The House just kicked off three and a half hours of debate on an $825 billion economic stimulus package. House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wis., said the current economic situation may be the close to what then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced when he created the New Deal. Obey, who has been cautious about the impact of the stimulus, again said $825 billion may not be enough. None of us can be sure of the success that will flow from this.” He added that Congress must take measures to keep families from losing their homes, adding that more intervention in…
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Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday afternoon he’ll vote for attorney general-designate Eric Holder when the committee meets Wednesday to consider his nomination. Specter initially objected to the quick scheduling of Holder’s confirmation just weeks after his appointment by President Barack Obama, saying it did not leave enough time to investigate Holder’s background, including his involvement in the pardon of Marc Rich and his decision not to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate then-Vice President Al Gore’s fund-raising activities for the 1996 presidential campaign. Specter, R-Penn., said Tuesday that Holder has “excellent qualifications” and provided answers…
Senate appropriators voted 21-9 along party lines today to send the proposed economic stimulus bill to the Senate floor, setting it up for a possible vote by the end of the week. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, entertained little discussion on amendments, telling senators to propose their amendments once the bill reaches the Senate floor. Most of the Republicans voting yes on the $365 billion proposal said they did so only to further debate and adhere to committee rules, not to endorse the components of the stimulus. Only Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted without adding an explanation to her…
The Senate Finance Committee approved the nomination of Timothy Geithner to be Treasury secretary a few minutes ago by an 18-5 vote, according to our congressional reporter Rebecca Neal. The committee’s approval was expected despite concerns by many senators that Geithner failed to pay more than $30,000 in self-employment taxes earlier this decade when he worked at the International Monetary Fund. Geithner apologized for the error, repaid his owed amount, and said it was an unintentional mistake. Some senators including Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said it sends a bad signal to appoint a Treasury secretary — which oversees the IRS…
It took several hours but the House Appropriations Committee passed its economic stimulus package last night in a 35 to 22 vote. The vote means the bill will likely make it to the House floor by Jan. 28. Committee chairman Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wisc., has said he hopes the bill will pass the Senate before the Presidents’ Day break. Among the amendments added to the original bill: $150 million to purchase commodities for food banks. An extension of the authorization for the controversial E-Verify program for five years. A mandate that iron and steel used in construction projects funded by…
If you had a ticket for Tuesday’s inauguration and couldn’t get in, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies would like to apologize. The Washington Post reported today that nearly 4,000 ticketholders, most in the blue or purple sections, were shut out of the inauguration by police officers who said the sections were full, despite visitors lining up at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. At one point, the line for one of the gates stretched into the Interstate 395 tunnel underneath the Reflecting Pool. Ticketholders reported that officers weren’t receiving communications from others regarding the situation and crowds began to…
So we all know President Barack Obama was sworn in Tuesday after what seemed like a decade-long transition process. Apparently it’s hard to get out of that transition mode, as several senators and witnesses at congressional hearings this morning repeatedly referred to President-elect Obama, even as aides looked at each other nervously and were hesitant to correct their bosses. I know the presidential oath was botched yesterday, but Obama is now the president. It may take a few days to break that habit of calling him the president-elect!
Those who are claustrophobic or merely uncomfortable with being pressed up against dozens of other people likely hated today’s inauguration. Drawing near-record crowds, depending on whom you ask, the event taxed people’s patience, tolerance for cold and even their needs for personal space bubbles. A lot had been made of the difficulties guests would have getting to the inauguration, what with practically all of northern Virginia being declared a no-driving zone for personal vehicles. So I was surprised to find the District-bound Blue line Metro at Crystal City nearly empty at 6:30 a.m. and thought I was in for an…
President Barack Obama’s Cabinet now has eight official members. The Senate voted by voice vote just before 4 p.m. today to confirm the following seven nominees: Steven Chu for Energy, Arne Duncan for Education, Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security, Peter Orszag for director of the Office of Management and Budget, Ken Salazar for Interior, Eric Shinseki for Veterans Affairs and Tom Vilsak for Agriculture. His Cabinet already included Robert Gates, whom Obama asked to stay on as Defense secretary. But things aren’t moving so quickly for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s secretary of state nomination. After her smooth hearing before the Senate…
Medical workers aided Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd during the inaugural luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Both were wheeled out by medical personnel during the luncheon, which immediately followed President Barack Obama’s inaguration on the West Front of the Capitol. Kennedy recently returned to the Senate after a fight with a brain tumor, while Byrd has been frail for years. Capitol staff had no further updates on the conditions of either senator though comments from Obama hinted at something serious. “He was there when the voting rights act was passed,” Obama said of Kennedy. “So I would be…