Stories related to: House of Representatives

It’s retirement season in Congress, and droves of Republicans are cutting and running. So far 16 Republican lawmakers are on the way out, a result, the LA Times says, of the party’s recent troubles. “I don’t like being in the minority,” one departing congressman admitted. “It’s not that much fun, and the prospects don’t look that good.” More »

After Republicans were mocked for complaining about the five-day workweek instituted in the House, some Democrats now say they wouldn't mind a long weekend, either. New members in particular find it tough to stay in touch with constituents with little time at home, Politico reports. "Next year, members will likely have more time in their districts,” a Democratic aide says. More »

Turkey erupted today over a US bill that would officially recognize the 1915-1917 mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey as genocide. Turkey’s president said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which passed the resolution 27-21, “sought to sacrifice big problems for small domestic political games.” He promised “serious trouble” for US-Turkish relations, reports the BBC. Turkey is a key US ally and staging ground for the Iraq war. More »

A bill to term the World War I-era deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turkish government "genocide" is winning support in Congress—making the White House squirm and Turkey fume, the Washington Post r eports. President Bush and eight former Secretaries of State have warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi the issue jeopardizes a major US alliance. More »

A Senate bill that passed the Judiciary Committee yesterday would give bloggers the “reporter’s privilege” of protecting their sources. The federal shield law defines journalism broadly enough to include bloggers who write about public affairs. Critics, including US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, say the bill would undermine national security, unintentionally protecting spies posing as journalists and other illegal activity on the internet. More »

The House of Representatives passed a bill today that would make private security firms accountable to US civilian courts; the vote was 389 to 30, with opposition coming only from Republicans. The White House and Pentagon want contractors kept under military jurisdiction, but if the Senate passes similar legislation by a similar margin, the president will be unable to veto it successfully. More »

The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to give the White House 60 days to come up with an exit plan for withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq. The 377-46 vote is the first salvo of a new Democratic strategy but does not require a withdrawal timeline or  a commitment from the White House to implement the exit plan. More »

Amid a privacy hullaballoo in Congress, the Department of Homeland Security has postponed the opening of an office that would share domestic spy satellites images with law enforcement, InformationWeek reports. House committee members overseeing DHS had threatened to block funding until better civil liberties safeguards are in place. More »

President Bush threatened to veto a children's health insurance bill today, knocking Democrats he said were politicizing the issue by moving too far toward universal health care. The Senate last month passed an expanded "S-chip" program that would cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured, the New York Times reports. The expanded program would require an additional $35 billion. More »

Residents of the nation's capital will remain without a Congressional representative after a measure that would have given them a House seat stalled in the Senate. Supporters fell three votes short on the most promising effort in 30 years, the Washington Post reports, and the bill is unlikely to come up again this session. "We have not given up," said one backer. More »

Jim Sensenbrenner has won $1,000 in the Wisconsin lottery, marking his third win in the last 10 years. The GOP congressman had already won a $250,000 jackpot in a 1997 D.C. lottery and $1,000 in Wisconsin last spring. In the somewhat larger lottery, Sensenbrenner is an heir to the fortune of the Kimberly-Clark Corp., and is worth about $11.6 million. More »

The environmental movement might just be trickling up: The House of Representatives has approved an energy bill amendment that would bar members from leasing gas guzzlers with taxpayer money. The proposal still faces some roadblocks, McClatchy reports, including its vague definition of emissions standards and the efforts of a top Republican to keep his beloved Tahoe. More »

Congressman Jeff Flake is waging a one-man war against earmarks, slice the size of the federal budget and scare colleagues away from pet projects. When the Arizona Republican rises to speak, the Los Angeles Times reports, the whole House “grimaces”—bracing for an attack on the pork barrel. His efforts have begun to pay off, as leaders say they’ll cut down on earmarks and make the appropriations process more transparent. More »

Congressman J. Dennis Hastert, Republican House Speaker for eight years until he was ousted when Democrats won the majority in November, will not seek re-election in 2008, the New York Times reports. Hastert, who served longer as speaker than any other Republican, says it's too difficult to adjust to a reduced role after being a key political figure. More »

The House passed a broad-based clean energy bill yesterday that redirects $16 billion in tax incentives from big oil and gas companies to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Democrats hailed the legislation as the first big step toward making the US a more environmentally friendly nation, but Republicans say the bill will increase dependence on foreign oil. More »

Shouting, jeering, paralysis and a power outage marred what was to be the last session before summer recess for the House of Representatives yesterday, the LA Times reports. House Democrats had hoped to resolve several key pieces of legislation, but the floor descended into tumult as leaders struggled in vain to recover decorum after Thursday night's furious GOP walkout. More »

In a rare and rancorous flap in the House last night, Republicans stormed out en masse after accusing Democrats of cheating on protocol to reverse an unfavorable vote on illegal immigration, reports the Politico. Shortly before 11pm, a vote concluded before a definitive count could be taken; Republicans say they won 215-213, but the Dems call it a tie. More »

The ethics reform bill, which tightens restrictions on congressional pet projects and lobbyist dealings, easily cleared the Senate today. The final vote was 83-14, with all of those opposed Republicans. Critics say the bill won't go far enough to curb earmark spending, the AP reports, but Dianne Feinstein praised the package as "the most sweeping reform bill since Watergate." More »

The House has passed a sweeping expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program that will extend covered to 4 million uninsured kids using revenue from cigarette taxes and cuts in subsidies to private Medicare plans. The bill, which was approved 225-204, is a step toward universal coverage over Republican objections, reports the New York Times. More »

The House passed a bill today that would impose sweeping new ethics rules and restrictions on lobbying, the Washington Post reports. The bill, which passed by an overwhelming 411-8 vote, takes particular aim at earmarks for legislators' personal projects. It also curbs campaign contributions and lobbyist wining and dining and imposes new restrictions on lobbyists. More »