Blog - January 2009

BoingBoing guest blogger Charles Platt took a look at the House stimulus bill text last night and was amused to see that even though a large chunk of the bill is intended for restoring crumbling infrastructure, at least part of it is for tearing it down. Here's that section from the bill text: >For an additional amount for 'Alteration of Bridges', $150,000,000, for alteration or removal of obstructive bridges, as authorized by section 6 of the Truman-Hobbs Act (33 U.S.C. 516): Provided, That ...

Roll Call is reporting that President Obama is thinking about naming Republican Senator Judd Gregg (NH) to serve as his Secretary of Commerce. Sam Stein, the Huffington Post's D.C. reporter, is calling it a "strong possibility." Here's why this is a potentially big deal: if Gregg accepts the job, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, would appoint Gregg's replacement, giving Senate Democrats the 60-seat majority they have been hoping for (assuming Al Franken is seated in Minnesota). ...

Today President Obama signed his first bill into law, broke a campaign promise on transparency and put on a good show all at the same time: ...

Congress Matters had a good catch earlier today from Rep. David Obey [D, WI-7] on the House floor: >Mr. Chairman, I want to predict what is going to happen on that side of the aisle on this vote. I predict that just as happened in committee, when we got no minority party support for the bill that we produced in committee, when this bill comes to a vote today, virtually all of our Republican friends will vote no. > >The bill will then go to the Senate, and after they gauge whether or not that...

After approving seven amendments, the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening voted 244 - 188 in favor of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Not a single Republican member voted in favor of the bill on final passage. Eleven Democrats, on the other hand, crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans against the bill.

The House Committee on Rules has just concluded their epic hearing to lay out the ground rules for Wednesday's debate of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Here is a complete list of the amendments that will receive votes on Wednesday by the full House of Representatives, as determined tonight by the Rules Committee:

From ProPublica: Click the image above for the interactive tree map, where you can scroll around for zoom in for tons of information on what's in H.R. 1. ...

The House Committee on Rules has posted all the amendments that have been submitted for their consideration tonight. There are hundreds: Summary of Amendments Submitted to the Rules Committee for H.R. 1 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 To be considered by the full House on the floor tomorrow, amendments must be approved by the Committee at their meeting at 3:30 this afternoon. The folks at Open Left have organized a last-minute call-in on some of these. There's only a cou...

The economic stimulus bill is coming to the floor of the House sooner than expected. According to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's "Daily Leader," Obama and congressional Democrats' $866 billion attempt at rescuing the economy is now scheduled to be on the House floor this afternoon. All votes on the bill, including amendments and final passage, will take place on Wednesday.

Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI): >'Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it's time for him to talk.' More from Politico and DailyKos. You can view the subpoena itself here (.pdf)....

Following the botched gubernatorial Senate appointments in Illinois and New York recently, Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold is introducing a constitutional amendment into Congress that might actually stand a chance of passing: >"The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it painfully clear that such appointments are an anachronism that must end. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the citizens of this co...

Elana Schor at Talking Points Memo has been keeping a close eye on the diminishing mass-transit spending in the Democrats' stimulus bill. House Transportation Chairman Jim Oberstar's original $85 billion transportation stimulus funding proposal is being scaled back by the House Appropriations Committee in several areas, most notably in intercity rail and public transit. Meanwhile, the Appropriations Committee is giving nearly full funding to Oberstar's request for highway and bridge constru...

The biggest bill to hit this session of Congress so far is scheduled to be introduced in the House today: the major federal stimulus bill, H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This bill presents an $825 billion economic recovery package, developed by House Democratic leadership and the Obama Administration. Check out our stimulus bill page for all the bill's official info, helpful news and blog coverage on the stimulus debate, and to speak out with your opinion on this bill.

More info on Recovery.gov here....

Pamela Kemp writes: >I noticed the Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) is featured as one of the most frequently visited profiles on OpenCongress. I suspect that one reason for the increased interest in Rep. Conyers is his introduction of H.R. 104. > >Support is growing for (H.R. 104) a bill to establish a Commission on War Powers and Civil Liberties. A group has already formed on Facebook. In addition, a petition asked members of Congress to support this people has been created on the People's Ema...