Thursday’s Political Roundup

The following is a roundup of political activity going on in Washington and across the nation. It’s courtesy of Scott Wilk, Community Organizer, and Anchor Consulting group. The Beacon will be posting these daily as they become available.

In the House:

• The House will convene at 10:00am for legislative business.
• Five “One Minutes” Per Side
• Complete Consideration of H.R. 627 – Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)
• The House passed hate crimes legislation yesterday, but the legislation itself was arguably overshadowed by the uproar over comments made on the House floor by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) who said, “I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

In the Senate:

• The Senate convenes at 9:30am.
• Morning Business for up to 1 hour with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the next 30 minutes.
• Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of S.896, Helping Families Save Their Homes. Senator Durbin will then be recognized to offer an amendment relating to “cramdown”. There will be up to 4 hours for debate with respect to the amendment, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will proceed to vote in relation to the amendment, with an affirmative 60-vote threshold. If the amendment does not receive 60 votes it will be withdrawn. Further, no amendments are in order to the amendment and no further amendments on the subject of “cramdown” are in order during the pendency of the bill.
• Upon disposition of the Durbin amendment, Senator Dodd will be recognized to offer a Dodd-Shelby substitute amendment.
• Then the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife. There will be 1 hour for debate under the control of the Majority and 2 hours for debate under the control of the Republicans, with Senator Bunning in control of 30 minutes of the Republican time. Confirmation of the nomination requires 60-votes in the affirmative.
• The first vote of the day is expected to occur around 2:30pm. That vote would be in relation to the Durbin “cramdown” amendment. Senators should also expect a vote on the Strickland nomination in the 6pm range, if all time is used.

Other News

• Appearing “relaxed and reflective” President Obama gave his third press conference of his administration, marking his first 100 days in office.  The President “struck a reassuring tone on issues as diverse as the widening swine flu crisis and the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. With nearly seven in 10 Americans approving of his performance, according to polling, Obama spoke more personally than he has before on issues such as abortion and the surprises he has encountered since taking office.” (WaPo)
• During his speech, President Obama said “that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture and that the information it gained from terror suspects could have been obtained by other means.” (AP/SF Chronicle)
• “Two Obama administration officials say Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection after talks broke down with a small group of the company’s creditors.”  The President “is expected to discuss the nation’s auto sector at noon.” (AP/KDWN)
• The President’s budget passed Congress yesterday without “a single vote from Republican lawmakers, who were enraged that the deficit is projected to exceed $1.2 trillion next year. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) called it an ‘audacious move to a big socialist government’ that piles ‘debt on the backs of our kids and our grandkids.’” (WaPo)
• “The budget does include one binding aspect – so-called ‘reconciliation’ language that Democrats could use later this year to do an end run around a Republican filibuster of Democrats ambitious universal health care reform proposal… Democrats have promised to use reconciliation to pass health care reform only if bipartisan negotiations break down, but Republicans have criticized Democrats for just keeping that option open.” (ABC News)
• Addressing the swine flu epidemic in a “nationally televised speech Wednesday night, Mexican President Felipe Calderón said that, as of Friday, many public services would be closed through Tuesday, encompassing a long holiday weekend. Most government offices and many private businesses will be ordered closed, restaurants, schools and museums will remain shuttered, and spectators will be barred from all professional soccer matches.” (NYT)
• In the wake of this epidemic, “[g]roups favoring a crackdown on illegal immigrants cited the death” of a Mexican toddler in Houston “as proof of their long-standing contention that uncontrolled borders pose a public health danger to U.S. citizens.” (Chicago Tribune)
• Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which “requires many Southern states, counties and school districts to get approval from the Justice Department before making changes in their election rules,” may get struck down by the Supreme Court.  The provision “looked to be in doubt Wednesday as Supreme Court justices questioned whether the Southern states still need special supervision to prevent them from discriminating against black voters.” (LAT)

Today in History

• On April 30, 1939, the World’s Fair opened in New York City.  Spanning 1,200 acres at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, the fairground was marked by two imposing structures–the “Perisphere” and the “Trylon”–and exhibited such new technology as FM radio, robotics, fluorescent lighting, and a crude fax machine.

Source and thanks to www.anchor-consult.com | For more information, contact Jamie Gregorian at 571-205-1393 or [email protected]