on estates over $1 million. The legislation would renew the tax at a top rate of 35% on estates over $5 million. In the bill released Thursday, the $5 million would be indexed for inflation, so it's real value wouldn't shrink over time. House Democrats want the tax to be set at a higher rate. Some are collecting signatures on a letter urging the tax be set at 45% for estates above $3.5 million.
In a sweetener for many Democrats, the package extends a program of cash grants for wind and solar projects, as well as tax credits for energy-efficient appliances, although at reduced, pre-stimulus levels. It includes favorable tax treatment for mass-transit benefits for employees. It also includes a one-year extension of a 45-cent-a-gallon tax credit for fuel made from ethanol, a provision sought by farm-state lawmakers.
Jim Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid, said the House Democrats' protest would have no impact on the bill's progress in the Senate. "This vote demonstrates they may be irrelevant to this process," said Mr. Manley. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he still believed the agreement would pass this year without substantial changes.
—Jonathan Weisman and Patrick O'Connor contributed to this article.
Wyden/Cornyn Sex Trafficking Bill Passes Senate
Dec-09-2010 15:57
Salem-News.com
Bill To Provide Aid for Victims of Sexual Slavery and Crackdown On Those Who Exploit Underage Girls Moves to the House of Representatives.
 Courtesy: traylorlovvorn.com |
(WASHINGTON D.C.) - The United States Senate unanimously approved a bill to aid victims of modern sexual slavery and give law enforcement the tools to investigate and prosecute sex traffickers who exploit underage girls and force them into the sex trade. Sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act will create a six-state pilot program to help law enforcement crackdown on pimps and traffickers and create shelters, provide treatment, counseling, and legal aid for the underage girls that are forced into sexual slavery. This bill will be considered a model to help rescue the hundreds of thousands of underage girls believed to be forced into the sex trade in America. According to FBI estimates, more than 100,000 underage girls are exploited for commercial sex in the U.S. each year.
“Senator Cornyn and I have long believed that sex trafficking is modern day slavery and the poor young women forced into the sex trade are victims of the real criminals – the pimps and traffickers,” Wyden said. “Today, the United States Senate agreed with us. Not only will this bill create a working model to help these young women break the cycle of exploitation for good, it will provide new tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to put these modern day slave owners behind bars.”
“Our nation must remain committed to ending the scourge of human trafficking. This legislation will provide valuable assistance to state and local governments on the front lines of battling organized criminal syndicates and violent gangs that traffic humans for labor and sex,” said Cornyn. “I am proud to partner with Senator Wyden on this important bipartisan effort.”
The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act would authorize block grants to six locations deemed to have significant sex trafficking activity, require a workable plan to provide comprehensive, wrap-around services to sex trafficking victims – including the establishment of a shelter facility – and require demonstrated participation by all levels of law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers.
Each grant will be funded at $2-2.5 million per year with the option of renewal for two additional years. Some of the items that can be funded by these block grants include:
· A shelter for trafficking victims;
· Clothing and other daily needs in order to keep victims from returning to the street;
· Victims' assistance counseling and legal services;
· Education or job training classes for victims;
· Specialized training for law enforcement and social service providers;
· Police officer salaries - patrol officers, detectives, investigators;
· Prosecutor salaries, and other trial expenses;
· Investigation expenses - wire taps, expert consultants, travel, other "technical assistance" expenditures; and
· Outreach, education, and prevention efforts, including programs to deter offenders.
The bill will help encourage and boost prompt reporting of missing and abducted children to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. With the help of more timely reporting, law enforcement will be able to identify repeat runaways who are statistically more likely to be lured into prostitution
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)