Tag Archives: United States

The Senate Convenes at 2:00pmET May 17, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #31, the nomination of Susan Carney, of Connecticut, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. There will be up to 2 hours for debate prior to a vote on confirmation of the nomination. As a result, Senators should expect a roll call vote on confirmation of the Carney nomination to begin shortly after 12:20pm.

Following the vote, the Senate will recess until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

At 2:15pm, the Senate will begin consideration of the motion to proceed to S.940, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act. There will be up to 4 hours for debate, equally divided and controlled in the usual form, prior to a vote on the motion to proceed to S.940. The vote on the motion to proceed is subject to a 60-affirmative vote. Senators should expect the vote on the motion to proceed to S.940 to begin at approximately 6:15pm.

This will be the last roll call vote of the day.

Votes:

71: Confirmation of Executive Calendar #31, the nomination of Susan Carney, of Connecticut, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit;

Confirmed: 71-28

72: The motion to proceed to S.940, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act (60-vote threshold); Not agreed to: 52-48

Unanimous Consent:

Adopted S.Res.186, honoring the 100th anniversary of the School of Fire for the Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Adopted S.Res.187, supporting national minority health awareness in order to bring attention to the severe disparities faced by minority populations such as American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks, or Africans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on May 23, 2011.

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a message from Michelle Obama …

05/15/2011 Nativegrl77

I am thrilled to make sure you are the first to hear some very exciting news. Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the 46th Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an “up by the bootstraps” mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue.

Barack and I spent a lot of time in North Carolina during the campaign — from the Atlantic Coast to the Research Triangle to the Smoky Mountains and everywhere in between. Barack enjoyed Asheville so much when he spent several days preparing for the second Presidential debate that our family vacationed there in 2009.

And my very first trip outside of Washington as First Lady was to Fort Bragg, where I started my effort to do all we can to help our heroic military families.

All the contending cities were places that Barack and I have grown to know and love, so it was a hard choice. But we are thrilled to be bringing the convention to Charlotte.

We hope many of you can join us in Charlotte the week of September 3rd, 2012. But if you can’t, we intend to bring the spirit of the convention — as well as actual, related events to your community and even your own backyard.

More than anything else, we want this to be a grassroots convention for the people. We will finance this convention differently than it’s been done in the past, and we will make sure everyone feels closely tied in to what is happening in Charlotte. This will be a different convention, for a different time.

To help us make sure this is a grassroots convention — The People’s Convention — we need to hear from you. We want to know what you’d like to see at next year’s convention, how and where you plan on watching it — and the very best way we can engage your friends and neighbors.

I can’t believe it has been more than two years since my brother Craig introduced me at the 2008 Convention in Denver. It truly feels like it was yesterday.

As I looked out at a sea of thousands of supporters that night, I spoke about my husband — the man whom this country would go on to elect as the 44th President of the United States. I spoke about his fundamental belief — a conviction at the very core of his life’s work — that each of us has something to contribute to the spirit of our nation.

That’s also the belief at the core of The People’s Convention. That the table we sit at together ought to be big enough for everyone. That the thread that binds us — a belief in the promise of this country — is strong enough to sustain us through good times and bad.

Barack talked at the State of the Union of his vision for how America can win the future. That must be the focus now, and I know so many of you will help talk about our plans with your neighbors — that through innovation, education, reform, and responsibility we can make sure America realizes this vision.

http://my.barackobama.com/PeoplesConvention1?keycode=

Looking forward to sharing this together,

Michelle

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a message from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand …Exciting News

05/15/2011 Nativegrl77

Something very exciting is happening in a special election in Western New York.

A new poll shows Democrat Kathy Hochul surging to a dead heat in the most Republican district in New York. Kathy’s momentum is no coincidence. This is a direct response to her Republican opponent vowing to support the GOP’s plan to end Medicare as we know it, while preserving tax breaks for millionaires.

A win by Kathy would be a shocking blow to the Republicans’ extremist agenda.

That’s why Speaker John Boehner is desperately raising money to fund attack ads against Kathy. With the election in just 13 days, we must raise $10,000 in grassroots support so Kathy has what it takes to fight back.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca82/1b9dd8ab/4a4de9c1/4e0ce9fe/3423444470/VEsH/

Kathy is a fighter for jobs and someone who will never back down when it comes to helping hardworking middle class families. We need her in the House more than ever so she can stand up to the special interests and stop the GOP’s extremist agenda.

But she’s up against not one, but two deep-pocketed conservatives, including a Tea Party candidate who will spend whatever it takes on attack ads to win. And you know the GOP shadow groups are right behind them.

With the media watching Kathy’s momentum, we need the strongest possible show of grassroots support on her behalf.

http://www.dccc.org/page/m/1d63ca82/1b9dd8ab/4a4de9c1/4e0ce9fe/3423444470/VEsH/

Republicans sense that this race is slipping away from them. They also know that a grassroots-powered Democratic victory would mean the beginning of the end for their extremist agenda.

With this election just 13 days away, it’s now a dead heat. We must act now to put Kathy over the top.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

P.S. This is a race that will come down to the wire. With the world watching,

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A national victory against coal …from Greenpeace

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

For over 60 years, the coal-fired power plant in Salem Harbor, MA has been taking a toll on the community’s health by polluting the drinking water and poisoning the air.

But the community fought back.

And thanks to the hard work of local activists, it was announced this week that the Salem Harbor Generating Station is going to close. It’s a huge victory. Not just for the people of Massachusetts, but for activists in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania and everywhere else who are working to shut down dirty coal plants in their communities.

Our campaign is just beginning. Greenpeace is going to continue to help these activists shut down the coal-fired power plants that are killing their communities.

However, they can’t win without strong health standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that limit pollution of toxins like mercury that come from coal-fired power plants. You have the power to make that happen by submitting a comment right now.

Help us close down even more dirty coal-fired power plants by submitting a comment to EPA now and urging them to strictly limit mercury and other toxic pollution from these plants.

www.greenpeaceusa.org

The EPA’s ability to protect American families from dangerous toxins like mercury is currently under attack by energy industry lobbyists and their friends in Congress. We have to speak up if we want to beat back these attacks and if we want more victories like the one this week in Salem Harbor. It’s as simple as that.

Right now, the coal industry doesn’t have to worry about the kids who develop asthma or the women put at risk of having a child with birth defects. Those costs are just passed on to the community. The EPA can change all that and put the cost of coal back onto the polluters responsible by limiting the pollution of toxins like mercury from these plants.

The comment period is only open for a short time. Submit a comment today.

It’s time to quit coal,

Kelly Mitchell

Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

Black History, ~ Recent Post

Congress: the Republican led House …back May 23, 2011 -the Senate …back May 16, 2011

05/13/2011 Nativegrl77

The Senate Convenes at 2:00pmET May 16, 2011

Following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business for debate only until 5pm with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

There will be no roll call votes on Monday.

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The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 9:00amET on May 13, 2011.

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MAY 13, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

2:19 P.M. – The House adjourned pursuant to H. Con. Res. 50. The next meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on May 23, 2011.

On motion to adjourn Agreed to by voice vote.

Ms. Woolsey moved that the House do now adjourn.

2:18 P.M. – The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of May 13.

12:10 P.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.

11:27 A.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

11:16 A.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with further one minute speeches.

H.R. 754: to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes

11:13 A.M. – The Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross references, and to make other necessary technical and conforming corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 754.

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

On passage Passed by recorded vote: 392 – 15 (Roll no. 329).

11:06 A.M. – On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 182 – 228, 1 Present (Roll no. 328).

10:49 A.M. – The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

10:41 A.M. – The House received a message from the Senate. The Senate agreed to H. Con. Res. 16, H. Con. Res. 46, and H. Con. Res. 50.

10:40 A.M. – The House received a message from the Senate. The Senate passed S. 498.

DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Nadler motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back the House with an amendment commending Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and the United States intelligence community for their successful operation in bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. It also seeks to require the head of each element of the intelligence community to place the highest priority on funding activities that will contribute to the continued disruption, dismantlement and defeat of remaining al Qaeda terrorists and affiliated organizations that threaten the national security of the United States.

10:39 A.M. – Mr. Nadler moved to recommit with instructions to Intelligence (Permanent).

10:38 A.M. – The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

10:37 A.M. – The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 754.

10:36 A.M. – On agreeing to the Reed amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 406 – 0, 4 Present (Roll no. 327).

10:27 A.M. – MOMENT OF SILENCE – The House observed a moment of silence for the police officers who serve and protect us each day.

10:26 A.M. – On agreeing to the Carney amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 221 – 189 (Roll no. 326).

10:18 A.M. – On agreeing to the Hinchey amendment Failed by recorded vote: 194 – 214 (Roll no. 325).

10:09 A.M. – On agreeing to the Gibson amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 278 – 123 (Roll no. 324).

10:02 A.M. – On agreeing to the Rogers (MI) amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 224 – 174 (Roll no. 323).

9:31 A.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question of adoption of amendments which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

9:30 A.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Reed amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Reed demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until later in the legislative day.

9:15 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 30 minutes of debate on the Reed amendment No. 9.

Amendment offered by Mr. Reed.

An amendment numbered 9 printed in House Report 112-75 to commend the United States intelligence community for their successful operation in bringing Osama bin Laden to justice and their continued efforts against al Qaeda. It is based on Senate Resolution 159, which passed the Senate 97 to 0.

9:14 A.M. – The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

Considered as unfinished business.

9:02 A.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 5 per side of the aisle.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Walsh of IL 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.

9:01 A.M. – Today’s prayer was offered by Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, Associate Professor, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.

9:00 A.M. – The Speaker designated the Honorable Rob Bishop to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.