Tag Archives: reviews

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Congress:the Senate/House debates & votes today!


The Senate Convenes: 10:00amET September 14, 2010

Resume consideration of H.R.5297, the Small Business Jobs bill with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

At 11:00am, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on Johanns amendment #4596 (1099 reporting). If cloture is not invoked, the Senate would proceed to a cloture vote on the Nelson (FL) amendment #4595 (1099 reporting). If cloture is invoked, there would be up to 30 hours for debate. If cloture is not invoked, the Senate would proceed to a cloture vote on the substitute amendment #4594 to HR5297, Small Business Jobs.

The Senate will recess from 12:30pm – 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

By unanimous consent, the filing deadline for second degree amendments to the substitute amendment #4594 and HR5297 is 12:00 noon today, Tuesday. September 14.

Votes:
231: Cloture on Johanns #4596 (1099 reporting);
Not Invoked: 46-52

232: Cloture on Nelson (FL) #4595 (1099 reporting);
Not Invoked: 56-42

233: Cloture on Substitute amendment #4594: to H.R.5297, Small Business Jobs bill;
Invoked: 61-37 <<- this means that HR5297 will now move forward to a final vote this week; Reid tweets dadt may get a vote as well this week

There will be no further roll call votes.

Unanimous Consent:
Adopted S.Res.597, a resolution designating September 2010 as “National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month”

Adopted S.Res.603, a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the National Council for International Visitors, and designating February 16, 2011, as “Citizen Diplomacy Day”

Adopted S.Res.607, a resolution recognizing the month of October 2011 as “National Principals Month”

Adopted S.Res.620, a resolution to designate September 12, 2010, as “National Day of Encouragement”

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 2:00pmET September 14, 2010

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF SEPTEMBER 14, 2010
111TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

7:00 P.M. –

SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

6:59 P.M. –

Mr. McClintock requested the following general leaves to address the House on September 21: Mr. Jones for 5 min.

Mr. McClintock requested the following general leaves to address the House on September 16: Mr. Poe of TX for 5 min, Mr. Jones for 5 min, Mr. Burton of IN for 5 min, and Mr. Bishop of UT for 5 min.

6:57 P.M. –

Mr. McClintock requested the following general leaves to address the House on September 15: Mr. Poe of TX for 5 min, Mr. Jones for 5 min, Mr. Gohmert for 5 min, Mr. Burton of IN for 5 min, and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for 5 min.

6:45 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House continued with further one minute speeches.

H. Res. 1571:

acknowledging and congratulating Miami Dade College on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of service to the students and residents of the State of Florida

6:43 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 – 0 (Roll no. 520).

6:32 P.M. –

Considered as unfinished business.

H. Res. 1052:

honoring the members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Oklahoma for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States since September 11, 2001

6:31 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 – 0 (Roll no. 519).

6:01 P.M. –

Considered as unfinished business.

6:00 P.M. –

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of September 14.

3:50 P.M. –

The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 P.M. today.

H. Res. 1611:

expressing support for designation of the week beginning September 19, 2010, as “National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week”

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

3:40 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1611.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Sablan moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 1480:

commending the University of Southern California Trojan men’s tennis team for its victory in the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Tennis Championship

3:39 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

3:29 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1480.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Sablan moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 1564:

commending and congratulating Michigan Technological University on the occasion of its 125th anniversary

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

3:18 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1564.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Sablan moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 1571:

acknowledging and congratulating Miami Dade College on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of service to the students and residents of the State of Florida

3:17 P.M. –

At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

3:04 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1571.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Ms. Watson moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

H.R. 6102:

to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 to extend the authority of the Secretary of the Navy to enter into multiyear contracts for F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and EA-18G aircraft

3:03 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

2:53 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6102.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

H. Res. 1251:

recognizing and honoring the United States troops who gave their lives on D-Day at the Battle of Normandy

2:52 P.M. –

The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

2:45 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1251.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

H. Res. 1052:

honoring the members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Oklahoma for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States since September 11, 2001

At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

2:38 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1052.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Boren moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 1610:

expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the terrorist attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001

2:37 P.M. –

At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

2:13 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1610.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Connolly (VA) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

2:12 P.M. –

The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if ordered, will be postponed until 6:00 p.m. today.

2:04 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches.

2:03 P.M. –

The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on September 14, 2010 at 9:21 a.m.: That the Senate agreed to H.Con.Res. 292, without amendment.

The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 12, 2010 at 12:04 p.m.: That the Senate agreed to S.Res. 617.

2:02 P.M. –

The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received a message from the Secretary of the Senate on August 12, 2010 at 10:37 p.m.: That the Senate passed H.R. 6080, without amendment.

2:01 P.M. –

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Poe of TX to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

2:00 P.M. –

Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Daniel Coughlin.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Laura Richardson to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

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RADICAL RIGHT Rallies of Misinformation


In the months leading up to the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, conservatives, right-wing media, and Republican lawmakers have led a campaign of misinformation, paranoia, fear, and anger toward Muslims, sparked by the recent hysteria over a hate pastor’s plan to burn the Quran (which he thankfully never carried out) and outrage over an organization’s plan to build a mosque and Islamic community center near Ground Zero in Manhattan. A recent Washington Post poll found that a plurality of Americans now have an unfavorable view of Islam, “the most negative split on the question” since Oct. 2001. Commemorating the 9/11 attacks, President Obama urged tolerance toward Muslims. “As Americans we are not — and never will be — at war with Islam,” he said. “It was not a religion that attacked us that September day — it was al Qaida, a sorry band of men which perverts religion.” Yet rhetoric from conservatives who gathered this weekend in New York City to protest the Park51 community center, and in Washington, D.C. for the Tea Party “9/12” rally was steeped in Islamophobia and general misinformation about the President, leading Democrats, and their policies.

‘NO MOSQUE HERE’: The Stop Islamization of America-sponsored rally near Ground Zero in Manhattan against the Park51 Islamic cultural center drummed up fears of Sharia law in America with regular “no mosque here” chants from the Tea Party-esque crowd. As the Wonk Room’s Matt Duss noted, the event stirred “together half-truths with outright falsehoods into a stew of anti-Muslim paranoia.” Speaking at the event, GOP House candidate Ilario Pantano attempted to instill fears that Park51 project leader Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, along with Iran, was responsible for the Gaza aid flotilla this summer that resulted in the killing of nine Turks — including one Turkish American — by Israeli commandos. And the event’s headline speaker, right-wing Dutch politician Geert Welders — who once called Islam “the ideology of a retarded culture” — falsely claimed that the Park51 center would be “a house of Sharia” and that Rauf “refuses to condemn terrorists.” In dozens of interviews with The Progress Report, attendees at the protest espoused similar views. “It’s going to be a Sharia law mosque. They believe in the jihad,” one woman from Long Island said. Another woman associated with the American Congress for Truth said Rauf is “building sharia on Ground Zero.” Echoing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one man — not seeming to recognize the freedoms bestowed on the U.S. as opposed to other countries — said, “When they build a church in Saudi Arabia then they can build a mosque” near Ground Zero. Many attendees said that Rauf and his organization wanted to build a mosque near Ground Zero because that’s what Muslims do after a victory in battle — a notion propagated recently by Fox News, and by hate radio hosts Micheal Savage and Rush Limbaugh. “History shows us that they do build where they have conquered,” one woman said. When asked how she knew this, she replied, “On many different shows. … We have historians in our family and they said if you were to research that, that that would right. I don’t know personally myself, I haven’t seen them but they say in history, that’s what they have done.”

THE TEA PARTY IN D.C.: Tea Party members from all over the country gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C. for their second annual FreedomWorks-sponsored “9/12” rally to protest against President Obama and his purported “socialist cronies.” Many attendees at the 9/12 rally appeared to represent the nearly 20 percent of Americans who believe that Obama is a Muslim. “None of the crowd members I talked to would say that Obama was either Christian or a U.S. citizen (the best I got was ‘only God knows what’s in his heart,’ from a nice woman from Ohio),” reported TPM’s Evan McMorris-Santoro. The rest of the rally — which was considerably smaller in size when compared to last year’s event — consisted of ridiculing taxes and spending and heralding the Constitution with “God repeatedly placed firmly on the conservative side of the political spectrum by speakers and audience members alike.”

SIGNS OF INTOLERANCE: Apart from the divisive and misinformed rhetoric that took place at these rallies, attendees often displayed signs, banners, and other placards displaying symbols and inscriptions of hatred and intolerance. At the 9/12 rally, one attendee held a sign that said “Obama wants to ban pork!” presumably a reference to the false claim that he is a Muslim. Another sign depicted Obama as both a Nazi and a communist while another associated members of Congress with rodents. One man carried a sign that said “Obama, the terrorist from within.” One banner at the New York rally read that the Park51 center is “the monument to terrorism,” while another sign read “no Muslim integration.” Many protesters carried small pieces of cardboard that read “No Obama’s Mosque.” One placard portrayed a cartoonish image of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and read: “‘Sharia’ Pelosi. Implant A Tongue Depressor — Wire Her Jaw.” Others wore t-shirts with an image of an airplane flying into the World Trade Center with the words, “They will teach” imprinted on them. Indeed, one observer at the anti-mosque rally in New York noticed the signs and rhetoric of hatred and intolerance, telling The Progress Report, “It’s so emotional here. It’s really aggressive…it’s all fear and it’s all anger, and it just makes me cry. … What is wrong with a mosque? It’s just the same, it’s a great religion just as all the others.”

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Congress in Session -9/13/10


The Senate Convenes today at 2:30pmET

following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 3:30pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Jane Stranch, of Tennessee, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. There will be 2 hours for debate with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Sessions, or their designees.

At 5:30pm on Monday, September 13, the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Jane Stranch to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit.

As a reminder, Senator Reid filed 4 cloture motions with respect to the Small Business Jobs bill (HR5297). The filing deadline for first degree amendments to HR5297 and the Reid for Baucus-Landrieu amendment #4594 (Substitute) is 3:00pm on Monday, September 13.
Votes:
230: Confirmation of Jane Stranch to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Confirmed: 71-21

The next meeting in the House will be on September 14, 2010 at 2:30

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a message from DFA


We face a radicalized Republican Party who wants to take back control of our country and turn it into a Palinesque nightmare. DFA members have chosen John Boehner and Mitch McConnell as the top ‘Villains’ of progressives in 2010. Washington pundits think Democrats could lose the House, the Senate or both in November and then these two Villains will come to power.

We’re not going to let that happen.

With only 51 days left until Election Day, the stakes couldn’t be higher. On Saturday, October 2nd — exactly one month from Election Day — we’re organizing a National Day of Action to volunteer for progressive candidates in your state. We’ll get together for a live nationwide conference call with Jim Dean and other special guests to get fired up and focused on a progressive message for victory. Afterward, we’ll knock on doors, make phone calls, attend a campaign rally… whatever volunteer activity you want to do for the candidate of your choice.

We’re not going to sit around and hope for change, we’re going to keep working to make it happen — but the key to all of it is you. We’ve set a goal of at least 10 Day of Action events in Washington. Can we count on you to host an event?

Sign up to help organize an event in Seattle right now.

All the DC pundits are bleating about our imminent defeat in November. But there’s one thing they don’t see in the polls or hear about in their media bubble – it’s you. It’s because of you that we stopped George W. Bush from privatizing Social Security in 2005, won control of Congress in 2006, and elected Barack Obama in 2008. The pundits got all of these wrong then and they’ll be wrong again this year.

But we’ve just got 51 days to make it happen. Winning means dealing a crushing defeat to the tea party crowd and emboldening those Democrats too afraid to stand on progressive principles. Losing means saying goodbye to progressive Heroes like Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold and Alan Grayson… and all we’ll have left will be Villains like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.

The stakes couldn’t be higher and we’re counting on you to step up and make a difference once again.

Sign up to help organize an event today and one of our National Field Organizers will contact you next week to work with you on your event.

Working together, we’ll win in November.

-Matt

Matt Blizek, Field Director
Democracy for America

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CLEAN ENERGY: California’s Fight Against Polluters


ThinkProgress.org

In 2006, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, known as Assembly Bill 32, was passed, and called for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. It was a bipartisan, significant effort that has already yielded green jobs in California, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and served as a model for other legislative efforts. As one might expect, however, the legislation is under a furious and well-funded assault by Big Oil and those ideologically opposed to addressing climate change. This fall, voters in California will pull the lever for or against Proposition 23, which if passed, would immediately suspend AB 32‘s effects. The usual conspirators — including Koch Industries — have been funding the opposition, and the debate is looming larger over the tightly-contested gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections there. California voters have a choice between continuing progress on climate change, or helping already-wealthy and powerful industrial interests protect their bottom line.

AB32’S IMPACT: Assembly Bill 32 was passed to address a real threat in California — sea levels along California’s coast have been steadily rising and are projected to climb nearly 5 feet by 2100, threatening $100 billion in property and infrastructure like homes, office buildings, roads, and power plants. Addressing climate change in California would not only help residents, but also the world — as the eighth-largest economy on the planet, California could contribute significantly to the reduction of overall greenhouse gases. AB 32 is also serving as a useful trial balloon for climate change legislation in other states and at the federal level. As ClimateProgress has detailed, AB 32 is a model of bipartisan action on clean energy. A Democratic-controlled legislature passed the measure with support from business, labor, environmental and health organizations and Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law. AB 32’s approach mirrors the legislation recently passed in the House — though the version sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) is has been delayed in the Senate. Aside from positively affecting global climate change and legislative efforts elsewhere, AB 32 has already had a positive economic impact on California. More than 100 economists with expertise in California energy and climate issues signed an open letter in July opposing any change to AB 32. “Delaying action now and waiting for the future before initiating accelerated action to reduce global warming gases will be more costly than initiating action now,” the letter states. As CAP has written, doing away with AB 32 would damage California’s clean-energy economy and exacerbate the unemployment problem crippling the emerging clean energy industries. According to the California Employment Development Department, hundreds of thousands of employees already work part- or full-time manufacturing, construction or other green jobs. Over $9 billion in venture capital since 2005 — 60 percent of all venture capital invested across the U.S. during that period —  has been invested in California clean energy initiatives. A study released yesterday by the University of California Berkely found that “Passage of Proposition 23 would result in direct job losses.”

KOCH INFLUENCE: Unsurprisingly, the fossil fuel industry is vigorously opposed to AB 32, and is pumping considerable resources into passing Proposition 23. Contributions to the Yes on 23 campaign are now over $8 million — and 97 percent comes from oil companies, and 89 percent comes from out of state. Among the most active companies are two Texas firms: Valero Energy and Tesoro Corp. Valero, Tesoro and Koch Industries alone have funded more than $6.5 million of the opposition. The Wonk Room recently obtained a PowerPoint file that a Tesoro executive presented at a large oil conference — attended by giants like BP, Exxon Mobile, and Shell Pipeline — urging fellow companies to fund the AB 32 opposition because Tesoro determined it would have a negative “impact on business.” While Tesoro’s presentation did yield almost immediate donations from a handful of companies, the big-name groups like BP and Exxon Mobile did not donate — at least publicly. However, the Adam Smith Foundation, a Missouri-based nonprofit, is mysteriously funding much of the opposition to AB 32. The foundation is not required to disclose its finances, but many suspect that it is spending the oil industry‘s money. And the now-notorious Koch family  has gotten involved in trying to stop this progressive policy initiative. Koch Industries is already the largest funder of climate change denial and anti-environmental regulation fronts worldwide, and not incidentally, is also the 10th-worst air polluter in America. The Wonk Room learned in August that Koch Industries is also a serious participant in blocking AB 32. In its corporate newsletter, Koch Industries explicitly stated that the low fuel standards set forth in AB 32 would harm the companies’ bottom line and would “be very bad news for our industry.” Koch has been funding the Pacific Institute, the main think tank producing junk studies that smear AB 32, and on Sept. 2, a Koch Industries subsidiary made a $1 million donation to the campaign for Proposition 23. A spokeswoman said the company “may consider additional support.” Leading Proposition 23 proponent Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Linda) told the Wonk Room he expected a whopping $50 million to be raised in support of the campaign to overturn AB 32, dishonestly dubbed the “California Jobs Initiative.” In order to appeal further to moderates who may not have an ideological opposition to addressing climate change, the campaign is simply calling for a “suspension” of AB 32 until California’s unemployment rate drops below 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters — something that has only happened three times since 1976.

THE POLITICAL GAME: This November, the other candidates on the ballot along with Proposition 23 cannot avoid taking a position — try as some of them might. California GOP Senate nominee Carly Fiorina was repeatedly asked during a debate with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) if she supported Proposition 23, and she repeatedly deferred offering an opinion. Two days later, however, she issued a statement in support of Proposition 23 and advanced the phony jobs claim: “AB 32 is undoubtedly a job killer, and it should be suspended,” the statement read. Meg Whitman, the GOP nominee for governor, is still wavering on Proposition 23 and will neither endorse nor condemn it. As the Los Angeles Times describes, Proposition 23 is “lose-lose” for GOP candidates, who must “appeas[e] members of their party who want to suspend the global warming bill while wooing environmentally-conscious independent voters who could carry them to victory in November.” The Obama administration, however, has weighed in opposition to Proposition 23: Energy Secretary Steven Chu calls the measure a “terrible setback” and EPA regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld has said Proposition 23 would send a “terrible and false message” to the rest of the country. GOP-aligned business interests favor Proposition 23, though they are doing it softly. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed AB 32 when it was passed, and has recently been criticizing AB 32 on phony job-killing claims. It has endorsed Fiorina, but stopped short of outwardly supporting Proposition 23. The California Chamber of Commerce has also said it will remain neutral. But some local business groups are opposing Proposition 23, as many did when it was passed — for example, the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce came out against the initiative, saying only that it “needs to be implemented carefully and that consideration of impacts on the state economy should be taken into account as part of that process.” Ultimately, however, the voters of California — not the politicians or business interests — will decide whether to allow AB 32 to continue creating jobs and reducing greenhouse gas pollution.