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The following is political activity for Friday, January 28, 2011, 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.(US Flag by Jasper Johns).

IN THE HOUSE

  1. No votes are scheduled in the House.
  2. House GOP considers privatizing Medicare- House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options. (Washington Post)

IN THE SENATE

  1. No votes are scheduled in the Senate.
  2. Conrad eyes alternate path for deficit reduction -  Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate might vote on an unusually ambitious budget proposal that could include sweeping tax-and-spending reforms if other efforts to get the nation’s finances under control falter, the head of the Budget Committee said on Thursday. (Reuters)

OTHER NEWS

  1. Senate Approves Changes Intended to Ease Gridlock  -  In an effort to ease persistent Senate gridlock, the leadership on Thursday promised to temper the procedural warfare that has consumed the chamber in recent years and increased partisan tension. (New York Times)
  2. Amid deficit worries, support for Social Security weakens  -  While no major reductions in benefits are likely anytime soon, the changes in Washington’s political landscape worry the system’s longtime backers, who held the first meeting of a new Senate Social Security Caucus on Thursday. (Miami Herald)
  3. White House Supports Airwaves for Public Safety  -  The White House endorsed a plan Thursday to give a chunk of airwaves worth an estimated $3 billion to public-safety groups for a new national wireless public-safety network that could cost as much as $15 billion to build, if Congress approves. (Wall Street Journal)
  4. Michelle Obama sees military as model for fitness effort  -  By the time many of the young soldiers-in-training get to this Army post, they’ve been plumped up by fast food and soda and sedentary teenage years spent indoors playing video games. (USA Today)
  5. Indiana’s Mike Pence opts out of 2012 presidential run  -  The GOP representative tells supporters in an e-mail message he will not seek the presidency and suggests he will run for governor of Indiana. (Los Angeles Times)

FEDERAL GRANT OF THE DAY  

  • Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Childhood Obesity Prevention- This AFRI Challenge Area addresses the priority of childhood obesity prevention. Obesity is the number one nutritional problem in America. The U.S. food supply contains an abundant amount of foods that are high in energy with appealing taste, but which are low in nutrient content. Food is an integral part of the process that leads to obesity and USDA has a unique responsibility for the food system in the United States. The long-term outcome for this program is to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 years. In order to achieve this outcome, this program will support multi-function Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants that address one of the Program Area Priorities. For more information, see USDA.

 

TODAY IN HISTORY

  1.  
    • January 28, 1959- On this day, Vince Lombardi was named head coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

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