The House voted 244-188 Wednesday evening to pass the economic stimulus package, setting up a Senate vote in the coming days. The $819 billion bill, HR 1, includes $523 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts, which Democrats said will spur economic growth and create American jobs. The House approved six amendments to the bill, several of which affect federal employees: The bill now includes a provision strengthening whistleblower protections for federal employees, which had been missing from the original bill. The bill specified protections for state and local workers but did not mention federal employees. The whistleblower…
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House Minority Leader John Boehner says good riddance to $200 million in funds for the National Mall initally included in the House economic stimulus bill. That provision was cut during the House Rules Committee meeting yesterday, as was millions for contraceptives for low-income families. During a pen-and-pad session with reporters Wednesday morning, he said the ax needs to be taken to many more initiatives. “That’s two steps in the right direction, but there’s still hundreds of millions in wasteful spending.” Other projects he singled out as wasteful included $400 million for NASA to study climate change and about $650 million…
One controversial provision in the House economic stimulus package is already dead: $200 million for the National Mall. National Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson told Federal Times’ Gregg Carlstrom the money would have been used to shore up the Tidal Basin wall near the Jefferson Memorial, which is sinking into the Basin. But that won’t happen right now. The House Rules Committee met Tuesday evening to set rules for floor debate for HR 1, the stimulus package, and adopted the following provision: “4. strikes funding for the National Mall Revitalization Fund.” The rule is self-executing, which means it will automatically…
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…
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…
Lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would provide four weeks of paid leave for federal employees who give birth to or adopt a child. Similar bills have failed in the past, however. And though Democrats have a stronger position in this Congress than they did last year, it still remains to be seen whether this bill will become law. What do you think? Has the lack of paid parental leave hurt you when your family grew? We’d like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to Stephen Losey at slosey@federaltimes.com.
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!
What’s the first thing on the new president’s to-do list today? Barack Obama told ABC News’ Robin Roberts at the Neighborhood Ball last night: We’ll be making a series of announcements both on domestic and on foreign policy that I think will be critical for us to act swiftly on. We’re not going to be able to delay — there have been a lot of things that have been pressing. Fortunately, we’ve seen Congress immediately start working on the economic recovery package — getting that passed and putting people back to work, that’s going to be the thing that we’re…