the Senate considers the Farm Bill & Nominees :::::: CONGRESS :::::: the House considers the S.982, Freedom to Fish Act


capitol14

The Senate stands in adjournment until 2:00pm on Monday, May 20, 2013.

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 3:00pm.
  • Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of S.954, the Farm bill.
  • At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following items:
  • There will be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.
  • Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 5:30pm), there will be up to 2 roll call votes on confirmation of the Chappell and McShane nominations.
  • The following amendments are pending to S.954, the Farm bill:
    • Cantwell amendment #919 (Indian tribes – land and soil conservation programs)

    The following amendments have been considered to S.954, the Farm bill:

  • The Senate has begun consideration of S.954, the Farm bill. Senator Stabenow called up Cantwell amendment #919 (tribal soil and water conservation programs).At 5pm, the Senate will turn to Executive session with 30 minutes for debate prior to votes on confirmation of the below listed nominations.-          Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; and-          Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon.We may be able to consider one of the nominations by voice vote, but we don’t know which one yet.
  • Senator McCain asked unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment in order to call up the Feinstein-McCain amendment #923 (tobacco crop insurance). Senator Stabenow objected in order to give the committee time to group additional crop insurance amendments together, but assured Senator McCain a vote on the amendment.
  • 5:32pm The Senate began a roll call vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida;Confirmed: 90-0
  • Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, was confirmed by voice vote.
  • The Senate is in a period of morning business until 7pm, with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. There will be no further roll call votes today.
  • WRAP UP
  • ROLL CALL VOTE1)      Confirmation of Executive Calendar #45, the nomination of Sheri Polster Chappell, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; Confirmed: 90-0LEGISLATIVE ITEMSDischarged the Banking Committee and passed S.309, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol with a Harkin amendment.

    Adopted S.Res.149, Designating the week of May 19 through May 25, 2013 as “National Public Works Week.”

    EXECUTIVE ITEMS

    Confirmed Executive Calendar #46, the nomination of Michael J. McShane, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon by voice vote.

  • At 4pm on Wednesday, May 22, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of Calendar #43, S.Res.65, resolution strongly supporting the full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran and urging the President to continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation.There will be 60 minutes for debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote in relation to the resolution. If the resolution is agreed to, the preamble will be agreed to. The motions to reconsider will be considered made and laid upon the table, all with no intervening action or debate.
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  • Monday, May 20, 2013

    Watch Most Recent House Floor Activity

  • The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on May 20, 2013.

Let them eat MREs


VoteVets.org

Nearly 1.5 million households with a veteran received food-stamp benefits in 2011.

Sadly, this also includes far too many members of the military who are on active duty. In that same year, over $100 million in food aid was used on military bases.

Those are shocking statistics, aren’t they?

What’s more galling is that the Senate Agriculture Committee just approved a bill that includes a $4.1 billion reduction in the food stamp program, and the legislation comes to a vote before the full Senate next week.

Thankfully, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has stepped up to offer an amendment to stop these cuts and pay for them by cutting subsidies to insurance companies, many of which are based overseas.

Ahead of the vote, please sign our note to Senator Gillibrand letting her know that we stand with her in this fight.

http://action.votevets.org/food-stamps

Going through the list of those who voted for the bill in committee, it’s no shock to see several Senators who always seem ready to rush our military into new wars overseas, but fail to act as expeditiously when it comes to taking care of them at home.

We have to stop them in this fight.

Jon Soltz
@jonsoltz
Iraq War Veteran
Chairman, VoteVets

The President Talks About How to Build a Rising, Thriving Middle Class


Obama Cares: On the Friday before Mother’s Day, President Obama explained how the Affordable Care Act is helping women. For example, the law prevents insurance companies from charging women more than men and requires insurance companies to cover preventive services like mammograms free of charge.

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

Review of IRS: On Wednesday, the President delivered remarks on the Treasury Department’s review of the Internal Revenue Service and said the “misconduct that it uncovered is inexcusable.” The President said he will hold the responsible parties accountable, put in place new safeguards to make sure this does not happen again, and work with Congress as it performs its oversight role.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey: On Thursday, President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference at the Rose Garden. The leaders discussed U.S. – Turkey relations such as trade and investment, mutual security, and the conflict in Syria.

Prime Minister Cameron of Great Britain: On Tuesday, the President welcomed British Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House. The global partners spoke about the upcoming Group of Eight summit, sustaining the global economy, and the conflict in Syria.

As we’ve said before, the great alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom is rooted in shared interests and shared values, and it’s indispensable to global security and prosperity.

National Peace Officers Memorial Service: On Wednesday, the President headed to the U.S. Capitol for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service. The event paid respect to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty the last year. The 143 fallen officers were recognized for their courage on the front lines and their dedication to our community.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.

#WeTheGeeks: On Thursday, the White House launched “We the Geeks,” a new series of Google+ Hangouts highlighting the future of science, technology, and innovation in America. The first “We the Geeks” Hangout covered Grand Challenges, which are “ambitious goals on a national or global scale that capture the imagination and demand advances in innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology.”