Tag Archives: Congress

The Senate Convenes: at 9:00amET December 18, 2010

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume executive session to resume consideration of the New START Treaty. Following any Leader remarks in Executive session, the Senate will turn to Legislative session and be in a period of morning business until 10:30am with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.At 10:30am, the Senate will proceed to a series of up to 4 roll call votes in relation to the following items:

– Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.5281, (DREAM Act);
– if cloture is not invoked on the DREAM Act, the Senate would proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.2965 (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell);
– Following the cloture vote/s, the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Albert Diaz, of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit; and
– On confirmation of the nomination of Ellen Hollander, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland.

The Senate is debating the House message with respect to HR2965, DADT, post-cloture, with the time until 3pm equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees. At 3pm, all post-cloture debate time will be yielded back and the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to HR2965 (DADT). There will then be 4 minutes for debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to the McCain amendment #4814 to the New START Treaty.

Votes:
278: Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.5281, (DREAM Act);
Not Invoked: 55-41279: Motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.2965 (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal);
Invoked: 63-33

280: Confirmation of the nomination of Ellen Hollander, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland;
Confirmed: 95-0

281: Motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.2965 (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal);
Agreed To: 65-31

282: McCain amendment #4814: to the New START Treaty (Missile Defense); Not Agreed to: 37-59

Unanimous Consent:
Confirmed the nomination of Albert Diaz, of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth CircuitConfirmed the nomination of Edmond E-Min Chang, of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois

Confirmed Leslie Kobayashi, of Hawaii, to be United States District Judge for the District of Hawaii

Passed HR6510, To direct the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Houston, Texas, to the Military Museum of Texas, and for other purposes.

Passed HR6473, Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010, Part IV.

Passed HR6533, Local Community Radio Act of 2010.

Passed HR4915,(Baucus substitute and title amendment), An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make technical corrections to the pension funding provisions of the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010

H.Con.Res.335, a concurrent resolution honoring the exceptional achievements of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and recognizing the significant contributions he has made to the U.S. national security, humanitarian causes, and peaceful resolutions of international conflict.

Adopted S.Res.703, a resolution recognizing and honoring Bob Feller and expressing the condolences of the Senate to his family on his death.

Adopted S.Res.704, a resolution to
authorize the printing of a revised edition of the Senate Election Law Guidebook.

Passes S.118, (committee substitute and Dodd substitute), the Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act.

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00amET December 21, 2010

~ my 2cents ...

TGIF … &some News

12/17/2010 Nativegrl77

Today the President will sign the Tax deal bill around 3:50pm ET so left coasters need to be alert. Congress has FY 2011, START, DADT on the calendar and hopefully the Dream Act will also get passed well before they all decide to cut out of DEC for Xmas.

Last night the tax deal passed in the House and the Senate. However, it was obvious that the tax deal was a tough vote for our dems in the House. The final vote was 277 for 148 against. I will admit that it was not the best; even the President said the bill had offensive pieces in the bill but the deal given the midterm vote was the best anyone could have gotten. I believe Congress in both Chambers would still be “negotiating” on the provisions, the amount and so many other things, which would have pushed it into January, so though it may not have been perfect i am happy for what our President pushed through in such a short time.

The big Omnibus bill was treated like a bipartisan effort, clearly as was said on the floor of Congress members on both sides of the aisle worked on it, yet after Sen. McCain got on the floor of Congress thanked the Tea Party for the intervention, laughed, and stated who won that on national tv. It is obvious our dems in Congress have yet to figure out the Republican Tea Party has no intention of being bipartisan even their own RNC chair Mr. Steele said that bipartisanship is overrated. The idea that the RTP truly are willing to be bipartisan let alone honest with good faith intentions has prove to be a joke. This latest move of got’cha was not only embarrassing it was sad to see Leader Reid face all dejected. It was good to see so many Senators come to the floor to make sure the public knew that this Omnibus bill was in fact indeed a bill that was bipartisan though the RTP clearly was portraying it yet another scam or something they felt pushed into by the Dems having had little to do with it. The notion that so much pork listed in the Omnibus bill is the fault of the Dems in the Senate definitely was quite absurd and embarrassing. It is however, proof that the RTP cannot be trusted as one of them stated there was a letter brought to them, they all decided to sign it, and the bill died. It was odd to see the fringe and or Tea Party aspect of the Republicans have so much power even off the floor of Congress though Sen. McCain made sure the public heard who intervened in this previously agreed to bill. I used to say i hope this or that move opens the eyes of Republican constituents but a lot were hoping the bill would be defeated and News stations are reporting that Tea Party members definitely making their voices heard thus defeating the Omnibus bill -last minute. I guess some folks are afraid of them because they certainly betrayed their agreement to Leader Reid and Senate Democrats.

Yesterday I was going to order Omaha Steaks but after hearing the correction by the CEO, I will never order from Omaha Steaks until they agree to stop using Fox as their advertising source. In fact, i ask for a boycott based on the correction and response by the CEO. I encourage everyone to take the time to leave a message on their website too… steakbytes.com

I just wanted to say how disappointed i was to hear the outcome. I was the one who called in to say that i just could not order @OmahaSteaks given the fact that your company had bought ad spots on his show with all the racial vitriol he throws out at the public. As far as free speech when it tells minorities they are not acceptable, dangerous and the enemy that reaches far beyond racial slurs discrimination and certainly freedom of speech. I take it that what you are saying is that Glenn Beck has the right to be a racist on National Television. I specifically said that Glenn Beck’s racial rants were my problem to one of your representatives from your company. I received a call back from an Omaha Steaks Representative stating they would be taking down the advertisement or that it would end around 12/20 and in doing so made me want to order but then i pulled back and said maybe i will wait until the ads disappear. I now feel after reading the correction from CEO Bruce Simon it is obvious his staff only gave partially accurate information. I say she intentionally kept information back. I appreciate the prompt correction but have now decided to take my business elsewhere to a company who believes in equality not the vitriol that comes from not just Glenn Beck but from the Fox News station.

Other News …

CSPAN …

Thursday Leader Sen.Harry Reid remarks on earmark spending

After attending a meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made remarks about earmark spending and responded to reporters’ questions.

Speaker Pelosi remarks on DADT Wednesday

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke to reporters about the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military. She was joined by co-sponsors of the bill, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

Senate Democrats Press Conference on START treaty

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) talked about the nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Senate Democrats want to pass the START treaty as it’s known before the end of the year. Sixty-seven votes are required for ratification. Senator Kerry was joined by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

Senate Republicans Press Conference on START treaty

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) along with several of his Republican colleagues spoke to reporters about the nuclear arms treaty with Russia known as START. Senate Democrats want to pass the START treaty as it’s known before the end of the year. Sixty-seven votes are required for

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

DREAMing of the holidays

12/15/2010 Nativegrl77

Best thing you can do:
Call your senator today!

The Senate will vote soon on DREAM Act, which passed the House last week.

Before they leave town to spend time with their loved-ones for the holidays, Senators will vote on the DREAM Act. It’s up to us to make sure they vote the right way.

The best thing you can do to pass the DREAM Act is to call your senator. But there are lots of other ways you can tell your senator to do the right thing and vote with us.

Make a phone call: dial 866-996-5161, or click here and our system will connect you directly.
Send a holiday card to your Senator
If you’re on Twitter, tweet this .
If you’re on Facebook, check out our fanpage and share with friends.

We can get the DREAM Act passed. We have to stand together to raise all our voices, and we have to do it now. We have a few days to be sure Senators hear us loud and clear. Can you raise your voice?

Thank you,
Marissa Graciosa

We’re fighting to fix our broken immigration system, but we can’t win without you!
contribute $30 today to sponsor 80 faxes and 100 calls to Congress.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Add YOUR Voice to the Anti-Right Chorus in 2011

12/13/2010 Nativegrl77

As we prepare for 2011, People For the American Way needs your continued support to face the major challenges before us.

Give your early membership renewal gift by December 31st to help us gear up to face a new year full of peril for our freedoms and our nation.

In January, a new Congress will convene, with a Tea Party/Republican-ruled House of Representatives and a strengthened GOP contingent in the U.S. Senate.

In just a few weeks, we will be facing the most radically right-wing congressional delegation in modern times. And with it, we will also face an avalanche of legislation with the goal of reversing decades of progress. We must be prepared to face assaults against … civil rights … free speech … the federal courts … education … gay and lesbian equality … women’s rights … and so much more.

And with your renewed membership contribution, People For the American Way will be YOUR voice against the Right.

Our nation has never needed PFAW more than it does today. And now, more than ever, we need you to make sure we are strong enough to stand up to the Tea Partiers in Congress, and their brand of corporate subservience married to right-wing cultural extremism.

Make sure PFAW has the tools necessary to successfully fight the incoming right-wing Congress … by making your year-end membership gift right away … before December 31st.

Sincerely,

Michael Keegan