Blog - Congress Links

Congress Links for Thursday, July 29th – to be continually updated over the day.

• Senate Democrats call for fillibuster reform. (CBS News)
• Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) faces ethics charges around 1pm ET today: latest news and blog coverage on him from around the Web, aggregated here on OC.
• Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee unsure if hearing over New Start arms treaty with Russia will occur. (NY Times, and Associated Press).
• Congress passed S. 1789 -Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 yesterday to reduce disparities between sentences for crack and powdered cocaine violations. (The New York Times).
• OC’s resources on the Fair Sentencing bill: most-recent news coverage, blog buzz, and the nine-page official bill text. More vote info to come later today.
• Rep. James Oberstar [D-MN] expects the House to pass his aviation safety bill today. (Associated Press)
• The DISCLOSE Act on ice: most-recent news and blog coverage.
• We announced our first-ever grassroots donation drive for our non-profit work to demystify and reform the U.S. Congress. Donating is easy and takes just a minute or two — we’ve tested it thoroughly, it’s smooth, and we need your help.

Updates:

• Rep. Charlie Rangel [D-NY-15] appears to have cut a deal with the House Ethics Committee, which will allow him to avoid a potentially damaging trial. (CBS)
• House Minority Leader John Boehner [R-OH-8] is stepping up his fundraising efforts for the midterm elections, in part by promising close access for high donors. (Politico)
• House Republican leaders are attacking a new bill, H.R. 847, which would extend further government support to 9/11 responders, calling it a “massive new entitlement program” (Politico)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced that he is considering trying to have the Constitution changed to deny citizenship to children born to illegal immigrant.  (SC Politics Today)
• The WSJ reports that Congress appears gridlocked over the question of whether to extend the Bush era tax cuts, and predicts that the issue will not be addressed until after the election. (Wall Street Journal)

Updates I:

• Talking Points Memo (TPM) reports that the House Ethics Committee Announced 13 charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel [D-NY-15]; earlier reports had indicated that Rangel had already reached a deal with the Committee.  (TPM)
• The Washington Post reports that four Republicans have expressed support for Supreme Court nominee Elana Kagan, despite top Republicans’ opposition; Democrats already have enough votes to confirm Kagan. (The Washington Post)

Links assembled by OC Research Assistants. Photo of President Obama meeting with bipartisan Congressional leadership this past Tuesday via our data partners Daylife. Question & comments welcome: writeus[at]opencongress.org.