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The following is political activity for Wednesday, May 18, 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.

IN THE HOUSE

  1. The House is not in session.
  2. House Intelligence chief calls on attorney general to stop investigating CIA interrogators  -  House intelligence chairman Mike Rogers says the Justice Department should stop investigating CIA interrogators for alleged abuse of detainees under the Bush administration. Rogers says the interrogators’ work helped lead to the killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. (Washington Post)

IN THE SENATE

  1. The Senate convenes at 10am.  Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until 10:30am for debate only with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
  2. At 10:30am, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar #43, S.953, the Offshore Production and Safety Act with up to 4 hours of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form.
  3. Upon the use or yielding back of time (approximately 2:30pm), the Senate will conduct a roll call vote on the motion to proceed to S.953, with a 60-vote threshold.
  4. “Gang of Six” budget talks founder in Senate  -  Deficit-reduction talks among a high-profile group of senators foundered on Tuesday in a bleak sign for other lawmakers trying to hammer out a deal to tackle the country’s budget woes. (Reuters)

OTHER NEWS

  1. Debt talks yield progress, but deal appears far off  -  A top Republican said Tuesday that as much as $150 billion in spending reductions has been identified as potential common ground between the White House and congressional negotiators seeking an agreement on deficit-reduction measures in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit. (Los Angeles Times)
  2. Senate blocks bill to end tax breaks for Big Oil  -  Democrats’ bid to raise $21 billion over the next 10 years by hiking taxes for the nation’s five biggest oil companies failed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Tuesday – but the issue isn’t going away anytime soon. (San Francisco Chronicle)
  3. Members of Congress call for probe of HUD’s HOME affordable-housing program  -  A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers is calling on Congress to look into the nation’s housing-construction program for the poor, citing years-long delays and other breakdowns that have thwarted the production of hundreds of affordable-housing projects. (Washington Post)
  4. Rural Community Facilities Program is a lifeline  -  The U.S. Department of Agriculture, known for its drought and disaster assistance to farmers, is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to cash-strapped towns and public safety agencies to buy police patrol cars, equip fire stations and renovate courthouses. (USA Today)
  5. Paul Ryan out, Tommy Thompson could be in for GOP in Wisconsin Senate race  -  Rep. Paul Ryan, architect of the House Republicans’ controversial budget plan and a rising star in the party, announced Tuesday that he won’t seek the open Senate seat in Wisconsin in 2012. (Los Angeles Times)

FEDERAL GRANT OF THE DAY

  • Accessible Transit Services for All Populations- The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is soliciting proposals that will examine ways to provide ADA complementary paratransit in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, while maintaining compliance with the DOT ADA regulations, and identify those factors that prevent persons with disabilities from using the regular accessible fixed-route system. FTA has budgeted up to $500,000 for this project. FTA will accept applications targeting the following activities: These factors can include the reliability and availability of an accessible fixed-route system and environmental barriers that prevent travel to and from boarding points. The research will analyze operational practices, and assess the cost savings and effectiveness of the practices and their relationship to increased fixed-route use by riders with disabilities. Practices assessed will include (1) implementing various types of paratransit eligibility processes, including conditional eligibility; (2) surveying and improving bus stops and path of travel to bus stops and stations; (3) incorporating travel training; (4) incorporating feeder service; and (5) assessing and ensuring fixed-route accessibility, including elevator and lift maintenance and stop announcements/route identification. Additional practices that promote the use of technology, examine scheduling and operating services, cost savings and enhanced mobility, and best practices or management of contracting services may be identified during the project.  For more information, see the Department of Transportation.

TODAY IN HISTORY

  • May 18, 1897- On this day, a public reading of Bram Stoker’s new novel “Dracula, or, The Un-dead” was staged in London.

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