From OpenCongress Wiki

May 2008

• The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee decided to seat Michigan's full delegation: pledged, unpledged and superdelegates will each get 1/2 vote. This will mean 34.5 for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and 29.5 for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) using the 69-59 split requested by the Michigan Democratic Party.

• The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee has decided to seat Florida's full delegation: pledged, unpledged and superdelegates will each get 1/2 vote. This will mean 52.5 for Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), 33.5 for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and 6.5 for Senator Edwards.

• 
  Though Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) is being investigated for countless charges relating to bribery, he has decided to run for re-election in 2008. If elected, this will be his 19th term being the sole Alaskan representative in the House.

• Although a new slate of nominees for the bi-partisan Federal Election Commission were expected to be approved this week, an impasse occurred Wednesday night. Since there was no new Democratic nominee listed to replace Hans von Spakovsky (who withdrew his name from consideration), the process was postponed.

• 50px
  Sen. Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor this week, after suffering an apparent seizure over the weekend. Following a trip to the emergency room and a stay at Massachusetts General Hospital, Kennedy returned home Wednesday morning. Doctors are continuing to assess the situation and have yet to determine a specific treatment regimen.

• Rep. Vito Fossella announced he would not seek re-election this November, and would instead retire at the end of his term. Fossella had come under increasing pressure to leave Congress following a DUI arrest earlier this month and an ensuing scandal.

• 50px
  On May 3, 2008 Republican Joseph Schmidt filed papers with the FEC to challenge Anthony Weiner (D) for New York's 9th Congressional District.

• Superdelegate Travis Childers (Miss.) voted into the US House of Representatives in a special election held tonight in Mississippi CD-01

• Superdelegate Arthur Powell (Mass.) recently endorsed Sen. Clinton (D-NY), while Kristi Cumming (Utah), Carol Burke (U.S. Virgin Islands), Dave Regan (Ohio), Rep. Harry Mitchell (Ariz.) and Crystal Strait (Calif.) endorsed Sen. Obama (D-IL).

• Superdelegates Edward Espinoza (Calif.), Vernon Watkins (Calif.), Wilbur Lee Jeffcoat (S.C.), Laurie Weahkee (N.M.), Rep. Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Joe Johnson (Va.), John Gage (Md.), Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.), Donald M. Payne (N.J.), Rep. Rick Larsen (Wash.), Rep. Brad Miller (N.C.) endorsed Sen. Obama (D-IL), while Rep. Chris Carney (Penn.) and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (Texas) have endorsed Sen. Clinton (D-NY).

• Superdelegates Theresa Morelli, Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.), Jeanette Council (N.C.), Dan Gelber (Fla.) have endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), while Jennifer L. McClellan (Virg.), Jerry Meek (N.C.), Inola Henry, Barbara Currie (Ill.), Todd Stroger (Ill.), Richard M. Daley (Ill.), Michael Cryor (Md.) and Lauren Glover (Md.) announced their support of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

• 50px
  In two May 3rd congressional special elections in Louisiana, Steve Scalise (R) defeated Democrat Gilda Reed, keeping former Rep. Bobby Jindal’s 1st congressional district seat in Republican hands, while state Rep. Don Cazayoux (D) narrowly defeated Republican Woody Jenkins for the long-time Republican-held 6th Congressional District seat.

April 2008

• Superdelegates Kalyn Free (Okla.), Parris Glendening (Md.), Inez Tenenbaum (S.C.), Brian Colón (N.M.), Jaime Paulino (Guam), Jaime Gonzalez Jr. (Texas), and Herman Farrell (N.Y.) have recently endorsed Sen. Obama (D-IL), while Robert Martinez (Texas) and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Md.) have endorsed Sen. Clinton (D-NY).

• Superdelegates Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), former DNC head Paul Kirk, and Arizona Democratic Party First Vice Chairwoman Charlene Fernandez have recently endorsed Sen. Obama (D-IL), while chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party Kathy Sullivan and North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley have endorsed Sen. Clinton (D-NY).

• Ending months of speculation, Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) finally announced on April 26 that he would run for a third Senate term.

• 
  Sen. Pete Domenici was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for “inappropriately” contacting in 2006 one of the nine U.S. attorneys later fired by President Bush.

• On April 18, South Korea lifted its 5 year long ban on importing U.S. beef. The action removes a major barrier to Congressional approval of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

• Democrat Danny Francis filed papers with the FEC to challenge John M. McHugh (R) for New York's 23rd Congressional District.

• Democratic superdelegates Rep. Tim Ryan (D-O.H.), Rep. Betty Sutton (D-O.H.), former Governor Jim Florio (D-N.J.) and former Governor Brendan Byrne (D-N.J.) recently endorsed Hillary Clinton, while Steven Achelpohl, Enid Goubeaux and Janice Griffin endorsed Barack Obama.

• The Senate voted on Thursday to direct the Department of Justice to investigate the controversial Coconut Road earmark connected to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).

• Since Friday, Democratic superdelegates Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Aleita Huguenin and Taling Taitano have endorsed Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, Nancy Larson, Reggie Whitten, Harry Thomas Jr. and Reps. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) , Mel Watt (D-N.C.) and David Price (D-N.C.) have endorsed Barack Obama.

• 75px
  Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer. On April 16 he announced that he plans to continue working and running for re-election.

• President Bush announced on Apr. 10 that he was implementing the plan first announced by Gen. David Petraeus to suspend troop withdrawals in mid-July for 45 days.

• The House passed a resolution on Apr. 10 removing the 90 day deadline to vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement dictated by "fast track" trade authority. House Democrats say they are holding the agreement for for leverage in negotiations with President Bush on economic stimulus legislation.

• The Senate passed housing crisis legislation on Apr. 10 that contained billions in tax breaks for businesses but substantially less for homeowners facing foreclosure.

• Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testified before Congress on the Iraq War. Petraeus announced his plan to suspend troop withdrawals in mid-July for 45 days.

• In the last 10 days, 3 candidates have announced they will run for Rep. Jim Walsh’s (R-NY) vacant seat in New York’s 25th district.

• 50px
  Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) announced he will run for Senate, leaving his House seat open in November. His wife, Camille Andrews, will seek the Democratic nomination to replace him.

• Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced bipartisan compromise legislation to address the housing crisis. The bill is largely comprised of tax rebates for homebuilders and other businesses and provides little relief for struggling homeowners.

• Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) held hearings criticizing the Bush administration's failure to meet a legal deadline on classifying polar bears as endangered species.

• The House approved a reauthorization of President Bush's Global AIDS program with $50 billion for the next five years. The 2003-2008 fundingwas for $15 billion and Bush had requested only $30 billion for the reauthorization. The House bill also removed provisions that had steered about a third of the prevention funding to abstinence programs.

• Superdelegate John Melcher, a former U.S. Senator from Montana, has announced his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign.

• A federal judge ordered Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.) to pay over $1 million in legal fees to House Minority leader John Boehner (R-Oh.), settling the two lawmakers' decade-long legal dispute over McDermott's actions in leaking the contents of an intercepted 1996 conference call involving Boehner and other Republican leaders.

March 2008

• The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a Department of Justice appeal regarding an FBI raid of Rep. William Jefferson's (D-La.) office in 2006.

• 50px
  Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) will resign in June after serving eight terms in the House. Wynn was defeated in a primary election earlier this year.

• Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) did not file for reelection by Friday's deadline, thus ensuring his retirement at the end of the 110th Congress.

• 50px
  Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) announced he was retiring after serving five terms in the House, and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• Democrats in the House failed to garner enough Republican votes to override Bush's veto of the Intelligence budget authorization, which included a provision barring the CIA from using waterboarding during interrogations.

• The House passed the RESTORE Act that extends the federal governments surveillance authority with foreign targets. However, the bill did not include the immunity for telecom companies that broke federal privacy laws at the Bush administration's request.

• Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Alabama) announced he was retiring after serving nine terms in the House, and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• Andre Carson was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election. He will fill the seat of his grandmother, the late Rep. Julia Carson. Andre Carson is the second Muslim ever elected to Congress.

• 50px
  Democratic House candidate Bill Foster was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election. Foster replaces former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) who held the seat for 21 years.

• President Bush is expected to veto the fiscal 2008 intelligence authorization bill (HR 2082) this week. The House will attempt to override the veto, but will likely fail.

February 2008

• The House Ethics Committee voted to review whether Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) violated the chamber’s code of conduct in connection to his recent indictment on 35 counts of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy.

• Scott Kleeb officially entered the 2008 Senate race for Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) open seat.

• 
  Update: Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) has announced he will not resign, despite having been indicted on extortion, money laundering, wire fraud and other charges.

• At the urging of his Republican colleagues, Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) reversed his decision not to run for reelection.

• Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) filed for reelection on February 21, despite suggestions that a federal investigation into his congressional dealings might force the 84-year old into retirement.

• 50px
  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was accused of ethical misconduct for allegedly having been romantically involved with a female lobbyist.

• Lawmakers in the House and Senate have yet to reach a deal on the Farm Bill after another long weekend of negotiations.

• James Michael McHaney, a former aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

• 50px
  Sen. Larry Craig was publically admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for unethical conduct related to his alleged involvement in a sex scandal this past summer.

• Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.) lost in Maryland’s congressional primaries on February 12, 2008.

• Rep. John Shadegg (R-Az.) announced he was retiring and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• 50px
  Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Ca.) died on February 11, 2008, due to esophageal cancer.

• New documents emerged showing that a $1.6 million earmark in 2005 by Sen. Ted Stevens (R–Alaska.) was engineered so it would lead to the purchase of property owned by his former aide, Trevor McCabe, an Anchorage fisheries lobbyist.

• Congress approved its economic stimulus plan, amending the House version to include tax rebates for seniors and disabled veterans.

• 75px
  Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) announced she was retiring and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• Senate Republicans successfully blocked a version of an economic stimulus plan designed to provide low income heating assistance, green energy tax cuts, and extended unemployment benefits.

• Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) agreed to pay a $63,000 civil fine for campaign finance violations.

January 2008

• On January 31, President Bush signed a 15-day extension to the Protect America Act, as the Senate continues debate on the RESTORE Act.

• Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) announced he was retiring and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) announced that he will run for governor of Missouri.

• In a last-minute decision, Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) announced that he would not seek re-election in the state’s 2nd District in 2008.

• Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) announced that she would not run for governor of Missouri.

• Former Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.) announced her candidacy for the 3rd congressional seat in Kentucky in 2008.

• Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) announced he was retiring and would not seek re-election in 2008.

• The Senate rejected a version of the FISA bill omitting immunity for the telecommunication companies as Republicans sought to force a vote on January 28 to defeat Democratic amendments.

• The Department of Justice subpoenaed six current and former House aides to testify in next month’s trial of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.).

• A tentative deal for a $145 billion economic stimulus package was reached after a late-night negotiation.

• Rep. Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.) is planning to retire, and will not seek reelection in 2008.

• According to a watchdog, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) violated House ethics rules in failing to report three trips to Botswana aimed at convincing him to oppose limits on “blood diamond” imports into the U.S.

• Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) dropped out of his bid for the Republican nomination for president on Jan. 19.

• The U.S. attorneys scandal was expected to re-emerge within months because of investigations by the House and Senate Ethics Committees and when Attorney General Michael Mukasey was to testify for the first time before the Senate Judiciary Committee as attorney general.

• Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) testified in court for the first time in the wide-ranging corruption case against his alleged attempts to suppress evidence.

• Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) earmarked $6 million for a defense contractor that was his top campaign contributor and employed his former congressional chief of staff as a lobbyist, while Wicker was on the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense in 2007.

• Managed Funds Association, a lobbying group for the hedge fund industry, named Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.) the firm's new president and CEO. Baker will resign his seat in February.

• Democrats in Indiana's 7th Congressional District nominated Andre Carson to fill the seat of his late grandmother, Rep. Julia Carson (D-Ind.), who died of lung cancer last year. Andre Carson will square off against Republican nominee Jonathan Elrod in a March special election.

• Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif) announced that he was not running for re-election.

• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) violated federal bribery laws in getting an earmark for a reading program whose executives and lobbyists donated money to her.

• Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) announced he will retire at the end of his term, and will not seek reelection in 2008.

• House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) announced he would not run for reelection because he was recently diagnosed with cancer.

2007

2007 Headlines Archive