The following is political activity for Wednesday, September 29, 2010, going on in Washington and across the nation. It is 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 convenes t 10:00 a.m. for legislative business with votes occurring as early as 10:00 a.m.
  • H.R. 847 – James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Maloney / Energy and Commerce Committee)
  • H.R. 2378 – Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Ryan (OH) / Ways and Means Committee)
  • Senate Amendment to H.R. 3081 – Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Obey / Appropriations Committee)
  • More Democrats Urge Broad Tax Breaks  -  Forty-seven House Democrats have signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging that tax rates on capital gains and dividends be maintained at the current level of up to 15% for all earners. (Wall Street Journal)

 IN THE SENATE

  • The Senate convenes at 9:30am; following any Leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business until 10:00am with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
  • At 10:00am, the Senate will debate the motion to proceed to H.J.Res 39, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule relating to status as a grandfathered health plan under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under a unanimous consent agreement, there will be 2 hours for debate equally divided and controlled between the Leaders or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time (approximately 12:00 noon), the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to proceed to H.J.Res. 39. Under the agreement reached, if the motion to proceed is agreed to there would be 1 hour for debate on the joint resolution of disapproval prior to a vote on passage.
  • If the motion to proceed is defeated, the Senate will immediately resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R.3081, the legislative vehicle for the Continuing Resolution, post-cloture. By consent any time during the adjournment, recess, period of morning business, or with respect to S.J.Res. 30 will count post-cloture.
  • The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15pm to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.
  • Senate Democrats eager to pass spending measure and leave D.C.  -  Democrats eager to return to the campaign trail are rushing to hold a vote on a continuing resolution that would fund the government until the lame-duck session. (The Hill)

OTHER NEWS

  • Partisan tension over House ethics cases  -  Republican members of the House Ethics Committee accuse the panel’s Democratic chairwoman of seeking to delay the trials of Reps. Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel until after the Nov. 2 elections. (Los Angeles Times)
  • Senate Outsourcing Bill Stalls  -  Senate Republicans voted to defeat an effort by the Democratic majority to bring up legislation that would take aim at U.S. multi-national corporations moving manufacturing jobs overseas. (Wall Street Journal)
  • Court OKs US-funded stem cell research for now  -  An appeals court ruled Tuesday that government funding of embryonic stem cell research can continue for now. (AP)
  • Congress to Look at Johnson & Johnson  -  In recent weeks, the chief executive of Johnson & Johnson has gone on the offensive in a very public way, trying to assure customers and company employees that the recalls of popular over-the-counter drugs like children’s liquid Tylenol did not reflect systemic problems across the corporation. (New York Times)
  •  Tea-Party Movement Gathers Strength  -  The tea party has emerged as a potent force in American politics and a center of gravity within the Republican Party, with a large majority of Republicans showing an affinity for the movement that has repeatedly bucked the GOP leadership this year, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. (Wall Street Journal)

 FEDERAL GRANT OF THE DAY

  • Systems-Oriented Pediatric Obesity Research and Training (SPORT) Center of Excellence- This FOA issued by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), solicits grant applications from institutions that propose to establish a center of excellence of childhood obesity research and training based on a transdisciplinary systems science framework and systems-based methodologies, including the use of systems modeling to capture the complexity of the etiology of childhood obesity and the potential impact of environmental and/or policy interventions. The center of excellence, structured as U.S. institutions in partnership with international institutions, will undertake epidemiological research linking biological with environmental and macrosocial factors of childhood obesity, conduct and provide developmental research funding for environmental and policy evaluations and/or interventions, and establish an infrastructure for postgraduate systems-oriented research and training in the field of obesity and chronic disease prevention and control. For more information, see NIH. Application deadline: December 30, 2010

 TODAY IN HISTORY

  • September 29, 1954- On this day, New York Giants centerfielder Willie Mays made a running catch with his back to home plate on a 450-foot blast by Cleveland Indians batter Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the World Series. It is widely considered to be the greatest catch ever made.

Source and thanks to www.anchor-consult.com / For more information, contact Anchor Consulting at 703-333-6013