Blog Post

This week, Congressional Republicans once again showed they are more interested in political games and siding with the special interests than working for the middle class.

Congressional Republicans sided with the failed policies of the Bush Administration and played a political game that delayed progress on the bipartisan COMPETES Act that would create more American jobs by investing in manufacturing and spurring innovation through research and development.

Today, Speaker Pelosi announced several reforms to congressional delegation travel (CODEL) undertaken by Members of the House--including the elimination of so-called "enhanced" per diems and a new requirement that Members and staff will be required to book in coach/economy class unless the scheduled travel is over 14 hours.

The Wall Street Journal writes:

Today, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a new report showing anti-fraud enforcement and prevention efforts by the Obama Administration resulted in more than $2.5 billion returned to the Medicare Trust Fund and over $441 million in federal Medicaid money was returned to the US Treasury (a nearly 30% increase over the previous year under President Bush).

Today, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held their first hearing on the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast Oil Spill as part of their ongoing inquiry examining what caused the explosion on the drilling rig, the adequacy of the companies' safety measures and emergency response, and the status of containment efforts.

I commend Senators Kerry and Lieberman for their hard work in putting together comprehensive legislation along with Senator Graham.

This legislation embraces the key goal of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed by the House last June, of reducing our nation's climate-changing pollution emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi, Susan Davis (D-CA), Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), Member of the Armed Services Committee, Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Member of the Armed Services Committee, and Donna Edwards (D-MD), Member of the Science and Technology Committee, returned from a Congressional Delegation to Qatar, Afghanistan, and Germany. Today, they held a press conference to discuss their trip:

According to a new analysis of federal data by USA Today, the Recovery Act which cut taxes for 98% of all Americans--a bill that all House Republicans voted against--helped bring down tax bills to the lowest level since 1950:

With the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, President Obama has chosen a candidate who will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Solicitor General Kagan's outstanding service as a lawyer, professor, public servant, and administrator prepares her for this challenge, and she will come to the bench with a deep knowledge of the law and respect for all individuals.

If confirmed, Elena Kagan's appointment will mean that for the first time in history, three women will sit on the bench of the Supreme Court.