washingtonpost.com
John Edwards's Gamble
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, January 28, 2005; Page A27
What if the problem the Democrats face cannot be explained by all the careful calculations of the careful political calculators? What if their 2004 loss was not primarily about losing a few Catholics here and a few married women there? What if the Democrats' challenge is about passion, not positioning?
John Edwards is wagering a lot, maybe his whole political future, on that list of what-ifs. The 2004 vice presidential nominee, the guy with the dad in the mill who gave the most remembered stump speech of the Democratic primary campaign, will rejoin the debate with a new speech in New Hampshire on the first weekend in February. From the sounds of an interview at his Georgetown house earlier this week, Edwards intends to pick up where he left off in that "two Americas" discourse of his.
"It needs to be clear to the country what our core beliefs are, and the last thing we need is strategic maneuvering," Edwards says. "What people want to see is leadership and strength and conviction. This is about what's inside us. It's not about how we get to the right place."
Wearing blue jeans and a blue button-down shirt, Edwards moves from passion to laughter to hard political calculation. If some might see in Edwards's comments about core beliefs an implicit critique of the Democrats' 2004 campaign, he tries to exorcise that thought by speaking only warmly and respectfully of John Kerry, the man who put him on the ticket. These guys may turn out to be rivals in 2008. For now Edwards wants to stay on the sunny side.
It's true, of course, that rejecting political calculation can itself be a form of political calculation. Conviction politics was a big winner for Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Even President Bush's critics concede -- well, they don't concede anything these days, but they might grudgingly admit -- that Bush's core political edge is just that, the appearance of strength and of standing for something.
But conviction politics has not been in vogue in progressive circles. This era's two great center-left politicians, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, have been resolute Third Wayers, tacking carefully between left and right. The Third Way was a tacit admission of conservatism's momentum.
Edwards is well positioned to offer Third Way 3.0. He's a young southerner, a working-class kid made good whose dad was a deacon in his church. He speaks admiringly of Clinton's skills, particularly the former president's ability to make others feel that he identifies with their struggles.
But Edwards's instincts tell him that tepid politics are exactly what the Democrats don't need now. "I don't think this is about moderate, conservative, liberal," he says. "Americans are looking for strength, an idealistic strength. They want to know what we'd do on Day One if we ran the country."
Moral issues matter, Edwards says, but Democrats won't look moral by getting into a bidding war over how often they can invoke the name of God. Instead, Democrats should speak with conviction about an issue that has always animated them: the alleviation of poverty. "I think it is a moral issue; it's something we should be willing to fight about and stand up for," he says.
Those who counsel caution, he says, would let calculation push Democrats away from their historical commitments. "They think it's associated with some political label," he says, carefully avoiding the L-word himself. "They think that a lot of people who live in poverty don't vote and don't participate and so they don't think there's a lot of political capital there."
Edwards, who is planning to set up a center to study ways to alleviate poverty, is enough of a politician to insist that he wants to advocate not only on behalf of the destitute but also for those just finding their footing on mobility's ladder. But he offers the unexpected claim that the very voters who have strayed from the Democrats would respond forcefully to the moral imperative of aiding the poor.
"The people who love their guns and love their faith, they care about this," Edwards says. "There is a deep abiding feeling of moral responsibility people have about those who are doing everything right and are still having a hard time."
Okay, okay, it's bound to be said that Edwards is making a shrewd political wager that Democrats have tired of capitulation. The test will be whether he sticks with it. It's a fair bet that someone who talks about a real moral issue for the next four years will at least be easier to listen to than politicians who place all their money on yesterday's focus groups.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Dick Cheney, Dressing Down
washingtonpost.com
Dick Cheney, Dressing Down
Parka, Ski Cap at Odds With Solemnity of Auschwitz Ceremony
By Robin Givhan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 28, 2005; Page C01
At yesterday's gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were wearing dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots. Because it was cold and snowing, they were also wearing gentlemen's hats. In short, they were dressed for the inclement weather as well as the sobriety and dignity of the event.
The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower.
Cheney stood out in a sea of black-coated world leaders because he was wearing an olive drab parka with a fur-trimmed hood. It is embroidered with his name. It reminded one of the way in which children's clothes are inscribed with their names before they are sent away to camp. And indeed, the vice president looked like an awkward boy amid the well-dressed adults.
Like other attendees, the vice president was wearing a hat. But it was not a fedora or a Stetson or a fur hat or any kind of hat that one might wear to a memorial service as the representative of one's country. Instead, it was a knit ski cap, embroidered with the words "Staff 2001." It was the kind of hat a conventioneer might find in a goodie bag.
It is also worth mentioning that Cheney was wearing hiking boots -- thick, brown, lace-up ones. Did he think he was going to have to hike the 44 miles from Krakow -- where he had made remarks earlier in the day -- to Auschwitz?
His wife, Lynne, was seated next to him. Her coat has a hood, too, and it is essentially a parka. But it is black and did not appear to be functioning as either a name tag or a billboard. One wonders if at some point the vice president turned to his wife, took in her attire and asked himself why they seemed to be dressed for two entirely different events.
Some might argue that Cheney was the only attendee with the smarts to dress for the cold and snowy weather. But sometimes, out of respect for the occasion, one must endure a little discomfort.
Just last week, in a frigid, snow-dusted Washington, Cheney sat outside through the entire inauguration without so much as a hat and without suffering frostbite. And clearly, Cheney owns a proper overcoat. The world saw it during his swearing-in as vice president. Cheney treated that ceremony with the dignity it deserved -- not simply through his demeanor, but also through his attire. Would he have dared to take the oath of office with a ski cap on? People would have justifiably considered that an insult to the office, the day, the country.
There is little doubt that intellectually Cheney approached the Auschwitz ceremony with thoughtfulness and respect. But symbolism is powerful. That's why the piercing cry of a train whistle marked the beginning of the ceremony and the glare of searchlights signaled its end. The vice president might have been warm in his parka, ski cap and hiking boots. But they had the unfortunate effect of suggesting that he was more concerned with his own comfort than the reason for braving the cold at all.
John Stossel shows his true neo-con colors
August 28, 2005
Tonight on 20/20 on ABC television, John Stossel showed his true neo-con colors. The most glaring lie on the program was when he stated as "fact" that offshore-outsourcing was good for the USA, and creates jobs in the USA. He provided misleading and inaccurate statistics, leaving out important information, to support his erroneous statement.
Tonight on 20/20 on ABC television, John Stossel showed his true neo-con colors. The most glaring lie on the program was when he stated as "fact" that offshore-outsourcing was good for the USA, and creates jobs in the USA. He provided misleading and inaccurate statistics, leaving out important information, to support his erroneous statement.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Bills introduced in the House on Jan 26, 2004
You may find some of these curious as well:
1. H.CON.RES.16 : Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting a democratic, transparent, and fair runoff presidential election on December 26, 2004, and congratulating Viktor Yushchenko on his election as President of Ukraine and his commitment to democracy and reform.
Sponsor: Rep Hyde, Henry J. [IL-6] (introduced 1/6/2005) Cosponsors (11)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
2. H.CON.RES.20 : Providing for a joint session of Congress to receive a message from the President.
Sponsor: Rep Beauprez, Bob [CO-7] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
3. H.CON.RES.21 : Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses.
Sponsor: Rep Beauprez, Bob [CO-7] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
4. H.CON.RES.28 : Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be established a School Zone Safety Awareness Week to encourage schools, government, parents, and businesses in the United States to educate children and adults about safety in our Nation's school zones.
Sponsor: Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
5. H.CON.RES.29 : Supporting the designation of a week as "Extension Living Well Week".
Sponsor: Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
6. H.CON.RES.30 : Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
7. H.CON.RES.31 : Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in Central Asia.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
8. H.CON.RES.32 : Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the occupation of the Republic of Lebanon by the Syrian Arab Republic.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
9. H.CON.RES.33 : Urging the President take immediate steps to establish a plan to adopt the recommendations of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its 2004 Report to the Congress in order to correct the current imbalance in the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China.
Sponsor: Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
10. H.CON.RES.34 : Honoring the life and contributions of Yogi Bhajan, a leader of Sikhs, and expressing condolences to the Sikh community on his passing.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (17)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
11. H.CON.RES.35 : Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.
Sponsor: Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (24)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
12. H.RES.40 : Honoring the career and philanthropic contributions of Johnny Carson.
Sponsor: Rep Fortenberry, Jeff [NE-1] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (16)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
13. H.RES.42 : Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 54) to amend title 31, United States Code, to provide reasonable standards for congressional gold medals, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Rules
House Reports: 109-1
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.
14. H.RES.48 : Electing Members and Delegates to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Pryce, Deborah [OH-15] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
15. H.RES.49 : Electing Members and Delegates to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
16. H.RES.50 : Electing a certain Member to a certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
17. H.RES.51 : Amending the Rules of the House relating to the composition of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Sponsor: Rep DeLay, Tom [TX-22] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
18. H.RES.52 : Congratulating the Seattle Storm for winning the 2004 Women's National Basketball Association Championship.
Sponsor: Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
19. H.RES.53 : Congratulating Ichiro Suzuki for breaking the Major League Baseball record for hits in a single season.
Sponsor: Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
20. H.RES.54 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding anti-Semitism at the United Nations, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
21. H.RES.55 : Recognizing the 100th anniversary of Rotary International.
Sponsor: Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
22. H.J.RES.12 : To commemorate the spirit of Cesar E. Chavez: "Si Se Puede".
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
23. H.J.RES.13 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding regulations on the amounts of expenditures of personal funds made by candidates for election for public office.
Sponsor: Rep Leach, James A. [IA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
24. H.J.RES.14 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
25. H.R.54 : To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide reasonable standards for congressional gold medals, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] (introduced 1/4/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services; Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
26. H.R.366 : To amend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 to strengthen and improve programs under that Act.
Sponsor: Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
27. H.R.367 : To make permanent the teacher loan forgiveness provisions of the Teacher-Taxpayer Protection Act of 2003, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
28. H.R.368 : To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Tom [VA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
29. H.R.369 : To provide for greater recognition of Veterans Day each year.
Sponsor: Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
30. H.R.370 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate that part or all of any income tax refund be paid over for use in biomedical research conducted through the National Institutes of Health.
Sponsor: Rep Bilirakis, Michael [FL-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means; House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
31. H.R.371 : To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of all contact lenses as medical devices, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Boozman, John [AR-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
32. H.R.372 : To include in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, the land and facilities comprising St. Marks lighthouse.
Sponsor: Rep Boyd, Allen [FL-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure; House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
33. H.R.373 : To require notification to Congress of certain contracts, and to amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the unauthorized expenditure of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes.
Sponsor: Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
34. H.R.374 : To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain tribally-owned reservation land into trust for the Puyallup Tribe.
Sponsor: Rep Dicks, Norman D. [WA-6] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
35. H.R.375 : To declare, under the authority of Congress under Article I, section 8 of the Constitution to "provide and maintain a Navy", a national policy for the naval force structure required in order to "provide for the common defense" of the United States throughout the 21st century.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
36. H.R.376 : To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate fair prices for Medicare prescription drugs on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.
Sponsor: Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
37. H.R.377 : To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve death benefits for the families of deceased members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Everett, Terry [AL-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
38. H.R.378 : To establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
39. H.R.379 : To ensure equal protection and due process of law in capital punishment cases by imposing a moratorium on the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in certain States.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
40. H.R.380 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income certain hazard mitigation assistance.
Sponsor: Rep Foley, Mark [FL-16] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (30)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
41. H.R.381 : To clarify congressional approval of certain State energy production tax practices.
Sponsor: Rep Gillmor, Paul E. [OH-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
42. H.R.382 : To amend title 40, United States Code, to designate certain counties and a city as part of the Appalachian region.
Sponsor: Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [VA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
43. H.R.383 : To designate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Doc [WA-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
44. H.R.384 : To prohibit the operation during a calendar year of the final rule issued by the Secretary of Agriculture to establish standards for the designation of minimal-risk regions for the introduction of bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States, including designation of Canada as a minimal-risk region, and the importation into the United States from Canada of certain bovine ruminant products during that calendar year, unless country of origin labeling is required for the retail sale of a covered commodity during that calendar year.
Sponsor: Rep Herseth, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
45. H.R.385 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a $1,000 refundable credit for individuals who are active members of volunteer firefighting and emergency medical service organizations.
Sponsor: Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
46. H.R.386 : To amend the Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2000 to authorize additional projects and activities under that Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
47. H.R.387 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude disaster mitigation payments from gross income.
Sponsor: Rep Jindal, Bobby [LA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
48. H.R.388 : To provide for a Biofuels Feedstocks Energy Reserve, and to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make and guarantee loans for the production, distribution, development, and storage of biofuels.
Sponsor: Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
49. H.R.389 : To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centenary of the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize on President Theodore Roosevelt, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (39)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
50. H.R.390 : To amend the impact aid program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve the delivery of payments under the program to local educational agencies.
Sponsor: Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (27)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
51. H.R.391 : To direct the Secretary of the Army to convey the remaining water supply storage allocation in Rathbun Lake, Iowa, to the Rathbun Regional Water Association.
Sponsor: Rep Leach, James A. [IA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
52. H.R.392 : To establish a grant program to enhance the financial and retirement literacy of mid-life and older Americans and to reduce financial abuse and fraud among such Americans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
53. H.R.393 : To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to notify the Congress of any shortfall in funding for the tenant-based rental assistance program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
Sponsor: Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
54. H.R.394 : To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a boundary study to evaluate the significance of the Colonel James Barrett Farm in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the suitability and feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System as part of the Minute Man National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
55. H.R.395 : To adjust the boundary of Lowell National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
56. H.R.396 : To provide assistance for early warning systems in foreign countries.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (8)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
57. H.R.397 : To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance to children who are orphaned or unaccompanied as a result of the tsunamis that occurred on December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
58. H.R.398 : To provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
59. H.R.399 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income interest received on loans secured by agricultural real property.
Sponsor: Rep Osborne, Tom [NE-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
60. H.R.400 : To provide for the conveyance of the Western Cotton Research Laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona, to the nonprofit organizations that originally provided the real property for the laboratory, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
61. H.R.401 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make higher education more affordable by providing a full tax deduction for higher education expenses and interest on student loans.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
62. H.R.402 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for elementary and secondary school teachers.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
63. H.R.403 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the Hope Scholarship Credit to be used for elementary and secondary expenses.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
64. H.R.404 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for amounts contributed to charitable organizations which provide elementary or secondary school scholarships and for contributions of, and for, instructional materials and materials for extracurricular activities.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
65. H.R.405 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for professional school personnel in grades kindergarten through grade 12.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
66. H.R.406 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a credit against income tax for tuition and related expenses for public and nonpublic elementary and secondary education.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
67. H.R.407 : To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize space-available transportation on Department of Defense aircraft for an individual who is a surviving spouse or dependent child of a member of the Armed Forces who died on active duty when that individual is traveling with a relative of the deceased member who is otherwise eligible for such space-available transportation.
Sponsor: Rep Pombo, Richard W. [CA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
68. H.R.408 : To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for portal-to-portal compensation for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pombo, Richard W. [CA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
69. H.R.409 : To provide for the exchange of land within the Sierra National Forest, California, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Radanovich, George [CA-19] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
70. H.R.410 : To provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona between the Secretary of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch Limited Partnership.
Sponsor: Rep Renzi, Rick [AZ-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
71. H.R.411 : To recognize the importance of livestock ranching to the history and continued economic vitality of the western United States and to compensate ranchers when certain Government actions result in the loss or reduction in animal unit months authorized under a grazing permit or lease issued by a Federal land management agency, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Renzi, Rick [AZ-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources; House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
72. H.R.412 : To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Western Reserve Heritage Area.
Sponsor: Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
73. H.R.413 : To establish the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
74. H.R.414 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for the purchase of hearing aids.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (20)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
75. H.R.415 : To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for direct access to audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (10)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
76. H.R.416 : To prohibit the use of Department of Defense funds for any study related to the transportation of chemical munitions across State lines.
Sponsor: Rep Salazar, John T. [CO-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
77. H.R.417 : To provide incentives for investment in research and development for new medicines, to enhance access to new medicines, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sanders, Bernard [VT] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
78. H.R.418 : To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence.
Sponsor: Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [WI-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (115)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Homeland Security; House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
79. H.R.419 : To extend the operation of the President's National Hire Veterans Committee, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Simpson, Michael K. [ID-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
80. H.R.420 : To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve attorney accountability, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (38)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
81. H.R.421 : To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the payment of stipends to veterans who pursue doctoral degrees in science or technology.
Sponsor: Rep Sweeney, John E. [NY-20] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
82. H.R.422 : To provide for counterproliferation measures.
Sponsor: Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
83. H.R.423 : To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish an Advanced Power System Technology Incentives Program to fund the development and deployment of new advanced technologies such as advanced fuel cells, turbines, or hybrid power systems or power storage systems to generate or store electric energy, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
84. H.R.424 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for certain energy efficient property placed in service or installed in an existing principal residence or property used by businesses.
Sponsor: Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
85. H.R.425 : To establish a grant and fee program through the Environmental Protection Agency to encourage and promote the recycling of used computers and to promote the development of a national infrastructure for the recycling of used computers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (13)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
86. H.R.426 : To encourage the development and integrated use by the public and private sectors of remote sensing and other geospatial information, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Science
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Science.
87. H.R.427 : To require Federal agencies to develop and implement policies and practices that promote environmental justice, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
88. H.R.428 : To better provide for compensation for certain persons injured in the course of employment at the Rocky Flats site in Colorado.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
89. H.R.429 : To reauthorize additional contract authority for States with Indian reservations.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
90. H.R.430 : To amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify a route that passes through the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas as a high priority corridor on the National Highway System.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
91. H.R.431 : -- Private Bill; For the relief of Flavia Maboloc Cahoon.
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
92. H.R.432 : -- Private Bill; To require the Secretary of the Interior to permit continued occupancy and use of certain lands and improvements within Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
93. H.AMDT.2 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 109-1 to change the effective date of the bill from "after December 31, 2005" to instead make the new limitation on the number of congressional gold medals effective on enactment of the bill.
Sponsor: Rep Oxley, Michael G. [OH-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Oxley amendment (A001) Agreed to by voice vote.
94. H.AMDT.3 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 109-1 to increase the limit of gold medals provided for under the bill from 2 per calendar year to 6 per Congress.
Sponsor: Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment not agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Crowley amendment (A002) Failed by recorded vote: 189 - 212 (Roll no. 10).
95. H.AMDT.4 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 109-1 to provide for an equitable distribution of gold medals under the bill between the majority party and the minority party.
Sponsor: Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment not agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Crowley amendment (A003) Failed by recorded vote: 182 - 211 (Roll no. 11).
1. H.CON.RES.16 : Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting a democratic, transparent, and fair runoff presidential election on December 26, 2004, and congratulating Viktor Yushchenko on his election as President of Ukraine and his commitment to democracy and reform.
Sponsor: Rep Hyde, Henry J. [IL-6] (introduced 1/6/2005) Cosponsors (11)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
2. H.CON.RES.20 : Providing for a joint session of Congress to receive a message from the President.
Sponsor: Rep Beauprez, Bob [CO-7] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
3. H.CON.RES.21 : Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses.
Sponsor: Rep Beauprez, Bob [CO-7] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Received in the Senate.
4. H.CON.RES.28 : Expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be established a School Zone Safety Awareness Week to encourage schools, government, parents, and businesses in the United States to educate children and adults about safety in our Nation's school zones.
Sponsor: Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
5. H.CON.RES.29 : Supporting the designation of a week as "Extension Living Well Week".
Sponsor: Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
6. H.CON.RES.30 : Supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
7. H.CON.RES.31 : Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in Central Asia.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
8. H.CON.RES.32 : Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the occupation of the Republic of Lebanon by the Syrian Arab Republic.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
9. H.CON.RES.33 : Urging the President take immediate steps to establish a plan to adopt the recommendations of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its 2004 Report to the Congress in order to correct the current imbalance in the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China.
Sponsor: Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
10. H.CON.RES.34 : Honoring the life and contributions of Yogi Bhajan, a leader of Sikhs, and expressing condolences to the Sikh community on his passing.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (17)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
11. H.CON.RES.35 : Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.
Sponsor: Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (24)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
12. H.RES.40 : Honoring the career and philanthropic contributions of Johnny Carson.
Sponsor: Rep Fortenberry, Jeff [NE-1] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (16)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
13. H.RES.42 : Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 54) to amend title 31, United States Code, to provide reasonable standards for congressional gold medals, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] (introduced 1/25/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Rules
House Reports: 109-1
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.
14. H.RES.48 : Electing Members and Delegates to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Pryce, Deborah [OH-15] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
15. H.RES.49 : Electing Members and Delegates to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
16. H.RES.50 : Electing a certain Member to a certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
17. H.RES.51 : Amending the Rules of the House relating to the composition of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Sponsor: Rep DeLay, Tom [TX-22] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.
18. H.RES.52 : Congratulating the Seattle Storm for winning the 2004 Women's National Basketball Association Championship.
Sponsor: Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
19. H.RES.53 : Congratulating Ichiro Suzuki for breaking the Major League Baseball record for hits in a single season.
Sponsor: Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
20. H.RES.54 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding anti-Semitism at the United Nations, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
21. H.RES.55 : Recognizing the 100th anniversary of Rotary International.
Sponsor: Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
22. H.J.RES.12 : To commemorate the spirit of Cesar E. Chavez: "Si Se Puede".
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
23. H.J.RES.13 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding regulations on the amounts of expenditures of personal funds made by candidates for election for public office.
Sponsor: Rep Leach, James A. [IA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
24. H.J.RES.14 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
25. H.R.54 : To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide reasonable standards for congressional gold medals, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] (introduced 1/4/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services; Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
26. H.R.366 : To amend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 to strengthen and improve programs under that Act.
Sponsor: Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
27. H.R.367 : To make permanent the teacher loan forgiveness provisions of the Teacher-Taxpayer Protection Act of 2003, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
28. H.R.368 : To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Tom [VA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Government Reform; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
29. H.R.369 : To provide for greater recognition of Veterans Day each year.
Sponsor: Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
30. H.R.370 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate that part or all of any income tax refund be paid over for use in biomedical research conducted through the National Institutes of Health.
Sponsor: Rep Bilirakis, Michael [FL-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means; House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
31. H.R.371 : To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of all contact lenses as medical devices, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Boozman, John [AR-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
32. H.R.372 : To include in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, the land and facilities comprising St. Marks lighthouse.
Sponsor: Rep Boyd, Allen [FL-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure; House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
33. H.R.373 : To require notification to Congress of certain contracts, and to amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the unauthorized expenditure of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes.
Sponsor: Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
34. H.R.374 : To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain tribally-owned reservation land into trust for the Puyallup Tribe.
Sponsor: Rep Dicks, Norman D. [WA-6] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
35. H.R.375 : To declare, under the authority of Congress under Article I, section 8 of the Constitution to "provide and maintain a Navy", a national policy for the naval force structure required in order to "provide for the common defense" of the United States throughout the 21st century.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
36. H.R.376 : To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate fair prices for Medicare prescription drugs on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.
Sponsor: Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
37. H.R.377 : To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve death benefits for the families of deceased members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Everett, Terry [AL-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
38. H.R.378 : To establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
39. H.R.379 : To ensure equal protection and due process of law in capital punishment cases by imposing a moratorium on the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in certain States.
Sponsor: Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
40. H.R.380 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income certain hazard mitigation assistance.
Sponsor: Rep Foley, Mark [FL-16] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (30)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
41. H.R.381 : To clarify congressional approval of certain State energy production tax practices.
Sponsor: Rep Gillmor, Paul E. [OH-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
42. H.R.382 : To amend title 40, United States Code, to designate certain counties and a city as part of the Appalachian region.
Sponsor: Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [VA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
43. H.R.383 : To designate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Doc [WA-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
44. H.R.384 : To prohibit the operation during a calendar year of the final rule issued by the Secretary of Agriculture to establish standards for the designation of minimal-risk regions for the introduction of bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States, including designation of Canada as a minimal-risk region, and the importation into the United States from Canada of certain bovine ruminant products during that calendar year, unless country of origin labeling is required for the retail sale of a covered commodity during that calendar year.
Sponsor: Rep Herseth, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
45. H.R.385 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a $1,000 refundable credit for individuals who are active members of volunteer firefighting and emergency medical service organizations.
Sponsor: Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
46. H.R.386 : To amend the Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2000 to authorize additional projects and activities under that Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
47. H.R.387 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude disaster mitigation payments from gross income.
Sponsor: Rep Jindal, Bobby [LA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
48. H.R.388 : To provide for a Biofuels Feedstocks Energy Reserve, and to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make and guarantee loans for the production, distribution, development, and storage of biofuels.
Sponsor: Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
49. H.R.389 : To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centenary of the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize on President Theodore Roosevelt, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (39)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
50. H.R.390 : To amend the impact aid program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve the delivery of payments under the program to local educational agencies.
Sponsor: Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (27)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
51. H.R.391 : To direct the Secretary of the Army to convey the remaining water supply storage allocation in Rathbun Lake, Iowa, to the Rathbun Regional Water Association.
Sponsor: Rep Leach, James A. [IA-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
52. H.R.392 : To establish a grant program to enhance the financial and retirement literacy of mid-life and older Americans and to reduce financial abuse and fraud among such Americans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
53. H.R.393 : To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to notify the Congress of any shortfall in funding for the tenant-based rental assistance program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
Sponsor: Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Financial Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
54. H.R.394 : To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a boundary study to evaluate the significance of the Colonel James Barrett Farm in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the suitability and feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System as part of the Minute Man National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
55. H.R.395 : To adjust the boundary of Lowell National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
56. H.R.396 : To provide assistance for early warning systems in foreign countries.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (8)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
57. H.R.397 : To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance to children who are orphaned or unaccompanied as a result of the tsunamis that occurred on December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean.
Sponsor: Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
58. H.R.398 : To provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
59. H.R.399 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income interest received on loans secured by agricultural real property.
Sponsor: Rep Osborne, Tom [NE-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
60. H.R.400 : To provide for the conveyance of the Western Cotton Research Laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona, to the nonprofit organizations that originally provided the real property for the laboratory, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
61. H.R.401 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make higher education more affordable by providing a full tax deduction for higher education expenses and interest on student loans.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
62. H.R.402 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for elementary and secondary school teachers.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
63. H.R.403 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the Hope Scholarship Credit to be used for elementary and secondary expenses.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
64. H.R.404 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for amounts contributed to charitable organizations which provide elementary or secondary school scholarships and for contributions of, and for, instructional materials and materials for extracurricular activities.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
65. H.R.405 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for professional school personnel in grades kindergarten through grade 12.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
66. H.R.406 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a credit against income tax for tuition and related expenses for public and nonpublic elementary and secondary education.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
67. H.R.407 : To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize space-available transportation on Department of Defense aircraft for an individual who is a surviving spouse or dependent child of a member of the Armed Forces who died on active duty when that individual is traveling with a relative of the deceased member who is otherwise eligible for such space-available transportation.
Sponsor: Rep Pombo, Richard W. [CA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
68. H.R.408 : To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for portal-to-portal compensation for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pombo, Richard W. [CA-11] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.
69. H.R.409 : To provide for the exchange of land within the Sierra National Forest, California, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Radanovich, George [CA-19] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
70. H.R.410 : To provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona between the Secretary of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch Limited Partnership.
Sponsor: Rep Renzi, Rick [AZ-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
71. H.R.411 : To recognize the importance of livestock ranching to the history and continued economic vitality of the western United States and to compensate ranchers when certain Government actions result in the loss or reduction in animal unit months authorized under a grazing permit or lease issued by a Federal land management agency, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Renzi, Rick [AZ-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources; House Agriculture
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
72. H.R.412 : To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Western Reserve Heritage Area.
Sponsor: Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
73. H.R.413 : To establish the Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
74. H.R.414 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for the purchase of hearing aids.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (20)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
75. H.R.415 : To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for direct access to audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Ryun, Jim [KS-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (10)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
76. H.R.416 : To prohibit the use of Department of Defense funds for any study related to the transportation of chemical munitions across State lines.
Sponsor: Rep Salazar, John T. [CO-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
77. H.R.417 : To provide incentives for investment in research and development for new medicines, to enhance access to new medicines, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sanders, Bernard [VT] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
78. H.R.418 : To establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence.
Sponsor: Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [WI-5] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (115)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Homeland Security; House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
79. H.R.419 : To extend the operation of the President's National Hire Veterans Committee, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Simpson, Michael K. [ID-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
80. H.R.420 : To amend Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to improve attorney accountability, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (38)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
81. H.R.421 : To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the payment of stipends to veterans who pursue doctoral degrees in science or technology.
Sponsor: Rep Sweeney, John E. [NY-20] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Veterans' Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
82. H.R.422 : To provide for counterproliferation measures.
Sponsor: Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
83. H.R.423 : To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish an Advanced Power System Technology Incentives Program to fund the development and deployment of new advanced technologies such as advanced fuel cells, turbines, or hybrid power systems or power storage systems to generate or store electric energy, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
84. H.R.424 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for certain energy efficient property placed in service or installed in an existing principal residence or property used by businesses.
Sponsor: Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
85. H.R.425 : To establish a grant and fee program through the Environmental Protection Agency to encourage and promote the recycling of used computers and to promote the development of a national infrastructure for the recycling of used computers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (13)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
86. H.R.426 : To encourage the development and integrated use by the public and private sectors of remote sensing and other geospatial information, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Science
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Science.
87. H.R.427 : To require Federal agencies to develop and implement policies and practices that promote environmental justice, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
88. H.R.428 : To better provide for compensation for certain persons injured in the course of employment at the Rocky Flats site in Colorado.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Judiciary; House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
89. H.R.429 : To reauthorize additional contract authority for States with Indian reservations.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (2)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
90. H.R.430 : To amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify a route that passes through the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas as a high priority corridor on the National Highway System.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
91. H.R.431 : -- Private Bill; For the relief of Flavia Maboloc Cahoon.
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
92. H.R.432 : -- Private Bill; To require the Secretary of the Interior to permit continued occupancy and use of certain lands and improvements within Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Resources
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
93. H.AMDT.2 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 109-1 to change the effective date of the bill from "after December 31, 2005" to instead make the new limitation on the number of congressional gold medals effective on enactment of the bill.
Sponsor: Rep Oxley, Michael G. [OH-4] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Oxley amendment (A001) Agreed to by voice vote.
94. H.AMDT.3 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 109-1 to increase the limit of gold medals provided for under the bill from 2 per calendar year to 6 per Congress.
Sponsor: Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment not agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Crowley amendment (A002) Failed by recorded vote: 189 - 212 (Roll no. 10).
95. H.AMDT.4 to H.R.54 An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 109-1 to provide for an equitable distribution of gold medals under the bill between the majority party and the minority party.
Sponsor: Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] (introduced 1/26/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 House amendment not agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the Crowley amendment (A003) Failed by recorded vote: 182 - 211 (Roll no. 11).
Bills introduced in the Senate on Jan 26, 2004
You may find some of these rather curious:
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - January 26, 2005)
[Page: S573]
---
The following bills and joint resolutions were introduced, read the first and second times by unanimous consent, and referred as indicated:
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. BENNETT):
S. 168. A bill to reauthorize additional contract authority for States with Indian reservations; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. INHOFE):
S. 169. A bill to amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify a route that passes through the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas as a high priority corridor on the National Highway System; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. STEVENS):
S. 170. A bill to clarify the definition of rural airports; to the Committee on Finance.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. STEVENS, and Mrs. MURRAY):
S. 171. A bill to exempt seaplanes from certain transportation taxes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY):
S. 172. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of all contact lenses as medical devices, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. DURBIN):
S. 173. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide adequate coverage for immunosuppressive drugs furnished to beneficiaries under the Medicare program that have received an organ transplant; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. DODD, and Mrs. MURRAY):
S. 174. A bill to improve the palliative and end-of-life care provided to children with life-threatening conditions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. ROBERTS):
S. 175. A bill to establish the Bleeding Kansas and Enduring Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
S. 176. A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. ENSIGN):
[Page: S574] GPO's PDF
S. 177. A bill to further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian olive, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN):
S. 178. A bill to provide assistance to the State of New Mexico for the development of comprehensive State water plans, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
S. 179. A bill to provide for the exchange of land within the Sierra National Forest, California, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. KYL:
S. 180. A bill for the relief of Ilko Vasilev Ivanov, Anelia Marinova Peneva, Marina Ilkova Ivanova, and Julia Ilkova Ivanova; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. ENSIGN:
S. 181. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for taxpayers owning certain commercial power takeoff vehicles; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. BENNETT:
S. 182. A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY):
S. 183. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide families of disabled children with the opportunity to purchase coverage under the medicaid program for such children, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. COLEMAN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI):
S. 184. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to protect the public health from the unsafe importation of prescription drugs and from counterfeit prescription drugs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. DAYTON):
S. 185. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal the requirement for the reduction of certain Survivor Benefit Plan annuities by the amount of dependency and indemnity compensation and to modify the effective date for paid-up coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. ALLARD (for himself, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. BUNNING, and Mr. SARBANES):
S. 186. A bill to prohibit the use of Department of Defense funds for any study related to the transportation of chemical munitions across State lines; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. CORZINE (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JEFFORDS, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KERRY, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. BIDEN):
S. 187. A bill to limit the applicability of the annual updates to the allowance for States and other taxes in the tables used in the Federal Needs Analysis Methodology for the award year 2005-2006, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2004; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. KYL, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. LAUTENBERG):
S. 188. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2005 through 2011 to carry out the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. INHOFE:
S. 189. A bill to amend the Head Start Act to require parental consent for nonemergency intrusive physical examinations; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. HAGEL (for himself, Mr. SUNUNU, and Mrs. DOLE):
S. 190. A bill to address the regulation of secondary mortgage market enterprises, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. SANTORUM):
S. 191. A bill to extend certain trade preferences to certain least-developed countries, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. LUGAR:
S. 192. A bill to provide for the improvement of foreign stabilization and reconstruction capabilities of the United States Government; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ENZI, Mr. THUNE, Mr. LOTT, Mr. KYL, Mr. MARTINEZ , Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ENSIGN, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. THOMAS):
S. 193. A bill to increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane language; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
By Mr. NELSON of Nebraska (for himself and Mr. ENZI):
S. 194. A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to permit the planting of chicory on base acres; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. OBAMA, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mr. SCHUMER):
S. 195. A bill to provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. KOHL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. JOHNSON):
S. 196. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the taxation of income of controlled foreign corporations attributable to imported property; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mrs. BOXER:
S. 197. A bill to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion at grade crossings; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
By Mr. GRAHAM:
S. 198. A bill for the relief of Griselda Lopez Negrete; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. GRAHAM:
S. 199. A bill for the relief of Ricardo F. Pedrotti; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself and Mr. ISAKSON):
S. 200. A bill to establish the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - January 26, 2005)
[Page: S573]
---
The following bills and joint resolutions were introduced, read the first and second times by unanimous consent, and referred as indicated:
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. BENNETT):
S. 168. A bill to reauthorize additional contract authority for States with Indian reservations; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. INHOFE):
S. 169. A bill to amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify a route that passes through the States of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas as a high priority corridor on the National Highway System; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. STEVENS):
S. 170. A bill to clarify the definition of rural airports; to the Committee on Finance.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. STEVENS, and Mrs. MURRAY):
S. 171. A bill to exempt seaplanes from certain transportation taxes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY):
S. 172. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of all contact lenses as medical devices, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. DURBIN):
S. 173. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide adequate coverage for immunosuppressive drugs furnished to beneficiaries under the Medicare program that have received an organ transplant; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. DODD, and Mrs. MURRAY):
S. 174. A bill to improve the palliative and end-of-life care provided to children with life-threatening conditions, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. ROBERTS):
S. 175. A bill to establish the Bleeding Kansas and Enduring Struggle for Freedom National Heritage Area, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
S. 176. A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. ENSIGN):
[Page: S574] GPO's PDF
S. 177. A bill to further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian olive, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN):
S. 178. A bill to provide assistance to the State of New Mexico for the development of comprehensive State water plans, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
S. 179. A bill to provide for the exchange of land within the Sierra National Forest, California, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. KYL:
S. 180. A bill for the relief of Ilko Vasilev Ivanov, Anelia Marinova Peneva, Marina Ilkova Ivanova, and Julia Ilkova Ivanova; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. ENSIGN:
S. 181. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for taxpayers owning certain commercial power takeoff vehicles; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. BENNETT:
S. 182. A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY):
S. 183. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide families of disabled children with the opportunity to purchase coverage under the medicaid program for such children, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. COLEMAN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI):
S. 184. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to protect the public health from the unsafe importation of prescription drugs and from counterfeit prescription drugs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. DAYTON):
S. 185. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal the requirement for the reduction of certain Survivor Benefit Plan annuities by the amount of dependency and indemnity compensation and to modify the effective date for paid-up coverage under the Survivor Benefit Plan; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. ALLARD (for himself, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. BUNNING, and Mr. SARBANES):
S. 186. A bill to prohibit the use of Department of Defense funds for any study related to the transportation of chemical munitions across State lines; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. CORZINE (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JEFFORDS, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KERRY, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. BIDEN):
S. 187. A bill to limit the applicability of the annual updates to the allowance for States and other taxes in the tables used in the Federal Needs Analysis Methodology for the award year 2005-2006, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2004; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. KYL, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. LAUTENBERG):
S. 188. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2005 through 2011 to carry out the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. INHOFE:
S. 189. A bill to amend the Head Start Act to require parental consent for nonemergency intrusive physical examinations; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
By Mr. HAGEL (for himself, Mr. SUNUNU, and Mrs. DOLE):
S. 190. A bill to address the regulation of secondary mortgage market enterprises, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. SANTORUM):
S. 191. A bill to extend certain trade preferences to certain least-developed countries, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mr. LUGAR:
S. 192. A bill to provide for the improvement of foreign stabilization and reconstruction capabilities of the United States Government; to the Committee on Armed Services.
By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ENZI, Mr. THUNE, Mr. LOTT, Mr. KYL, Mr. MARTINEZ , Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ENSIGN, Mrs. LINCOLN, and Mr. THOMAS):
S. 193. A bill to increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane language; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
By Mr. NELSON of Nebraska (for himself and Mr. ENZI):
S. 194. A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to permit the planting of chicory on base acres; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. DODD, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. OBAMA, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mr. SCHUMER):
S. 195. A bill to provide for full voting representation in Congress for the citizens of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. KOHL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. JOHNSON):
S. 196. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the taxation of income of controlled foreign corporations attributable to imported property; to the Committee on Finance.
By Mrs. BOXER:
S. 197. A bill to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion at grade crossings; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
By Mr. GRAHAM:
S. 198. A bill for the relief of Griselda Lopez Negrete; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. GRAHAM:
S. 199. A bill for the relief of Ricardo F. Pedrotti; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
By Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself and Mr. ISAKSON):
S. 200. A bill to establish the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
13 out of 100 Senators do the right thing
The following 13 Senators, all Democrats, the only members of the US Senate with a concious and unwilling to confirm an incompetent liar, voted NOT to confirm Condoleeza Rice to be Secretary of State.
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract
washingtonpost.com
Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; Page C01
In 2002, syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher repeatedly defended President Bush's push for a $300 million initiative encouraging marriage as a way of strengthening families.
"The Bush marriage initiative would emphasize the importance of marriage to poor couples" and "educate teens on the value of delaying childbearing until marriage," she wrote in National Review Online, for example, adding that this could "carry big payoffs down the road for taxpayers and children."
But Gallagher failed to mention that she had a $21,500 contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the president's proposal. Her work under the contract, which ran from January through October 2002, included drafting a magazine article for the HHS official overseeing the initiative, writing brochures for the program and conducting a briefing for department officials.
"Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it?" Gallagher said yesterday. "I don't know. You tell me." She said she would have "been happy to tell anyone who called me" about the contract but that "frankly, it never occurred to me" to disclose it.
Later in the day, Gallagher filed a column in which she said that "I should have disclosed a government contract when I later wrote about the Bush marriage initiative. I would have, if I had remembered it. My apologies to my readers."
In the interview, Gallagher said her situation was "not really anything near" the recent controversy involving conservative commentator Armstrong Williams. Earlier this month Williams apologized for not disclosing a $241,000 contract with the Education Department, awarded through the Ketchum public relations firm, to promote Bush's No Child Left Behind law through advertising on his cable TV and syndicated radio shows and other efforts.
Gallagher received an additional $20,000 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003 for writing a report, titled "Can Government Strengthen Marriage?", for a private organization called the National Fatherhood Initiative. That report, published last year, was funded by a Justice Department grant, said NFI spokesman Vincent DiCaro. Gallagher said she was "aware vaguely" that her work was federally funded.
In columns, television appearances and interviews with such newspapers as The Washington Post, Gallagher last year defended Bush's proposal for a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.
Wade Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families, said his division hired Gallagher as "a well-known national expert," along with other specialists in the field, to help devise the president's healthy marriage initiative. "It's not unusual in the federal government to do that," he said.
The essay Gallagher drafted appeared under Horn's byline -- with the headline "Closing the Marriage Gap" -- and ran in Crisis magazine, which promotes humanism rooted in Catholic Church teachings. Horn said most of the brochures written by Gallagher -- such as "The Top Ten Reasons Marriage Matters" -- were not used as the program evolved.
"I don't see any comparison between what has been alleged with Armstrong Williams and what we did with Maggie Gallagher," said Horn, who founded the National Fatherhood Initiative before entering government. "We didn't pay her to write columns. We didn't pay her to promote the president's healthy marriage initiative at all. What we wanted to do was use her expertise." The Education Department is now investigating the Williams contract.
The author of three books on marriage, Gallagher is president of the Washington-based Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, a frequent television guest and has written on the subject for such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Weekly Standard.
While she was being paid by HHS in 2002, Gallagher in her syndicated column dismissed the arguments against "President Bush's modest marriage initiative" as "nonsense," writing: "Bush plans to use a tiny fraction of surplus welfare dollars to fund marriage education services for at-risk couples."
In a column later that year that appeared in the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News, Gallagher said Bush's welfare-revision bill would, among other things, encourage "stable marriages," and that it was a "scandal" for Democrats to reject the president's plan and fail to offer an alternative.
National Review Editor Rich Lowry said of the HHS contract: "We would have preferred that she told us, and we would have disclosed it in her bio."
Tribune Media Services dropped Williams's column after his administration contract was disclosed. Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Gallagher's column, plans no such action.
"We did not know about the contract," spokeswoman Kathie Kerr said. "We would have probably liked to have known." But, Kerr said, "this is what we hired Maggie to write about. It probably wouldn't have changed our mind to distribute it."
Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; Page C01
In 2002, syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher repeatedly defended President Bush's push for a $300 million initiative encouraging marriage as a way of strengthening families.
"The Bush marriage initiative would emphasize the importance of marriage to poor couples" and "educate teens on the value of delaying childbearing until marriage," she wrote in National Review Online, for example, adding that this could "carry big payoffs down the road for taxpayers and children."
But Gallagher failed to mention that she had a $21,500 contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the president's proposal. Her work under the contract, which ran from January through October 2002, included drafting a magazine article for the HHS official overseeing the initiative, writing brochures for the program and conducting a briefing for department officials.
"Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it?" Gallagher said yesterday. "I don't know. You tell me." She said she would have "been happy to tell anyone who called me" about the contract but that "frankly, it never occurred to me" to disclose it.
Later in the day, Gallagher filed a column in which she said that "I should have disclosed a government contract when I later wrote about the Bush marriage initiative. I would have, if I had remembered it. My apologies to my readers."
In the interview, Gallagher said her situation was "not really anything near" the recent controversy involving conservative commentator Armstrong Williams. Earlier this month Williams apologized for not disclosing a $241,000 contract with the Education Department, awarded through the Ketchum public relations firm, to promote Bush's No Child Left Behind law through advertising on his cable TV and syndicated radio shows and other efforts.
Gallagher received an additional $20,000 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003 for writing a report, titled "Can Government Strengthen Marriage?", for a private organization called the National Fatherhood Initiative. That report, published last year, was funded by a Justice Department grant, said NFI spokesman Vincent DiCaro. Gallagher said she was "aware vaguely" that her work was federally funded.
In columns, television appearances and interviews with such newspapers as The Washington Post, Gallagher last year defended Bush's proposal for a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.
Wade Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families, said his division hired Gallagher as "a well-known national expert," along with other specialists in the field, to help devise the president's healthy marriage initiative. "It's not unusual in the federal government to do that," he said.
The essay Gallagher drafted appeared under Horn's byline -- with the headline "Closing the Marriage Gap" -- and ran in Crisis magazine, which promotes humanism rooted in Catholic Church teachings. Horn said most of the brochures written by Gallagher -- such as "The Top Ten Reasons Marriage Matters" -- were not used as the program evolved.
"I don't see any comparison between what has been alleged with Armstrong Williams and what we did with Maggie Gallagher," said Horn, who founded the National Fatherhood Initiative before entering government. "We didn't pay her to write columns. We didn't pay her to promote the president's healthy marriage initiative at all. What we wanted to do was use her expertise." The Education Department is now investigating the Williams contract.
The author of three books on marriage, Gallagher is president of the Washington-based Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, a frequent television guest and has written on the subject for such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Weekly Standard.
While she was being paid by HHS in 2002, Gallagher in her syndicated column dismissed the arguments against "President Bush's modest marriage initiative" as "nonsense," writing: "Bush plans to use a tiny fraction of surplus welfare dollars to fund marriage education services for at-risk couples."
In a column later that year that appeared in the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News, Gallagher said Bush's welfare-revision bill would, among other things, encourage "stable marriages," and that it was a "scandal" for Democrats to reject the president's plan and fail to offer an alternative.
National Review Editor Rich Lowry said of the HHS contract: "We would have preferred that she told us, and we would have disclosed it in her bio."
Tribune Media Services dropped Williams's column after his administration contract was disclosed. Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Gallagher's column, plans no such action.
"We did not know about the contract," spokeswoman Kathie Kerr said. "We would have probably liked to have known." But, Kerr said, "this is what we hired Maggie to write about. It probably wouldn't have changed our mind to distribute it."
Loyal to Her Party, but Not in Lock Step
The New York Times
January 26, 2005
PUBLIC LIVES
Loyal to Her Party, but Not in Lock Step
By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
OLDWICK, N.J.
IT is one of the more fortunate footnotes of last week's inaugural festivities: When President Bush was sworn in for his second term, Christie Whitman, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency during his first term, was thousands of miles away, attending a corporate board meeting.
Mrs. Whitman said she had unsuccessfully urged the company, Texas Instruments, to reschedule, and that she nonetheless managed to attend a few pre-inaugural soirees in Washington. But given the furor Mrs. Whitman has ignited among some of the president's most fervent supporters, it's a wonder she made it out of the capital without celebrating conservatives using her as piñata.
The flashpoint for her latest clash with conservatives is Mrs. Whitman's new book, "It's My Party, Too," which warns Republican that their lurch to the right, while successful in the short-term, runs the risk of marginalizing the party over the long haul. She brands the most fire-breathing right-wing activists as "extremists" and "social fundamentalists" and needles Mr. Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, by pointing out that the president's three-point margin of victory last November was the narrowest of any incumbent ever re-elected.
The Bush family omertà demands silence and loyalty from all the president's retinue, so Mrs. Whitman's decision to speak out is in itself an outrage. Some have questioned her credentials as a Republican and ridicule her for arguing against a strategy that has brought the party unprecedented power. A few have even compared her to Michael Moore.
"I expected criticism," Mrs. Whitman, 58, said last week, sitting in the living room of Pontefract, her family's gracious farm in New Jersey's hunt country. "But I'm surprised at how personal the attacks are."
The bitterness of the reaction is all the more surprising because Mrs. Whitman's book, like her public record, performs some astounding contortions to avoid criticizing the president himself.
Mr. Bush's decision to break his campaign promise to curb carbon emissions from power plants? A reasonable choice, Mrs. Whitman argues, marred by poor public relations. She asserts, without irony, that Mr. Bush is a closet environmentalist, forced to hide his inner tree hugger for fear of riling Republican extremists.
In fact, the only member of the Bush inner circle cited in the book for environmental negligence is Barney, a Scottish terrier Mrs. Whitman sold to the president, and who "christened" the carpet in Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
Of course, in publishing, as in politics and paper training, timing is everything. Even as partisans on the right have blasted her, many on the left are angered that she waited until after the election to complain.
So why didn't Mrs. Whitman publish sooner? And why should environmentalists or moderates take her seriously, given that she was chairwoman of Mr. Bush's re-election effort in New Jersey? Mrs. Whitman's explanation is simple: The president isn't the issue. The party is. "If I had spoken up during the campaign, people would have viewed it in the context of the election, and it would have been forgotten the next day," she said.
That answer is undeniably consistent with Mrs. Whitman's political lineage. Her father, Webster Todd, was a state Republican Party chairman; her mother, Eleanor Todd, was a vice chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. Family lore holds that they met at the party's 1932 convention. Mrs. Whitman first attended a convention at age 9, when her parents were instrumental in persuading Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president. And she hasn't missed one since.
MRS. Whitman contends that those who do not consider "Eisenhower Republican" insulting are true conservatives, because they embrace fiscal restraint and limited government, and do not seek to legislate morality.
She views her book as a call to arms, urging Republicans who share her support for abortion rights, stem-cell research, and gay rights to become "radical moderates" who match the zeal and organization of the right wing.
Mrs. Whitman begins her book tour tonight with a reading at Cooper Union in Manhattan, the site where Lincoln challenged the Republican establishment in 1860 by giving a speech that propelled him to the White House. Still, Mrs. Whitman says that seven years as New Jersey governor and 28 months in Washington have squelched any desire to run for office again.
Returning to New Jersey has allowed Mrs. Whitman to spend more time on her 234-acre farm with her husband, John, and their dogs. On occasion she even buys livestock at auction.
Working from an office above the barn, she juggles her schedule of board meetings and lectures, served as an election observer in the Middle East and Cambodia and is starting an environmental consulting firm.
She hopes the book helps expand her role as a fund-raiser and proselytizer for Republican moderates. "If you veer too far from the center in American politics, eventually people will stop listening," she warned.
What Mrs. Whitman will find out in the coming months is this: With Republicans ascendant, and Washington awash with conservative hubris, is anyone in power willing to listen?
January 26, 2005
PUBLIC LIVES
Loyal to Her Party, but Not in Lock Step
By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
OLDWICK, N.J.
IT is one of the more fortunate footnotes of last week's inaugural festivities: When President Bush was sworn in for his second term, Christie Whitman, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency during his first term, was thousands of miles away, attending a corporate board meeting.
Mrs. Whitman said she had unsuccessfully urged the company, Texas Instruments, to reschedule, and that she nonetheless managed to attend a few pre-inaugural soirees in Washington. But given the furor Mrs. Whitman has ignited among some of the president's most fervent supporters, it's a wonder she made it out of the capital without celebrating conservatives using her as piñata.
The flashpoint for her latest clash with conservatives is Mrs. Whitman's new book, "It's My Party, Too," which warns Republican that their lurch to the right, while successful in the short-term, runs the risk of marginalizing the party over the long haul. She brands the most fire-breathing right-wing activists as "extremists" and "social fundamentalists" and needles Mr. Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, by pointing out that the president's three-point margin of victory last November was the narrowest of any incumbent ever re-elected.
The Bush family omertà demands silence and loyalty from all the president's retinue, so Mrs. Whitman's decision to speak out is in itself an outrage. Some have questioned her credentials as a Republican and ridicule her for arguing against a strategy that has brought the party unprecedented power. A few have even compared her to Michael Moore.
"I expected criticism," Mrs. Whitman, 58, said last week, sitting in the living room of Pontefract, her family's gracious farm in New Jersey's hunt country. "But I'm surprised at how personal the attacks are."
The bitterness of the reaction is all the more surprising because Mrs. Whitman's book, like her public record, performs some astounding contortions to avoid criticizing the president himself.
Mr. Bush's decision to break his campaign promise to curb carbon emissions from power plants? A reasonable choice, Mrs. Whitman argues, marred by poor public relations. She asserts, without irony, that Mr. Bush is a closet environmentalist, forced to hide his inner tree hugger for fear of riling Republican extremists.
In fact, the only member of the Bush inner circle cited in the book for environmental negligence is Barney, a Scottish terrier Mrs. Whitman sold to the president, and who "christened" the carpet in Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
Of course, in publishing, as in politics and paper training, timing is everything. Even as partisans on the right have blasted her, many on the left are angered that she waited until after the election to complain.
So why didn't Mrs. Whitman publish sooner? And why should environmentalists or moderates take her seriously, given that she was chairwoman of Mr. Bush's re-election effort in New Jersey? Mrs. Whitman's explanation is simple: The president isn't the issue. The party is. "If I had spoken up during the campaign, people would have viewed it in the context of the election, and it would have been forgotten the next day," she said.
That answer is undeniably consistent with Mrs. Whitman's political lineage. Her father, Webster Todd, was a state Republican Party chairman; her mother, Eleanor Todd, was a vice chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. Family lore holds that they met at the party's 1932 convention. Mrs. Whitman first attended a convention at age 9, when her parents were instrumental in persuading Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president. And she hasn't missed one since.
MRS. Whitman contends that those who do not consider "Eisenhower Republican" insulting are true conservatives, because they embrace fiscal restraint and limited government, and do not seek to legislate morality.
She views her book as a call to arms, urging Republicans who share her support for abortion rights, stem-cell research, and gay rights to become "radical moderates" who match the zeal and organization of the right wing.
Mrs. Whitman begins her book tour tonight with a reading at Cooper Union in Manhattan, the site where Lincoln challenged the Republican establishment in 1860 by giving a speech that propelled him to the White House. Still, Mrs. Whitman says that seven years as New Jersey governor and 28 months in Washington have squelched any desire to run for office again.
Returning to New Jersey has allowed Mrs. Whitman to spend more time on her 234-acre farm with her husband, John, and their dogs. On occasion she even buys livestock at auction.
Working from an office above the barn, she juggles her schedule of board meetings and lectures, served as an election observer in the Middle East and Cambodia and is starting an environmental consulting firm.
She hopes the book helps expand her role as a fund-raiser and proselytizer for Republican moderates. "If you veer too far from the center in American politics, eventually people will stop listening," she warned.
What Mrs. Whitman will find out in the coming months is this: With Republicans ascendant, and Washington awash with conservative hubris, is anyone in power willing to listen?
Official Criticizes a PBS Cartoon
The New York Times
January 26, 2005
Official Criticizes a PBS Cartoon
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (AP) - Education Secretary Margaret Spellings denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.
The episode of "Postcards From Buster," which has not yet run, shows the title character, a bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.
A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit organization had decided not to distribute the episode, "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations but that the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.
January 26, 2005
Official Criticizes a PBS Cartoon
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (AP) - Education Secretary Margaret Spellings denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.
The episode of "Postcards From Buster," which has not yet run, shows the title character, a bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.
A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit organization had decided not to distribute the episode, "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations but that the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Gonzales: Did He Help Bush Keep His DUI Quiet?
Note: The bigger question is did Gonzales lie, under oath, during Senate confirmation hearings. If he did, he should automatically be disqualified and disbarred. And, Randi Rhodes (Air America Radio) asks an even better question: "Do you, or anyone you know, bring a lawyer with you when you are reporting for jury duty?"
MSNBC.com
Gonzales: Did He Help Bush Keep His DUI Quiet?
By Michael Isikoff
Newsweek
Jan. 31 issue - Senate Democrats put off a vote on White House counsel Alberto Gonzales's nomination to be attorney general, complaining he had provided evasive answers to questions about torture and the mistreatment of prisoners. But Gonzales's most surprising answer may have come on a different subject: his role in helping President Bush escape jury duty in a drunken-driving case involving a dancer at an Austin strip club in 1996. The judge and other lawyers in the case last week disputed a written account of the matter provided by Gonzales to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's a complete misrepresentation," said David Wahlberg, lawyer for the dancer, about Gonzales's account.
Bush's summons to serve as a juror in the drunken-driving case was, in retrospect, a fateful moment in his political career: by getting excused from jury duty he was able to avoid questions that would have required him to disclose his own 1976 arrest and conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in Kennebunkport, Maine—an incident that didn't become public until the closing days of the 2000 campaign. (Bush, who had publicly declared his willingness to serve, had left blank on his jury questionnaire whether he had ever been "accused" in a criminal case.) Asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy to describe "in detail" the only court appearance he ever made on behalf of Bush, Gonzales—who was then chief counsel to the Texas governor—wrote that he had accompanied Bush the day he went to court "prepared to serve on a jury." While there, Gonzales wrote, he "observed" the defense lawyer make a motion to strike Bush from the jury panel "to which the prosecutor did not object." Asked by the judge whether he had "any views on this," Gonzales recalled, he said he did not.
While Gonzales's account tracks with the official court transcript, it leaves out a key part of what happened that day, according to Travis County Judge David Crain. In separate interviews, Crain—along with Wahlberg and prosecutor John Lastovica—told NEWSWEEK that, before the case began, Gonzales asked to have an off-the-record conference in the judge's chambers. Gonzales then asked Crain to "consider" striking Bush from the jury, making the novel "conflict of interest" argument that the Texas governor might one day be asked to pardon the defendant (who worked at an Austin nightclub called Sugar's), the judge said. "He [Gonzales] raised the issue," Crain said. Crain said he found Gonzales's argument surprising, since it was "extremely unlikely" that a drunken-driving conviction would ever lead to a pardon petition to Bush. But "out of deference" to the governor, Crain said, the other lawyers went along. Wahlberg said he agreed to make the motion striking Bush because he didn't want the hard-line governor on his jury anyway. But there was little doubt among the participants as to what was going on. "In public, they were making a big show of how he was prepared to serve," said Crain. "In the back room, they were trying to get him off."
Gonzales last week refused to waver. "Judge Gonzales has no recollection of requesting a meeting in chambers," a senior White House official said, adding that while Gonzales did recall that Bush's potential conflict was "discussed," he never "requested" that Bush be excused. "His answer to the Senate's question is accurate," the official said.
MSNBC.com
Gonzales: Did He Help Bush Keep His DUI Quiet?
By Michael Isikoff
Newsweek
Jan. 31 issue - Senate Democrats put off a vote on White House counsel Alberto Gonzales's nomination to be attorney general, complaining he had provided evasive answers to questions about torture and the mistreatment of prisoners. But Gonzales's most surprising answer may have come on a different subject: his role in helping President Bush escape jury duty in a drunken-driving case involving a dancer at an Austin strip club in 1996. The judge and other lawyers in the case last week disputed a written account of the matter provided by Gonzales to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's a complete misrepresentation," said David Wahlberg, lawyer for the dancer, about Gonzales's account.
Bush's summons to serve as a juror in the drunken-driving case was, in retrospect, a fateful moment in his political career: by getting excused from jury duty he was able to avoid questions that would have required him to disclose his own 1976 arrest and conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in Kennebunkport, Maine—an incident that didn't become public until the closing days of the 2000 campaign. (Bush, who had publicly declared his willingness to serve, had left blank on his jury questionnaire whether he had ever been "accused" in a criminal case.) Asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy to describe "in detail" the only court appearance he ever made on behalf of Bush, Gonzales—who was then chief counsel to the Texas governor—wrote that he had accompanied Bush the day he went to court "prepared to serve on a jury." While there, Gonzales wrote, he "observed" the defense lawyer make a motion to strike Bush from the jury panel "to which the prosecutor did not object." Asked by the judge whether he had "any views on this," Gonzales recalled, he said he did not.
While Gonzales's account tracks with the official court transcript, it leaves out a key part of what happened that day, according to Travis County Judge David Crain. In separate interviews, Crain—along with Wahlberg and prosecutor John Lastovica—told NEWSWEEK that, before the case began, Gonzales asked to have an off-the-record conference in the judge's chambers. Gonzales then asked Crain to "consider" striking Bush from the jury, making the novel "conflict of interest" argument that the Texas governor might one day be asked to pardon the defendant (who worked at an Austin nightclub called Sugar's), the judge said. "He [Gonzales] raised the issue," Crain said. Crain said he found Gonzales's argument surprising, since it was "extremely unlikely" that a drunken-driving conviction would ever lead to a pardon petition to Bush. But "out of deference" to the governor, Crain said, the other lawyers went along. Wahlberg said he agreed to make the motion striking Bush because he didn't want the hard-line governor on his jury anyway. But there was little doubt among the participants as to what was going on. "In public, they were making a big show of how he was prepared to serve," said Crain. "In the back room, they were trying to get him off."
Gonzales last week refused to waver. "Judge Gonzales has no recollection of requesting a meeting in chambers," a senior White House official said, adding that while Gonzales did recall that Bush's potential conflict was "discussed," he never "requested" that Bush be excused. "His answer to the Senate's question is accurate," the official said.
Suicide protest at Camp Delta
Suicide protest at Camp Delta
David Teather in New York
Tuesday January 25, 2005
The Guardian
Twenty-three detainees at the Guantánamo Bay military camp made an apparent mass suicide attempt in an orchestrated protest during 2003, the US confirmed last night.
The captives tried to either hang or strangle themselves in their cells over eight days in August of that year. Ten made an attempt on August 22.
The military did not say why it had not previously reported the incident, described by officials as "self-injurious behaviour" - an attempt to get attention rather than genuine attempts at suicide. The plan had been engineered, they said, to disrupt operations and unnerve new guards.
Sixteen of the 23 are among 553 prisoners still at the camp. Many of the detainees have been held for three years without being charged.
Critics said the mass protest came in the same year that Major General Geoffrey Miller assumed command of the camp in Cuba with orders to get more information from prisoners suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
Allistair Hodgett, a spokesman for Amnesty International in Washington, told the Associated Press: "When you have suicide attempts or so-called self-harm incidents, it shows the type of impact indefinite detention can have."
In total there were 350 "self-harm" incidents at the camp during 2003, the military said. Last year there were 110 self-harm incidents.
The military has reported 34 actual suicide attempts since the camp opened in January 2002.
David Teather in New York
Tuesday January 25, 2005
The Guardian
Twenty-three detainees at the Guantánamo Bay military camp made an apparent mass suicide attempt in an orchestrated protest during 2003, the US confirmed last night.
The captives tried to either hang or strangle themselves in their cells over eight days in August of that year. Ten made an attempt on August 22.
The military did not say why it had not previously reported the incident, described by officials as "self-injurious behaviour" - an attempt to get attention rather than genuine attempts at suicide. The plan had been engineered, they said, to disrupt operations and unnerve new guards.
Sixteen of the 23 are among 553 prisoners still at the camp. Many of the detainees have been held for three years without being charged.
Critics said the mass protest came in the same year that Major General Geoffrey Miller assumed command of the camp in Cuba with orders to get more information from prisoners suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
Allistair Hodgett, a spokesman for Amnesty International in Washington, told the Associated Press: "When you have suicide attempts or so-called self-harm incidents, it shows the type of impact indefinite detention can have."
In total there were 350 "self-harm" incidents at the camp during 2003, the military said. Last year there were 110 self-harm incidents.
The military has reported 34 actual suicide attempts since the camp opened in January 2002.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
The Greenspan Succession
The New York Times
January 25, 2005
The Greenspan Succession
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Alan Greenspan is expected to retire next year. The Bush administration, because of its nature, will have a hard time finding a successor.
One Fed chairman famously described his job as being to "take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going." Bond and currency markets want monetary policy in the hands of someone who will say no to politicians. When a country's central banker is suspected of having insufficient spine, the result is higher interest rates and a weaker currency.
Today it's even more crucial than usual that the Fed chairman have the markets' trust. The United States is running record budget and trade deficits, and the foreigners we depend on to cover those deficits are losing faith. According to yesterday's Financial Times, central banks around the world have already started shifting into euros. If Mr. Greenspan is replaced with someone who looks like a partisan hack, capital will rush to the exits, the dollar will plunge, and interest rates will soar.
Yet President Bush, as you may have noticed, only appoints yes-men (or yes-women). This is most obvious on the national security front, but it's equally true with regard to economic policy. The current Treasury secretary has no obvious qualifications other than loyalty. The new head of the National Economic Council apparently got the job because he is a Bush classmate and fund-raiser.
Of course, Mr. Greenspan himself has become a Bush yes-man. The chairman acted as a stern father figure, demanding fiscal rectitude, when Democrats held the White House. But he turned into an indulgent uncle when Mr. Bush took office. First, he urged Congress to cut taxes in order, he said, to prevent an excessively large budget surplus. Then, when surpluses were replaced by huge deficits, he supported a highly irresponsible second round of tax cuts.
Nonetheless, Mr. Greenspan retains considerable credibility with the markets. Who else can satisfy both Mr. Bush and foreign investors?
For a while, the presumed front-runner to succeed Mr. Greenspan was Martin Feldstein of Harvard. Mr. Feldstein, like Mr. Greenspan, has a reputation built over a long, distinguished career. Also like Mr. Greenspan, he is a former crusader for fiscal responsibility who became an apologist for budget deficits once Mr. Bush took office.
I've known Mr. Feldstein a long time, and worked for him at Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He used to be a deficit hawk; now, out of what may be sincere conviction but looks from the outside like an effort to demonstrate political loyalty, he endorses tax cuts in the face of large budget gaps and gigantic borrowing to privatize Social Security.
But it's reportedly not enough, because right-wingers have never forgiven Mr. Feldstein for his finest hour - the time when, as a member of the Reagan administration, he spoke out against deficits. It's not just vindictiveness on their part: a man who once took a stand on principle while holding office might do so again once ensconced at the Fed.
Glenn Hubbard of Columbia, who served in the administrations of both Bushes, is also frequently mentioned. He's a smart economist, but everything in his policy career suggests that when the party really got going, he would say: "More punch? Yes, sir, whatever you want."
The last name one often hears is Ben Bernanke, currently a member of the Fed's Board of Governors. (Before going to the Fed, Mr. Bernanke was chairman of the Princeton economics department, where I'm on the faculty.) If Mr. Bernanke were appointed directly from his current Fed position to the chairmanship, there would be general acclaim. But he may soon move to the Council of Economic Advisers. Why?
Surely it's not because this administration, with its disdain for technical expertise in all fields, wants his advice. I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that what's intended for Mr. Bernanke is a form of hazing: he will be expected to prove his loyalty by defending the indefensible and saying things he knows aren't true.
That might seem a tolerable price to pay for the Fed chairmanship - but a year of it might well make Mr. Bernanke damaged goods from the point of view of the markets.
It's a dilemma. I don't have any sympathy for the administration's perplexity. But I do wish Mr. Bernanke the best of luck, and hope he knows what he's doing.
January 25, 2005
The Greenspan Succession
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Alan Greenspan is expected to retire next year. The Bush administration, because of its nature, will have a hard time finding a successor.
One Fed chairman famously described his job as being to "take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going." Bond and currency markets want monetary policy in the hands of someone who will say no to politicians. When a country's central banker is suspected of having insufficient spine, the result is higher interest rates and a weaker currency.
Today it's even more crucial than usual that the Fed chairman have the markets' trust. The United States is running record budget and trade deficits, and the foreigners we depend on to cover those deficits are losing faith. According to yesterday's Financial Times, central banks around the world have already started shifting into euros. If Mr. Greenspan is replaced with someone who looks like a partisan hack, capital will rush to the exits, the dollar will plunge, and interest rates will soar.
Yet President Bush, as you may have noticed, only appoints yes-men (or yes-women). This is most obvious on the national security front, but it's equally true with regard to economic policy. The current Treasury secretary has no obvious qualifications other than loyalty. The new head of the National Economic Council apparently got the job because he is a Bush classmate and fund-raiser.
Of course, Mr. Greenspan himself has become a Bush yes-man. The chairman acted as a stern father figure, demanding fiscal rectitude, when Democrats held the White House. But he turned into an indulgent uncle when Mr. Bush took office. First, he urged Congress to cut taxes in order, he said, to prevent an excessively large budget surplus. Then, when surpluses were replaced by huge deficits, he supported a highly irresponsible second round of tax cuts.
Nonetheless, Mr. Greenspan retains considerable credibility with the markets. Who else can satisfy both Mr. Bush and foreign investors?
For a while, the presumed front-runner to succeed Mr. Greenspan was Martin Feldstein of Harvard. Mr. Feldstein, like Mr. Greenspan, has a reputation built over a long, distinguished career. Also like Mr. Greenspan, he is a former crusader for fiscal responsibility who became an apologist for budget deficits once Mr. Bush took office.
I've known Mr. Feldstein a long time, and worked for him at Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He used to be a deficit hawk; now, out of what may be sincere conviction but looks from the outside like an effort to demonstrate political loyalty, he endorses tax cuts in the face of large budget gaps and gigantic borrowing to privatize Social Security.
But it's reportedly not enough, because right-wingers have never forgiven Mr. Feldstein for his finest hour - the time when, as a member of the Reagan administration, he spoke out against deficits. It's not just vindictiveness on their part: a man who once took a stand on principle while holding office might do so again once ensconced at the Fed.
Glenn Hubbard of Columbia, who served in the administrations of both Bushes, is also frequently mentioned. He's a smart economist, but everything in his policy career suggests that when the party really got going, he would say: "More punch? Yes, sir, whatever you want."
The last name one often hears is Ben Bernanke, currently a member of the Fed's Board of Governors. (Before going to the Fed, Mr. Bernanke was chairman of the Princeton economics department, where I'm on the faculty.) If Mr. Bernanke were appointed directly from his current Fed position to the chairmanship, there would be general acclaim. But he may soon move to the Council of Economic Advisers. Why?
Surely it's not because this administration, with its disdain for technical expertise in all fields, wants his advice. I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that what's intended for Mr. Bernanke is a form of hazing: he will be expected to prove his loyalty by defending the indefensible and saying things he knows aren't true.
That might seem a tolerable price to pay for the Fed chairmanship - but a year of it might well make Mr. Bernanke damaged goods from the point of view of the markets.
It's a dilemma. I don't have any sympathy for the administration's perplexity. But I do wish Mr. Bernanke the best of luck, and hope he knows what he's doing.
Could the Palestinians finally be figuring out how to get what they want?
The New York Times
January 25, 2005
Listen to What the Man Says
Could the Palestinians finally be figuring out how to get what they want?
It's a sign of how low the expectations are for Mideast peace that we wanted to publish this editorial about a possible cease-fire in Gaza as soon as we could, lest the possible cease-fire be broken before we could congratulate those who agreed to it. We hope that the Palestinian militant groups who say they are suspending attacks on Israel for a while actually do so. We hope that suspension takes hold, and leads to a broader, long-term cease-fire, not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank and Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. And we hope this puts the region back on the road to peace.
Of course, we hope for much in the Mideast, and both sides, but particularly the Palestinians, are notorious for dashing those hopes. Still, Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian leader, is saying and doing the right things. Unlike his predecessor, Yasir Arafat, Mr. Abbas is cracking down on violence. He has ordered Palestinian security forces to fan out in northern Gaza to prevent militants from firing their homemade rockets and mortars at the Israelis. He has called such attacks "useless," and urged Palestinians to stop their intifada against Israel, which anyone with good sense knows has hurt the Palestinians even more than the Israelis. And Mr. Abbas is now negotiating with groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades. He is apparently closing in on a commitment from Hamas and Islamic Jihad for a monthlong truce. He should be cautious about what he offers in return, especially power sharing in the Palestinian Authority.
If this truce does indeed take hold, it will be by far the second smartest thing - after electing Mr. Abbas as their leader - that the Palestinians have done in years. Mr. Abbas deserves credit as the only real Palestinian leader who candidly acknowledges what the world has always known. Palestinian violence against Israel is pointless, and has served only to bring forth overwhelmingly punishing responses. From the start of the intifada, back in 2000, Mr. Abbas warned that it was counterproductive, and that years of pointless carnage later, Palestinians would be back at square one, except poorer, more tired, held in lower esteem by the world. In addition, Palestinian violence cost the Palestinians something they dearly need if they will ever get a state they can live with: American support. Without Washington pushing from behind, it is doubtful that the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, will go anywhere near a negotiating table.
So here we are, back at square one. But this time, the man at the helm on the Palestinian side is so far making all the right moves. After years of shooting themselves in the foot, it would be nice to see the Palestinians actually start playing the game like people who expect to win. Mr. Abbas is doing so, and his people would do well to listen to, and then heed, his advice.
January 25, 2005
Listen to What the Man Says
Could the Palestinians finally be figuring out how to get what they want?
It's a sign of how low the expectations are for Mideast peace that we wanted to publish this editorial about a possible cease-fire in Gaza as soon as we could, lest the possible cease-fire be broken before we could congratulate those who agreed to it. We hope that the Palestinian militant groups who say they are suspending attacks on Israel for a while actually do so. We hope that suspension takes hold, and leads to a broader, long-term cease-fire, not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank and Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. And we hope this puts the region back on the road to peace.
Of course, we hope for much in the Mideast, and both sides, but particularly the Palestinians, are notorious for dashing those hopes. Still, Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian leader, is saying and doing the right things. Unlike his predecessor, Yasir Arafat, Mr. Abbas is cracking down on violence. He has ordered Palestinian security forces to fan out in northern Gaza to prevent militants from firing their homemade rockets and mortars at the Israelis. He has called such attacks "useless," and urged Palestinians to stop their intifada against Israel, which anyone with good sense knows has hurt the Palestinians even more than the Israelis. And Mr. Abbas is now negotiating with groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades. He is apparently closing in on a commitment from Hamas and Islamic Jihad for a monthlong truce. He should be cautious about what he offers in return, especially power sharing in the Palestinian Authority.
If this truce does indeed take hold, it will be by far the second smartest thing - after electing Mr. Abbas as their leader - that the Palestinians have done in years. Mr. Abbas deserves credit as the only real Palestinian leader who candidly acknowledges what the world has always known. Palestinian violence against Israel is pointless, and has served only to bring forth overwhelmingly punishing responses. From the start of the intifada, back in 2000, Mr. Abbas warned that it was counterproductive, and that years of pointless carnage later, Palestinians would be back at square one, except poorer, more tired, held in lower esteem by the world. In addition, Palestinian violence cost the Palestinians something they dearly need if they will ever get a state they can live with: American support. Without Washington pushing from behind, it is doubtful that the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, will go anywhere near a negotiating table.
So here we are, back at square one. But this time, the man at the helm on the Palestinian side is so far making all the right moves. After years of shooting themselves in the foot, it would be nice to see the Palestinians actually start playing the game like people who expect to win. Mr. Abbas is doing so, and his people would do well to listen to, and then heed, his advice.
White House Looking for Ways to Ease Opposition to Social Security Overhaul
The New York Times
January 25, 2005
White House Looking for Ways to Ease Opposition to Social Security Overhaul
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and RICHARD W. STEVENSON
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - The Bush administration, facing opposition from Democrats and unease among Republicans over its plan to overhaul Social Security, is looking at new ideas for cutting future benefits that would hit wealthy retirees harder than those in the middle or bottom ranks of wage-earners, people involved in the discussions say.
But despite signs of reluctance from Capitol Hill, the White House remains confident that it can find a consensus on legislation that President Bush can sign into law, administration officials and advisers to Mr. Bush said.
People who have been briefed on White House discussions said the administration was striving to retain as much flexibility as possible both on legislative tactics and policy details. Deliberations are under way within the White House and between the White House and Republican leaders in Congress over how to proceed, they said, but there is no sense of panic or even surprise within the administration.
Over the last few weeks, the White House has seen the debate over Social Security take off, but not always in ways that appear helpful to Mr. Bush's goal of quick action to create personal investment accounts within the retirement system and deal with its long-term financing problems.
Democrats and interest groups like the AARP, the lobbying organization for older Americans, are rallying opposition to Mr. Bush's plans; on Monday, the AARP released a poll showing little public support for personal accounts once the costs and tradeoffs involved in establishing them are made clear. Republicans said the poll was flawed and gave a misleading view of public opinion.
But Republicans are not entirely in sync with the White House, either. Representative Bill Thomas of California, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said on Sunday that deliberations on Social Security should be broadened to include an overhaul of the tax code, and perhaps other issues, like the long-term-care needs for the elderly. He also suggested a re-examination of the retirement age, but cautioned that that would raise equity issues about gender, race and occupation.
Moderate Republicans like Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine have suggested they are unconvinced about the need to create personal accounts.
"They're not upset about this," said one adviser to the White House, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Mr. Bush frowns on public disclosures of internal discussions. "They've raised the topic, and now the topic has momentum. The White House figures it can impact the conversation as it goes ahead."
But White House officials have yet to decide a number of crucial and politically treacherous subjects, most particularly, the issue of cutting benefits to future retirees. Indeed, White House officials are locked in a debate about whether to even offer a detailed proposal to Congress.
The White House has already floated one approach to the issue of future benefits, suggesting that the benefits be based on price increases rather than on the current formula, which is based on economy-wide growth in wages. Since wages tend to rise faster than prices, the effect would be to set benefits at lower levels than promised under current law.
But that approach drew intense criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Administration officials are now reviewing an idea called "progressive indexation." The idea is in effect a compromise that would allow initial benefits for low-income workers to rise in line with their wages but would peg benefits for affluent workers to the inflation rate.
The effect would be to direct relatively more benefits to lower-income people than to higher-income people.
White House officials say that future benefits have to be reduced in order to close a long-term financial gap that the government estimates at roughly $3.7 trillion over the next 75 years.
Shifting from wage indexing to price indexing would in itself come close to eliminating the projected shortfall.
But such a change would mean Social Security would steadily replace less and less of a person's pre-retirement income.
The new approach would help protect people at the lowest rungs of the income scale. But it would not save nearly as much money. By one estimate, it would close about two-thirds of the projected shortfall.
"They are trying to make the proposal more friendly to low-income workers," said David John, a senior analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization. "The major problem is that if you don't do full price-indexing you don't get the full savings and you don't completely solve the problem."
The alternative idea was proposed by Robert Pozen, an investment executive in Boston who was a member of Mr. Bush's advisory commission on Social Security in 2001.
White House and Treasury officials are studying computer analyses of that idea, Mr. Pozen said in an interview last week.
Michael Tanner, director of health and retirement issues at the Cato Institute, said White House officials were studying the idea as a possible solution but had not made any final decisions.
"We're all running a lot of different numbers," said Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, who has sponsored legislation that would create private investment accounts.
"I have the numbers in my briefcase right now," Mr. Ryan said last Friday in a telephone interview from Wisconsin. But, he added, "there are a lot of different ways of doing this."
January 25, 2005
White House Looking for Ways to Ease Opposition to Social Security Overhaul
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and RICHARD W. STEVENSON
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - The Bush administration, facing opposition from Democrats and unease among Republicans over its plan to overhaul Social Security, is looking at new ideas for cutting future benefits that would hit wealthy retirees harder than those in the middle or bottom ranks of wage-earners, people involved in the discussions say.
But despite signs of reluctance from Capitol Hill, the White House remains confident that it can find a consensus on legislation that President Bush can sign into law, administration officials and advisers to Mr. Bush said.
People who have been briefed on White House discussions said the administration was striving to retain as much flexibility as possible both on legislative tactics and policy details. Deliberations are under way within the White House and between the White House and Republican leaders in Congress over how to proceed, they said, but there is no sense of panic or even surprise within the administration.
Over the last few weeks, the White House has seen the debate over Social Security take off, but not always in ways that appear helpful to Mr. Bush's goal of quick action to create personal investment accounts within the retirement system and deal with its long-term financing problems.
Democrats and interest groups like the AARP, the lobbying organization for older Americans, are rallying opposition to Mr. Bush's plans; on Monday, the AARP released a poll showing little public support for personal accounts once the costs and tradeoffs involved in establishing them are made clear. Republicans said the poll was flawed and gave a misleading view of public opinion.
But Republicans are not entirely in sync with the White House, either. Representative Bill Thomas of California, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said on Sunday that deliberations on Social Security should be broadened to include an overhaul of the tax code, and perhaps other issues, like the long-term-care needs for the elderly. He also suggested a re-examination of the retirement age, but cautioned that that would raise equity issues about gender, race and occupation.
Moderate Republicans like Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine have suggested they are unconvinced about the need to create personal accounts.
"They're not upset about this," said one adviser to the White House, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Mr. Bush frowns on public disclosures of internal discussions. "They've raised the topic, and now the topic has momentum. The White House figures it can impact the conversation as it goes ahead."
But White House officials have yet to decide a number of crucial and politically treacherous subjects, most particularly, the issue of cutting benefits to future retirees. Indeed, White House officials are locked in a debate about whether to even offer a detailed proposal to Congress.
The White House has already floated one approach to the issue of future benefits, suggesting that the benefits be based on price increases rather than on the current formula, which is based on economy-wide growth in wages. Since wages tend to rise faster than prices, the effect would be to set benefits at lower levels than promised under current law.
But that approach drew intense criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Administration officials are now reviewing an idea called "progressive indexation." The idea is in effect a compromise that would allow initial benefits for low-income workers to rise in line with their wages but would peg benefits for affluent workers to the inflation rate.
The effect would be to direct relatively more benefits to lower-income people than to higher-income people.
White House officials say that future benefits have to be reduced in order to close a long-term financial gap that the government estimates at roughly $3.7 trillion over the next 75 years.
Shifting from wage indexing to price indexing would in itself come close to eliminating the projected shortfall.
But such a change would mean Social Security would steadily replace less and less of a person's pre-retirement income.
The new approach would help protect people at the lowest rungs of the income scale. But it would not save nearly as much money. By one estimate, it would close about two-thirds of the projected shortfall.
"They are trying to make the proposal more friendly to low-income workers," said David John, a senior analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization. "The major problem is that if you don't do full price-indexing you don't get the full savings and you don't completely solve the problem."
The alternative idea was proposed by Robert Pozen, an investment executive in Boston who was a member of Mr. Bush's advisory commission on Social Security in 2001.
White House and Treasury officials are studying computer analyses of that idea, Mr. Pozen said in an interview last week.
Michael Tanner, director of health and retirement issues at the Cato Institute, said White House officials were studying the idea as a possible solution but had not made any final decisions.
"We're all running a lot of different numbers," said Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, who has sponsored legislation that would create private investment accounts.
"I have the numbers in my briefcase right now," Mr. Ryan said last Friday in a telephone interview from Wisconsin. But, he added, "there are a lot of different ways of doing this."
Senate Democrats Speak of Slowing Confirmation Votes
The New York Times
January 25, 2005
Senate Democrats Speak of Slowing Confirmation Votes
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - Trying to show that they remain a force despite their reduced numbers, Senate Democrats on Monday threatened new hurdles for President Bush's cabinet choices and expressed deep misgivings about the planned Social Security changes at the heart of this year's Republican agenda.
Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said he was mulling whether to try to stall consideration of Michael O. Leavitt, Mr. Bush's choice for health secretary, unless Mr. Dorgan was guaranteed a vote on allowing importation of cheaper prescription drugs.
In addition, a growing number of Democrats are raising issues about the selection of Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, a nomination initially headed for quick approval.
The political problems for the nominees arose after Democrats last week blocked a quick vote on the approval of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. As many as a dozen Democrats intend to use the Senate floor on Tuesday as a platform to lay out their objections to Ms. Rice, tying her to what they see as the administration's mistakes in Iraq.
"The honeymoon is over and we are now in the full throes of our new marital arrangement here," said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic whip, after he and other Democratic leaders introduced a priority list on Monday sharply at odds with that put forward by Republicans.
While Republicans listed changes in Social Security as their No. 1 objective, Democrats made enlarging the armed forces and providing new military benefits as their top goal, rejecting the idea that the retirement program needed urgent repair. A poll of all Democratic senators by the Democratic staff of the Senate Finance Committee found none who supported diverting Social Security tax revenue into personal investment accounts, the centerpiece of Mr. Bush's initiative.
"This isn't a crisis, so why should we be lurching forward?" asked Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the new Democratic leader.
Democrats conceded that the new 55-45 split against them in the Senate put them at a severe disadvantage in pushing their legislative ideas or derailing those they did not like. And they acknowledged that, in the end, Mr. Bush would get his cabinet choices.
Yet they also demonstrated a willingness to use procedural weapons to make their points, even at the risk of being branded obstructionists.
In some respects, said one Democratic lawmaker who asked not to be named because his words were so blunt, they have little choice given their predicament as the party far out of power. "The truth is, you have no place else to go when your back is against the wall," he said.
Republicans grumbled about the tactics, predicting that Democrats would ultimately pay for them and again be punished by voters.
"I do feel that the American people spoke pretty loudly in these elections in terms of their support for this president and this Republican Congress - Senate and House - in support of an agenda that is consistent with the one that we've laid out today," said Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader.
Dr. Frist said he was disappointed that Democrats stalled the vote on Ms. Rice's confirmation, dashing the hopes of Republicans and the White House officials who had sought to cap the president's inauguration with her confirmation.
Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia led the Democrats' opposition, and has reserved an hour of floor time on Tuesday. So has Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who challenged Ms. Rice on the administration's rationale for the war during last week's hearings of the Foreign Relations Committee. Other Democrats, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, are also to speak.
Mr. Gonzales, whose nomination could be put to a vote in the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, is another nominee encountering sharper-than-expected opposition. A number of committee Democrats - including Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles E. Schumer of New York -say they are leaning against voting for him or rethinking their support. As a result, Mr. Gonzales could face "no" votes from six or more of the committee's eight Democrats.
Democrats continue to seek more documents and more precise answers from Mr. Gonzales regarding his role in formulating policies on the treatment of foreign prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Drawing particular scrutiny has been Mr. Gonzales's role in the writing of a 2002 Justice Department legal opinion - since disavowed - that provided a narrow definition of torture.
Mr. Dorgan said he might try to block a vote on the nomination of Mr. Leavitt, the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, until he received assurances from Dr. Frist that the Senate would vote on a plan to let cheaper prescription drugs into the country. Mr. Dorgan said he believed he had a similar commitment in 2004 but the vote never took place.
"I felt we were promised a vote last year and didn't get it, and anything that I can apply as leverage I will use," Mr. Dorgan said.
The parties' agendas illustrated their different priorities. Besides Social Security, Republicans called for tax changes, limits on lawsuits and an energy bill; Democrats said they would push for education assistance, a minimum-wage hike and improvements in the national voting system.
Democrats said they saw issues on which they could work with Republicans - several mentioned the transportation bill - and that the bulk of the nominations would zip through. Indeed, the Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday unanimously approved the nomination of Jim Nicholson as head of the Veterans Department, before he even testified. And the Senate without objection approved Carlos M. Gutierrez as the head of the Commerce Department.
But Democrats said they would not be cowed by their lower numbers, or the larger Republican ones. "We're not furniture," Mr. Dorgan said.
Eric Lichtblau and David E. Rosenbaum contributed reporting for this article.
January 25, 2005
Senate Democrats Speak of Slowing Confirmation Votes
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - Trying to show that they remain a force despite their reduced numbers, Senate Democrats on Monday threatened new hurdles for President Bush's cabinet choices and expressed deep misgivings about the planned Social Security changes at the heart of this year's Republican agenda.
Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said he was mulling whether to try to stall consideration of Michael O. Leavitt, Mr. Bush's choice for health secretary, unless Mr. Dorgan was guaranteed a vote on allowing importation of cheaper prescription drugs.
In addition, a growing number of Democrats are raising issues about the selection of Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, a nomination initially headed for quick approval.
The political problems for the nominees arose after Democrats last week blocked a quick vote on the approval of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. As many as a dozen Democrats intend to use the Senate floor on Tuesday as a platform to lay out their objections to Ms. Rice, tying her to what they see as the administration's mistakes in Iraq.
"The honeymoon is over and we are now in the full throes of our new marital arrangement here," said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic whip, after he and other Democratic leaders introduced a priority list on Monday sharply at odds with that put forward by Republicans.
While Republicans listed changes in Social Security as their No. 1 objective, Democrats made enlarging the armed forces and providing new military benefits as their top goal, rejecting the idea that the retirement program needed urgent repair. A poll of all Democratic senators by the Democratic staff of the Senate Finance Committee found none who supported diverting Social Security tax revenue into personal investment accounts, the centerpiece of Mr. Bush's initiative.
"This isn't a crisis, so why should we be lurching forward?" asked Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the new Democratic leader.
Democrats conceded that the new 55-45 split against them in the Senate put them at a severe disadvantage in pushing their legislative ideas or derailing those they did not like. And they acknowledged that, in the end, Mr. Bush would get his cabinet choices.
Yet they also demonstrated a willingness to use procedural weapons to make their points, even at the risk of being branded obstructionists.
In some respects, said one Democratic lawmaker who asked not to be named because his words were so blunt, they have little choice given their predicament as the party far out of power. "The truth is, you have no place else to go when your back is against the wall," he said.
Republicans grumbled about the tactics, predicting that Democrats would ultimately pay for them and again be punished by voters.
"I do feel that the American people spoke pretty loudly in these elections in terms of their support for this president and this Republican Congress - Senate and House - in support of an agenda that is consistent with the one that we've laid out today," said Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader.
Dr. Frist said he was disappointed that Democrats stalled the vote on Ms. Rice's confirmation, dashing the hopes of Republicans and the White House officials who had sought to cap the president's inauguration with her confirmation.
Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia led the Democrats' opposition, and has reserved an hour of floor time on Tuesday. So has Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who challenged Ms. Rice on the administration's rationale for the war during last week's hearings of the Foreign Relations Committee. Other Democrats, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, are also to speak.
Mr. Gonzales, whose nomination could be put to a vote in the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, is another nominee encountering sharper-than-expected opposition. A number of committee Democrats - including Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles E. Schumer of New York -say they are leaning against voting for him or rethinking their support. As a result, Mr. Gonzales could face "no" votes from six or more of the committee's eight Democrats.
Democrats continue to seek more documents and more precise answers from Mr. Gonzales regarding his role in formulating policies on the treatment of foreign prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Drawing particular scrutiny has been Mr. Gonzales's role in the writing of a 2002 Justice Department legal opinion - since disavowed - that provided a narrow definition of torture.
Mr. Dorgan said he might try to block a vote on the nomination of Mr. Leavitt, the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, until he received assurances from Dr. Frist that the Senate would vote on a plan to let cheaper prescription drugs into the country. Mr. Dorgan said he believed he had a similar commitment in 2004 but the vote never took place.
"I felt we were promised a vote last year and didn't get it, and anything that I can apply as leverage I will use," Mr. Dorgan said.
The parties' agendas illustrated their different priorities. Besides Social Security, Republicans called for tax changes, limits on lawsuits and an energy bill; Democrats said they would push for education assistance, a minimum-wage hike and improvements in the national voting system.
Democrats said they saw issues on which they could work with Republicans - several mentioned the transportation bill - and that the bulk of the nominations would zip through. Indeed, the Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday unanimously approved the nomination of Jim Nicholson as head of the Veterans Department, before he even testified. And the Senate without objection approved Carlos M. Gutierrez as the head of the Commerce Department.
But Democrats said they would not be cowed by their lower numbers, or the larger Republican ones. "We're not furniture," Mr. Dorgan said.
Eric Lichtblau and David E. Rosenbaum contributed reporting for this article.